Mastery Check #4 - Natural Hazards in Utah
What geologic hazards are there in Utah?
- Earthquakes
- Floods
- Landslides
- The first thing is to build in locations where the risk is lower. Where are high risk areas for these natural hazards?
- Earthquakes - the Wasatch fault runs along the base of the mountains on the East side of the Utah valley. The closer you are to the fault, the more likely to have damage.
- Floods - the mostly likely place to get flooded is near Utah Lake and on banks of rivers and streams (especially during spring runoff)
- Landslides - Building house on steep slopes make them more likely to be damaged by landslides
- The second thing is to be smart about the materials used to build homes.
- Wood and steel are stronger and more flexible than brick and concrete. Brick and concrete are more brittle and can break into large pieces which can then fall on people and hurt them.