This ruling was also affirmed by the Florida appeals court and denied a hearing by the Florida Supreme Court. When Terri Schiavo's feeding tube was removed for the second time, in 2003, the Florida legislature created âTerri's Lawâ to override the court decision, and the tube was again reinserted. This law was subsequently ruled an unconstitutional violation of the separation of powers.
Ground Shaking-Shaking of the ground caused by the passage of seismic waves near the epicenter of the earthquake is responsible for the collapse of most structures. The intensity of ground shaking depends on distance from the epicenter and on the type of bedrock underlying the area.
EARTHQUAKE LIQUEFACTION. Earthquake liquefaction, often referred to simply as liquefaction, is the process by which saturated, unconsolidated soil or sand is converted into a suspension during an earthquake. The effect on structures and buildings can be devastating, and is a major contributor to urban seismic risk. Soil liquefaction, also called earthquake liquefaction, ground failure or loss of strength that causes otherwise solid soil to behave temporarily as a viscous liquid. The phenomenon occurs in water-saturated unconsolidated soils affected by seismic S waves (secondary waves), which cause ground vibrations during earthquakes. Although earthquake shock is the best known cause of liquefaction, certain construction practices, including blasting and soil compaction and vibroflotation (which uses a vibrating probe to change the grain structure of the surrounding soil), produce this phenomenon intentionally.