EARTHQUAKE

 Earthquake is manifested as ground shaking caused by sudden release of energy in the Earth’s
crust. This energy originates from different sources, such as dislocations of the crust, volcanic
eruptions or even by man-made explosions or the collapse of underground cavities, such as
mines or karsts.
 Plate tectonics, earthquakes and volcanoes are closely related. In fact, because of the behavior
of earthquakes and volcanoes the core of the theory of plate tectonics has been proved.
Earthquakes and volcanoes also allow geoscientists to indirectly study the interior of the earth.
 Different types of earthquake exist: fault rupture-induced, volcanic, mining-induced and large
reservoir-induced.

CAUSES OF EARTHQUAKE
1. Plate Tectonics Theory

 Earthquake occurrence may be explained by the theory of large-scale tectonic processes, referred
to as ‘plate tectonics’
 Earthquake is now recognized to be the symptoms of active tectonic movements (Scholz, 1990)
 Plates are large and stable rigid rock slabs with a thickness of about 100km forming the crust or
lithosphere and part of the upper mantle of the Earth.
 Shallow and intermediate earthquakes occur at convergent zones in bands of hundreds
kilometers wide.
 Continental converge earthquake can be very large. At convergent plate boundaries, where two
continental plates collide earthquakes are deep and also very powerful.
 Shallow earthquake with large magnitude can occur along transform faults it also require solid
rocks to occur, more specifically, cold, brittle rocks. Only these can store up elastic strain along a
geologic fault, held in check by friction until the strain lets loose in a violent rupture.
 Deep earthquakes are generally located in subduction zones over regions which can be extended
for more than 1000 km. Between deep and shallow earthquake, one is that the ruptures proceed
very slowly, less than half the speed of shallow ruptures, and they seem to consist of patches or
closely spaced subevents. Another is that they have few aftershocks, only one-tenth as many as
shallow quakes do. They relieve more stress; that is, the stress drop is generally much larger for
deep than shallow events.
 Megathrust earthquake occurs in subduction zones where two crustal plates are colliding. Most
subduction zones occur where an oceanic plate is being forced beneath a continental plate.
 Plate tectonic theory provides a simple and general geological explanation for plate boundary or
inter-plate earthquakes, which contribute 95% of worldwide seismic energy release.
 Intra-plate and inter-plate earthquake can be distinguished quantitatively on the basis of the slip
rate of their faults and recurrence time.
  For intra-plate earthquakes, it generally falls into two groups: plate boundary-related which
either takes place in broad bands near plate edges and are tectonically linked to them or in diffuse
plate boundaries; and mid-plate which are not related to plate edges.

2. Faulting

 When two ground masses move with respect to one another, elastic strain energy due to tectonic
process is stored and then released through the rupture of the interface zone.
 Elastic rebound is the process in which distorted blocks snap back towards equilibrium and an
earthquake ground motion is produced.
 Fault is the resulting fracture in the Earth’s crust.
 Characteristics of earthquake ground motions are affected by the slip mechanism of active faults.
The most common mechanism of earthquake sources are: Dip-slip faults where one block moves
vertically with respect to the other, Strike-slip faults where the adjacent blocks move horizontally
past one another.
 Oblique slip is a fault wherein it exhibits combination if strike-slip and dip-slip movement.
 Focus or hypocenter of an earthquake is the point under the surface where the rupture is said to
have originates. The projection of the focus on the surface is termed epicenter.

3. Seismic Waves

 Seismic waves are generated during the sudden rupture of the brittle crustal rock. These waves
travel away from the source of the earthquake along the Earth’s outer layers with their velocity
varying base on the material through which they travel.
 Fault ruptures cause brittle fractures of the Earth’s crust and dissipate up to 10% of the total plate-
tectonic energy in the form of seismic waves. Earthquake shaking is generated by two types of
elastic waves: body and surface waves.
 Body waves travels through the Earth’s interior layer and includes longitudinal or primary waves
( P-waves ) and transverse or secondary waves ( S-wave ) which are also termed as preliminary
tremors because in most earthquakes they are felt first (Kanai, 1983).
 P-waves are waves with relatively little damage potential.
 S-waves causes vertical and horizontal side-to-side motion which introduce shear stresses in rock
along their paths and is also defined as shear waves.
 Shear waves are analogous electromagnetic waves which shows large amplitudes and long
periods and cannot propagate in fluids.
 The phenomenon known as Moho bounce is due to the simultaneous arrival at the surface of
direct S-wave and S-wave reflected by the so-called Mohorovicic discontinuity –or Moho –at the
boundary between the crust and the underlying mantle in the internal structure of the Earth.
Moho may be responsible for significant strong motions leading to damage far from the source.
  Progressive waves is the rotatory vibrations at the ground surface which occur in addition to
translational oscillations and re generated either when a plane wave is incident obliquely to the
ground surface or when surface waves are present.

EARTHQUAKES AND URBANIZATION

 The minimum standards set in the building codes can minimize the damage cause by earthquake,
specially to those cities which lie on the west valley fault. Although, some major buildings require
their engineers to design for higher performance standard.
 Over the past 10 years, base-isolation technologies for low-rise buildings in which this writer
became involved in the seismic design have been introduced in the country.
 Dampers or damping devices against vibrations have also been introduced in a few very tall
buildings.

HISTORY OF MAJOR INTERNATIONAL EARTHQUAKE

TOP 5 IN TERMS OF MAGNITUDE

1. The Great Chilean Earthquake - Chile

 9.5 magnitude
 May 22, 1960
 No. of Deaths: 5700
 Injured: Almost 2 million
 Like the other earthquakes, it was followed by tsunami that makes it more devastating.
2. Prince William Sound - Alaska

 9.2 magnitude
 March 28, 1964
 No. of Deaths: 128
 Cost: About $311 Million
 The shake lasted for about 3 minutes. The tsunami reaches a height of 67 meters.

3. Off the West Coast of Northern Sumatra

 9.1 magnitude
 December 26, 2004
 No. of Deaths: 227,898
 Injured: Almost 1.7 million
 This was triggered by a megathrust as the Indian tectonic plate was forced beneath the Burmese
plate.
4. Near the East Coast of Honshu - Japan

 9.0 magnitude
 March 11, 2011
 No. of Deaths: 290,000
 This is also the largest recorded earthquake on Japan. Aftershocks continue to rock the island of
Honshu. The aftershocks include more than 50 of magnitude 6.0 or greater, and three above
magnitude 7.0.

5. Kamchatka Peninsula - Russia

 9.0 magnitude
 November 4, 1952
 No. of Deaths: None
 Damages up to $1 million.
TOP 4 IN TERMS OF DEATHS

1. Shensi – China

 8.0 magnitude
 January 23, 1556
 No. of Deaths: 830,000
 The experts think that caused these fatalities are because the people in China at that time lives in
a soft, fragile and erosion prone soil. After this earthquake, the people in China adopted and
learned to used earthquake resistant materials like wood and bamboo.

2. Tangshan – China

 7.8 magnitude
 July 27, 1976
 No. of Deaths: 240,000
3. Off the West Coast of Northern Sumatra

 9.1 magnitude
 December 26, 2004
 No. of Deaths: 227,898
 Injured: Almost 1.7 million
 This was triggered by a megathrust as the Indian tectonic plate was forced beneath the Burmese
plate.

4. Haiti Earthquake

 7.0 magnitude
 January 12, 2010
 No. of Deaths: 222,570
 Injured: Almost 1.3 million
 At the time of the quake, 70 percent of the population lived below the poverty line. Nearly 4,000
schools were damaged or destroyed.
HISTORY OF MAJOR PHILIPPINE EARTHQUAKES
Top 5 Deadliest Earthquakes in the Philippines

1. Moro Gulf - Mindanao

 8.0 magnitude
 August 17, 1976, 12:11 am
 No. of Deaths: 8000
 Injured: 10000
 It was followed by 4 to 5 meters high tsunami covering 700 km of coastline bordering the island.
Because it was dark, the people were caught by the raging water. With 90,000 more, homeless.

2. Luzon - Nueva Ecija

 7.8 magnitude
 July 16, 1990, 4:26 pm
 No. of Deaths: 2412
 Injured: More than 3000
 One of the strongest earthquakes to ever struck the country occured in several areas of Central
Luzon and Cordillera region.
 Hyatt Terraces Plaza, Nevada Hotel, Baguio Hilltop Hotel, Baguio Park Hotel, and FRB Hotel, all in
Baguio collapsed trapping and burying people alive.
 The quake lasted for about a minute damaging mostly the city of Pines
  Baguio, sitting on at least seven fault lines, is now listed as one of the most risk-prone cities in
Asia

3. Nueva Ecija

 7.5 magnitude
 November 30, 1645, 8:00 pm
 No. of Deaths: 600
 Injured: 3000
 Referred to as the "most terrible earthquake" in Philippine history, caused by the San Manuel and
Gabaldon Faults. Manila Cathedral was known to be damaged.

(Photo Not Available)

4. Casiguran, Aurora

 7.3 magnitude
 August 2, 1968, 4:19 am
 No. of Deaths: 270
 Injured: 261
  268 of 270 and 260 of 261 were occupants of the Ruby Tower in Binondo. It is a large six-storey
building containing 38 commercial units in its first two floors and 76 residential units in its upper
four floors.

5. Carmen, Bohol

 7.2 magnitude
 October 15, 2013, 8:12 am
 No. of Deaths: 222
 Injured: 976
 An estimated 73,000 strucutres were damaged wherein more than 14,500 of which were
destroyed totally
THE RING OF FIRE

 The Ring of Fire is a roughly 25,000-mile chain of volcanoes and seismically active sites that outline
the Pacific Ocean.
 Also known as the Circum-Pacific Belt, the Ring of Fire traces the meeting points of many tectonic
plates, including the Eurasian, North American, Juan de Fuca, Cocos, Caribbean, Nazca, Antarctic,
Indian, Australian, PHILIPPINE, and other smaller plates, which all encircle the large Pacific Plate.
 The plates are constantly sliding past, colliding into, or moving above or below each other. This
movement results in deep ocean trenches, volcanic eruptions, and earthquake epicentres along
the boundaries where the plates meet, called fault lines.
 The tectonic activity along the Ring of Fire also results in about 90% of the world’s earthquakes,
including the Valdivia Earthquake of Chile in 1960, the strongest recorded earthquake at 9.5 out
of 10 on the Richter scale.
 The Ring of Fire is also where an estimated 75% of the planet’s volcanoes are located, such as
Mount Tambora of Indonesia, which erupted in 1815 and became the largest volcanic eruption
in recorded history.

 The Ring of Fire is home to the deepest ocean trench, called the Mariana Trench. Located east of
Guam, the 7-mile-deep Mariana Trench formed when one tectonic place was pushed under
another.
PACIFIC PLATE TECTONICS

 Much of the volcanic and seismic activity on earth can be contributed to plate tectonics, a
relatively new scientific concept that was brought forth in the 60s. Basically, this scientific theory
states that the earth's surface consists of a solid surface, called the lithosphere. This layer of land
actually floats atop the mantle core, which is believed to be a semi-solid. Furthermore, the
lithosphere is not continuously solid, but consists of many plates, both large and small. When
these plates push up against each other, the resulting friction may result in earthquakes and
volcanoes.

 By chance, the Pacific plate is one of the largest and most active plates on the planet. Since it is
located under a large ocean, it is referred to as an oceanic plate. On the other hand plates situated
under land masses are called continental plates. In general, oceanic plates are denser, but not as
deep as continental plates.

EARTHQUAKE PRONE COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD

1. Japan
 Japan tops the list of the earthquake prone areas. The country has a long history of witnessing
disastrous earthquakes since it is situated on the Pacific “Ring of fire”. Due to the subduction of
the Philippine Sea plate beneath the Okinawa plate and Amurian plate, Japan has observed a
series of several high-intensity earthquakes. On March 11, 2011, a deadly earthquake had shaken
the entire country. It was also the costliest natural calamity for Japan. The Fukushima nuclear
accident during the earthquake had attracted worldwide concerns.
2. Nepal
 If estimates are to be believed, a citizen in Nepal is more likely to be killed by an earthquake as
compared to any civilian in the world. An earthquake of 8.4 magnitude had hit the country in the
year 1934. Another recent earthquake of 7.9 magnitude that hit the country on April 25, caused
 immense damage to life and property. The iconic Dharahara tower was also destroyed due to the
quake.
3. India
 India has also experienced a series of some deadly earthquakes due to the movement of the
Indian tectonic plate at the rate of 47 mm every year. Due to the movement of tectonic plates,
India is prone to Earthquakes. India has been divided into five zones on the basis of peak ground
accelerations. On December 26, 2004, an earthquake followed by a tsunami had killed around
15,000 Indians. Also, on January 26, 2001, an Earthquake in Gujarat had also killed thousands.
4. Ecuador
 Ecuador has several active volcanoes making the country an extremely dangerous for high-
magnitude quakes and tremors. The country lies within the seismic zone between the South
American plate and the Nazca plate. On August 12, 2014, an Earthquake of 5.1 magnitude on the
Richter scale had rattled Quito, which was followed by an aftershock of 4.3 magnitude. 2 people
were reported dead and 8 were injured.
5. Philippines
 Philippines lies on the edge of the Pacific plate, which is traditionally a seismic hot zone that
encircles the state. In Philippines, earthquakes with high magnitude have led to deadly volcanic
eruptions in the past. On October 15, 2013, an earthquake of magnitude 7.1 Richter scale had
struck central Philippines leading to more than 100 deaths.