STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING 2019

Earthquake
1.1 Introduction
Earthquake is combination of two words, Earth and Quake.

Earth is a planet on which we are living and quake means shaking. It means
earthquake means shaking of earth.

► The questions that are raised in our minds:

 What is the earthquake?
 Why is this event (earthquake) occurred?
 How is it occurred?
 When is it occurred?

“Earthquake is the result of sudden release of energy in the Earth’s crust due to
different phenomenon (whether natural or caused by humans) that creates seismic
waves.”

An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor)

What It is result of release of energy

Why Different phenomenon like plate tectonics

How Seismic waves

When It could be natural or caused by human

1.2 Lists of Earthquakes

The following is a list of earthquake lists, and of top earthquakes by magnitude
and fatalities.

1.2.1 Lists by period

Historical earthquakes of Pakistan are a list of
significant earthquakes known to have occurred prior to the beginning of the
20th century.

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Before 1901
Locality, District,
Date Magnitude MMI Deaths Injuries Notes
or Province

1668-05-02 Shahbandar, Sindh 7.6 50,000

1819-06-16 Allahbund, Sindh 7.7–8.2 Mw XI >1,543 Tsunami

1827-09-24 Lahore, Punjab 7.8 1,000

1852-01-24 Kahan, Balochistan 8

1865-01-22 Peshawar 6

Qilla 6.8 Chaman

1892-12-20
Abdullah, Balochistan Fault

1901–2000
Locality, District,
Date Magnitude MMI Deaths Injuries Notes
or Province

1909-10-21 Sibi, Balochistan 7 100

Sharigh 7
1931-08-24
Valley, Balochistan

1931-08-27 Mach, Balochistan 7.4

7.7 X 30,000–
1935-05-31 Ali Jaan, Balochistan
60,000

Makran 8.1 Mw X 300–400 Tsunami

1945-11-28 Coast, British
Baluchistan

1974-12-28 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 6.2 Mw 5,300 17,000

1983-12-31 Gilgit-Baltistan 7.2 Mw VII 12–26 60–483 Severe

1992-05-20 Kohat 6.0 Mw 36 100 Moderate

Division, North West

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Frontier

2001–present
Locality, District,
Date Magnitude MMI Deaths Injuries Notes
or Province

2005-10-08 Azad 7.6 Mw VIII 86,000– 69,000–

Kashmir, Balakot 87,351 75,266

2008-10-29 Ziarat 6.4 Mw 215 200

District, Balochistan

2011-01-18 Dalbandin, Balochist 7.2 Mw VI 3 some

an

2013-09-24 Awaran 7.7 Mw VII 825 700

District, Balochistan

2013-09-28 Awaran 6.8 Mw 400

District, Balochistan

2014-05-08 Sindh 4.5 Mw 2 50

2015-10-26 Badakhshan Province 7.5 Mw VII 399 2,536

2015-12-25 Gilgit-Baltistan 6.3 Mw V 4 100

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

2018-01-31 Badakhshan Province 6.1 Mw 1 9-11

1.2.2 Lists by country

PAKISTAN

Pakistan is one of the most seismically active countries in the world, being
crossed by several major faults. As a result, earthquakes in Pakistan occur
often and are destructive.
Table 1.2.2—1 List of Earthquakes in Pakistan

Locality, District,
Date Magnitude MMI Deaths Injuries Notes
or Province

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1668-05-02 Shahbandar, Sindh 7.6 50,000

1819-06-16 Allahbund, Sindh 7.7–8.2 Mw XI >1,543 Tsunami

1827-09-24 Lahore, Punjab 7.8 1,000

1852-01-24 Kahan, Balochistan 8

1865-01-22 Peshawar 6

1892-12-20 Qilla 6.8 Chaman

Abdullah, Balochist Fault
an

1909-10-21 Sibi, Balochistan 7 100

1931-08-24 Sharigh 7
Valley, Balochistan

1931-08-27 Mach, Balochistan 7.4

1935-05-31 Ali 7.7 X 30,000–

Jaan, Balochistan 60,000

1945-11-28 Makran 8.1 Mw X 300–400 Tsunami

Coast, British
Baluchistan

1974-12-28 Khyber 6.2 Mw 5,300 17,000

Pakhtunkhwa

1983-12-31 Gilgit-Baltistan 7.2 Mw VII 12–26 60–483 Severe

1992-05-20 Kohat 6.0 Mw 36 100 Moderate

Division, North
West Frontier

2005-10-08 Azad 7.6 Mw VIII 86,000– 69,000–

Kashmir, Balakot 87,351 75,266

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2008-10-29 Ziarat 6.4 Mw 215 200

District, Balochistan

2011-01-18 Dalbandin, Balochis 7.2 Mw VI 3 some

tan

2013-09-24 Awaran 7.7 Mw VII 825 700

District, Balochistan

2013-09-28 Awaran 6.8 Mw 400

District, Balochistan

2014-05-08 Sindh 4.5 Mw 2 50

2015-10-26 Badakhshan 7.5 Mw VII 399 2,536

Province

2015-12-25 Gilgit-Baltistan 6.3 Mw V 4 100

Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa

2018-01-31 Badakhshan 6.1 Mw 1 9-11

Province

SOUTH ASIA

The following is a list of earthquakes in South Asia.

Date Time Place Lat. Long. Fatalities Comments Magnitude

The quake struck

55 kilometers (34
miles) below the
earth’s surface.
23:05:20. Imphal, Manipur I
Lighter ground
January 20 UTC, ndia 11 Dead, 6.7, Lasted
24.876°N 93.628°E shaking was
3, 2016 04:35:20 see Earthquake 200 Injured 45 seconds
reported over a
IST Jan 6 Jolts India [1]
wide region as
much as 1,000 km
(620 miles) from
the epicenter.

October 02:10:00 Afghanistan Pakist 36.524°N 70.368°E 399 7.5

26, 2015 UTC, an India
5:10:00 see 2015 South

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Local Asia earthquake

Time
October
26

06:11:26 80 km (50 miles)

UTC, NW
Lamjung Nepal
April 11:56:26 of Kathmandu, Ne
see 2015 Nepal 28.15°N 84.71°E 9,018 7.9
25, 2015 Local pal, 34 km (21 mi)
earthquake
Time ESE
April 25 of Lamjung, Nepal

95 km (59 miles)
03:50:38
NE
UTC, Kashmir Pakistan I
of Islamabad, Paki
October 08:50:38 ndia
34.43°N 73.54°E 80,000 stan, 125 km 7.6
8, 2005 Local see 2005 Kashmir
(78 mi) WNW
Time earthquake
of Srinagar, Kash
October 8
mir (pop 894,000)

00:58:53 off NW
UTC, of Sumatra, India
Decemb 07:58:53 Sri A second largest
er 26, Local LankaMaldives se 3.30°N 95.87°E 280,000 earthquake ever 9.3
2004 Time e 2004 Indian recorded
Decembe Ocean earthquake
r 26 and tsunami

08:50:00
Epicenter in
Local
January Kutchh see 2001 Kutch, loss of life
Time 23.6N 69.8E 20,000 7.9
26, 2001 Gujarat earthquake in Ahmedabad and
January
Kutch
26

03:50:38
UTC,
Latur-
Septem 22:25
Killari, India see 1
ber 29, Local 18.08°N 76.52°E 9,748 6.2
993 Latur
1993 Time
earthquake
Septembe
r 29

Tibetan
Largest earthquake
plateau (Arunachal
recorded in
Pradesh-
August mainland India
China border), Ind 28.5°N 96.7°E 8.7
15, 1950 since
ia
Independence Day
see 1950 Assam–
in 1947.
Tibet earthquake

Bihar, India
January 2:13 PM
see 1934 Nepal– 25°N 85°E 8.3
15, 1934 (I.S.T.)
Bihar earthquake

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Shillong
June 12, Plateau, India
26°N 91°E 8.3
1897 see 1897 Assam
earthquake

1.2.3 Largest earthquakes by year

These are the largest or most notable earthquakes per year since the start of the
21st century.

Death
Year Magnitude Location Event Date
toll

September
1999 7.7 2,415 Taiwan 1999 Jiji earthquake
20

2000 7.9 103 Sumatra 2000 Enggano earthquake June 4

2001 8.4 100 Peru 2001 southern Peru earthquake June 23

2002 7.9 0 United States 2002 Denali earthquake November 3

September
2003 8.3 0 Japan 2003 Hokkaidō earthquake
25

Indonesia, Indian 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake December

2004 9.2 227,898
Ocean and tsunami 26

2005 8.6 1,300 Indonesia 2005 Nias–Simeulue earthquake March 28

November
2006 8.3 0 Russia 2006 Kuril Islands earthquake
15

September 2007 Sumatra September

2007 8.5 23 Indonesia
earthquake 12

2008 7.9 87,587 China 2008 Sichuan earthquake May 12

2009 Samoa earthquake and September

2009 8.1 192 Samoa
tsunami 29

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2010 8.8 525 Chile 2010 Chile earthquake February 27

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and

2011 9.1 20,896 Japan March 11
tsunami

Indonesia, Indian
2012 8.6 10 2012 Indian Ocean earthquakes April 11
Ocean

2013 8.3 0 Russia 2013 Okhotsk Sea earthquake May 24

2014 8.2 6 Chile 2014 Iquique earthquake April 1

September
2015 8.3 14 Chile 2015 Illapel earthquake
16

2016 7.8 676 Ecuador 2016 Ecuador earthquake April 16

2017 8.2 98 Mexico 2017 Chiapas earthquake September 8

August 19
2018 8.2 0 Fiji

1.2.4 Largest earthquakes by magnitude

Listed below are all the 36 known earthquakes with an estimated magnitude of
8.5 or higher since the year 1500. Limited to a timeframe with enough data,
this gives a rough estimate of its frequency per century. (The timeframe does
not include outlying events like the earlier 1361 Shōhei earthquake and 869
Sanriku earthquakes, both estimated to have magnitude ≥ 8.5.)

Prior to the development and deployment of seismographs – starting around

1900 – magnitudes can only be estimated, based on historical reports of the
extent and severity of damage.

Rank Date Location Event Magnitude

1 May 22, Valdivia, Chile 1960 Valdivia 9.4–9.6

1960 earthquake

2 March 27, Prince William Sound, Alaska, United States 1964 Alaska 9.2

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1964 earthquake

3 December Indian Ocean, Sumatra, Indonesia 2004 Indian 9.1–9.3

26, 2004 Ocean
earthquake

4 March 11, Pacific Ocean, Tōhoku region, Japan 2011 Tōhoku 9.1
2011 earthquake

5 November Kamchatka, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union 1952 9.0

4, 1952 Kamchatka
earthquakes

6 August 13, Arica, Chile (then Peru) 1868 Arica 8.5–9.0

1868 earthquake (est.)

7 January 26, Pacific Ocean, USA and Canada (then 1700 Cascadia 8.7–9.2
1700 claimed by the Spanish Empire and earthquake (est.)
the British Empire)

8 April 2, Chittagong, Bangladesh (then Kingdom of 1762 Arakan 8.8 (est.)

1762 Mrauk U) earthquake

9 November Sumatra, Indonesia (then part of the Dutch 1833 Sumatra 8.8 (est.)
25, 1833 East Indies) earthquake

10 January 31, Ecuador – Colombia 1906 8.8

1906 Ecuador–
Colombia
earthquake

11 February Offshore Maule, Chile 2010 Chile 8.8

27, 2010 earthquake

12 August 15, Assam, India – Tibet, China 1950 Assam– 8.7

1950 Tibet
earthquake

13 October 28, Pacific Ocean, Shikoku region, Japan 1707 Hōei 8.7–9.3
1707 earthquake (est.)

14 July 8, Valparaiso, Chile (then part of the Spanish 1730 8.7 (est.)
1730 Empire) Valparaiso

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earthquake

15 November Atlantic Ocean, Lisbon, Portugal 1755 Lisbon 8.5–9.0

1, 1755 earthquake

16 February 4, Rat Islands, Alaska, United States 1965 Rat 8.7

1965 Islands
earthquake

17 October 28, Lima, Peru (then part of the Spanish Empire) 1746 Lima– 8.6 (est.)
1746 Callao
earthquake

18 March 28, Oaxaca, Mexico (then part of the Spanish 1787 Mexico 8.6 (est.)
1787 Empire) earthquake

19 March 9, Andreanof Islands, Alaska, United States 1957 8.6

1957 Andreanof
Islands
earthquake

20 March 28, Sumatra, Indonesia 2005 Nias– 8.6

2005 Simeulue
earthquake

21 April 11, Indian Ocean, Sumatra, Indonesia 2012 Aceh 8.6

2012 earthquake

22 December Valdivia, Chile (then part of the Spanish 1575 Valdivia 8.5 (est.)
16, 1575 Empire) earthquake

23 November Arica, Chile (then part of the Spanish Empire) 1604 Arica 8.5 (est.)
24, 1604 earthquake

24 May 13, Santiago, Chile (then part of the Spanish 1647 Santiago 8.5 (est.)
1647 Empire) earthquake

25 May 24, Concepción, Chile (then part of the Spanish 1751 8.5 (est.)
1751 Empire) Concepción
earthquake

26 November Valparaíso, Chile 1822 8.5 (est.)

19, 1822 Valparaíso

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earthquake

27 February Concepción, Chile 1835 8.5 (est.)

20, 1835 Concepción
earthquake

28 February Sumatra, Indonesia 1861 Sumatra 8.5

16, 1861 earthquake

29 May 9, Iquique, Chile (then Peru) 1877 Iquique 8.5 (est.)

1877 earthquake

30 November Atacama Region, Chile Catamarca Province, 1922 Vallenar 8.5

10, 1922 Argentina earthquake

31 February 1, Banda Sea, Indonesia (then part of the Dutch 1938 Banda 8.5
1938 East Indies) Sea
earthquake

32 October 13, Kuril Islands, Russia (USSR) 1963 Kuril 8.5

1963 Islands
earthquake

33 September Sumatra, Indonesia 2007 Sumatra 8.5

12, 2007 earthquakes

34 October 20, Lima, Peru (then part of the Spanish Empire) 1687 Peru 8.5 (est.)
1687 earthquake

35 October 17, Kamchatka, Russia 1737 8.5 (est.)

1737 Kamchatka
earthquakes

36 June 15, Pacific Ocean, Tōhoku region, Japan 1896 Sanriku 8.5 (est.)
1896 earthquake

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1.2.5 Costliest earthquakes

This is a list of major earthquakes by the dollar value of property (public and
private) losses directly attributable to the earthquake. Rank values are assigned
based on inflation-adjusted comparison of property damage in US dollars.
Wherever possible, indirect and socioeconomic losses are excluded. Please
note that damage estimates for particular earthquakes may vary throughout
time as more data becomes available.

Rank Event Location Magnitude Property

damage

1 2011 Tōhoku earthquake Japan 9.1 $235 billion

and tsunami

2 1995 Great Hanshin Japan 6.9 $200 billion

earthquake

3 2008 Sichuan earthquake Sichuan, China 8.0 $86 billion

4 1994 Northridge earthquake Los Angeles, United 6.7 $13–44 billion

States

5 1980 Irpinia earthquake Italy 6.9 $15 billion

6 1976 Tangshan earthquake Hebei, China 7.8 $10 billion

7 2011 Christchurch South Island, New 6.3 $15–40 billion

earthquake Zealand

8 2004 Chūetsu earthquake Japan 6.8 $28 billion

9 1999 İzmit earthquake Turkey 7.6 $20 billion

10 2010 Chile earthquake Chile 8.8 $15–30 billion

11 2012 Emilia earthquakes Italy 6.1 $15.8 billion

12 1999 Jiji earthquake Taiwan 7.6 $10 billion

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13 April 2015 Nepal Nepal 7.8 $10 billion to

earthquake rebuild.

14 1906 San Francisco San Francisco, United 7.7 to 7.9 $400 million
earthquake States (est.)

15 1923 Great Kantō Tokyo, Japan 7.9 $600 million

earthquake

16 1989 Loma Prieta California, United 6.9 $5.6–6 billion

earthquake States

1.2.6 Deadliest earthquakes

The following is a summary list of earthquakes with over approximately
100,000 deaths:

Rank Event Date Location Fatalities Magnitude Notes

1 1556 January Shaanxi, China 820,000– 8.0 Estimated death toll in

Shaanxi 23, 1556 830,000 Shaanxi, China
earthquake

2 1976 July 28, Hebei, China 242,769– 7.8

Tangshan 1976 700,000+
earthquake

3 1920 December Ningxia–Gansu, China 273,400 7.8 Major fractures,

Haiyuan 16, 1920 landslides.
earthquake

4 526 May 21, Antioch, Turkey (then Byzantine 250,000 7.0 Procopius (II.14.6),
Antioch 526 Empire) sources based on John of
earthquake Ephesus.

5 2004 December Indian 227,898 9.1–9.3 Deaths from earthquake

Indian 26, 2004 Ocean, Sumatra, Indonesia and resulting tsunami.
Ocean
earthquake

6 1138 October Aleppo, Syria 230,000 Unknown The figure of 230,000

Aleppo 11, 1138 dead is based on a
earthquake historical conflation of
this earthquake with
earthquakes in

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November 1137 on
the Jazira plainand on
September 30, 1139 in
the Azerbaijani city
of Ganja. The first
mention of a 230,000
death toll was by Ibn
Taghribirdi in the
fifteenth century.[98]

7 2010 Haiti January Haiti 100,000– 7.0 Estimates vary from

earthquake 12, 2010 316,000 316,000 (Haitian
government) to 222,570
(UN
OCHA estimate)[99] to
158,000 (Medicine,
Conflict and Survival) to
between 85,000 and
46,000 (report
commissioned
by USAID).[100][101]

8 1303 July 25, Shanxi, China 200,000 8.0 Taiyuan and Pingyang
Hongdong 1303 were leveled.
earthquake

9 856 December Damghan, Iran 200,000 7.9 Ms

Damghan 22, 856
earthquake

10 893 March 22, Ardabil, Iran 150,000 Unknown Reports probably relate
Ardabil 893 to the 893 Dvin
earthquake earthquake, due to
misreading of the Arabic
word for Dvin, 'Dabil' as
'Ardabil'.[103] This is
regarded as a 'fake
earthquake'.[104]

11 533 November Syria 130,000 Unknown

Aleppo 29, 533
earthquake

12 1908 December Messina, Italy 123,000 7.1 The ground shook for 30
Messina 28, 1908 to 40 seconds around
earthquake 5:20 am, and destruction
occurred within a
300 km radius. 91% of
structures in Messina
were destroyed and
~70,000 residents died.
Rescuers searched for
weeks, and whole
families were pulled out
alive days later. A 40-
foot (12 m) tsunami
struck nearby coasts.
Reggio Calabria on the

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Italian mainland also

suffered heavy damage.

13 1948 October 6, Ashgabat, Turkmen 10,000– 7.3 Ms

Ashgabat 1948 SSR (modern- 110,000
earthquake day Turkmenistan)

14 1923 September Kantō region, Japan 105,385 7.9 This earthquake with an
Great 1, 1923 epicenter beneath Izu
Kantō Ōshima Island in Sagami
earthquake Bay, shook
the Kantō plain on the
Japanese island
of Honshūat 11:58 am.
Shaking duration
reported between 4 and
10 minutes, devastating
Tokyo, Yokohama, Chib
a, Kanagawa,
and Shizuoka.[108]Shakin
g slid the 93-ton Great
Buddha statue
at Kamakura almost two
feet forward. Casualty
estimates range from
100,000 to 142,800, the
latter figure including
~40,000 missing later
presumed dead.

15 1290 September Ningcheng, China 100,000 6.8 Ms

Chihli 27, 1290
earthquake

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