Surface Rupture

Surface rupture - is an offset of the ground suface when fault rupture extends to the earth surface.
Ground rupture are earthquake faults that have reached the surface. No opening or Fissuring happens
during movement of the fault, so it should be remain closed. These are distinct from the liquefaction
cracks and fissures.
Three Types of Faults
Normal Fault involves mainly downward movement of the ground across the fault called hanging wall.
The hanging wall is the block on the right side of the fault.
Thrust Fault involves mainly upward movement of the hanging wall. In any types faulting, opposite
blocks simply slide past each other along the fault plane. No opening is involved.
Strike -slip fault involves a dominantly horizontal shifting of the ground. The two types of the strike
-slip fault are distinguished from each other by the sense of motion of the part of the ground located on
the opposite side of the fault, which is left-lateral or right -lateral.
Setback – refers to the distance from the faults trace that is considered safe from the effects of ground
rupture.
Section 4.3 Soil Liquefaction
Soil Liquefaction- is a phenomenon in which the strength and stiffness of a reduced by earthquake
shaking or other rapid loading. It normally occurs in saturated soils, that is soils in which the between the
individual particles is completely filled with water.
Liquefaction- a process that transform the behavior of a body of sediments from that of a solid to that of
a liquid.
Types of Liquefaction Features
Flow Failures -the most dangerous type of ground failures due to Liquefaction, this occurs liquefiable
slope material with steepness greater than 3 degrees.
Lateral Spreads – Blocks or the broken pieces of the flat or very gentle ground (less than 3 degrees)
above a liquified zone move laterally.
Ground Oscillation -Due to the flat or nearly flat slope, the ground is unable to spread and instead
oscillates like a wave (back and forth and up and down ).Water and wet sand are ejected through the
fissures that form conical-shaped mounds of sand at the surface.
Loss of Bearing Strength – Loss of strength of sediments resulting in titling of houses and floating
buoyant structures that are anchored on the liquefied zone.
Section 4.4 Earthquake Induced Landslide
Subsidence or lowering of the ground surface, often occurs during earthquakes. This may be due to
downward vertical displacement on one side of a fault and can sometimes affect a large area of land.
Coastal area can become permanently flooded as a result subsidence can also occur as ground shaking
causes loose sediments to settle and to lose their load bearing strength or to slump down sloping grounds.
Why land slide Occur
1. Removal of Support – is the base of slope which may be due to erosion at the toe of a slope by
rivers or ocean waves. That is why landslides may occur even on a hot summer day.
2. Groundwater- (pore water) pressure- During sudden changes in the water level of bodies of
water adjacent to a slope also acts to destabilize it.
3. Volcanic eruptions- Bulging of slopes and the force of volcanic material ejection or emission
may also contribute to slope instability.
4. Intense rainfall- landslide are triggered due to the weakening of the slope material by water
saturation.
 5. Snowmelt – is also known to have the same effect as in saturating slope material.
6. Human interventions- man contributes to the instability of slopes through construction activities
(roads, buildings, and other facilities) quarrying /mining ,and unabated logging and kaingin which
lead to the loss of deeply rooting trees and soil cohesiveness.
7. Earthquake- Slopes are prone to widespread failure during earthquake because of the sudden
shaking of hilly and mountainous areas. What a prolonged period of rainfall cannot do to slopes is
accomplished by a strong earthquake that may last only less than a minute.
Types of Landslide
1. Topples -Occur suddenly when a massive part of very steep slopes breaks loose and rotate
forward.
2. Rock Fall- involve chunks of detached rock that fall freely for some distance or bounce and roll
down the steep slope.
3. Slides- involves large blocks of bedrock that break free and slide down along a planar or curved
surface.
4. Lateral Spread -are triggered by earthquake and affects gentle slopes with less than 10 degrees
inclination.
5. Flows -involve downslopes motion of fine-grained clay, silt, and fine sand made mobile by water
saturation. These flows include mudflows and earthflows and are common during the rainy
seasons.
6. Complex Slide – are combination of two or more types of movement.
Properties of Rocks that contribute to total Resistance to Shearing forces
1. Intact rock Strength- refers to a rock’s reaction to standard laboratory test to determine its
resistance or strength.
a. Relatively strong Rock – simply let sparks fly with the blow of a hammer.
b. Moderately Strong Rock – just let lumps break with a light hammer Blow.
c. Very weak Rock Simply crumble with a hand grip.
2. Mass weathering Grade – is one of the most important properties that the engineering geologist
has to consider when dealing with a slope stability issue. Weathering of rocks results in physical
and chemical changes due to external process.
3. Spacing Joints- is another property to consider. The term joint as used in its engineering sense
refers to the different types of discontinuities such as a fracture, Fault or bedding plain. Spacing
refers to the distance between joints along a line. The grater the volume of joint in a rock mass,
the weaker is that mass.
4. Orientation of joint – with respect to the slope becomes increasingly unfavorable for slope
instability as the dip out of a rock face becomes steeper. It is most favorable for a stability against
sliding when the dip Is into the slope.
5. Width and continuity of joints- wide joints have no cohesive strength and frictional strength can
only develop at the point of contact of rock on either side of the joint.
6. Infill – as a factor is highlighted by the presence of materials such as clay.
7. Water Flow – in a joint is far more important than water in rock pores. It is the water in fissures
or clefs which influences rock mass strength when we speak of cleft water pressure.
4.5 Tsunami
Is also known as Seismic wave, is a series of wave in a water body caused by the displacement of a
large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake.
Causes of Tsunami
1. Landslide – occurring under the ocean and coastal landslide displacing ocean water. Tsunami can
be secondary effect of earthquakes through earthquake-triggered landslides occurring under the
ocean or in coastal areas.
2. Volcanic eruption or explosion – any submarine or coastal volcanic activity and products that
can trigger tsunami by displacing large volume of water.
3. Meteorite Impact- the ocean can trigger tsunamis.