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Report Title

{Earthquakes}

Name: Daneal Nawzad Sofi

Class: First

Course: Engineering Geology

Department: Geomatics

College of Engineering

Salahaddin University-Erbil

Academic Year 2019-2020

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ABSTRACT

This report is an overview of my experience about an engineering topic is a

Earthquakes, answer a some question what is a Earthquakes? Why is important for

Engineering? And talking about Type Earthquakes.

The aim of this research is to discover a reliable and scientific precursor that is

theoretically able to predict all earthquakes, within specified parameters, within a

few days, in this case within two days, of the earthquakes - this is more efficient

than having a prediction window of months or years. This method has accurately

predicted 14 out of 15 earthquakes within specified parameters of location,

magnitude and depth, with no false predictions-this is a success rate of 93%.

Deviations in the times for a simple pendulum to complete 30 oscillations were

analyzed and these deviations were used to make earthquake predictions.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract ...................................................................................................................... 2

Table of Contents ....................................................................................................... 3

Introduction ................................................................................................................ 4

Background & Review ............................................................................................... 6

Methods ...................................................................................................................... 9

Theory /Design ......................................................................................................... 12

Conclusion………………………………………………………………………...17

Reference………………………………………………………………………….18

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INTRODUCTION

An earthquake is a weak to violent shaking of the ground produced by the sudden

movement of rock materials below the earth’s surface.

The earthquakes originate in tectonic plate boundary. The focus is point inside the

earth where the earthquake started, sometimes called the hypocenter, and the point

on the surface of the earth directly above the focus is called the epicenter.

There are two ways by which we can measure the strength of an earthquake:

magnitude and intensity. Magnitude is proportional to the energy released by an

earthquake at the focus. It is calculated from earthquakes recorded by an

instrument called seismograph. It is represented by Arabic Numbers (e.g. 4.8, 9.0).

Intensityon the other hand is the strength of an earthquake as perceived and felt by

people in a certain locality. It is a numerical rating based on the relative effects to

people, objects, environment and structures in the surrounding. The intensity is

generally higher near the epicenter. It is represented by Roman Numerals (e.g. II,

IV, and IX). In the Philippines, the intensity of an earthquake is determined using

the PHIVOLCS Earthquake Intensity Scale (PEIS).

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At the Earth's surface, earthquakes manifest themselves by shaking and displacing

or disrupting the ground. When the epicenter of a large earthquake is located

offshore, the seabed may be displaced sufficiently to cause a tsunami. Earthquakes

can also trigger landslides and occasionally, volcanic activity.

In its most general sense, the word earthquake is used to describe any seismic

event—whether natural or caused by humans—that generates seismic waves.

Earthquakes are caused mostly by rupture of geological faults but also by other

events such as volcanic activity, landslides, mine blasts, and nuclear tests. An

earthquake's point of initial rupture is called its hypocenter or focus. The epicenter

is the point at ground level directly above the hypocenter.

Tectonic earthquakes occur anywhere in the earth where there is sufficient stored

elastic strain energy to drive fracture propagation along a fault plane. The sides of

a fault move past each other smoothly and aseismically only if there are no

irregularities or asperities along the fault surface that increase the frictional

resistance. Most fault surfaces do have such asperities, which leads to a form of

stick-slip behavior. Once the fault has locked, continued relative motion between

the plates leads to increasing stress and therefore, stored strain energy in the

volume around the fault surface.

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BACKGROUND & REVIEW

The impact of earthquakes events was summarized using two methods, a historical

review of earthquake events, and a systematic literature review for publications

relating to the human impacts of earthquakes with a focus on mortality, injury, and

displacement.

Kurdistan Magnitude 7.2 earthquake hits Kurdistan, at least 6 people died Baxtiyar

Goran Baxtiyar Goran [November 12-2017 ] 09:40 PM Magnitude 7.2

earthquake hits Kurdistan, at least 6 people died ERBIL, Kurdistan Region

(Kurdistan 24) – A 7.3 magnitude earthquake hit the Kurdistan Region cities where

the strongest recorded in the province of Sulaimani.

A strong earthquake on Sunday at 9:15 PM (local time) hit several areas in the

Kurdistan Region and the region. The earthquake was felt in Erbil, Sulaimani,

Kirkuk, Halabja and Duhok provinces.

The earthquake was also widely felt in many Kurdish areas in Iran, Turkey, and

Syria.

9:30 PM Eyewitnesses in the town of Kore, in Erbil province, told Kurdistan 24

that two people have died as a result of house collapse.

10:00 PM 16 people have been hospitalized in the city of Khanaqin.

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11:05 PM reporter in Garmiyan area southern Sulaimani stated that one child had

been killed in the district of Kalar due to the earthquake.

11:09 PM the Director of Meteorological and Seismic Monitoring Department in

Erbil stated that first earthquake with magnitude 4.5 hit the Kurdistan Region cities

on the Iranian border.

At 9:18, the second earthquake with a magnitude of 7.2 hit all Kurdistan Region

cities, which was the strongest that the Region has felt that last for seven seconds.

The third earthquake that hit Kurdistan Region was magnitude 4.6.

11:13 PM Four people slightly wounded in the city of Sulaimani due to the

earthquake that lasted more than 15 seconds. No death tolls reported, but there

were some property damages in Sulaimani, Kurdistan 24 said.

11:27 PM Head of Erbil Emergency Hospital told Kurdistan 24 that at least seven

people had been hospitalized with minor injuries, but after receiving medical

treatment left the hospital.

11:39 PM Due to the collapse of several houses in the town of Derbandikhan, four

people have been killed and 105 others wounded, a Kurdistan 24 reporter said.

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Director of Sulaimani Health Directorate confirmed the deaths, stating that 25 of

the wounded people were en route to receive treatment in Sulaimani hospitals. He

added that there are 30 medical teams are ready to treat the wounded people.

Figure1.1: Earthquake in Iran to Kurdistan.

Figure1.2: Destroyed home, car and some things reason earthquake.

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METHODS

Considerable work has been done in seismology to explain the characteristics of

the recorded ground motions in earthquakes. Such knowledge is needed to predict

ground motions in future earthquakes so that earthquake-resistant structures can be

designed. Although earthquakes cause death and destruction through such

secondary effects as landslides, tsunamis, fires, and fault rupture, the greatest

losses—both of lives and of property—result from the collapse of man-made

structures during the violent shaking of the ground. Accordingly, the most effective

way to mitigate the damage of earthquakes from an engineering standpoint is to

design and construct structures capable of withstanding strong ground motions.

What are the types of earthquakes?

1. Tectonic Earthquake: The earth crust is made up of unevenly shaped slab

of rocks called tectonic plates. The energy stored here causes the tectonic

plates to move towards away or push against each other. With time the

stored energy and the movement of the tectonic plates build up the enormous

pressure within the region between two plates. That intense pressure

becomes the cause of the fault line( Like San Andrea Fault line), and plates

move over against or apart from each other. The center point of this

disturbance is known as the focus of an earthquake. From the focus, waves

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of energy traveled towards

the surface, shaking the

surface within. The point the

surface directly above the


Figure1.3: Tectonic Earthquake
focus is called the epicenter.

From the epicenter of an earthquake, the energy waves traveled in a different

direction on the earth surface causes vigorous movement on the surface of

the earth which is known as an earthquake.

2. Volcanic earthquake: Earthquake-related to

the volcanic activity are called a volcanic

earthquake the magnitude of these quakes is

usually weak. There are two types of

volcanic earthquakes, which are:


Figure1.4: Volcanic earthquake.

a) Long-period earthquake: A long period earthquake occurs while the

injection of magma into the surrounding rocks.

These all happen due to the pressure changes

among the layers of the earth. These types of

volcanic activity indicate the eruption of the

volcano in the near future. Seismograph


Figure1.5: Long-period earthquake

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records these reading, and before the actual eruption of the volcano, we can

easily take preventive measures. So that local people can become aware of

the eruption of the volcano. Figure1.6: Volcano-tectonic earthquake

b) Volcano-tectonic earthquake: The

tremors happen due to injection or

withdrawal of Magma between the

stressed rocks is called a volcano-

tectonic earthquake. The movements

of the molten magma cause mostly volcanic earthquake directly underneath

a volcano. In these types of the earthquake, magma exerts the pressure on

the tectonic plates until this magma breaks the rocks. During these cracks,

tremors occur. These earthquakes are so weak that only can be measured by

sensitive instruments. After the breakdown of rocks, magma starts flowing

towards the surface of the earth. After that, rocks have to fill up space where

magma is no longer available. During filling the space, tremors happen of

very low magnitude.

3. Collapse earthquake these earthquakes are of weak magnitude earthquakes

happen in the caverns and mines. Sometimes, underground blasts (Rock

breaking) in the mines become the cause of the collapsing of mines and

collapsing of mines produces seismic waves.


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THEORY

Some database of significant earthquakes between 1980 and 2009 was created.

Four publically available data sources were used to create the most complete

possible listing of events, allow for inclusion of both human and geophysical

factors, and enable cross checking. The two primary sources were the Centre for

Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters International Disaster Database (CRED

EM-DAT) 7 and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National

Geophysical Data Center (NOAA-NGDC) Significant Earthquakes Database 8.

Earthquakes included in EM-DAT met one or more of the following criteria: ≥10

deaths; ≥ 100 affected; declaration of a state of emergency; or a call for

international assistance. Earthquakes included in the NOAA-NGDC database met

one of the following criteria: ≥10 deaths; moderate damage (US$ 1 million or

more); magnitude ≥7.5; Modified Mercalli Intensity X or greater; or the earthquake

generated a tsunami.

All events reported by EM-DAT were retained (n=706), and zeroes were converted

to missing values for injury, homeless, and affected measures; for deaths and total

affected, zeroes were converted to missing values only when no other information

was reported. Earthquakes from the NOAA-NGDC database were retained if one

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of the following criteria were satisfied: magnitude ≥5.5; ≥10 deaths; or ≥100

injured (n=579).

Two additional sources, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Earthquake

Hazards Program Global Database 9 and the Northern California Earthquake Data

Center (NCEDC)10 were used to collect information on specific earthquake

characteristics (coordinates, magnitude, focal depth, additional information when

available). When available data from these sources were added for events reported

by EM-DAT and/or NOAA-NGDC; new events were added only when mortality

was reported by USGS. Earthquakes occurring in uninhabited areas that did not

cause injury or death were removed. The final list comprised 953 earthquakes

occurring between 1980 and 2009; information on mortality, injury or

displacement was reported by one or more sources in 738 events. See

http://www.jhsph.edu/refugee/publications_tools/index.html for the database of

earthquake events.

The following outcome categories were used to assess risk factors for earthquake-

related mortality: no deaths (0 deaths); low (1-9 deaths); medium (10-99 deaths);

and high (≥100 deaths). Bivariate tests for associations between mortality and the

following characteristics were performed using χ2 (categorical measures) and

ANOVA (continuous measures): decade, World Health Organization (WHO)

region, World Bank income level, gross domestic product (GDP), GINI (measure
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of income inequality), focal depth, and magnitude. All covariates were

significantly associated with earthquake mortality in the univariate analysis and

were subsequently included in a multinomial logistic regression model to assess

the adjusted odds of mortality at a given level as compared to events with no

deaths. Analyses were performed using State Statistical Software.

Figure1.7: Oklahoma area in 2009

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Some ways to Prevent Earthquake Damage before It’s Too Late:

1. Anchor Your Home to Its Foundation:

If your house is not anchored to its concrete

foundation, earthquake loads can cause it to

slide off. The implications of this can be

severe, as the movement may rupture gas lines

and start fires, and the structural damage may

be grave enough to warrant the home’s


Figure1.8: Anchor Building foundation

demolition. If your home has a raised floor foundation, normally, the joists of your

lowest floor will either be supported by a cripple wall, or rest directly on the sill

plate. To determine if your home’s frame is secured to the foundation, head down

to the crawl space and look for the heads of anchor bolts installed along the sill

plate. If the house is built on a slab-on-grade foundation, you will not have a crawl

space, but an unfinished garage should give you visual access to the anchor bolts.

If you find no evidence of anchors, holes will have to be drilled through the sill

plate and concrete to install them. If there is not enough space for drilling, steel

plates or retrofit foundation plates have to be used to fasten the sill down to the

concrete.

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2. Brace the Cripple Wall: If you have a crawl space, there is a chance it

contains a cripple wall. These walls support the weight of the entire house and

require strong lateral reinforcement to resist seismic loads. Unbraced cripple walls

may buckle during earthquakes, causing the structure above to shift or collapse.

Failures of this nature are a common cause of earthquake damage. Adequately

braced cripple walls have plywood or diagonal sheathing nailed to their studs,

which makes them shear walls by definition. If your cripple walls are not braced in

this manner, rectify the situation as soon as possible. A structural engineer will

consider all variables to design a strong, yet economical bracing system for your

cripple walls.

3. Hillside Home: Down-slope hillside houses suffer massive damage during

earthquakes. Those supported by columns and concrete pads, known as stilt homes,

are notably vulnerable. During seismic activity, their diagonal tension bracing

stretches and weakens, allowing the earthquake’s forces to detach the home from

its foundation. Homes with stepped foundations have their own seismic flaws. The

shear panels that brace their cripple walls are stepped along with the footing, with

the shortest panel at the top of the slope. Stepped shear panels cannot resist lateral

loads in unison; instead, the shortest segment absorbs the entire load until it fails.

The next shortest panel follows suit, and so on, until the house collapses.

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CONCLUSION

Earthquakes shake the ground surface, can cause buildings to collapse, disrupt

transport and services, and can cause fires. They can trigger landslides and

tsunami. Earthquakes occur mainly as a result of plate tectonics, which involves

blocks of the Earth moving about the Earth's surface. The blocks of rock move past

each other along a fault. Smaller earthquakes, called foreshocks, may precede the

main earthquake, and aftershocks may occur after the main earthquake.

Earthquakes are mainly confined to specific areas of the Earth known as seismic

zones, which coincide mainly with ocean trenches, mid-ocean ridges, and

mountain ranges.

Earthquake engineering is a multi-phased process that ranges from the description

of earthquake sources, to characterization of side effects and structural response,

and to description of measures of seismic protection. Our current research includes

occurrence modeling, geophysical modeling, ground-motion modeling, stochastic

and nonlinear dynamic analysis, and design and experimentation. Components of

these studies pertain to the individual phases but also, and perhaps more

importantly, to aspects that incorporate some or all of the phases of earthquake

engineering.

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REFERENCE

1. https://www.longdom.org/abstract/earthquakes-can-be-predicted-

40835.html?fbclid

2. https://www.britannica.com/science/earthquake-geology

3. http://currents.plos.org/disasters/index.html%3Fp=6639.html?fbclid

4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthquake?fbclid

5. http://currents.plos.org/disasters/index.html%3Fp=6639.html?fbclid

6. https://designeverest.com/blog/prevent-earthquake-damage/?fbclid

7. https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/a19da57a-d83c-4ad5-b5fb-

54a43277f3de?fbclid

8. https://www.open.edu/openlearn/science-maths-

technology/geology/earthquakes/content-section-5#:~:text

9. https://cee.stanford.edu/programs/structural-engineering-

geomechanics/research-areas/earthquake-engineering

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