Week No.

03 Impacts of Earthquakes and Case Examples

Lecture No. L-5 and 6 ARC318 : Disaster Management

Effects of Earthquake 1

Impacts of Earthquakes, Case Example of Nepal, 2015 2

Inferences from Nepal Earthquake, 2015 3

Earthquake Risk Assessment 4

Week No. 03 General Effects of Earthquake
Lecture No. L-5 and 6
LIQUEFACTION
Liquefaction is a type of ground failure that occurs when saturated soil loses all its strength and collapses or
becomes liquefied. When liquefaction takes place under buildings the foundations sink and the building collapse.
1
Areas with sandy soil and groundwater close to the
surface are far more at risk of liquefaction.
2

Collapsed apartment buildings in the Niigata area of Japan.

Week No. 03 General Effects of Earthquake
Lecture No. L-5 and 6

FLOODING
 Flooding can come from many sources such as
broken water main pipes, dams that fail and 1
tsunamis.

 Small tsunamis are capable of destroying houses 2

and uprooting trees.
3
 Also, earthquakes can alter the course of a river
and can even cause it to flow in the opposite
direction for a short time. 4
Week No. 03 General Effects of Earthquake
Lecture No. L-5 and 6

LANDSLIDES AND AVALANCHES

 Avalanches, landslides, slumps and rock slides are triggered by
ground shaking.
1
 These landslides are often more destructive than the earthquakes.
Large landslides can be triggered by earthquakes.
2
 In 1970 an earthquake off the coast of Peru produced A landslide
than began 80 miles away from the earthquake. Had A height at
3
about 100 feet), traveled at more than one-hundred miles per hour
and plowed through part of one village and annihilated another,
killing more than 18,000 people. 4
Week No. 03 General Effects of Earthquake
Lecture No. L-5 and 6

FIRES
Fires started by broken electrical and gas lines

CHEMICAL SPILLOVERS 1

Radioactive water leaks from

Fukushima nuclear power plant
(Japan, 2011)
Week No. 03 Impacts of Earthquakes, Case Example of Nepal, 2015
Lecture No. L-5 and 6

 On 25th April 2015, A deadly earthquake of 7.9 magnitude

shook Nepal and sent tremors through Indian subcontinent.

 It was also felt in northern and north-eastern part of India, 1

China, Tibet, Bangladesh and as far as Pakistan.

 Was followed by 97aftershocks of magnitudes 3.0-6.9 on Richter 2

scale. The earthquakes had its epicenter at Lumjung, around 80
km north-west of Kathmandu.
3
 Continued aftershocks occurred throughout Nepal and its
adjacent area at 15–20 minutes intervals, with one shock 4
reaching a magnitude of 6.9 on 26 April at 12:42 IST.
Week No. 03 Impacts of Earthquakes, Case Example of Nepal, 2015
Lecture No. L-5 and 6

 A second major earthquake occurred on 12 May 2015 at 12:35 IST with a magnitude of 7.3 on Richter scale.

 The epicentre was near the China border between Kathmandu and Mt. Everest, at Kodari around 113 kms
east of Kathmandu. It struck at the depth of 18.5 km. 1
 This earthquake occurred along the same fault as the original earthquake of 25 April 2015.As such, it is
considered to be an aftershock of the 25 April quake. 2

4
Week No. 03 Impacts of Earthquakes, Case Example of Nepal, 2015
Lecture No. L-5 and 6

NEPAL EARTHQUAKES AND AFTERSHOCKS (APRIL 25,

1

3
2015 ONWARDS)

4
Week No. 03 Impacts of Earthquakes, Case Example of Nepal, 2015
Lecture No. L-5 and 6
CASUALITIES
 April 25 quake left 8,699 people dead, 22,220 people injured and flattened thousands of buildings besides
destroying whole villages in affected area.
 In Nepal, Over 5, 00,000 houses were destroyed and 2, 69,000 were damaged by the earthquakes and
1
hundreds of thousands of people were still staying in temporary shelters.
 More than 8, 64,000 affected people, who lived in remote mountainous area, have lost their relatives and
houses. (UN report) 2
 In India, the majority of the deaths were reported from the northern districts bordering Nepal viz. East
Champaran district, Sitamarhi, Darbhanga, Supual, Saran, Lakhisarai, Madhubani, West Champaran, Araria and
Sheohar districts. 3
 Several buildings, most of them old, collapsed in the densely populated Kathmandu valley. Several villages,
towns, human constructions and their properties, lives were completely damaged. 4
 The poor communities of Nepal were most affected, who lost their houses and properties.
 The key reason for the very high Nepalese casualties was the construction of non-seismically engineered
buildings.
Week No. 03 Impacts of Earthquakes, Case Example of Nepal, 2015
Lecture No. L-5 and 6

Typical settlement in Kathmandu Valley

•An example of poor building stock
Week No. 03 Impacts of Earthquakes, Case Example of Nepal, 2015
Lecture No. L-5 and 6
LOSS OF HERITAGE : Kathmandu‟s Darbar
square, a UNESCO world heritage site, was
totally damaged in the quake.
Parts of the palace complex in Vasanthapura
Square were badly damaged.
1
A number of old temples, pagodas and
churches in the Kathmandu valley were 2
razed.
Several temples including Manakamana
Temple at Gorkha, Janaki Mandir at 3
Janakpur; Kasthamandap, Panchtale temple,
Basantapur Durbar, the Dasa Avtar temple
4
and the Shiva Parvati temple were
demolished. In Bhaktapur, several
monuments and Temples were totally
destroyed.
Week No. 03 Impacts of Earthquakes, Case Example of Nepal, 2015
Lecture No. L-5 and 6
COMMUNICATION LINES
 Because of poor phone network coverage the government of India and Nepal were struggling to assess the
damage on the Everest.
 At Langtang valley in Rasuwa district, a major tourist destination in Nepal, also famous for trekking, it is said that
over 100 people were killed and 120 people were injured or missing following the massive avalanche which swept
1
away the entire village in the wake of the powerful quake that hit Rasuwa district.
 Over 329 people were reported missing after an avalanche struck Ghodatabela and the Langtang villages. The 2
avalanche was estimated to be 3 kilometres wide.

TRANSPORTATION 3
 Continuous aftershocks caused a landslide on the Koshi Highway which blocked the section of the road between
Bhedetar and Mulghat. Many smaller landslides occurred in the Trishuli River Valley with reports of significant
4
damage at Mailung, Simle, and Archaleareas. As a result of landslide the transport system mainly highways was
completely damaged or blocked, which delayed relief and rescue operations.
 Landslides also blocked the river channels, sewage and other communication system in Nepal.
Week No. 03 Impacts of Earthquakes, Case Example of Nepal, 2015
Lecture No. L-5 and 6
DIRECT, INDIRECT AND LONG-TERM IMPACTS

4
Week No. 03 Inferences from Nepal Earthquake, 2015
Lecture No. L-5 and 6

 The case of Nepal clearly shows that the disastrous effect of earthquakes depend not only on its magnitude
or intensity alone, but was worsened on so many factors, elasticity, soil condition, permissible stress, rock
structure, etc., design of buildings, quality of construction, population pressure, etc.
1
Thus , Seismic Vulnerability
 Depends on type of structures (structure category) and their age 2

 Depends on land use in city (space between adjacent buildings, height of buildings etc.)
3
 Depends on month and time (buildings maybe weaker during the rainy season, and residential buildings
more fully occupied during nights) 4

 Depends on population density (impact of damage of a building to number of people)

Week No. 03 Earthquake Risk Assessment
Lecture No. L-5 and 6