Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education
Region 02 (Cagayan Valley)
Schools Division Office of Isabela
SALINUNGAN NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
Ramones St., Salinungan West, San Mateo, Isabela 3318
 salinungan.nhs@gmail.com

COMPILATION
OF
GEOLOGIC
HAZARDS
Crystal Joy B. Torres
Subject Teacher

Gonzales, Junes Gil C.

Pineda, Gold Win L.
Geological Hazard
Geologic hazards are events which occur irregularly in time and space and cause
negative impact on man and the environment. These events involve the energy
transformation of masses of soil, rocks, the lithosphere and water in various
combinations and conditions. Their non-rhythmic occurrence makes their
predictability difficult. An important characteristic of many geologic hazards is their
primeland preference (Guillermo R. Balce and Emmanuel G. Ramos, 2016).

1. Earthquakes- an earthquake happens when two tectonic plates slip pass one
another or collide at each other. It is also the result of sudden release of energy in the
earth’s crust that creates seismic waves. There are different parts of earthquakes. The
upper part where they slip is called the fault or fault plane while the bottom part of the
earth’s surface where the earthquake starts is called the hypocenter and epicenter is
located directly above the hypocenter.

CAUSES OF EARTHQUAKE

A. Faults - is a break of fracture between two blocks of rocks in response to stress.

CLASSIFICATION OF FAULTS

 Normal Fault - a kind of fault in which the block above the fault moved
downward relative to the block below.
 Thrust (reverse) Fault – a kind of fault in which the block above the fault
moves up and over the lower block.
 Strike-slip Fault
a. Left-lateral strike-slip fault – it is where the displacement of the far
block is to the left when viewed from either side.
b. Right-lateral strike-slip fault – it is where the displacement of the far
block is to the right when viewed from either side.

B. Surface – these are activities that occurs in the surface such as landslides, dashing
of sea waves, avalanches and some of them are man-made, other are natural.

TYPES OF EARTHQUAKES

A. Volcanic – earthquakes are produced when volcano erupts. They are caused by
sudden displacements of lava within or beneath the earth crust.
 Volcano-tectonic earthquake – it is caused by withdrawal or injection of
magma between the stressed rocks.
 Long period earthquakes -

B. Tectonic – it occurs at plate tectonic boundaries. The earth crust is made up of

different sizes of slab of rocks which is called tectonic plates. The energy stored
here causes them to move towards or push against each other.

C. Collapse Earthquake – this usually happen in the caverns and mines though
these earthquakes have weak magnitude.
Earthquake Effects and Hazards They Cause

A. Ground Shaking – it is the vibration of the ground caused by seismic waves

during an earthquake.
 P waves or sound waves – it is the first wave to reach the earth’s surface.
 S waves or shear waves – most damaging wave, it travels near the earth’s
surface and causes the earth to move at right angles to the direction of the
wave.
 The third and fourth types are slow low frequency surface waves.

B. Surface Faulting – it is where the ground surface are being teared or offset.
This effect is generally associated with Richter magnitudes of 5.5 or greater and is
restricted particularly earthquake-prone areas.

Earthquake-Induced Ground Fialure: Landslides and Liquefaction-

Earthquake-induced landslides occur under a broad range of conditions: in steeply
sloping to nearly flat land; in bedrock, unconsolidated sediments, fill, and mine
dumps; under dry and very wet conditions. The principal criteria for classifying
landslides are types of movement and types of material. The types of landslide
movement that can occur are falls, slides, spreads, flows, and combinations of these.
Materials are classified as bedrock and engineering soils, with the latter subdivided
into debris (mixed particle size) and earth (fine particle size) (Campbell, 1984).
 Rock Avalanches: Rock avalanches originate on over-steepened slopes in weak
rocks. They are uncommon but can be catastrophic when they occur.
 Rock Falls: Rock falls occur most commonly in closely jointed or weakly
cemented materials on slopes steeper than 40 degrees. While individual rock falls
cause relatively few deaths and limited damage, collectively, they rank as a major
earthquake-induced hazard because they are so frequent.
 Mud Flows: Mud flows are rapidly moving wet earth flows that can be initiated
by earthquake shaking or a heavy rainstorm. the term “Mud Flow’ often used to
designate the phenomena associated with earthquake shaking. The term
"mudflow," in keeping with common practice, is used as a synonym for "lahar," a
phenomenon associated with volcanoes.

2. Tsunamis- a tsunami starts from a sudden displacement of water they can reach
speeds of up to 800 km/h, grow to over 30 m in height a tsunami is a long high sea
wall or wave caused by the following
Causes of Tsunamis
i. Earthquakes (Tectonic Plates)- if the earthquake occurs under water,
this up and down movement pushes the water out from the epicenter,
which then becomes a tsunami.
ii. Under water landslides- Tsunamis can be caused by both landslides
both on land (terrestrial) and under the sea (marine), though tsunamis
caused by terrestrial landslides tend to be in lakes and therefore cause
less damage. Underwater landslides can be much larger.
iii. Under water volcanic Eruptions- Volcanic eruptions underwater can
also cause tsunamis. In these cases, the force of the explosions (when
 magma mixes with water, steam explosions occur), volume of rock
erupted and associated earthquakes can all cause tsunamis. The blast
can also cause parts of the volcano itself to collapse. This collapsed
material can fall into lakes, causing tsunamis.

3. Volcanic Eruption
It is the force of expanding gases pushes the magma from the magma chamber
through the pipe until it flows or explodes out of the vent.
Volcano- It is a place on earth’s surface or in other planet where molten rocks and gases are
erupted. A volcano is a hill or mountain built up by the eruption of molten rocks.
Reason why volcanoes erupt;
-By comparing magma from different eruptions, scientists have been
able to figure out why volcanoes erupt in different ways. The main factor
affecting an eruption is the composition of the magma. The amounts of water,
silica, and gas in the magma determine the type of eruption.
Two types of Eruption
 Non Explosive Eruption
-Nonexplosive volcanic eruptions are the most common type of eruption. These
eruptions produce fairly calm flows of lava. The lava flows over the Earth’s surface.
Nonexplosive eruptions do not produce very much ash or dust, but they can release
huge amounts of lava.
 Explosive Eruption
-Explosive eruptions are much less common than nonexplosive eruptions. However,
explosive eruptions can be more destructive than nonexplosive eruptions. During an
explosive eruption, clouds of hot ash, gas, and rock fragments shoot rapidly out of a
volcano. Instead of flowing calmly over the Earth’s surface, magma sprays into the air
in tiny droplets. The droplets harden to form particles called ash. The ash from an
explosive eruption can reach the upper parts of the Earth’s atmosphere. It can stay there
for years, blocking sunlight and causing the climate to get cooler.
Volcanic Hazard
 Tephra Falls and Ballistic Projectiles
-Tephra includes all sizeps of rock fragments and lava blobs ejected into the
atmosphere by the force of an eruption which accumulate to form deposits as the
airborne materials fall back to earth. These larger fragments, hurled with great force
from the volcano, are considered ballistic projectiles. These larger fragments, hurled
with great force from the volcano, are considered ballistic projectiles.
 Phyroclastic Phenomena
a) Pyroclastic Flows-Pyroclastic flows are masses of hot, dry pyroclastic
material and hot gases that move rapidly along the ground surface. Pyroclastic
flows consist of two parts: a basal flow, which is the pyroclastic flow proper,
and an overriding turbulent ash cloud that includes both hot pyroclastic surges
and towering columns of ash.
b) Pyroclastic Surges-Pyroclastic surges are turbulent, low-density clouds of
gases and rock debris that move above the ground surface at high speed. They
are generally associated with pyroclastic flows, but because of their greater
mobility they affect broader areas.
 c) Laterally Directed Blasts-Laterally directed blasts are among the most
destructive of volcanic hazards. They occur within a period of a few minutes,
without warning, and can affect hundreds of square kilometers. 

 Lahars and Floods

-A lahar (or mudflow) is a flowing slurry of volcanic debris and water that originates
on a volcano. The eruption of a snow-covered volcano can melt enough snow to cause
a lahar. Similarly, an eruption in a crater lake can cause a flood which becomes a
lahar as it entrains rock and eroded earth from the slopes of the volcano.
 Lava Flows and Domes
-Fluid lava forms long thin flows on slopes and flat-topped lava lakes in flat areas and
topographic depressions, while viscous lava forms short stubby flows on slopes and
steep-sided domes around their vents. A volcanic dome is formed when lava extruded
from a vent is too viscous to flow more than a few tens or hundreds of meters so that
movement is principally upwards towards the center of the dome. 

4. Floods
-Flood situations are variable and can occur as a result of spring snowmelt, severe
thunderstorms, prolonged rains, inadequate drainage or failure of levees and dams.
-Flash floods occur within six hours of a rain event, or after a dam or levee failure, or
following a sudden release of water held by an ice or debris jam, and flash floods can
catch people unprepared.