EARTHQUAKE

FOCUS – point inside the Earth where the earthquake started.

- also called e hypocenter

EPICENTER – point on the surface of the Earth directly above the focus.

* 2 WAYS OF MEASURING THE STRENGTH OF EQ *

MAGNITUDE - proportional to the energy released by an earthquake at the focus.

- calculated from earthquakes recorded by an instrument called seismograph.
- represented by Arabic Numbers (e.g. 4.8, 9.0).

INTENSITY - strength of an earthquake as perceived and felt by people in a certain locality.

- numerical rating based on the relative effects to people, objects, environment, etc.
- generally higher near the epicenter
- represented by Roman Numerals (e.g. II, IV, IX )

* IN PH, the intensity of an earthquake is determined using the PHIVOLCS Earthquake Intensity
Scale (PEIS) *

* 2 TYPES OF EQ *

TECTONIC- generated by the sudden displacement along faults in the solid and rigid layer of the
Earth.

VOLCANIC - induced by rising lava or magma beneath active volcanoes.

* EQ HAZARDS *

1. Ground shaking – disruptive up-down & sideways movement or motion experienced during
an earthquake.
- caused by passage of seismic waves, forms of energy that travel through
the diff layers of Earth caused by vibration or movement.

2. Ground rupture – earthquake movement along a fault actually breaks the Earth’ s surface.
Slowly, the ground cracks and eventually breaks apart.
* zones of weaknesses- fault rupture follows preexisting faults
- structures that are built exactly on the fault or along the span of the fault are likely to
experience severe damage and thus have higher disaster risks.

3. Liquefaction - transforms the behavior of a body of sediments from that of a solid to that of
a liquid when subjected to extremely intense shaking.
4. Earthquake-induced ground subsidence - lowering of land due to various causes, one of
which is the earthquake on a fault line.
5. Earthquake-induced landslide - mountains are shaken during an earthquake, mass
migration of these materials, termed as landslide.
VOLCANIC HAZARDS MAPS

6. TSUNAMI- japanese word = harbor wave

- erroneously called tidal waves
- The abrupt impact on the ocean floor can cause giant waves on the surface of water to pick up
speed that may exceed 500 miles per hour.
-The height and strength of the waves depend on the duration and intensity of ground
movement under the water.

STORM SURGES – increase in wave heights associated or during typhoons (when there are strong
winds) or tropical cyclones
- (wind-generated waves on the surface of the sea) are not tsunamis.

* 2 TYPES OF TSUNAMI GEN*

- The coastal areas in the Philippines especially those facing the Pacific Ocean, South China Sea,
Sulu Sea, and Celebes Sea can be affected by tsunamis that may be generated by local
earthquakes.

LOCAL TSUNAMIS- confined to coasts within a hundred kilometers of the source usually
earthquakes and a landslide or a pyroclastic flow.
- can reach the shoreline within 2 to 5 minutes.

FAR FIELD/ DISTANT TSUNAMIS- 1 to 24 hours before reaching the coast of the nearby
countries.
- These tsunamis mainly coming from the countries bordering Pacific Ocean like Chile, Alaska in
USA, and Japan.

Responsible agencies that closely monitor Pacific-wide tsunami event and send tsunami warning to
the countries around the Pacific Ocean are:

1. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC)

2.Northwest Pacific Tsunami Advisory Center (NWPTAC)
VOLCANIC HAZARDS MAPS

* Earthquake Hazard Maps *

Hazard Maps People and properties are affected by earthquake due to any or a combination of
the following:
• unsafe location
• poor construction
• people do not believe or know that they be affected
• people do not know how they can be affected, people do not know what to do
• there is lack of timely and proper response

HAZARD MAPS- maps that show different hazards that may affect a certain area.

GROUND SHAKING HAZARD MAP- For EQ, maps that distribution of earthquake shaking
levels that have a certain probability of occurring.

GROUND RUPTURE HAZARD MAP- shows areas wherein faults cut across.
- maps for liquefaction, earthquake induced landslide and tsunami

A hazard map has the following basic parts:

7. Map Title (tells you what the map is all about)
8. Legend (details of what each symbol means)
9. Scale (helps determine distances)

- Earthquake hazard maps are available in your community’s

Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council. You can also access online the DOST-
PHIVOLCS site and DENR-MGB site.

Volcano – a hill, mountain or fissure from which molten or hot rocks with gaseous materials are
ejected. The term also applies to a crater formed by removal of pre-existing materials, or hill or
mountain formed by accumulation of ejected materials.

Volcanic hazards- are volcano-related phenomena that pose potential threat or negative impact to
life, property, and the environment in a given period of time.

* Volcanic hazards common in Philippine active volcanoes. *

10. LAHAR – indonesian term for the mixture of = water, pyroclastic materials, and rock
fragments flowing down a volcano or river valley.
-powerful enough to remove or carry away trees, boulders, and logs
VOLCANIC HAZARDS MAPS

- can occur immediately after an eruption or can become long-term problem if there is
voluminous pyroclastic materials erupted

11. ASHFALL/ TEPHRA FALL- a shower of fine-to-coarse grained volcanic material and
other airborne products of a volcanic eruption.

12. PYROCLASTIC FLOW- fast-moving fluidized mass of rock fragments and gases. When
pyroclastic flow travels down a volcano, it maintains a very high temperature, burning
everything in its path.
- some pyroclastic flows had temperatures of about 750oC.

13. VOLCANIC GASES- include

• water vapor
• carbon dioxide
• hydrogen sulfide
• sulfur dioxide
• carbon monoxide
• hydrogen chloride
• hydrogen fluoride
- Minor amounts of nitrogen, methane, argon, and helium can also be degassed from magma.

14. LAVA FLOW- molten rock that pours down from the slopes of the volcano
- different from pyroclastic in that lava flow is denser and moves more slowly.

15. DEBRIS AVALANCHE/ VOLCANIC LANDSLIDE- a massive collapse of a volcano,

usually triggered by an earthquake or volcanic eruption.
- can travel large distances and can wipe out everything in their paths.

16. BALLISTIC PROJECTILE- rock fragment that is ejected from a volcano during its
explosive eruption. It is like a cannonball that travels fast in the air.
- volcanic projectiles can be bombs or blocks
If the projectile or rock fragments is solid when ejected, it is considered a block
If it is launched in a partially molten or molten state, it is a bomb.

17. VOLCANIC TSUNAMI – occurs in caldera lakes when water is displaced by deformation
of the lake floor caused by rising magma or the entry of pyroclastic density currents (PDCs) or
landslides into the lake, or in seas when water is displaced by PDCs or debris avalanches from
volcanoes.

* Instruments to monitor the different parameters *

Parameter #1 – Ground Deformation
Observe: Some subtle (in millimeters) ground movements may be detected only by sensitive
instruments/ equipment.

• Electronic Distance Meter (EDM)- measures accurately to millimeter changes on ground (if the
slope for the volcano swells).
VOLCANIC HAZARDS MAPS

- a surveying instrument for measuring distance between two points through electromagnetic waves.

Parameter #2 – Geochemistry
Observe:
• Changes in temperature
• Water becomes more acidic
• Some gases, for example SO2 from levels of 100 tons/day jump to 4,000 tons/day can be an
indication of unrest

• Correlation spectrometer (COSPEC)- is used by volcanologists to examine how much SO2 is

present around the volcanoes.

Parameter #3 – Seismic Activity

Observe: Increase in number of volcanic earthquakes recorded

• Seismometer- is the equipment used to detect occurrence of volcanic earthquakes

Parameter #4 – Remote Sensing

Use of remote sensing technology or techniques as applied to volcano monitoring.
- Monitoring surface changes on a volcano from afar – using available tools such as satellite images;
advantage: less exposure on the ground for volcanologists, safer; but sometimes interpretation
needs field verification.

Parameter #5 – Sensory Observations

Observe:
• Intensified steaming activity
• What used to be white steam slowly or drastically change to gray to dark (suggests increasing
presence of ash)
• Drying up of vegetation, drying up of streams and water wells
• Crater glow at the summit area
• Increasing frequency of rolling rocks from the summit; localized landslides not related to heavy rains
• Hear rumbling sound
• Summit area appears to glow or becomes incandescent at night
• Smell of sulfur (rotten eggs)
• Ground movement/volcanic earthquake increasingly felt

* Volcanic Hazard Maps *

- In the Philippines, we use a system of Volcano Alert Signals to define the current status of each
volcano.
- The alert levels range from 0 to 5
- The alert levels are used to guide any appropriate response from the Local Government Units (LGUs).

The Permanent Danger Zone (PDZ) for volcanoes is a delineated and identified where no
permanent habitation is recommended due to the possible impact of various hazards at any time.
VOLCANIC HAZARDS MAPS

- For Mayon Volcano, the area covered within 6-km radius from the summit is delineated as the PDZ.
- As soon as Alert Level is raised from 0 to 1, it is recommended that people should not venture
within this area at any time. This is already part of the precautionary action taken by the Province
of Albay when Alert Level 1 is declared.

HAZARD MAPS- illustrate potential for ground-based volcanic impacts

– lava flows, pyroclastic flows, ashfall, volcanic gases, and more far-reaching hazards (such as lahars)
in valleys that drain the volcano (USGS).

Hazard maps are used to help understand the areas that may be affected by specific volcanic
eruption phenomena.
- shows areas that can be affected and areas that are safe.
- generated for various uses and are most useful in determining risks of living in identified
potentially hazardous areas.
- also help people to become aware of specific dangers (lava flow, pyroclastic flows, ashfall, lahars,
etc.) they might face in the event that a volcano reactivates.

OTHER GEOLOGIC HAZARDS

Rainfall-induced Landslides

Landslide also called landslip.

- a ground movement on a sloping terrain
- do not happen on flat grounds because of the angle on the ground, gravity induces the land to move
downward.

Sinkholes- are depressions or holes on the ground that resulted from the collapse of the surface
layer of the soil.
- occur in areas where the soil foundation is made of soft minerals and rocks such as limestone, salt
beds, or any acidic rocks.