12: Earthquake and

Earthquake Hazards
March 3, 2018
Earthquake
An earthquake is ground shaking caused by the sudden
and rapid movement of one block of rock, slipping past
another along fractures in Earth’s crust called faults.

It is caused when relative movement of plates or fault

blocks overcomes shear resistance of a fault.
Earthquake
An earthquake is an unpredictable event in which masses
of rock shift below earth’s surface, releasing enormous
amounts of energy and sending out shock waves that
sometimes cause the ground to shake dramatically.
Earthquake
Hypocenter/Focus – location where
slippage begins
Faults – fractures along the earth’s
crust
Epicenter - the point on earth’s
surface directly above the
hypocenter
Seismic waves – a form of energy
that causes the materials that
transmit them to shake
Earthquake
Aftershocks – earthquakes of lesser magnitude that follow stronger
earthquakes, which are the result of crust along the fault surface
adjusting to the displacement caused by the main shock.
According to USGS, around 60 aftershocks of magnitudes 4.5 – 5.9
followed the major Haitian earthquake in 2010.
Aftershocks often trigger the destruction of already weakened
structures.
Foreshocks – small earthquakes hat precede major earthquakes, usually
by days or in some cases, by several years.
Unlike aftershocks, foreshocks are not often monitored and prediction
to major earthquakes resulted only to limited successes.
Faults and earthquakes
Normal Faults
Normal faults are associated by divergent plate boundaries, mainly seafloor spreading
centers and continental rifting.
Reverse Faults
Reverse faults are associated with subduction zones and continental collisions.
Strike-slip Faults
Strike-slip faults may form transform plate boundaries.
Seismology
Seismology
SEISMOLOGY is the study of earthquake waves.
Seismology dates back in ancient China almost
2500 years ago to determine the direction from
which these waves originated.
Seismograph
Also known as seismometer, it the instrument used to record
earthquakes.
In a generalized earthquake observation, two types of
seismographs are used:
Horizontal seismograph
Vertical seismograph
Seismic waves
SEISMOGRAM – are the records obtained from
seismographs
Seismogram reveals two main types of surface waves
generated by the slippage of a rock mass:
Surface waves
Body waves
Body waves
Body Waves are seismic waves that travel through the
earth’s interior
There are two types of body waves:
Primary waves
Secondary waves
Body waves – Primary waves
Primary waves, or P-waves are the “push and pull” waves, they
momentarily push (compress) and pull (stretch) rocks in the direction of
their movement.
Body waves – Secondary waves
Secondary waves, or S-waves, “shake” the particles at right angles to their
direction of travel.
P- and S-waves
Primary waves
P-waves alternately compress and
expand the material through
which they pass
Temporarily change the volume of
intervening material by
alternatively squeezing and
stretching it
Faster travel time
Can travel through all media
Secondary waves
S-waves cause material to oscillate at
right angles to the direction of wave
motion
Change the shape of the material that
transmits them
Slower travel time
Can only travel through solid medium
Surface Waves
Surface waves are waves that travels in the rock layers
just below earth’s surface
There are two types of surface waves:
Rayleigh waves
Love waves
Rayleigh waves
Rayleigh waves cause the material and anything resting upon it to move in ellipses in
planes normal to the surface and parallel to the direction of propagation.
Love waves
Love waves cause earth’s materials to move side to side, particularly damaging to the
foundations of structures.
Earthquake Sizes
There are two variety of methods that determine
the size of an earthquake:
Intensity
Magnitude
Earthquake Intensity
INTENSITY is the measure of the amount of ground shaking at a
particular location, based on observed property damage.
MODIFIED MERCALLI INTENSITY (MMI) scale – Developed by
Italian Giuseppe Mercalli in 1902 using California building
standards.
Earthquake Magnitude
MAGNITUDE relies on data gathered from seismic records to
estimate the amount of energy released at an earthquake’s
source.
Types of magnitude scales:
Richter Magnitude Scale
Moment Magnitude Scale
Richter Magnitude Scale
The Richter scale is calculated by measuring the amplitude of the largest
seismic wave (usually an S or surface wave) recorded on a seismogram.
Developed by Charles Richter in 1935 of the California Institute of
Technology
Moment Magnitude Scale
Moment magnitude scale measures the total energy released during an
earthquake.
Moment magnitude is calculated by determining the average amount of
slip on the fault, the area of the fault surface that slopped, and the
strength of the faulted rock.
Earthquake Hazards
Destruction from Earthquake Vibration
Liquefaction
Landslides
Ground Subsidence
Fire
Tsunami
Ground shaking
Impact:
S-wave and surface waves
mainly causes horizontal
damaging motion
Ground shaking
How to reduce
effects:
1. Building codes
- First defense against
earthquake damage.
- Reduce damage and
loss of life
Ground shaking
How to reduce effects:
2. Seismic zoning
-Particular regions exist with different
horizontal acceleration due to soil
properties.
- Base shear acceleration is expressed
as a percentage of the acceleration
due to gravity.
- A fraction of g in horizontal direction
causes the buildings to separate from
their foundations
Ground shaking
How to reduce effects:
3. Seismic joints and
frames to foundation
- Diagonal bracing and
blocking provides shear
resistance.
- Bolting frames help to
mitigate shearing force
damage.
- L-shaped structures
reduce damage at the
joint.
Landslides
Impact:
Hundred of
landslides may be
triggered by an
earthquake in a
slide-prone area.
Fire
Impact: Reducing effect:
Caused by ruptured gas lines Cutting off supply line
or fallen electric power immediately after an
lines. earthquake.
Water mains may also break
due to earthquake, thus the
difficulty accessing fire-
fighting equipment.
Tsunami
Tsunamis are large ocean waves occasionally set in motion by
major undersea earthquake events

Tsunami came from the Japanese word for “harbor wave”.

Often mistaken to consist of moving water, but energy from a

nearby tectonic activity or submarine landslide.
Regular waves derive energy from wind.
Tsunami
Once generated, a tsunami resembles a series of ripples formed when a
pebble is dropped to the ground.
Speeds – usually around 800 kph.
A tsunami in the open ocean can pass undetected because of its
height/amplitude is less than a meter.
Upon entering shallow coastal waters, these waves began to pile up, with
heights up to 30 meters.
The first warning of an approaching tsunami is often the rapid withdrawal
of water from the beaches.