Earthquak

e Hazards
Prepared by Mariel
Manansala / GAS2
 Earthquake hazard is
What is anything associated with
Earthquak an earthquake that may
e Hazard? affect the normal
activities of people. This
includes Ground
Shaking, Tsunami,
Landslides and
Rockfalls, Subsidence
and Lateral Spreading,
and liquefaction.
 Ground Shaking
If an earthquake generates a
large enough shaking intensity,
structures like buildings,
bridges and dams can be
severley damaged, and cliffs
and sloping ground
destabilised. stacked objects
may fall and injure or bury
anyone close by.
1 Topography
3 Factors
2 Bedrock Type
Groundshaking
Location and will vary over an
3 area due to such
Orientation of the fault factors as:
rupture.
These all affect the way
the seismic waves travel
through the ground.
 Tsunami
Hazards
A tsunami is a series of waves or surges
most commonly caused by an
earthquake beneath the sea floor.
Tsunamis can cause great loss of life
and property damage in coastal areas.
Very large tsunamis can cause damage
to coastal regions thousands of miles
away from the earthquake that caused
A number of waves may be
produced and they can travel
long distances at high speeds
to flood far-off shores. The
height of a tsunami varies and
may be affected by the sea
floor depth and shape, and
other factors. New Zealand is
susceptible to tsunamis
originating from distance
sources around the Pacific
Ring of Fire as well as from
very close to our coastline.
Near source tsunamis will
Large earthquakes may
generate tsunami waves
in enclosed water
bodies such as lakes. In
New Zealand there are
large lakes that could
be affected, for
example Lakes
Wakatipu and Wanaka
that are near to the
Alpine Fault.
 Subsidence, or
lowering of the ground
surface, often occurs
during earthquakes.
Subsidence can also occur as
ground shaking causes loose
sediments to “settle’ and to lose
their load bearing strength (see
liquefaction, below) or to slump
down sloping ground (see
Landslides and Rockfalls).
 Lateral spreading
occurs where sloping
ground starts to
move downhill,
causing cracks to
open up, that are
often seen along hill
crests and river
banks.
 Liquefaction
Liquefaction occurs when
waterlogged sediments are
agitated by seismic shaking.
This separates the grains from
each other, reducing their load
bearing capacity. Buildings and
other structures can sink down
into the ground or tilt over,
whilst underground pipes and
tanks may rise up to the surface.
When the vibrations stop the
sediments settle down again,
squeezing groundwater out of
fissures and holes in the ground
to cause flooding. The aftermath
of liquefaction can leave large
areas covered in a deep layer of
mud.
Thank you!