Disaster Readiness and Risk Reduction

EARTHQUAKE
HAZARD
presented by group 1
 What can you tell
from the pictures?

What do you think

caused this?
EARTHQUAKE
- An earthquake is a feeble shaking to violent
trembling of the ground produced by the sudden
displacement of rocks or rock materials below the
earth’s surface.

2 types of Earthquakes:
• Tectonic earthquakes are those generated by the sudden
displacement along faults in the solid and rigid layer of the
earth.

• Earthquakes induced by rising lava or magma beneath

active volcanoes are called volcanic earthquakes.
 Tectonic
Earthquake

Volcanic
Earthquake
FAULT
• Refers to a fracture, fissure or a zone of
weakness where movement or displacement
has occurred or may occur again;
ACTIVE FAULT
• A fault is said to be “active fault” if it has historical and
contemporary seismicity, has evidence of fault slip based
on displaced rocks or soil units of known age and
displaced landforms;

• An active fault is defined as a fault which has moved

within the last 10,000 years.
EARTHQUAKE HAZARDS
• Earthquake hazard is anything associated with an
earthquake that may affect the normal activities of people.

This includes:
• Ground shaking, 
• Ground Rupture,
• Liquefaction, 
• Earthquake-induced land
subsidence, 
• Tsunamis, and 
• Earthquake-induced landslides.
Ground Shaking
• Ground shaking or vibration is what we feel when energy
built up by the application of stress to the lithosphere is
released by faulting during an earthquake.

How earthquake vibrations

are generated?

• Most natural earthquakes

are caused by sudden
slippage along a fault
zone.
Elastic Rebound Theory
• The elastic rebound theory
suggests that elastic strain
energy builds up in the
deforming rocks on either side
of the fault until it overcomes
the resistance posed by any
irregularity on the fault plane.
HOW DO SEISMIC WAVES SHAKE THE GROUND?

• 2 main types of seismic waves, each of which shake the ground

differently.

• P (Primary) S (Secondary) waves are called body waves as these

travel in the rocks below the surface of the Earth.
HOW DO SEISMIC WAVES SHAKE THE GROUND?

• P and S waves radiate out from the rupturing fault, upon

reaching the Earth’s surface, these are converted to surface
waves that travel outside the epicenter.
Compressional wave

Shear wave
Ground Rupture
• The lithosphere breaks when its strength is overcome by the
large amount of stress applied. This breaking happens in much
the same way a piece of rock does when struck hard enough
with a hammer.
Factors Affecting Ground Ruptures

• Type of fault movement (reverse, normal or strike-slip) and

Inclination of the fault plane.

• Depth and nature of sedimentary materials underlying

bedrock faults.

• Well established active faults.

• Ground rupture length.

How to minimize the effects of Ground Rupture?

• Sound engineering and construction practice may be

adopted to prevent total destruction.

• Avoidance of active fault traces and deformation zones

when planning any construction.
LIQUEFACTION
• The process of liquefaction turns the ground into a
material with quicksand-like consistency, messing up
extensive areas including many cities.
LIQUEFACTION
When does Liquefaction occur?
• When the ground shakes, some areas especially those made of
wet fine sand are subjected to liquefaction.

• This happened in Dagupan during the 1990 Luzon earthquake

which, at magnitude 7.9 was strong enough to cause liquefaction
(it only takes magnitude 5.0 for one to be triggered).

• Flow failure
Types of • Lateral spreads
Liquefaction • Ground oscillation
Features: • Loss of bearing strength
• Settlement
FLOW FAILURE LATERAL SPREADS

GROUND OSCILLATION
LOSS of BEARING STRENGTH

SETTLEMENT
How to Mitigate?
Areas and deposits prone to Liquefaction
• Seismically induced liquefaction ordinarily occurs in areas
underlain by layers of loose, well sorted, water-saturated sand
and silty sand within 30 meters of sediments of considerable
thickness where water table is close to the surface.

• The closer the water table to the surface, the higher the
susceptibility of liquefaction.
• The younger a sediment deposit, the greater is its susceptibility
to liquefaction. Dense sediments and well-compacted fills are
less susceptible to liquefaction.

• Deposits which had been subjected to liquefaction can liquefy

again.
EARTHQUAKE INDUCED LANDSLIDES
• Slopes are prone to widespread failure during earthquakes
because of the sudden shaking of hilly and mountainous
areas.
• Effects
TSUNAMI
• Tsunami- sea waves resulting from the disturbance of ocean
floor by an earthquake; is a series of giant sea waves
commonly generated by under-the-sea earthquakes and whose
heights could be greater than 5 meters.

Tsunami vs Storm Surge

• A tsunami is a Japanese word meaning “harbor waves”. A tsunami is
commonly generated by disturbances associated with earthquakes
occurring below or near the ocean floor.

• It occurs when the earthquake is shallow-seated and strong enough to

displace parts of the seabed and disturb the mass of water over it. In
addition, underwater volcanic eruptions and landslides can also
generate a tsunami.
2 Kinds of TSUNAMI
• There are two types of tsunami generation:
• local tsunami
• far field or distant tsunami.

• 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.

1. Landslide
Causes of 2. Volcanic eruptions or Explosion
Tsunami 3. Meteorite Impact
Local Tsunami
• Local tsunamis are confined to coasts within a hundred kilometers of the
source usually earthquakes and a landslide or a pyroclastic flow.
• It can reach the shoreline within 2 to 5 minutes

Far Field or Distant Tsunami

• Far field or distant tsunamis can travel from 1 to 24 hours before
reaching the coast of the nearby countries.

• PTWC (Pacific Tsunami Warning Center) and NWPTAC (Northwest

Pacific Tsunami Advisory Center) are the responsible agencies that
closely monitor Pacific-wide tsunami event and send tsunami warning to
the countries around the Pacific Ocean.
Tsunami Generation
• A tsunami may occur when ocean water is displaced suddenly
causing the formation of waves that reach the shore in large
heights.
• The movement of an offshore fault during an earthquake may
trigger displacement of ocean water if accompanied by an uplift
of the seabed.
Tsunami Propagation
• The displaced water forms a tsunami wave that can travel thousands of
kilometers before it reaches land.

Ex. A tsunami generated from South American coast, may reach the eastern
coast of the Philippines in just hours of travel across the Pacific ocean.

• During the deep ocean propagation stage, the wave height is small
(about 1 meter) compared to the wavelength and the ocean depth.

• The wavelength is typically 200 km which is far larger than the

wavelength of a wind generated wave. This makes propagating
tsunami waves unnoticeable by passing ships in deep oceans.
Tsunami Propagation

The speed of propagation of a tsunami is expressed as:

v = (gd)1/2

Where d is the depth of the ocean, and g is the force of

gravity.
Volcanic Eruption

Meteorite Impact