EARTHQUAKES

Earthquake
• Earthquake is a phenomenon during the occurrence of
which the earth’s crust is set shaking for a period of time.
The shaking is caused by the passage through the earth
of seismic waves- low frequency sound waves that are
emanated from a point in the earth’s interior where a
sudden rapid motion has taken place.
• Seismology: It is the study of earthquakes.
• Greek meaning Seio- shake
Seismos- an earthquake
• The earth is continually undergoing deformation
due to stresses that are set up within it. If the
stresses continue to build up over a long time
fracture may take place, resulting in an
earthquake.

• This involves a sudden release of energy, part of

which takes the form of elastic waves which
travel through the earth.
 The Nature of Earthquakes

• When a stone is thrown into a pool, a series of waves

spreads through the water in all directions.

• Similarly, when rocks are suddenly disturbed, vibrations

spread out in all direction from the source of the
disturbance, e.g. when hammering a large boulder of
rock.

• An earthquake is the passage of these vibrations. In the

neighborhood of the disturbance itself the shaking of the
ground can be felt and the effects may be catastrophic
but farther away the tremors die away.
• Earthquake occurs during sudden
movements along faults. During long
periods of slow deformation, elastic strain
builds up between the rock bodies on
opposite sides of a fault.
• Slip along the fault is prevented by friction
until a threshold of strain is exceeded.
• Then the rocks snap past each other along
the fault to release some of the stored
energy.
• Most earthquakes occur along plate
boundaries. As the plate moves, these
boundaries, spreading centres, subduction
zones will be the sites of the most intense
earthquake activity on Earth.
Causes of Earthquake
• Earthquake originate due to various
reasons and they can be broadly grouped
into two categories
– Tectonic causes and
– Non-Tectonic causes
• Tectonic Causes of Earthquake
– Earth’s tectonic plates are constantly moving relative
to one-another.
– At the boundary of the plates the rocks are
continuously undergoing deformation due to forces
exerted by the moving plates.
– A great amount of energy is gradually accumulated
and stored.
– When that stored energy is ultimately released as the
rock body can no longer hold that energy, the rock
body break along a fault and two parts move apart.
– When accumulated energy is thus released, it travels
through the earth and produces waves in the rock
causing the earth’s crust to shake for a period of time.
• The opposite sides of a fault
become locked together and
both bend as further motion
takes place.
• Eventually, the fault becomes
unlocked and snaps out of its
bend position. Such motion
creates a large earthquake.
Small gradual motion create
tremors. It is called elastic
rebound theory.
– The energy is gets released from a point
source within the earth which is termed focus
or hypocentre.
– The majority of natural earthquakes, including
all the most disastrous examples, are due to
sudden earth movements, generally along
faults.
– These are distinguished as Tectonic
earthquakes
Fault that created the Kobe
earthquake in 1995
width great ruptures 70-90 km
S contraction N
uplift Tibet
Himalaya
India locking line
locked
sliding
Indian plate 20 m
m/y
100 km

Molnar and Bilham, 2001

• Focus or Hypocentre
– The point or place below the surface of earth
from where the earthquake starts after
release of the accumulated energy is called
Focus or Hypocentre.
– Shock waves are produced in this particular
point or place and travel in all direction
causing vibrations.
• Epicentre
– The point on the earth surface vertically
above the focus is epicentre.
– The shock of earthquake is first experienced
at the epicentre and maximum damage is also
here.
Non-Tectonic Causes of Earthquake
• Apart from tectonic cause, many other reasons are also
responsible for occurrence of an earthquake

– Volcanic explosion upon release of expansion of gases and lava

– Faulting within the volcano resulting from pressures in the
chamber of molten rock
– Collapse of the centre of volcano resulting from the pressure in
the chamber of molten rock
– Rock fall and avalanches in mountains, large landslides
– Abrupt descending of running water from higher altitude
– Collapse of underground voids-caves or mines or backfillings
– Large scale blasting
– Dam failures under the pressure of impounding water
– Passage of heavy transport
– Working of heavy machinery
 Seismic waves
• When any disturbance causes earthquake,
the ‘shaking’ travels in form of waves.
• These elastic waves, called the seismic
waves are generated at focus and are
radiated like ripples.
• There are broadly two types of seismic
waves:
– Body waves: These waves travel within the
earth from the focus.
– Surface waves: when the body waves
reached the epicentre, they radiate in all
direction by travelling on the surface of earth.
So these waves are surface waves.
 Types of Body waves
• Primary or P- waves: The seismic P-waves
are mechanically equivalent to sound
waves i.e. they pass through solid, liquid
and gases, by setting up back and forth
movement of compression and dilation in
the direction of travel.
• The effect resembles the motion of an
accordion. Therefore P-waves are also
called Push-Pull waves or Primary waves.
• These are the first group of waves to be
recorded in seismogram hence called
Primary waves
• Secondary or S-Waves
• Seismic S-waves cause material through
which they pass to be sheared back and
forth along lines at right angles to the
direction of travel. Thus they are named
Shear waves.
• Shear waves can pass through solid only.
Fluids lack the shearing resistance
necessary to transmit S-waves.
• These are longitudinal waves and are 1.7
times slower than P-waves.
 Surface waves
• When body waves travel are generated
from the focus, they travel to all direction.
• When these waves reach the surface of
earth, they travel along the surface of
earth in all directions. These seismic
waves now are called Surface waves.
• There are two kinds of surface waves:
– Love wave and
– Rayleigh waves
Love Wave
• Named after a geophysicist AEH Love this
wave though slower than S-wave has
different type of vibration.
• They cause horizontal ground movement
perpendicular to the path of propogation.
• During an earthquake, Love waves are felt
as gentle side to side swaying. It is a
surface motion where only horizontal
motion is present.
Rayleigh wave
• The second kind of seismic surface waves
cause the land surface to roll up and down,
as water waves on the sea. In this case
both vertical and horizontal motion is
present.
• Named after Lord Rayleigh, British
physicist.
• The motion is in the vertical plane. The
motion is an ellipse.
• The short, choppy Rayleigh waves cause
extensive damages to buildings during an
earthquake.
SEISMOGRAPH
• In recording earthquake we need to know
1. The direction and
2. The amount of earth motion
• The mechanical problem is that the instrument
itself must be resting on the ground and will
therefore also move with the ground.
• Because the instrument can not be physically
separated from the earth, the seismograph
designer must make use of the principle of
inertia to overcome the effect of the
attachment.
• The greater the mass of the object, the
greater its inertia.
• To record an earthquake, a very heavy
mass, such as an iron ball, might be
suspended from a very thin wire or from
a flexible coil spring.
• When the earth moves back and forth or
up and down in earthquake wave motion,
the large mass will stay almost motionless
because the supporting wire or spring
flexes easily and does not transmit the
motion through to the weight (e.g. shock
absorber in vehicles or cars).
• If a pen is now attached to the mass, so
that the point is just touching a sheet of
paper wrapped around a moving drum, the
pen will provide a wavy line on the paper.
National Seismological Network
Seismic Vault
Seismic Station
Seismic Data Acquisition System in Kathmandu
• The epicentral distance from at least 3
seismological stations are calculated for
exact location of epicentre.
• The data from one station gives only the
distance from epicentre which could lie
anywhere in a circle centred at the station.
• When more than 3 such circles meet, a
small area is intersected.
• The more the data from many stations, the
more accurate will be the location of
epicentre.
Foreshock and Aftershock
• A series of smaller or minor initiating shocks
of lesser intensity occurring prior to the major
quake are called foreshock.
• They are produced due to plastic deformation
or small rupture in the rocks.
• All earthquake don’t produce the foreshocks.
• After completion of the major quake, a series
of smaller quakes are also recorded, these
are called aftershocks.
• They are produced due to readjustments of
fractured or faulted rocks.
 Earthquake Energy
• Interpretation of seismograms has made
possible a calculation of the quantities of energy
released as wave motion by earthquake of
various magnitude.
• In 1935 a leading seismologist Charles F.
Richter brought forth a scale of earthquake
magnitudes describing the quantity of energy
released at the earthquake focus.
• This scale consists of numbers ranging
from 0 to 10
• The scale is logarithmic, i.e. the energy of
the shocks increase by powers of 10 in
relation to magnitude numbers.
Richter Scale
• Early seismologists used a scale developed in 1880’s
which defines earthquake by subjective assessment of
damage and other observable effects.
• Until early 20th century earthquake intensity was
measured using the Rossi–Forel scale that had 10
intensity levels
• The scale was revised in 1902 by Italian seismologist
Mercalli (1850-1914) and then modified again in 1931.
• The modern version, the Modified Mercalli Scale runs
from Roman numeral I through XII and is still used
combined with Richter Scale.
• This measure of earthquake in relation to damage it
causes is called Earthquake intensity.
Modified Mercalli Earthquake Intensity Scale
Classification of Earthquake
• Earthquakes are generally classified based on three ways:
– Based on Causes of Origin: Major earthquakes are due to
Tectonic causes whereas a minor shocks may be due to volcanic,
surface cause or artificial causes.
– Based on Strength or Size of the Earthquake: The strength of the
earthquake is measured by using the Mercalli and/or Richter
Scale, hence earthquake are also classified using these scales.
– Based on Depth of Focus: The depth of focus of an earthquakes
can vary from approximately 5 to 100 km. Tectonic earthquakes
are classified according to the depth of the focus of the
earthquake as:
Depth of Focus
Shallow (<60 km or 70 km) 85% of all earthquakes
Intermediate (60-300 km) 12%
Deep (>300 up to 720 km) 3%
DISTRIBUTION OF EARTHQUAKES
• Earthquake occurrence in the world are not
random but they are found to occur in certain
narrow regions in the world.
• These regions with earthquake concentration
are the tectonic plates boundaries and are called
the seismic belts.
• In the world we can demarcate three main
seismic belts around the earth
– Circum-pacific belt
– Alpine-Himalayan belt
– Mid oceanic ridges
• Circum Pacific Seismic belt
– This belt encircles the rim of the Pacific ocean.
– About 80% of all the terrestrial earthquake (shallow,
intermediate and deep) occur at this belt.
– This follows regions around the pacific ocean where
subduction of tectonic plates are going on.
– This area is characterised by plate subduction,
active volcanoes, strain build up and periodic
release causing earthquakes.
– Eastern pacific coasts of Japan, China; western
coast of Alaska, California (St. Andreas Fault
System), Mexico, Equador, Peru-Chile lie in this
ring.
• Alpine-Himalayan Belt:
– This narrow seismic belt extends all the way from the
Mediterranean to the Indonesia through the
Himalayas.
– The Alpine mountain arc of Europe, North Africa,
Asia-minor, Caucasus, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, the
Himalayan Region from Afganistan to the Burma and
the Philippines lie in this seismic belt
– This zone passes through boundaries of continental
crust with high mountain ranges where intense
compression is taking place due to plate collision
which in turn generates frequent earthquakes
• Mid-Oceanic Ridges
– This belt follows the lines of Mid-Oceanic Ridges from
near the north-pole to equator turning around the
South Africa, Rift valley of the Eastern Africa and
South of Australia.
– Seismicity is low and crust is thin in this region.
– Earthquakes are shallow and due to the sea-floor
spreading.
– Volcanic activity is associated along the ridges where
crustal plates are being pulled apart like in Iceland,
Azores.
 Effects of Earthquake
• Earthquake has many effects.
• They set off landslides, produce seismic sea waves and uplift or
subside a large area
• Damages are due to the differential movements of civil strutures
• The P and S wave vibrate fast with small movement so cause very
little damage but surface waves have much larger amplitude in lower
frequency and the main cause of damage.
• If during earthquake a part of civil structure moves in a direction and
another part in other direction then the civil structure may fail.
• Most earthquake-resistant buildings are designed to be flexible so
that the movement can be dampened.
• The building site will also affect the amount of movement of the
structures.
• Buildings in bedrock will be damaged less than those built in
unconsolidated, easily deformed material such as natural or artificial
fills as softer material slow the waves causing increase in amplitude.
 Some effects of earthquake
• Shaking and ground rupture are the main effects created by
earthquakes, principally resulting in more or less severe damage to
buildings and other rigid structures
• Ground rupture is a visible breaking and displacement of the Earth's
surface along the trace of the fault, which may be of the order of
several metres in the case of major earthquakes. Ground rupture is
a major risk for large engineering structures such as dams, bridges
and nuclear power stations and requires careful mapping of existing
faults to identify any likely to break the ground surface within the life
of the structure
• Earthquakes can produce slope instability leading to landslides, a
major geological hazard.
• Earthquakes can cause fires by damaging electrical power or gas
lines. In the event of water mains rupturing and a loss of pressure, it
may also become difficult to stop the spread of a fire once it has
started. For example, more deaths in the 1906 San Francisco
earthquake were caused by fire than by the earthquake itself
• Soil liquefaction occurs when, because of the shaking, water-
saturated granular material (such as sand) temporarily loses its
strength and transforms from a solid to a liquid. Soil liquefaction may
cause rigid structures, like buildings and bridges, to tilt or sink into
the liquefied deposits
• Tsunamis are long-wavelength, long-period sea waves produced by
the sudden or abrupt movement of large volumes of water. In the
open ocean the distance between wave crests can surpass 100 km
and tsunamis travel 600-800 kmph. Large waves produced by an
earthquake or a submarine landslide can overrun nearby coastal
areas in a matter of minutes. Tsunamis can also travel thousands of
km across open ocean and wreak destruction on far shores hours
after the earthquake that generated them
• An earthquake may cause injury and loss of life, road and bridge
damage, general property damage and collapse or destabilization
(potentially leading to future collapse) of buildings. The aftermath
may bring disease, lack of basic necessities
Mexico Earthquake, 1985
Earthquake induced landslide
Surface fault rupture 4 m upliftment, Taiwan , 1999
Dam failure in Taiwan due to ground shaking in 1999
Nayatapole, Bhaktapur
Durbar Square, Patan
 Control and mitigation measure of Earthquake
• Since earthquake prediction far from practical and human efforts to stop the
earthquake form occurring will be futile.
• The only way is to moderate the effects of earthquake to prevent loss of life,
preserve public safety, guard national economy and defence.
• Earthquake safety measures has to be applied in regions prone to
earthquake so that effects due to earthquake in future can be minimised
• Some recommended measures are
– Preparation of earthquake risk zoning or hazard map to demarcate the
potentially hazardous zone for earthquake so that formulation of building
codes be developed for specific regions.
– Construction of earthquake-resistant civil structures
– Land use planning
– Earthquake hazard education and disaster preparedness
– Earthquake retrofitting of existing structures (repairs, redesign,
reconstruction of damaged structures to resist future quakes)
– Earthquake insurance