I

4. EARTHQUAKE HAZARD5 AND RESPONsES

q) Mqin chqrocteristics

An earthqudke is o shoking of fhe ground, usuolly coused by rocks rupturrng

under Stress

-t Seisnology is the study of eorthquokes.

Focus (olso known os 'Hypocenier')

. The locqtion wifhin the crust where rupiare of rocks initiotes, ond ihus,
where energy is fist releosed
. Shollow-focus eorthquokes - focol depth of less thqn 70km
. Intertnediole - focus edrthquokes focol depth of belween 70 to 300km
. Deep-focus eorfhquokes - locol depth greoter thon 300km
Epicentre
. Poinf on the eorth's surface that
is direcfly qbove the focLls

Figure 66. Focus ond epicefltre of 6n

Eorthgucke

Rock5 fupturing from greot stress genetole seisnic woves thot rodiole from
fhe eorthquoke focus in oll directions The shoking ond destruction re3ulting
from earthqudkes ore coused by two differenl lypes of seismic wovesr body
woves ond surfoce woves. The woveS thof orrived of o setsmogroph ore
monito.ed ond diffetentaoted to locoie the epicenlre of on eorthquoke.

94
 . i) Body Woves I ; ') Sucfoce Wovei :

P e,r'oves, 5 Woves L woves, Royleigh woves

i) Body woves

{ Irovel frotn fhe eorthquoke focus underground to the surfoce

{ Two iypes: primory woves (P woves) ond secondory woves (S-woves)
{ The velocities of P-woves ond S-woves are dete t\ined by the density ond
elosiicity of the moteriols through which they lrovel
I Seismac woves lrovel more slowly through denser rocks but nore ropjdly through
rocks with gredter eloslicity

P wdves (Primory l1/aves) 5 - wa ves(Secondary 14 aves) l

Firsi woves felt in qn eorlhq{-roke. Second wove felt in on eorlhquoke

speedl speed:
L Th's ,s lhe foslesi { Siouier thon o P rlove (obout 3 5
woves (6 8km per rec is iyp,col) 4 5kn pe. sec) and con
ihrough sol,d rock

L Are cohpressional ke shzar waves thot noue the

shoke the eorth moteriol perpendiculor fo the
d,rection of fr(lvel, ihereby
prodrcrng sheor siresses rn ihe
mofeflol they move throuqh

t The moteridl through whrch P-woves 'l Po5s throLrgh the eorth wtth on up
Iftvel is expanded and coapressed and doqn 1otrcn
os ihe wdve 6rove through it ond
retLrrns to its origrnol siz€ ond shope
afie. lhe wsve pdsses by

9i
 ii) Surfoce woves

Produced in ih€ 9.ound by ihe lronsformotion of some body woves once they teach
the svf oce.
+ Trovel olong the surfoce of the eqrth, cousing rocks ond soil to be disploced in
such o woy thol the ground ripples or undulotes
I Slower thon body woves
a Tu./o types: Royleigh woves (R waves) ond Love woves (L woves)

P"yt";gh *";;; L- waves

Nomed after A E.H. Love. o British
mdthemoticion who worked out fhe
mothernolicol model for this kind of
wove in l9l1-

sp."d,
. qlower lhan I -6n'p\ Jut."r,
I Foster surid. e wove
).
eftenr:
l ovement: u^,,.^-^,
i Movemeni:
r Behove |ke worer woves in wh,ch
i .,1. Motion is s,m,io. to o S wdve, bur
rhey couse on ell,pracol (rotaring) the ,nd,v,duot po.t,.t€s of ihe
nrot,on ,n the motzrrol whrch rhey j mdie ot onty rnove bock and forih rn
move fh.ough d horizonldt plone perpendrcutdr to
fhe direci,on of wave irovel

effect: Eftect.
r Most of rhe shokrng felt froin on This iype
eorihq!oke rs due to the Royle,gh domo9,n9 to b!ildrng
wove. which con be much io.ger tho^

Why ore seismic woves imporfont?

{ The vorious seismic w6ves travel ot di(ferenl speeds ond thereforz orrive ot c
se;snogroph of different times

+ The epicentre of ony eorthquoke con be determined by using o time distqnce groph
ond knowing the orrivol times of the P,wcves ond s-wqves
 Seismic Waves

lal l.Jndisturbed material

a rlrlrrp:\iot' ' ',tnp'c\.iu'r u np'e, tutl
tJridiiturtrel:l
| ,*o"n.,on | .-,,,",,,r,on j

(b) Primary w:rye Dlle]llon ol{rftre mr:r?e n€tx::-.

,..41.':::.
*S*d,r i

l- l/r/arAr=rlr rh
-]
(c) S ec.irra1.:{.,' ni.t,,,e

(dJ traldeigfr
.-.-.., -'-. \
'v::r
Y r) .'.a::: r,::t::.r-.:t'

(e) L oYe vra'i.) ;:":--r+-/

o l,l9t 11'ert F(blrirn! .i!ftrp.{,',

Fig 6t: Types of seismic Wdves

,t
b) Distribution Of Eorf Diflerent ote boundories

, Ovet 90% of eorthquokes occur where teclonic plotes mov€ qgoin5i one qnother
( Fis 68\.

'L i-' '

Different lypes of stresses build olong diffe(ent types of plole boundories

. D,vc.9sn i iensrondi ji..esr
. Con!.r.9.n1 - comprersronol rtress
. t.onrfornr - sheor sr.esr

Converge t Plote Boundories ( ond Tronsform): There ore two signrFicont seismic
belts invoiving plale .onve(gen.e : Circutn pocific belt ond Med rterrdnedn - A 5;otic
bell
,- Tlie nrolo Ty of the wortds eorrhqudkes (80%) occur otong rhe c,rcum_pdc,F,c belr.
o zonc of sersnrc ocrrvrty thar encircles the po.rfic Oceon bosin Mosr ol these
edrfhqlokes ore a result af plate canveryence Some occur otonq rhe North
Ane.,con Pocifrc codsf. especidlt/ ,n CoJrforn,o wh,ch tres on o t.onsto.m p{ate

t g 1989 Lona Pnero €or qnake n -ton Froncis.a, 1g9t - North dge Fdrth.tuake
tn Lor Ange/es, 1995 - Kobe €arthquake. in ,Iapan

,. The s€cond molor se,smic betr is the Mediterronedn Asialjc belt whe.e
dpprox,n\dtely 15% of oll eorrhquokes o.cur This betf exren4s westerty fram
Indonerid rhrough rhe H,maloyqs. ocross rron and Turkey. dnd ihrouqh rhe
Med,te..dneon re9,on of Eu.ope

tg 1990.or.rhguoke tn Irdn. t993 earthquoke n rndio

9u
 Divergenf Plote Boundqries (ond Hof spois):The remoining 5% of eorthquokes
occur in lhe inieriors of plotes ond olong mid-oceonic radges.

Due lo the differences in the noture of fhe confoct ot different fypes of ploie
boundories, seisnic events occor at different focus depths qnd diffe.ent power
levels for eoch type.

Eorthquokes generoted olong divergent or tronsforrn plqte boundqries ore usuolly

shollow focus. Shollow-focus eorthguokes ore olso generoled ot conveagenl plate
boundories ol the poinl wheae subducfion occurs cnd below the oceon tTenches.

Mo.e thon 757" of eorlhgtokes oround the world occur shollower thon 6okrn.

+ Almost oll internediqte ond deep-focus eo.thquqkes occur qlong the Benio(f
Zone where subduction occurs ot convergent plote boundories within the crrcum-
Pocific belt ( Fig 69)

l'-;,

O-x:rnl: Lth.}lrh.e
OErnir o' Coniicnt l

Fig 69: Shollow focus. inferm€diate focus ond deep focus eorthgudkes. Note the
dispority in depth of earthquoke foci or different boundories.

99
 eqrthquqk€s: Mqqnifude Vs Intensi

.aL Geologists meosure the sfrength of dn eorthquoke in 2 different woys:

> tvlqgniiud€ - guantitative meosurement of fhe omount of energy releosed

by on eorthqloke {'lsihg the Richfer scole.
> Intehsity - gualitdtive ossessmeht of the kinds of dornoge done by on
eorthguoke using the Mercolla scole.

Eoch rnethod provides importont doto obout eorthqdokes ond theit etfects whach
con be used to prepore for future eorthquokes

i) /\leoslring Mqgnitude: Richler scole ( Fig 7O)

{ Developed 14 Charles F. Richter in 1935

+ Used to meqsure moghitude or the fofol omoln? of energy teleosed by aa

eorlhguoke ot its solrce.

I Involves meosuring the height of the seismic woves on o seismogron:

> The seishogroph. times ond r€cords th€ inconing woves_

/ A seishogrdph hor two components:

. setsnonefer to :;ense the qround vibrations and a recordnq dence
. he chatt poper utth the trocing is known as the seismogram
. Mode(n seismogrophs use more sophisticoted rccatding techniqles. One model
records electric srgncls from ihe seish\ogroph onlo mognetic tope. providing omore
flexible woy to onalyz€ the doid by computer processing

I Richter Scole is on open ended scale with volues beginning qt 1, ie there is no

uppe. limit

{ Scole is logo.ithrnic : An eqrthquoke of mqgnifode 4 couses 10 times more

ground motion os one of mqgnitude 3 ond 1OO limes mo.e os mognilude 2

100
 Edrth+roke Effects

l
Less thon 2o lAbo(i 8,OOO per
Micro@rthqsdkes. not f eli-

About 1,OOO per

2.O,2.9 Generolly not feh.6rt rccorded.

49,oOO Fet yeor

30-39 Oftea felr.but rorely .ouses donoge
(esi )

Noticeoble shdking of indoor rtelns,.otilinq noises 6 ,2OO pet ye6t

Light 40,4 9
si9n,f icont ddmoge unlakely (esi.)

ccn couse tno.lor domcge to poo.ly consr.scred bqildings

5A-5.9 over smollregions. Al host slighr damoge ro well- 8O0 per y€o.
d"<,g^pd bLr/d,n9s

fon bp dpsl.u.l,ve,io.posop loooout l00m.,es d-ro<s

5irong oO oa t2O n.r\?.r
,n populol?d oreo\.

7A-79 Con .duse se.iols domdge aver lorger oreos l8 pe. yeo.

Gteot 8_O B 9 Ccn cdlse se.ious dohoge rn oreqs severol hlnd.ed miles I per yeat

q..ot Devdstotingin d.eos severol rhousond niles qcross. I per 20 yeo.s

Figu.e 70. The Richrer scol;

101
 ia) /'l€osu.ing Intehsity: /r4odified /vlercolli Infensify Scole ( Fig Z1)

'I Scole used to clossify the infensity of qn eorihguoke bosed on fhe domcge coused
( ie: 6lqn6t. to hLtmon st.uctures) ond iis effects per ceived 6y people.

't A number from I fo XII is ossigned to dn eorlhquoke

.L Surfoce effects of on eorthquoke vories depending on fociors like:

> Geological cohditions: Certoin soil types ( re: silf, olluvium) con intenjify serslnic
shaking, ledding to greater domage to structures

> Quality of construction: B$ldings thoi ore nol reinforced and that do nol hove
iheir foundofions set rnfo hord rock. wrlt be more
vulneroble to collopse during an eorthguoke

> Populolion density: Areos wath higher populqtion density will susrorn greoter
damoge ond more cosuolties during on eorthquoke

> Dislonce of the a.eo from rhe epicenre.: Ateos neor epicenter v./rll be subJ€cted
to gredier sersrnic shokrng ond henc€
sustorn greoier domqge.

the datnoge

'{ Scole volues o.e quolitotive, derived from freld interviews ond observotrons of
domoge

.L An eorfhq{roke of one mogniiude con produce eflects of different intensrties in

diffeaenl oreos

{ Useful os plotting Mercolli intensity values on o mop gives on informotrve potlern

ol lhe destrucrive effects os one moves away from the epicenter.

102
 People do not f@lony €d.rh ndveneni
e few people night noii.e hovernent if they @e dr .est o.d/or on th€ upp€r fle.s of toll
buildiigs.
Mdny people indoo.s f@l novehen t Ho.9in9 oblects swr.9 bo.k and fo h Pcople ourdoo.s mrgh t
nor.eoJize thqi oned.thqdke ir o..u..ing

Mosi people indoo.s feel ru@rent. l-ionging objects swiry. Disher, wiiddws,6nd doors.orile.
Ihe €o.thqudke feels likedhedry trlckhifii.g the w.lB A felv people drdoo.s hdy feel
dpvelrent. Pd.ked .d.3 .o.k

Alnosreveryone feels hovehent. Sleping people6.e ouloken€d Doo.s swing ope. or ciose.
Dish€s d.e b.oken. Pr.tu.es on the wdll nove. shdll obJe. fs move ora.e tu.ned over. T.ee3 nrght
shdke. Liluidr 6ight spil{olt of opzn co.toihers

Eve.yon. feels n vement. People hdve irorbtewatking objecrs fotl froh sh€tves. pi.rures fs
off wollr Furniru.e rcve3. Plasre. in sqllr highr..dck. T.ee3 did bushes shdke Dahdge ir siighr
in pdd.ly built buildingr No stru.tlrdl <lahdge

People hdve d;ffi.ulry iiond'n9 DriveB feel rher. .ors Jhaling Some furn,t!.e brdks Loose
b.icks fdil fron blildrngr Ddtuge ar ilighr to n\oderdte in well.bulr buildirgij co.side.obie
'n

Dflverj hove r.oqble steering houses thdt d.e not bolred down hjghr sh;fr on rhei. foundoironJ.
Ioll srructu.et tlch di foererr ond €hihneyr fr'glrt tw si did tull Wcll-blilt buildings tuffe.
5l'9ht dohdge Poo.ly 6urlr .r.u.t!re5 5uffer ieve.e ddhdge lree bron.hes b.@k Hill5'des
might ..d.k if the ground i5 wet Wdte. level. ri w€lb highr chonge

ruffe. co.ride.dble ddndge llo!ser th.t o.e nor bolred down frove
!nde.ground prper d.e b.okcf Ih€ g.olnd .rd.ks Rerervo,.r suffer
donroge

Mosr burldr^gJand thei. folnddtionsa.e desiroyed. sore b.idges d/e dest.oyed Dnhi o.e
serously ddruged. Ldrge ldrdslides o.cur. Woter ii th.own oi the bdnks of cohdl., /rve.s, ldker.
ihe g.oqid crockJ rn ltrge d.edr. Rlil.odd r.ockr o.e beht sliqhtiy
Mosi build,n95 colldpse 5oe b.idges o.€ deJt.oyed. L.rge c.ocks oppear ii rhe groqid
Underg.ound p'pelih€s a.e dert..yed Roilroad t.ocki o.e bodly bent

Alfrosr everl-thinq is d*troyed Objects lre th.own inro theoi. The g.olnd moves in wdve. o.
ripples. Lrgedmoln.r of.ock ey nove.

Figure 7l. Tl\e Modified Mel"cdlla scdle

l0l
iii) Comporing rtrlercolli ond Richter Scole: /(dgnitude Vs Intensity

+ Becouse the qssessment systems developed by Mercolli ond Richter ore bosed on
very difterent c.iterio, it hos never 6een eosy to devise o fruly relioble
compqrison between them.

+ Fig 72 6elow represents one qttempt io ochieve such o comporison; it olso

indicales how frequently Cqlifornio hos experienced eorlhgrjokes oi eoch level of
inlensity.

Eirtnqua&e €vent scat€ dsc.iptoi,

lnrbufrent't ddecled o.t/ bf seino3raphr

F.e6le ie[ oniy by sennnve rcopl. Nlmb.r.r.iihqlrke.!e.1j m tu.hrci

Slight ik. th. vb'arioisdlt ro a ps,na qht rorr
Modeat.: tl[e the pajns oir heiqroad vetr.L:
it rr oore otjrcd!,..i!dng !i..d ie.a.r
.o.k

R.the. strong: Lll bt trjoa Deoi'.:.hr.h beri!.,.r

St.ongi noi peopl. trghtrn.o w,fno6
dr. i3...h ortr:,.11.{.9 50 ye.r
bnrkei .l;ier ir1 .ur oi.lobotrrdj
Vert st.6na: ?en.rJ rifl,,
"ar,:n.( rijr., i! j
Oestru.t,ve: ry dnvi, i i..l 1,,
li]l.nr'...ldd .h nr:),j nl
Rqinols: -t.ji. , par( g.alir .-r.rj rrp.jj

Disa5trour: e.olnd lra.ks btrdr man/ orrdnll

Jerlro/.c. undj,d.: o.ar.t no.?)
v€.y dis:'r.oqs: fo:! b! d,.?i jN.t Dr d3:j
d.rrorcd art;..!:.:5 (rdrlw4,r ppej tr.d
.aDl€) our oiai'on 3rel hndrrd.r a.J
r:ooo:: CamJ brd r da.ri-r€d

Caett.ophi.: roiat dedrLo,o.: obre6 lhro@,nr.

r!- 3ro!..1 fl5ei and taltr n.,a.a, f,a.ks open

Figurc 72 A comporison of the ,{ercolli dnd Richter Scotes

104
d) Effects of ecrthquskes: Hozards

There ore severol hozords ossocioted wilh eorlhquokes:

1) 6round shakinq and Ltquefaction
2) Surface Foulting
3) Tsunomi

5) fires

1) Ground Shoking cnd Liguefoction

,t Couses more domoge and results in nore loss of lives and ihjuraes thqn ony
othe. eorthquoke hozqrd
+ Strucllres built on poorly consolidaied or woter,soturoted moteriol ore
subjecled to ground shoking of longer durotion o d gteoter omplitude thon
those built on solid bedrock
+ Fill ond wote. saturoled sediments tend to liquefy, or behave like o fluid, in o
p.ocess known os liguefoction, jn which the strenglh ond sfiffness of o soil is
reduced by eorfhquoke shoking
+ When shoken, the indivduol grains lose cohesion ond fhe ground flows

"> In 1964, hquefoction resulted in great danage in Niigata, Japan, where lorge
dpartnent buildtngs were tipped on their sides ofter the water saturoted soil of the
hr//tde collapsed
> In 1964. t any hones were destroyed in Turnagoin Heights. A/aska when the clay lost
a// tts sttength during on eorthguake

Fig!.e 73. eesulr of lrllefdctio.

duridg rhe Naigotq €orthquok€,

Source: Notionol 6€ophysicql

i 0i
2) Surfoce Foulting

Surfoce foultlng is displocemeni thot reoches the eorfh's surfoce dur,ng slip
olong c foult
Commonly occurs wiih shollow eorthqookes, those with an epic€nter les5 ihan
2O km. Surfoce foulting olso iray occompony o sersmrc creep or ncturdl or
mon-induced subsidence

Figure 74: Hector .,\ine surfoce .upture ofte. 1999 eo.rhquoke an southern cotifornid.
sourcc: h f rp://eqf l!!!rt!91ls_91!sl

l) Isunomi

Destructive seo lvoves tllot are generoled by underwofer eorthquokes,

volconic enuptions, or submorine lqndslides
I ff is coused by displocement of woler due to sudden ldrge scole chonges rn
lhe level of the seo floor, e.g seobed collopses ocross o fou li coosing the seo
level to drop, rnoking o'hollow in the surfoce. Sec rushes bock in to fill the
hollow. ihen spreods out in oll direciions as wqves
L This wove con trovel lhousqnds of miles ocross the oceon 01 speeds of severol
hundred kilornelers per hour-
In the open oceqn, isunomi woves ore less thon O.5m high.
t As o tsunarni enters shollow coostol woters. its speed d€c.eose5 but rts hejght
con rise qp to 65m
+ A tsunomi corries o lot of energy when they hit the coosf
ft con colse mossive erosion of the coqstline os well as greot devostotion to
coostol properties

106
Exanple:
July 1993 o 32nt high rsumni hit the south west coost of Hokkaido fol/owing a
narby nvgnitude l8 earthguake under fhe sea h was beheved to hoye been
caused by slippage of the Eurotian Tectonic P/ote under the North Anerican Plate
The tsunahi ,1/os fravellinq ot an estinated 5)Okn/h when it tut the island of
Okushiri, caBing exfensive damage to fhe island ond caused the death of 158

26 Decenber 2004 - a nagnitude 9 3 earfhguake ripped apart the seafloor off the
coast of northwesl Sunalra and generated tsunamts thot cause great devastation
lo the coasla/ counlries around the Indian Ocean. The eafthguoke that generated
the Lndion Ocean Eunani was lhe resu/t of the subduction the Indlan pldte
beneath the Sunda plate and the Surna hicroplote (a snaller, fragnentary'plote)
(fis. 77)

nrac 1- wndcn'. "rhc n!:i1!, xm' Dbrn(, C?rlrry Tlrtv

Figwe 75. Plate hovemeni b€hihd the Asion tsunomi. The main tsuhomi heod€d west,
ond the ,rloldives. while rhe other heod€d edst lo N suhotro ond
Thoilond-
Solrce:6eofiie OnLne

t07
 Case Sfudy: The Indian Oceah fsunatni
How did lhe earlhquake happen and how dr'd it lead to the fsunani2

The Indion plote subducts unde. the slndo and Bu.mo nicroplate of o rote of 6
cmlyear. Subduclion is lnorked by the sundo rrench (Fig 76o)

'
Conrnenra 5hell -'.-
= zoonite;t
i

I
+ lndirn plrre \i

Figure 76(a) Prior to fhe eqrfhquoke, showing subduction of the lhdion ptote

Th€ frictaon beiween the subducfing and overridrng plotes cdused fhe overlyrng
Eurmd plote to Jom ogoinsf fhe coniinued movement of the subdrctang plore.
As o result, the overlyrng plore wos drsforted by iiress due to confrnurng burld up of
press!r€ [Fiq 76 (b)]

--.----.- ...-,'/\
lnor"rod'pLonrau--'\ /
\rm'. lo Ge dro
|
//'--
-yodd,irolof.
/*.':u'
s!-/os:.<_ tead 19 edge
-'lod o,dgqed dor,.
^"o- )<<"
-6a'du.9
-%:!-
-6e;<<- ;,o.
" \R''

Figve 76(b) St.ess builds up, distortinq the Sunda plcte

€ventuclly, the stress overcome lhe friciion and ihe distorted microplafe sprong
bock into o mo.re,reloxed'profrle t.. y9f !91!,tplS!qent of the seo f loor pushed

l0$
 up d woter column into o single lorge $/dve which. when it sank bdck, produced c flpple
eff€cl in lvh,ch o series of woves traveled out tFig 76(c))

0'"0'"
. ........1i'-1

subsrdence

\\ faull dov9m6nr
ralitr movemonl u0
uo a.d alonq
a.o
- faul pra.e (meqalhrlsr)

l. sluck ar€a ruplures

Fig!.e 76(c) Th€ fr"iction sfickihg fhe plofes togethe. is ovefcorne by stress. The fort of
the plote springs out ond up, roising the seo bed but lowering codstdl oreos

rl A summary of the events leoding up to th€ 2004 fsunomi is represented inF,g 76d

t' l" t
il",-;l
|,r--.'-f-,
Il'-\,,.'"1
, * I '*1 " )1""
/t ' '"'
i I l'
rl.l
I'''";.'.,", I ""'"
l*l
Fig 76d : Generction of rhe 2004 tsunolni ( sihplified version)
source: Geofile online

4) Londtlid".

Eart hquake-l r igger ed londslides ore porticulorly dongerous in mounfoinous

regions
Unsloble regions of hillsides ond tnountcins in oddition to buildings may foll
due fo ground movement

r09
 I When these moieriols gother speed os they nove, il con conlrabute to
further deslraction of prope.ty ond loss of lives
'L They con couse problems when they con close highwoys cnd roilroods needed
(o" emergoncy ond r?5Lue operotrons.
Exanrp/es:
> 1920 - eatthguake n Gansu, most of the lA0,OAo deaths resutted when c/iffs
conposed of /oess collopsed
> 1959 earthquake in /'4adison Canyon, tlontdnd, generated o na.yor rock sltde
> 1970 earthquake n peru dislodged a huqe block of tce froh the a/acEr of Mt
Iluoscaran It caused on avalonche thot destrored ZOO OOO honi n the town
of yungay. 7o.O0O people were ki//ed and 5O,0OO nlured.

Fisve 77. Effecrs of eorrhquokes on hillstope re5idenriol dreos

50!.ce: Notronot Geophy5rcot Dota Cenie.

5) Fires

! Molor hozord in urbon oreos offected by eqrthquokes

'{ Result from broken o( severed electtical ond gos lines.
{ Fires ihot begin os o resalt of eorfhquoke ocfivity ore often unconfroiloble
cnd ccn couse the most domoge.
{ Flommoble moterio's or debris .eleosed fron the eo.thquoke feed the flomes
of the fire, thus cousing it to spreod out of control.
+ Woter moins are broken os o resulf of the pow€rful edrthguoke vibrations,
therefore, no wcter is ovoilcble for firefighters io puf oul the flomes dnd
rescae lhe people
{- Ccu5e donoge to property ond infrostructure.
Exatnples:
> During the septenber l. 1923, earthguake in Japan, fire, destrcyed ItZ of fhe houses
in ,okyo and d// the houses tn yokohomo tn totol, 576,262 houses were destroled bt,
fires and 113.OOO dled
'L Duriag the 1989 Lat a Prieto earthqudke, a t're brake out n the Marina dtrtri.t of
san Franc,sco but wos cantained withn d snoltarea

|0
 *pefet to nanagenent of volconic hazards (section 3c) for details on sinilar concepfs

{ Sinilor to volconic erupfions, eo.thquokes con be monoged in the following

) P.ed,ction
) Mitigotion
) Response

+ Jusi like in the monogement of volconic eruplions, such meosures hove been
implemented with some degree of success in nony countries oround lhe world.

+ In this section, we
examine the vorious neosures in place lo monoge
eorthquoke hozords. Similor to the mondgement of volcqnic hozords, o combinotion
of meosures ore token to monoge eorthquoke hozords_ Poy ottenfion to the
etfectiveness and limitoiions of eqch m€qsure.

Monogemenl of Forlhquoke Hozords

1)
2',)

i sr,".r t.". i 3)
4)
5)
1)
2)
3)
4)

llt
 ei) Predicting Eorthguokes

'l- The gool of eorthguoke prediction as to give wo.ning of potentiolly domoging

earihguokes eorly enough to ollow appropriofe response io the disqster, enobling
people to mininize loss of life ond properly

{ Meoningful eorthquoke prediction should (ideollyl) include fhe following :

) Locdtion: Wh€re is fhe eorthquake likely occur2
) Time : When is the eorthguok€ lkely to occur?
) Magnitud€: How destruclive lvill the ea.fhquoke be2

'I There ore t!r,/o woys thot eorthquoke prediction con be conducted: short term
ond long-lerm prediction
o Short-1€rm p.ediction: slch predrctron involves monitoring srgns of
earthguake precursors whrch would suggest the occurrenc€ of o potenliol
edrthquoke

o Long term predicfionr Such predrcrion jnvolves predicfing the next

eorlhquake based on the previo!s pottern of sersmrc octivrty jn o porticulor
locotion An exomple is recurr€nce interval predrctron

{ A cornbinotion of these nelhods ore used in eorihquoke predicfion progrommes:

. Only 4 notrons the United Siotes, Jdpon. Russro ond Chino hove governheni
sponJo.€d eorthq!oke pl"edrction pro.romn€s
. Include ldbororory ond tretd sirdies of the behovjorr of rocks before, duflng. dnd
dfter moJor eorihquokes. os well os l1lonriorrng oct,vity olong rnoJor ocfrve foults.
. In th€ U5. mosi eorthquoke predictron work rs conducted by fhe Unrled Srates
Geoloq.ot survey (U sGs).

Short-t€rm prediction

.t Most eorlhquokes are preceded byshoat termond long te.m chonqes within
the Eorth Such chonges ore known os precursors.
.l Even ihough such precursors con only suggest the probabilityof on eorthquoke
occurring ( ie: th€y connot os5ure thoi on eorfhquoke will definilely occur)
,
they still remain extrernely useful in predicting lhe occurrence at eorthquokes.

1. Seismic monitoring

1 Most moJor eoathqLtokes ore preceded by occurrence of smoller mognitude

eorthquokes ( also known os "foreshocks")
.l- By monitoring such seismic octivity, scientists cqn predicl when the nexi moior

ll2
 eorthquoke u/ill occ!r.
{ Such nonitoring is usuolly directed fowords moJoa foult-lines where
eorthquokes ore mosl likely to occur, such os seismic gops.
{ Seismic Aops refer fo ploces whe.e the faslts are locked ond occumuloting
slroin, which con build to extter^e levels
. Ihese ploces ore known os 'gops" becquse nof rnuch seismac octivrty hos
occumed here rn recent irmes ( ps: this means thof ihere is potentrdl for the
foolt to "grve wqy" eventudlly).
> Predictton rnvolves plotfing the locatron of mojor eorlhquokes ond therr
dflershocks fo deteci creos thot hove rnojor edrthquokes in th€ past but ore
currently indclive
/ As press\tre as occumulofing. fh€se seismic qops are prime locofrons for future
eorthquokes

But fhis method is not without its pfoblems

.l Not qll seismic ociivity culminstes inlo o mojor eorthquoke. conversely, some
eorthquokes con occur with no prio. seasmic octavily.

. Lona-Prieta ea"thquake(1989): the UsGs hdd correctly identified Lond Przto os

one of the three seisnrc Adps of the sdn Andreas f-au/t. whel-e d naJor eorthquake
subseguently occurred n 1989 rhe 71 Lono-Prieta earthqudke caused $6 btllton
do ro lt tLP 'dn F'oa :o 8a) t I o I

. Hai-cheng eorthguake, China (19141, 561sn|it1t o6rerved a sworn of snoller

nngnltude earthguakes tn rhal reg/on and o/erted offlaals ta o potentiol edrthqmke
occuffing Mdsive evacuoron wds carred oul A few nonths /otea the edrthquake

Nof so succes.fut predctian

, Pafkfield ( San Ffansisco): Parkhe/d lns been the site of ndJor earthquakes n the
post When Parkfield expenenced a serres of 1.2 earthguakes, scienrsts predt.ted
that o najor earthquake would occur by the end of 199J Nothng happened

, Tangthan eat"thquoke, China ( 1976): tlte 6rcar Tanghshon Quake shook Chino with a
nagntude of 71 Despite close ma tor/ng, the earthguake cdught everyone by
sufprtse because lhere tuere NO foreshocks absetved In fact, no earthgudkee of any
size were defecte.l in over the two hrcnths beforc the devastdting edrthquake.

Z-Chonges in Elevotion ond Tilting of Lond Surfoce

{ Areos subjected fo o loi of stress moy defoam. Such deformdtion will monifest
in the "filting" of the grolnd.

l 1:l
 + Tiltmelers con be used to meosure extremely ihese slight chonges in the ongle
of the ground surfoce. ( Refer io section 3c)
.1- Aport fron liltmelers, scienfists hove 6een exploring new woys of meosurrng
ground deformolion.
.L One such new iechnology is 6lobcl Eorthguoke Sotellite System, or 6ESS.
'l Put simply, it ollor../s scientisfs io detect.ninute deformdtions in ihe Eorth's
crust. (Notionol Geogrophic News, July 20. 2004)
1 However, the uiility of such o technology in p.ed,ctang eorthquokes remoins 10

Eg. Hai cheng earthquake, China (1974): Apart fron re/yng on foreshocks. scientists a/so
notrced changes in ldnd elevation prior to the edrfhguake

Eg: Long Valley, Coliforhia: Tiltmefers are used extensively in earthguake prone Coliornia
to check for sgns of ground defornation.

3-€rrqfic Animol Behovioua

I ft is cloimed thoi onirnols cqn detecf the P wave genetated by the rupture of
cn eorihg{toke, even it Ihe woves ore 1oo smdll for humons senses.

+ These woves lrovel foster than the S wove ond Royleigh eorfhquoke woves
'ihdi most slrongly shoke the gl.ound ond couses the mosf domcge; when this
hdppen5, onimrrl5 con delect the incoming eorihquoke wqve, ond stort behoving
oqilotedly or nervously.

{ Others cloitn however,ihdt th€ cor.elotion between onimol beohviour ond

eorthquoke occurrence is d!bious This is becouse onimol behoviour rs
influenced by o nryriod of foctors other ihon potentiol eqrthquokes ( Eg:
climotic chdnges) 5cientific resecrch in fhis oreo is ongoing.

+ Er.otic onimol behovior hos been used os worning signqls of eorthquakes in

Chino os some onimols feel sound vibrotions ond ground vibrqtions too slighl
for humans fo nolice

Eg: Sctenttsts successfu//y predtcted the J975 HaEheng earthguaAe bdsed the observatjan
of unusuo/ aninnl beha our foreshocks and tiltii.j of the qround elevatrcn

I However, the qnpredictobility of onimol behoviour hos led mony to disregord

it in eorfhquoke prediction- This hod led to disosfaous consdquences in some coses_

Eg: On A4oy 5th, nany Chnese /oca/s noticed thousands of frogs on the tnove
A4an)/ Chtnese sensed the nigration as a bdd onen of a conin., noturol dEaster, but the

I lit
 Chuese governnent to/d then fhol il was Just a natural nigratlon for the purpose of

af May, at about 2:45pn, centual China regon recor.Jed o 7 |-nognitude

On,tL\ondoy. 12th
guake which occured near Wenchuan County. 9chl6n province, thot killed near/y 10,0OO

4- Other Precursors

't Fluctqcfiohs ih the woter level of wells: Ground deformotion brought obout
by stresses exefied belote cnd impending eorthquoke con contribute to
chonges in woter toble levels.

Eg: Hoicheng earthguake, China (1975): Fluctuations in water table was reported pflor to the

{ Locol chonges in the Eorth's mognefic field ond the elecfric resisfdnce of
the ground: It is believed fhot the friction bLrilt up in faulfs releoses
electricity-
Eg, Lonw Prieto earthquake(|9g9) rwe/ve doys before the Lona Prieta eorthqudke. lorge
electromagnetic wove signals were detected by the No,y

Long term p{gdiction: Recurrence fntervol Prediction

+ Recurrence inieTvol is the fime between eorthquokes of similor magnitude

! Long-ierrn paediction is based moinly on lhe knowledge o{ when ond where

eorlhquokes hove occuared in the pc5t Thus, knowledge of presenf tecionrc
selting. histo.icol records, and geologicql records ore studied lo determine
locofions and recumence intervols of eorthquokes.

.L Compored to short term prediction methods. long term p.ediction cannoi

deletmine when exoctly qn eorthquoke moy occur It simply provides o generol
iime frdme wilhin which on eorthqltoke of o porticulor mognaiude moy occur.

Scientisis con determine the tecur(ence intervol of eorfhquakes for

of layers ol rocks ond/or sediment
individudl foulis by determining the oges

Anolysis of how much time hos elopsed since lhe losf eorihquqke dnd the
omoqnt of energy thot wos releosed (mognitude) help reveol which foulls moy
be slor,ng up sufficaenl slroin for eqrthq(qkes in the.elotively neor future.

I ti
 { The longer the period of dolo ovqiloble, the better the prediction.

Hew l,ladrid Ec(hquake Recu.rEnce tnr€.vEt

6
t13?s/G:SS:-^;;r5

!:

FiqJre 78. 'fhe expected recur(ence intervsl for o greof eorrhquoke in the New Modrid
seishic zone con be €stimoted from 6pS obsecvotions showihg ot most o fes, hm/y. of
foult-pcrollel motion, ossuming the horizontat slip in ihe greof 1Bl1_l8lZ eorthguokes
wos o few meters, os inferred f.oh historicol dccounfs_
5ou.ce: http://focility.unovco.orqlproject suppori/scienceljnt.dplote.htlL!

lt6
eii) llitigdfion of Eqrthquoke Hozords

Eorihquoke prediction ollows for mitigotion meosures to be in ploce There are severol
woys lo miiigote eorthqqoke hozords:
1- Hazord-resistant building designs
2 Hazard mapping
3. Evacuafion
4. Community preparcdnes.t progrannes
5 Controlled earthguakes
1 - Hazard-resistant Building Designs

{ To reduce ptoperly domage ond loss of life. structures should be designed

ond buill to be eorfhquoke resistonl

{ Soft ground shokes mo.e strongly thon hord rock This knowledge hos enabled
engineers to improve design stdndords so thot structures aae betier oble to
Survive strong eorthquokes. Engineers must olso understond ihe dynonics dnd
me4honics of earthquqkes, including the type ond duroiion of the g.ound
motion ond hou/ ropidly the ground occelerofes during on eorlhquoke_

Eg: Colfornio. USA, h.ts a Uniforn Butlding Code that sett t ininuh standards for bui/ding
edrthquoke-fesislanl structures lhat is usedasa hodel oround the world The Cahfornio code
reguires lhdt structuret be ab/e to hathstdnd a 25,se.ond ndn thock
withstond both horizontol ond ve.ticol shoking

Sjze qnd shqper The size ond shope of o bualding con olso offect its resislonce
to eqrthqqokes. Rectangular box-shaped buildings ore inherenlly stronger thon
those of irregulqr size or shope \ecouse diff erent ports of on irregulor
building moy swoy ot different .otes, increosing stress ond likelihood of
structul.ol foilure.

structure: Toll buildings, such os skysc.opers, must be designed so thot a

cerloin omouni of swoying con occur, but not so much thot they touch
neighbouring buildings during swoying Severol woys in which the structure con
be oltered lo oc(ommodote v'brolrons.

Fromei of bu'ldin95 con be modrfied 10 withstond sidewoys forces or resisl forces

by bendrng Steel, for exomple, obsorbs o lot of e ergy when at is deformed

Ddmpers con be uslolled in th€ str{tclurdl frsme of c buildrng to obsorb some of

the eneryy gotng into the building from the shoking ground during sn eorthgudk€.
As ih€ building begins io shoke, the ddnrpers would move bdck ond forth to
compen.ole for ihe vrbrotion of th€ shock

Fosndataon anchoring keeps d struciure dnd ris bose moving os d unrt v./hen the
9rolnd begtns fo q!dke

Eose isolotion dllows o structures foundotron and the ground to rnove as

ninrmrz n9 ihe fo.c€s on the building rts€lf

; Pile foundotions reoch down through unsfoble soil to ihe bedrock benearh
ddd€d stob,l,ty

IIIJ
I rl l rlll

Figure 79: Eorthquoke resistont sfructures

t19
 2. Hazard l4appinq

Eorlhguoke hozord rnops oTe consiructed bosed on the qeology ond sife
chorocterislics of on oreo

+ As some oreos oTe more ot risk to €orthquoke domoge ihon others, those thot
o.e more susceptible to eorthquoke hozords cqn be eosily identified from
hqzord mqps_

4e As effects of eorlhquokes con be felt for owoy from the origin, hozord
mops
con be used by londuse plonners fo plon profective zoning ond reslricl
developrnent in high-risk d.eos to ninimize the possible impocts.
Eg: In Californto, there is a ban on new buildin(ts @ithin 40n of a known fau/t /ne

.L Used by evocuotion plonners to plon evocuotion ond emerg ency relief toutes
.l When combined with legisldtion, eorth quoke zoning renoins the most powerful
method of mitigqting eorlhquoke inpocl

Liquefaction Potentiat lndex >.15

Probability of Exceedance 27o in 50 years

:, i

J
Figu'"e 80:
Liquefaction Risk /vlap
@-,.",, Du.ing an Edrthquoke
it:: :'"" l

120
 () lvlagnitud€ S-5 and g.eatef

Figure 81. Eorthquoke Hozord A,lop of fhe Unifed Stotes

3. Evacuafion neasufes

! Once indicotions from prediction nrethods dI.e recerved thoi dn eorlhquoke is

cboui to result, evdcuolion of people con be corried out to minimize lois of

Howevet, the lime frome will be short os fotecasls are bosed on weeks or even
doys ond on evocr-roiion plon musl be olreody put anto pion in order to coray it
out successfully.

+ Dotq olso hos to be rel,oble ,n order to worront evqcqotion os seisnic tremors

moy olso be prodr..lced by other lectonic notions.

4. Comnunity Preparcdness Programnes

t Public educotion is olso necessory fo increose community preporedness for

evocuotion ond increose communily qworeness qbouf potentiol eorthqooke
hozords.

{ €vocuqfaon drills con olso be conducted to increose community preporedness.

t2t
 Eg. Earthquake drills are conducted regularly in Japanese schools. fB capita/ ctry. rokyo,
ho/d annual dn//s on 1 Septenber (tradttiona/ly referred to as ,Disoster Ddy,. in nenory of
the 6reat Kdnlo Eaffhguake which struck ToAyo in 1923)

Con lro Ile d Ea rthgua k e s

+ Controlled fluid inlection is o poieniiol scientific tool for ttiggering foulling

ond redoctng stroin buildup on fault segments.

* Periodic wqie. injectaon mighi trigger smoll eorfhguokes to felieve strqrn on o

fault, perhops preventing or reducing th e intensity of o lorger seismic evenf

{ However, opplying thts method to some oreos such os 'locked.sections of the

son Andreos fcult could be dongerous os the high sfress levels could teigger o
lorge mognif ude eorthquok€.

{ Controlled teleose of eorthquoke enetgy also results in problems. For exomple,

in on oreo where o mognitude 8.0 eorihquoke is expected every 100 yeors. o
magnitude 5O event hds to be triggered olmosi everydoy for lO0 yeors to
releose the sqme omoLlnt of energy_

eiii) Responses

1, Emetgency relief ,s impo.tant when locol comnunitie5 hove been €vocuoted or

rescued from oreos otfected 6y earfhquokes
Emergency personnel nust be ovciloble ond well,prepo.ed to rescue people
fropped in the rubble ond to provide emetgency teliel
Emergency .€lief comprises the provision of shelter, food, bosic hygrene
omenrttes ond medicol core
{ In iess developed counfries, inte.nolionol oid js ofi€n required os locol
Teso!rces mcy be overwhelmed

Eg,
'Uoy
6 Javo earthquake. /L4easuring 6 t on the Ritcher Scale, the earthquake struck
Yogfakorla and caused massive destruction lhe oppeal to donor governnenfs and agencies
cane after offjcn/s from the UN ( Unit'ed Nations) ond the ped Cross net rt ,eneva to
ofganize the nternationo/ response to the quake. At least 12 countfies pledged oid n the
forn
of noney, doctors and nurses. food and pravisions Sngapore senf fescu; tuans (stngapore
Civil Defence Force dnd Singapore Amed Forces) to help in search-and rescue efforts.

122
 i) Describe the chorocferistics of eqrfhcuqkes.

l4usl Include: (Section 4q)

) Eo.thquoke Focus ond epicenlre
) Seisrnic Wqves ( P ond S woves, L qnd Royleiqh woves)

ii) Distinouish beiween moqnitude ond intensitv of eorthouqkes,

When distrnguishing between mognilude ond inlensity, necessory 10 htghlighl oreas of

i) /Ueasurenent of earthquake strengthj Bofh tneosur€ the strengrh of
eorlhquokPs,n d, f lc"enl woyt
r) scales: fhey ore represenled 6y different scoles of meqsurement
L--------- -----------I
lrlust Include: (Seciion 4c)
) Mognifqde ond Intensity
) Qichter Scole ond Mercolli 5cole
iii) Discuss the effecfs of earthquckes.

/Uusf Include: (Section 4d)

> lazarcl
) Ground Shoking ond Liquefcction, Surfoce Fouliihg, Tsunomi, Londslide, F,res

iv) With reference to cqse sfiidies, ossess ottempts to mdnoqe

eorthquqke hczqrds-

Note:
When ossessrng moncgement slrotegres. ii is necessory to:
:> Addtess exomples where lhe sfrslegies hsve proven fo be successful ( or NoI
unsrccessful) rn monagrng fhe impocts of eorthquokes.
) I1 is olso necessary to explo'n why these sltolzgies ho\/e 6een successful ( or

I'lust Include: (Section 4e ond 4f)

) Prediction, mitigotion ond response
) Evoluotion of prediclion, mitigdtion qnd response sl"ategies

1?i