Earthquake

By
Ken(Please Subscribe Me)

An earthquake
(also known as a quake, tremor or temblor)
is the result of a sudden release of energy in
the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves.

The Nature, Causes and Effects of Earthquakes

•Causes: Earthquakes are caused by
movements in the Earth's crust along a fault
line. This can occur when two plates collide, or
as two plates slide past each other.
•A well-known example of two plates sliding
past each other is the San Andreas fault in
California. This is called a passive plate
boundary.

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 Nature of earthquakes

•The exact place where earthquakes start

below the Earth's surface
is called the focus.
•The point on the Earth's surface directly
above the focus is called
the epicentre of the earthquake.
•From its starting point at the focus, a series of
shock waves pass
through the rocks of the Earth's crust. They
move out in different
directions like ripples in a pond. (Imagine a
large stone thrown into a pond. The point at
which it hits the water could be compared to
the focus of an earthquake. The ripples are
strongest closest to the

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stone's entry point, and diminish in power
further away).
•In the same way, the power of the
shockwaves get less the further
they move from the focus.
•These shock waves cause the ground to
shake, buildings and
bridges to collapse, roads to crack, burst water
and gas pipes and
collapsing power lines. This often leads to
death and destruction.

Nature of earthquakes

•'Shallow' earthquakes do the most damage,

because they are

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 close to the earth's
surface. Here the focus is usually less than 40
kms below the earth's surface, resulting in
powerful shockwaves reaching the surface.

•The strength of an earthquake is recorded on a

seismograph, and given a value of 1-10 on the
Richter scale. This scale allows for comparison
of the strength and severity of
earthquakes.
Measurement Of Earthquakes
As You Know That An earthquake (also known
as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the result
of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's
crust that creates seismic waves. The
seismicity or seismic activity of

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an area refers to the frequency, type and size
of earthquakes experienced over a period of
time. Earthquakes are measured with a
seismometer; a device which also records is
known as a seismograph. The moment
magnitude (or the related and mostly obsolete
Richter magnitude) of an earthquake is
conventionally reported, with magnitude 3 or
lower earthquakes being mostly imperceptible
and magnitude 7 causing serious damage over
large areas. Intensity of shaking is measured
on the modified Mercalli scale.
EARTHQUAKE IN BRIEF
In its most generic sense, the word earthquake
is used to describe any seismic event —
whether a natural phenomenon or an event
caused by humans — that generates seismic
waves. Earthquakes are caused mostly by
rupture of geological faults, but also by
volcanic activity, landslides, mine blasts, and
nuclear experiments. An earthquake's point of

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initial rupture is called its focus or hypocenter.
The term epicenter refers to the point at
ground level directly above the hypocenter.
Effects Of Earthquake
At the Earth's surface, earthquakes manifest
themselves by shaking and sometimes
displacing the ground. When a large
earthquake epicenter is located offshore, the
seabed sometimes suffers sufficient
displacement to cause a tsunami. The shaking
in earthquakes can

also trigger landslides and occasionally

volcanic activity.

Some Other Examples Of Earthquake Effects

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•Primary or immediate effects: collapsing
buildings, bridges,
roads, burst gas mains or water pipes. The
collapsing
buildings may cause immediate deaths.
•Secondary or after-effects: These are the
delayed results of
earthquakes.
•Fires: caused by burst gas pipes and
collapsed live electricity
cables. Many lives may be lost as a result of
fires breaking
out in the chaotic aftermath of an earthquake.
•Landslides: In steep areas earthquakes
destabilise the
underlying sand and rock, resulting in
landslides
•Tsunamis: When earthquakes occur under the
sea, the
shockwaves can cause huge tidal waves called
tsunamis.
•Disease: Often water supplies are damaged
during
earthquakes and no fresh water is available.
After severe
earthquakes people may be housed at
temporary shelters,
which are overcrowded. This leads to the

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spreading of
diseases such as cholera.
Human responses to the earthquake hazard

•The best way for people to cope with the

threat of earthquakes is preparation and
predication.
•Preparation in anticipation of an earthquake.
Human responses to the earthquake hazard

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Prediction of earthquakes to allow for
evacuation:
*Using sensitive instruments to monitor the
build up of pressure below the earth's surface.
This allows scientists to predict the location of
an earthquake, which allows enough time for
evacuation. At present this is not reliable
enough to predict earthquakes.
Tectonic hazards

•Tectonic hazards are those disasters caused

by earth movement.

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Dangers of tectonic hazards include :
•earthquakes and volcanoes
•destruction of buildings
•loss of life
•destruction of farmland
•fires
•economic losses

Tectonic hazards

Reasons why people choose to stay in these

high risk areas.
•Inertia: reluctance to move once settled
•Volcanic soil is fertile
•Volcanic areas can utilise steam and hot
water for geothermal production
•Lack of farming space
•Tourist attraction
•Mineral deposits

A comparison of the damage done by these

tectonic hazards in urban and rural areas
•urban areas have a higher density of people
and buildings than rural areas, and thus usually
suffer more loss of life and a higher economic
cost
•bridges collapse, the economy is affected

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 The End
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