Earthquake

An earthquake is a sudden tremor or movement of earth's crust which lasts for a very short
time. It originate naturally at or below the surface of the earth. We often hear about the
earthquake in news only once in a while, even though earthquake occurs all time, all over the
earth. There are about 800 of them everyday. This is because the vast majority of these
quakes are very week. The are not even noticed. Major earthquakes are very much less
frequent but are most destructive. Major earthquakes usually do not occur alone; when one
such earthquake happens, there is usually another one at a nearby location. Sometime, an
earthquake also has foreshocks. These are smaller earthquakes that happen in the same
place before the larger earthquake follows. As at present, Scientist cannot predict accurately
that a given earthquake is a foreshock and is likely to be followed by a larger earthquake.
How Earthquakes Occur:
Perhaps you remember that the earth is made up of three layers. At its heart is a core of iron,
consisting of a solid sphere surrounded by a layer of hot, molten iron. Around the core is a
mantle of soft, paste like rocks. And over the mantle rests the hard layer of rocks we call the
crust. This crust is not a uniform, faultless shell. It is more like a jigsaw of blocks that fit
together. The huge blocks that make up the crust are called tectonic plates.

The heat inside the earth sets up a current in the mantle, keeping it in constant motion. This
makes the plates of the crust move continually, like rafts on a gentle ocean. The movement
sometimes causes the edges of the plates to grind against each other with a lot of force.
They may then get deformed, displaced, crushed or fractured. They may also slide under
each other or move apart. Such changes in the plates send a tremor or set up vibrations
through the crust, causing what we call an earthquake.

What are the Causes and Effects of Earthquakes?

On March 9, 2014 By Rahul KakkarCategory: Blog
Causes and Effects of Earthquakes
Earthquake refers to the sudden violent movement of the earths crust. It creates seismic
waves. It often causes great destruction. Its causes and effects are mentioned below.
Causes of Earthquakes
The important causes of the earthquake are:
Natural Causes of Earthquake:
1. Tectonic Movement: This particularly happens when the continental plate collides
against the oceanic plate. The oceanic plate is overridden by the continental plate. By a
process called subduction jerky movements are caused along the inclined surface.
Tectonic earthquakes have occurred in Assam in 1950.
2. Volcanic Activity: Earthquakes may also be caused by the movement of lava beneath
the surface of the earth during volcanic activity. The earthquakes due to Krakatoa
volcanic eruption in 1883 is a good example of volcanic eruption.
3. Dislocation of the Earths crust: Earthquakes may be caused by the dislocation of
the crust beneath the surface of the Earth.
4. Adjustment in inner Rock Beds: Earthquakes are also caused where is an
adjustment between Sima [i.e., beneath the ocean is formed by Silica and Magnesium
= Si + ma = Sima] and Sial (i.e., Continent is formed by Silica and Aluminium = Si + al =
Sial) in the interior of the Earths Crust. This Earthquake may be called as a Plutonic
Earthquake.
5. Pressure of gases in the interior: The expansion and contraction of gases in the
interior of the Earth sometimes cause a sudden shake on the Earths surface.
6. Other Causes:
1. Landslides and avalanches,
2. Denudation of the Landmasses and depositions of materials,
3. Faulting and folding in the rock beds are responsible for causing minor
earthquakes.
Man-made Earthquakes:
1. The impounding of large quantities of water behind dams disturbs the crustal balance.
This causes earthquakes such as the Koyna earthquake in Maharashtra.
2. The shock waves through rocks set up by the underground testing of Atom bombs or
Hydrogen bombs may be severe to cause earthquake.

Effects of an earthquake
Earthquake produces various damaging effect in the areas the act upon. The list of
some of the main effects caused by earthquakes are given below:
1. Earthquake causes damage to the building, bridges, dams.
2. Earthquake in many cases, can cause great loss of life.
3. Earthquake can also cause floods and landslides. Landslides, triggered by
earthquake, often cause more destruction than the earthquake themselves.
4. If the earthquake happens to be beneath the ocean floor, they can lead to a tsunami.
Effects of Earthquake
Destructive Effects:
1. Earthquake causes dismantling of buildings, bridge and other structures at or near
epicenter. Many men and animals are killed or buried under collapsed houses.
2. Rails are folded, underground wires broken. Fire breaks out inevitably in large towns.
3. Earthquakes originate sea waves called Tsunamis.
4. Earthquakes result in the formation of cracks and fissures on the ground formation.
5. The earthquakes cause landslides and disturb the isostatic equilibrium.
6. Landslide due to earthquake may block valleys to form lakes.
Constructive Effects:
1. Sometimes the earthquakes cause formation of hot springs which are very useful to
people.
2. The earthquakes sometimes cause submergence in coastal land, and result in
formation of inlets, bays and gulfs which help to develop of fishing and shipping etc.
3. Sometimes, the earthquakes cause emergence of costs and bring fertile shore out of
water to give chance to develop crop production.
Earthquake Belts:
1. The Circum-Pacific Mountain belt: About 70% of all earthquakes happen here. These
cover islands areas of Japan, Philippines and Indonesia shaped like an arc. This belt is
also known as the Pacific Ring of Fire.
2. The Mid-World Mountain Belt: About 20%, of all earthquakes occur in this belt
covering parts of Europe and Asia.
3. Other Belts: Remaining 10% are scattered in 0-700 km range over ocean floor, rift
valleys and other areas.
Causes of earthquake
It is known that earthquake are caused by disturbances deep down inside the uppermost
layer of the earth. The outermost layer of the earth is not in a single piece but is broken into
number of plates known as lithospheric plates or tectonic plates. It may surprise you, but
these plates are moving around very slowly just a few millimetres every year due to the
movement of the molten magma inside the earth. The movements of these plates cause
changes on the surface of the earth. The movements of these plates cause changes on the
surface of the earth and can cause an earthquake.

When the plates try to slide past each other. The boundaries of the plates get interlocked due
to friction. The rest of the plates keeps moving. This cause a tension to build up in the plates.
When the force of moving plates overcomes the friction of the edges, all the stored energy
gets released. The earth shakes at this point. The vibration at the point. The energy gives rise
to shock or seismic waves very much like ripples in a pond, when a stone is thrown into it.
These shock waves shake the earth as they move outward through it. When the waves reach
the surface of the earth, they shake the ground and anything on it.
Protection against earthquake
The earthquake strike suddenly, violently without warning at nay time of the day or night. If an
earthquake occurs in a populated area, it can cause death and injuries and property loss. It is,
therefore, important that we identify the potential hazards before hand and take necessary
precautions to protect ourselves as best as we can. People living in seismic zones where the
earthquake are most likely to occur, have to be specially prepared.
1. All the building in seismic zones need be designed so that they can withstand major
tremors. It is advisable to make the structure simple so that it is 'Quake Safe'.
2. Since some building may catch fire, it is necessary that all the building have their fire
fighting equipment in order.
3. Since some buildings may catch fire, it is necessary that all the building have their fire
fighting in order.
4. Safer places indoors, as well as outdoors, must be clearly identified.
5. An emergency communication plan should be made available.
6. Disaster management supplies (like flashlights, first aid box etc.) should be available on
hand.
Safety precautions during earthquake

For a person present inside of a building:

1. Take shelter under a table and stay there till the shaking stops.
2. Stay away from tall and heavy objects that may fall on you.
3. Do not get up, if you are in bed. Protect your head with pillows.
4. Stay indoor until shaking stops and it is safe to move outside. Most of injuries occur
when people, inside the building, attempts to move to a different location within the
building or try to leave it.
For a person caught outside in the open:
1. Find a clear spot, away from buildings, trees, bridges and overhead power lines.
Drop to the ground.
2. Do not come out, if in a moving vehicle. Drive slowly to a clear spot and stay inside.
Come out only when the tremors stop.
Safety precautions after the earthquake
1. Stay calm for a while. Expect after shocks. These shocks can cause additional
damage.
2. Beware of possible tsunami, if you live in coastal area.
3. Carefully inspect utilities/supplies.
4. Use telephones only in emergency.
5. Stay away from damaged areas.
6. Help the injured ones.
Earthquakes in India:
i. In January 2001, more than 20,000 people died in an earthquake in Gujarat. About 16
million people were affected and the loss was more than Rs 200 billion. The magnitude of the
earthquake was 6.9 on the Richter scale.
ii. In May 1997, Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh) suffered an earthquake of magnitude 6.0. More
than 8000 houses collapsed and 40,000 were damaged. The death toll was 39.
iii. In October 1991, an earthquake of magnitude 6.6 on the Richter scale struck Uttarkashi (in
Uttarakhand). More than 750 people died and 5000 people were injured. Earthquakes of
similar magnitude occur in this earthquake-prone zone every 8 or 9 years.
iv. In 1988, 1004 were killed and 16,000 were injured in an earthquake of magnitude 6.6 in
Bihar. Many were saved because they were sleeping outdoors.

vi. India has suffered some of the greatest (more than 8.0 on the Richter scale) earthquakes
in the world. There were four such (Assam: 1897, Kangra: 1905, Bihar-Nepal: 1934 and
Assam-Tibet: 1950) from 1897 to 1950. Fortunately we have not had such great earthquakes
since then.
Protection from Earthquakes:
The greatest damage caused by an earthquake is usually due to the destruction of buildings.
So we will discuss how buildings are protected from damage before considering the general
safety measures that people can take during an earthquake.
Protecting buildings:
As the ground vibrates during an earthquake, the buildings on the ground also start vibrating.
The only problem is that a building is fixed to the ground. So the whole building cannot move.
The bottom remains where it is, while the top sways back and forth and gets pushed and
pulled sideways.
This sets up a lot of stress in the building. And when the stress becomes too much, the
building cracks or even collapses. It is somewhat like holding one end of a rubber band firmly
and pulling the other end. The rubber band stretches and breaks, unless you let the other end
go.

Put simply, there are two ways of protecting buildingsstrengthening them or allowing them
to move with the vibrations of the ground.
Strengthening buildings:
There are many ways of strengthening buildings. One way is to divide the walls into
rectangular areas and insert diagonal pieces in them. This stops the walls from getting
squashed when a sideways force acts on them.
Try to squash an empty matchbox sideways. Then insert matches into the box as shown in
Figure 14.7(a) and try to squash it again. Is it more difficult to squash it this time? This is how
diagonal pieces protect walls. They are used to protect roofs too.

Allowing movement:
Since stresses arise in buildings because the bottom is fixed, the best way to protect them is
to allow the bottom to move. This can be done by placing bearings between the foundation
and the bottom of a building. A building placed on bearings can move back and forth and
sideways with the vibrations of the ground. Bearings can be of different types. A type used
often has layers of rubber with a stiff steel plate in between.
Safety measures:
Here are some steps we can take to stay as safe as possible during an earthquake:
1. Stay away from windows, glass objects, mirrors and things that can fall like book cases and
cabinets.
2. Crawl under a table or bed or crouch near an inner wall or doorway and protect your head
and face with your arms. Hold on to something that is unlikely to fall [drop, cover, hold).

3. Do not use the lift.

4. Turn off the power supply.

5. If you are outdoors, stay away from trees,

buildings, poles, and so on.
6. be ready for the aftershocks that follow an
earthquake.
7. People in earthquake-prone areas should be
particular about fixing tall, heavy furniture to the
wall and anchoring heavy appliances well. They
should avoid placing breakable and heavy objects
on high shelves.