LECTURE 1- Introduction to

Earthquake
What are Earthquakes?
An earthquake is what happens when two blocks of
the earth suddenly slip past one another. The surface
where they slip is called the fault or fault plane. The
location below the earth’s surface where the
earthquake starts is called the hypocenter, and the
location directly above it on the surface of the earth is
called the epicentre
Sometimes an earthquake has foreshocks. These are
smaller earthquakes that happen in the same place as
the larger earthquake that follows. Scientists can’t tell
that an earthquake is a foreshock until the larger
earthquake happens. The largest, main earthquake is
called the mainshock. Main shocks always
have aftershocks that follow. These are smaller
earthquakes that occur afterwards in the same place
as the mainshock. Depending on the size of the
mainshock, aftershocks can continue for weeks,
months, and even years after the mainshock!
 Anatomy of an Earthquake
What causes Earthquakes?
Earthquakes are usually caused when rock underground suddenly breaks along a
fault. This sudden release of energy causes the seismic waves that make the ground
shake. When two blocks of rock or two plates are rubbing against each other, they
stick a little. They don't just slide smoothly; the rocks catch on each other. The rocks
are still pushing against each other, but not moving. After a while, the rocks break
because of all the pressure that's built up. When the rocks break, the earthquake
occurs. During the earthquake and afterward, the plates or blocks of rock start moving,
and they continue to move until they get stuck again. The spot underground where the
rock breaks is called the focus of the earthquake. The place right above the focus (on
top of the ground) is called the epicenter of the earthquake.
 Types of Earthquakes
1. Tectonics Earthquakes

Earthquakes caused by plate tectonics are called tectonic quakes. They account for most earthquakes
worldwide and usually occur at the boundaries of tectonic plates.

2. Collapes Earthquakes

Are small earthquakes in underground caverns and mines.

2. Volcanic Earthquakes
Volcanic quakes are associated with active volcanism. They are generally not as powerful as tectonic quakes
and often occur relatively near the surface. Consequently, they are usually only felt in the vicinity of the
hypocentre.

2. Collapse Earthquakes
Collapse quakes can be triggered by such phenomena as cave-ins, mostly in karst areas or close to mining
facilities, as a result of subsidence
 Where Do Most Earthquakes Occur
Earthquakes can strike any location at any time, but history shows they occur in the same general patterns
year after year, principally in three large zones of the earth:
• The world's greatest earthquake belt, the circum-Pacific seismic belt, is found along the rim of the Pacific
Ocean, where about 81 percent of our planet's largest earthquakes occur. It has earned the nickname Ring
of Fire Why do so many earthquakes originate in this region? The belt exists along boundaries of tectonic
plates, where plates of mostly oceanic crust are sinking (or subducting) beneath another plate.
Earthquakes in these subduction zones are caused by slip between plates and rupture within plates.
Earthquakes in the curcum-Pacific seismic belt include the M9.5 Great Chilean Earthquake [Valdivia
Earthquake (1960) and the M9.2 Great Alaska Earthquake (1964).
• The Alpide earthquake belt extends from Java to Sumatra through the Himalayas, the Mediterranean, and
out into the Atlantic. This belt accounts for about 17 percent of the world's largest earthquakes, including
some of the most destructive, such as the 2005 M7.6 shock in Pakistan that killed over 80,000 and the
2004 M9.1 Indonesia earthquake, which generated a tsunami that killed over 230,000 people.
• The third prominent belt follows the submerged mid-Atlantic Ridge. The ridge marks where two tectonic
plates are spreading apart (a divergent plate boundary). Most of the mid-Atlantic Ridge is deep underwater
and far from human development, but Iceland, which sits directly over the mid-Atlantic Ridge, has
experienced earthquakes as large as at least M6.9.
1. Earthquakes Occur Along Plate Edges
Most earthquakes occur along the edge of
the oceanic and continental plates. The
earth's crust (the outer layer of the planet) is made up
of several pieces, called plates. The plates under the 2. Earthquakes Occur Along Fault Lines
oceans are called oceanic plates and the rest are
Earthquakes also occur along fault lines in the
continental plates. The plates are moved around by the
Earth’s crust. Faults are basically cracks in the
motion of a deeper part of the earth (the mantle) that
lies underneath the crust. These plates are always continental or oceanic plates triggered due to plate
bumping into each other, pulling away from each other, tectonics. The crust is highly unstable in the
or past each other. The plates usually move at about vicinity of fault lines and disturbances along the
the same speed that your fingernails grow. Earthquakes fault lines might trigger massive earthquakes.
usually occur where two plates are running into each 3. The Circum-Pacific Seismic Belt Or The
other or sliding past each other. “Ring Of Fire.
The Ring of Fire, also referred to as the Circum-
Pacific Belt, is a path along the Pacific Ocean
characterized by active volcanoes and frequent
earthquakes. The majority of Earth’s volcanoes
and earthquakes take place along the Ring of Fire.
1. The Alpide Belt
17% of the earthquakes of the world take place in this earthquake belt. The belt extends from the Indonesian
islands of Java and Sumatra in Southeast Asia across the Himalayan region of the Indian subcontinent
through Central Asia into the Mediterranean Sea, and out into the Atlantic Ocean. Some of the major
earthquakes in the Alpide belt include the Iran shock that claimed 11,000 lives in August 1968, and the March
1970 Turkey earthquake that killed nearly 1,000 individuals. The presence of growing mountains, fault lines,
and other forms of seismically active structures make the Alpide belt susceptible to earthquakes.
1. Mid-Atlantic Ridge -

This ridge is a mid-ocean ridge that is located along the Atlantic Ocean’s floor. It separates the Eurasian and
North American Plates in the North Atlantic Ocean and the South American and African continental plates in
the South Atlantic Ocean. Since this belt is involved in a high rate of tectonic activities, it is also highly
vulnerable to earthquakes.
 What are the effects of Earthquakes?
1. Ground Shaking
Ground shaking is a term used to describe the vibration of
the ground during an earthquake. Ground shaking is
caused by body waves and surface waves. As a
generalization, the severity of ground shaking increases
as magnitude increases and decreases as distance from
the causative fault increases. Although the physics of
seismic waves is complex, ground shaking can be
explained in terms of body waves, compressional, or P,
and shear, or S, and surface waves, Rayleigh and Love.
P waves propagate through the Earth with a speed of
about 15,000 miles per hour and are the first waves to
cause vibration of a building. S waves arrive next and
cause a structure to vibrate from side to side. They are the
most damaging waves, because buildings are more easily
damaged from horizontal motion than from vertical motion.
The P and S waves mainly cause high-frequency vibrations; whereas, Rayleigh waves and Love waves, which
arrive last, mainly cause low-frequency vibrations. Body and surface waves cause the ground, and
consequently a building, to vibrate in a complex manner. The objective of earthquake resistant design is to
construct a building so that it can withstand the ground shaking caused by body and surface waves.

1. Surface Faulting
Surface faulting is the differential movement of the two sides of a fracture at the Earth's surface and can be
strike-slip, normal, and reverse (or thrust). Combinations of the strike-slip type and the other two types of
faulting can be found. Although displacements of these kinds can result from landslides and other shallow
processes, surface faulting, as the term is used here, applies to differential movements caused by deep-seated
forces in the Earth, the slow movement of sedimentary deposits toward the Gulf of Mexico, and faulting
associated with salt domes.
2. Ground Failure (Liquefaction Induced)
Liquefaction is not a type of ground failure; it is a physical process that takes place during some earthquakes that
may lead to ground failure. As a consequence of liquefaction, clay-free soil deposits, primarily sands and silts,
temporarily lose strength and behave as viscous fluids rather than as solids. Liquefaction takes place when
seismic shear waves pass through a saturated granular soil layer, distort its granular structure, and cause some of
the void spaces to collapse. Disruptions to the soil generated by these collapses cause transfer of the ground-
shaking load from grain-to-grain contacts in the soil layer to the pore water. This transfer of load increases
pressure in the pore water, either causing drainage to occur or, if drainage is restricted, a sudden buildup of pore-
water pressure. When the pore-water pressure rises to about the pressure caused by the weight of the column of
soil, the granular soil layer behaves like a fluid rather than like a solid for a short period. In this condition,
deformations can occur easily.
Liquefaction is restricted to certain geologic and hydrologic environments, mainly areas where sands and silts
were deposited in the last 10,000 years and where ground water is within 30 feet of the surface. Generally, the
younger and looser the sediment and the higher the water table, the more susceptible a soil is to liquefaction.
3. Flow Failures
Flow failures, consisting of liquefied soil or blocks of intact material riding on a layer of
liquefied soil, are the most catastrophic type of ground failure caused by liquefaction.
These failures commonly move several tens of feet and, if geometric conditions
permit, several tens of miles. Flows travel at velocities as great as many tens of miles
per hour. Flow failures usually form in loose saturated sands or silts on slopes greater
than 3 degrees.
Flow failures can originate either underwater or on land. Many of the largest and most
damaging flow failures have taken place underwater in coastal areas. For example,
submarine flow failures carried away large sections of port facilities at Seward,
Whittier, and Valdez, Alaska, during the 1964 Prince William Sound earthquake.
These flow failures, in turn, generated large sea waves that overran parts of the
coastal area, causing additional damage and casualties. Flow failures on land have
been catastrophic, especially in other countries. For example, the 1920 Kansu, China,
earthquake induced several flow failures as much as 1 mile in length and breadth,
killing an estimated 200,000 people.
4. Landslides
Past experience has shown that several types of landslides take place in conjunction with earthquakes. The most
abundant types of earthquake induced landslides are rock falls and slides of rock fragments that form on steep
slopes. Shallow debris slides forming on steep slopes and soil and rock slumps and block slides forming on
moderate to steep slopes also take place, but they are less abundant. Reactivation of dormant slumps or block
slides by earthquakes is rare.
Large earthquake-induced rock avalanches, soil avalanches, and underwater landslides can be very destructive.
Rock avalanches originate on over-steepened slopes in weak rocks. One of the most spectacular examples
occurred during the 1970 Peruvian earthquake when a single rock avalanche killed more than 18,000 people; a
similar, but less spectacular, failure in the 1959 Hebgen Lake, Montana, earthquake resulted in 26 deaths. Soil
avalanches occur in some weakly cemented fine-grained materials, such as loess, that form steep stable slopes
under non-seismic conditions. Many loess slopes failed during the New Madrid, Missouri, earthquakes of 1811-12.
Underwater landslides commonly involve the margins of deltas where many port facilities are located. The failures
at Seward, Alaska, during the 1964 earthquake are an example.
5. Tsunamis
Tsunamis are water waves that are caused by sudden vertical movement of a large area
of the sea floor during an undersea earthquake. Tsunamis are often called tidal waves,
but this term is a misnomer. Unlike regular ocean tides, tsunamis are not caused by the
tidal action of the Moon and Sun. The height of a tsunami in the deep ocean is typically
about 1 foot, but the distance between wave crests can be very long, more than 60
miles. The speed at which the tsunami travels decreases as water depth decreases. In
the mid-Pacific, where the water depths reach 3 miles, tsunami speeds can be more
than 430 miles per hour. As tsunamis reach shallow water around islands or on a
continental shelf; the height of the waves increases many times, sometimes reaching as
much as 80 feet. The great distance between wave crests prevents tsunamis from
dissipating energy as a breaking surf; instead, tsunamis cause water levels to rise
rapidly along coast lines.
 How are earthquakes recorded? (Seismic equipment)
The seismograph is an instrument that records ground motion, or seismic waves, generated by
earthquakes. Seismographs can be installed permanently or temporarily. Temporary installments are
used to answer scientific questions of geological interest such as here near the base of the Nangar
Parbat massif in northeast Pakistan.
Permanent installments are used to study the overall structure of the Earth’s interior.
Seismographs used in permanent installments are deployed at fixed locations around the world.
Modern seismographs record and amplify seismic waves electronically, and can detect ground motion
as small as 0.00000001 cm (distances of the order of atomic spacing.)
The principle by which a seismometer works can be thought of as a heavy mass freely attached to
a frame fixed to the Earth. When seismic waves reach the seismometer, the frame moves along with
the ground. The heavy mass inside the frame remains stationary because of its inertia. The relative
motion between the frame and the mass is a measure the of ground motion.
 Earthquakes effect to Civil Engineering II. Materials Matter
Buildings and structures are susceptible to the The construction materials used in buildings and
ravaging devastation of earthquakes. Great amounts of structures can significantly help reduce the amount of
research have been performed to determine what types of damage caused during an earthquake. Wood and
buildings and structures are able to withstand an steel have greater flexibility than stucco, unreinforced
earthquake and how structural engineers can design III. Earthquake Reinforcement
earthquake-safe buildings and structures for the future.
Buildings and structures can be created with
additional strategically placed beams that help
I. Flexibility is Key transfer the energy of the sway of the building during
One of the most important physical traits of earthquake a quake to the base of the structure and the
safe buildings and structures is flexibility. A rigid structure surrounding earth. Reinforced beams and trusses
will crumble and collapse during the movement caused by can also help prevent warping and collapse of
an earthquake. Taller structures are inherently more buildings and structures during and after an
flexible than two or three story buildings and structures. earthquake.
Shorter buildings and structures require greater amounts
of reinforcement to withstand the forces of an earthquake.
IV. Earthquake-Proof Foundations
Specially designed foundations for buildings and structures can also help limit damage. Foundational plates can be
layered to allow for a sliding movement during a quake, providing a stable base for the structure throughout the
movement. Another type of foundational alteration is the addition of flexible cushions in the foundation. These flexible
cushions absorb movement and energy during an earthquake allowing the structure to remain intact.
V. Soil Types Can Limit Damage
Softer soils and surrounding earth that contains a high amount of moisture are more prone to induce greater amounts of
structural damage during an earthquake. This is partly due to the properties of resonance as energy passes through the
soil during the shocks of the quake. Providing additional solid breaks in the soil surrounding the foundation and building
on solid earth, such as bedrock, greatly reduces the likelihood of large amounts of damage to structures and buildings.
VI. Saving Lives with Planned Failure
Some structures and buildings are designed to fail in a certain way in the event of an earthquake. These planned
failings allow for protection of interior spaces where people are likely to be located. The structures are also designed to
limit the amount of rubble and debris that is deposited around the foundation of the structure to keep from damaging
nearby buildings.