Earthquakes

EARTHQUAKES
An earthquake is the shaking or trembling of the earth, caused by the sudden
movement of a part of the earth’s crust.
 When fracturing of rocks in the earth’s crust takes place due to geological reasons, a
series of shock waves travel outward in all directions resulting in rapid and discernible
tremors or earth movements.
 Such an event is considered as an earthquake.
 Scientific study of earthquake is called Seismology.
 Therefore, earthquake activity is also referred to seismic activity.
 The instrument which records earthquake wave is called Seismograph.
The place of origin of the earthquake inside the earth is called its Focus.
 The point where the seismic activity starts is normally referred to as Epicenter.
 The epicenter is vertically above the focus.
 The location on the surface directly above the epicentre is known as the
hypocenter.
Causes of Earthquake
1. The earthquakes are caused by the motion of tectonic plates that constitute the
crust of the earth. There are incessant activities going on below the surface of the
earth, which causes movement of large plates below the surface of the earth.
Occasionally, the plates collide with each other and result to the shaking of the
earth. This type of earthquakes which are related to the tectonic movements of the
plates are called tectonic earthquakes.
2. Earthquake may also occur in volcanic region. These are caused by the violent
explosion of gases during the process of volcanicity.
3. Some earthquakes are caused by different activities of man. They are called
anthropogenic earthquakes or induced seismicity. Such as reservoir induced
seismicity, where load of large volume of water can trigger quake by destabilizing
a fault.
4. The extraction of minerals and fossil fuel, nuclear explosion, blasting of rocks by
dynamite for construction of dams, roads and tunnels are some of the human
activities which lead to occurrence of earthquake.
Earthquake Zones of the World
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:
Circum-Pacific seismic belt: The world’s

greatest earthquake belt is found along the rim
of the Pacific Ocean, where about 75 per cent of
our planet’s largest earthquakes occur. It is also
known as “Ring of Fire”.
Alpine-Himalaya seismic belt: It 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.
Mid-Atlantic Ridge: The ridge marks where

two tectonic plates are spreading apart (a
divergent plate boundary). It Includes 5% of the
world’s earthquake.
Major Earthquake Events
Assam Earthquake (1950)
• It is also known as Assam-Tibet earthquake which occurred on 15th August 1950.
• It had 8.6 magnitude, with epicentre at Rima, Tibet.
• It caused devastation both in Assam and Tibet. It was considered the 6 th largest
earthquake of the 20th century.
• Almost 1500 people died in Assam and 3300 died in Tibet.
• The main cause of earthquake was collision of two continental plates.

Latur Earthquake (1993)
• Latur Earthquake happened on 30th September 1993, with 6.3 magnitude
• It badly affected the districts of Latur and Osmanabad of Maharashtra.
• 52 villages were demolished and 10,000 people died and 30,000 got injured.
Bhuj Earthquake (2001)
• This earthquake occured on 26th January 2001 at 8.34 am in Gujarat and lasted for 2
minutes
• The magnitude was 7.7 Richter Scale.
• About 20,000 people in the Bhuj-Ahmedabad-Rajkot area died and 4,00,000 homes
destroyed.
• Death toll recorded in Kutch region alone was 12,300 and Bhuj was devasted.
• This was the second most devastating earthquake in the Indian history.
•The cause of Bhuj earthquake was stress from the Indian plate pushing north into the
Eurasian plate.
Indian Ocean Tsunami (2004)
• Tsunami is a Japanese origin word which derives from ‘Tsu’ means harbour and
‘Nami’ means waves. It is also known as Seismic Sea Waves.
• It occured on 26th December 2004, which had 9.3 magnitude with epicentre located in
West Coast of Sumatra Indonesia.
• Main cause of earth quake was subduction of Burma plate.
• Almost 2,30,000 people died from 14 countries which bordered Indian Ocean.
• Countries like Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, Maldives, Somalia and Malaysia
were devasted by the Tsunami.
Darbhanga Earthquake (2015)
• It occurred on May 2015. It had a magnitude of 6.7.
• About 850 people died and 25,000 houses were damaged.
• The tremour were felt in parts of Northern and Eastern India which included Delhi,
Lucknow, Patna, Guwahati, Bhubaneswar and Jaipur.
Consequences of Earthquakes
Primary Hazards: These are the effects, which occur simultaneously along with the
earthquake.
1. Ground Shaking- for most earthquakes shaking is a dominant and most

widespread cause of damage.
2. Fault rapture earthquake triggers a series of earthquakes on the fault line. Such
was observed in Anatolian fault in Turkey in 20th centuy.
3. Tectonic Deformation: Larger areas also subside or sink during very severe
earthquake.
Secondary Hazards
These are the effects, which occur at the end or after the earthquake event.
1. Soil Liquefaction is a phenomenon where low density saturated sands of relatively

uniform size inside the earth start behaving like a jelly with no strength to hold a
building up and the building gets tilted on one side or collapses.
2. Land and Mud slides- Large masses of dry earth and rocks become unstable and
move along the slopes associated with wet soil.
3. Landslides: Cracks and fissures which occur as a result of severe earthquake

facilitate landslides.
4. Tsunamis are seismic sea waves generated by rapid subsidence of the seafloor
caused by a displacement of blocks. On 26th December 2004, on the north western tip
of Sumatra in Indonesia, a severe earthquake (Magnitude 8+) pushed walls of water
against the coast of 11 nations in Asia and Africa, including India.
Prevention Measures
• Prediction of Earthquake is not possible but scientists have been working on for
over half a century.
• Earthquake resilient buildings can be designed and laws can be framed and may
be enforced for proper construction of buildings, minimising the losses.
• Identification of risk and accordingly allocation of resources for such occurrence.
• Resource allocation may be like setting up of emergency Funds and procurement

of tools and machinery, setting up of local and national nodal agencies for
monitoring and controlling disaster.
• Knowledge sharing
Post Disaster Measures
• Maintenance of law and order
• Search and rescue particularly the first 72 hours which is crucial to save lives.
• Information and communication with the affected community.
• Restoration of water supply system
• Restoration and opening of transportation systems, roads, railways and airports.
• Provision of food and shelter to affected community.

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EARTHQUAKES

 Such an event is considered as an earthquake.

 Scientific study of earthquake is called Seismology.

 Therefore, earthquake activity is also referred to seismic activity.

 The instrument which records earthquake wave is called Seismograph.

 The epicenter is vertically above the focus.

Earthquakes can strike any location at any time,

Circum-Pacific seismic belt: The world’s

Alpine-Himalaya seismic belt: It extends from

Mid-Atlantic Ridge: The ridge marks where

Assam Earthquake (1950)

• It is also known as Assam-Tibet earthquake which occurred on 15th August 1950.

• It had 8.6 magnitude, with epicentre at Rima, Tibet.

• Almost 1500 people died in Assam and 3300 died in Tibet.

• The main cause of earthquake was collision of two continental plates.

• Latur Earthquake happened on 30th September 1993, with 6.3 magnitude

• It badly affected the districts of Latur and Osmanabad of Maharashtra.

Bhuj Earthquake (2001)

• The magnitude was 7.7 Richter Scale.

• Main cause of earth quake was subduction of Burma plate.

Darbhanga Earthquake (2015)

• It occurred on May 2015. It had a magnitude of 6.7.

• About 850 people died and 25,000 houses were damaged.

1. Ground Shaking- for most earthquakes shaking is a dominant and most

1. Soil Liquefaction is a phenomenon where low density saturated sands of relatively

3. Landslides: Cracks and fissures which occur as a result of severe earthquake

• Identification of risk and accordingly allocation of resources for such occurrence.

• Resource allocation may be like setting up of emergency Funds and procurement

• Maintenance of law and order

• Information and communication with the affected community.

• Restoration of water supply system

• Restoration and opening of transportation systems, roads, railways and airports.

• Provision of food and shelter to affected community.

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