1

Chapter I: Introduction
1.1 Introduction:
The Researcher Propose that Earthquake, Volcano and Tsunami,
these are the ultimate destroyer of the Natural Environment and Human
Environment. We usually think of the ground and the oceans are
peaceful things. The ground lies quietly beneath our feet, and the ocean
laps gently against the shore. But forces deep within the Earth can
suddenly destroy that peacefulness. These forces cause violent shakings
called earthquakes; explosions of ash, gases, and hot rocks called
volcanoes; and huge waves called tsunamis.
(i)

Earthquake: The Researcher Propose that the plates usually

move very slowly. But sometimes large pieces of the plates get
caught. The plates keep trying to move, but these large blocks of
rock hold them back. The pressure and energy build up. Then,
suddenly, the rocks give way, releasing all that pressure and
energy. The plates jerk forward, and the ground shakes. Far
above, on the surface, people feel an earthquake. In a small
earthquake, the ground shakes a little, causing some hanging
objects to swing. Tree branches sway, as if there were a gentle
breeze. Some earthquakes are so small that we do not notice
them. But sometimes the shaking is so strong that buildings
crumble, bridges collapse, and large cracks open in the ground
over large areas.

(ii)

Volcano: The Researcher Propose that a volcano occurs

wherever magma from deep inside the Earth comes out through a
crack in the surface. Volcanoes usually happen near the edges of
the plates, where there are many cracks and thin spots where the
magma can leak out. When the magma pours onto the surface, it

hardens, often piling up into a mountain. Sometimes, the liquid

rock flows peacefully out across the land. This is how many of
the active volcanoes on the Hawaiian Islands behave.

(iii)

Tsunami: The Researcher Propose that Tsunamis are huge waves

caused by earthquakes or volcanoes. They used to be called tidal
waves. But the word tidal means something to do with the
oceans normal tides, and tsunamis have nothing to do with the
tides. Tsunamis can be as high as a football field is long. They
are the largest waves in the world.

1.2 Introduction to Earthquake:

The Researcher Propose that earthquakes are nothing but natural
energy release driven by the evolutionary processes of the planet we live
on. Earthquakes have caused massive destruction to human life and
property, where these events have occurred near human settlements.
Earthquakes, therefore, are and were thought of as one of the worst
enemies of mankind.
Due to the very nature of release of energy, damage is evident
which, however, will not culminate in a disaster unless it strikes a
populated area. The twentieth century has seen anunparalled explosion in
the worlds population and an exponential growth in the size and number
of villages, towns and cities across the globe. Various migrations have
led to abnormal densification of urban areas, surrounded by mushroom
growth of squatter settlements especially in the developing third world.
As cities increase in size, so the potential for massive destruction
increases. The risk of earthquake disaster, therefore, is fast increasing,
and is higher than at any time in our history.
It is primarily the loss of life and the human suffering after the
occurrence that is most important, therefore, all those factors which
contribute towards this are of vital importance. The main contributor and
the principle cause of deaths in most large-scale disasters is the total or
partial collapse of buildings. In earthquakes affecting a higher quality
building stock,
Earthquake is one of the most destructive natural hazards. They may
occur at any time of the year, day or night, with sudden impact and little
warning. They can destroy buildings and infrastructure in seconds,
killing or injuring the inhabitants. Earthquakes not only destroy the

entire habitation but may de-stabilize the government, economy and

social structure of the country.
e.g., Japan and USA, more fatalities are caused by the failure of
non-structural elements or by the earthquake induced accidents e.g. fire,
overturning or collapse of free-standing walls etc. About 75% of
fatalities, however, are caused by the collapse of buildings, which
primarily are weak masonry buildings (adobe, rubble stone, or rammed
earth) or unreinforced fired brick and concrete block masonry that can
collapse even at low intensity of ground shaking. Unfortunately a very
large proportion of the worlds current building stock of such buildings
resides in the developing third world or marginally developed world. On
the other hand the increasing population in the developing countries will
continue to be housed in these types of structures for a foreseeable
future.
Earthquakes are the manifestations of sudden release of strain
energy accumulated in the rocks over extensive periods of time in the
upper part of the Earth.
Sudden shaking of the ground caused by a disturbance deeper within
the crust of the Earth. Most earthquakes occur when masses of rock
straining against one another along fault lines suddenly fracture and slip.
The Earth's major earthquakes occur mainly in belts coinciding with the
margins of tectonic plates. These include the Circum-Pacific Belt, which
affects New Zealand, New Guinea, Japan, the Aleutian Islands, Alaska,
and the western coasts of North and South America; the Alpide Belt,
which passes through the Mediterranean region eastward through Asia;
oceanic ridges in the Arctic, Atlantic, and western Indian oceans; and the
rift valleys of East Africa. The size, or magnitude, of earthquakes is
usually expressed in terms of the Richter scale, which assigns levels
from 1.0 or lower to 8.0 or higher. The largest quake ever recorded

(Richter magnitude 9.5) occurred off the coast of Chile in 1960. The
strength of an earthquake is rated in intensity scales such as the
Mercalli scale, which assigns qualitative measures of damage to terrain
and structures that range from not felt to damage nearly total. The
most destructive quake of modern times occurred in 1976, when the city
of Tangshan, China, was leveled and more than 250,000 people killed.
Earthquakes ever recorded struck near Anchorage, Alaska,
measuring 8.4 to 8.6 in magnitude. Besides elevating some 70,000 sq mi
(181,300 sq km) of land and devastating several cities, it generated a
tsunami that caused damage as far south as California. Other recent
earthquakes that trembling or shaking movement of the earth's surface.
Most earthquakes are minor tremors. Larger earthquakes usually begin
with slight tremors but rapidly take the form of one or more violent
shocks, and end in vibrations of gradually diminishing force called
aftershocks. The subterranean point of origin of an earthquake is called
its focus; the point on the surface directly above the focus is the
epicenter. The magnitude and intensity of an earthquake is determined
by the use of scales, e.g., the moment magnitude scale, Richter scale ,
and the modified Mercalli scale. Causes of Earthquakes Most
earthquakes are causally related to compressional or tensional stresses
built up at the margins of the huge moving lithospheric plates that make
up the earth's surface (see lithosphere). The immediate cause of most
shallow earthquakes is the sudden release of stress along a fault, or
fracture in the earth's crust, resulting in movement of the opposing
blocks of rock past one another. These movements cause vibrations to
pass through and around the earth in wave form, just as ripples are
generated when a pebble is dropped into water. Volcanic eruptions, rock
falls, landslides, and explosions can also cause a quake, but most of these
are of only local extent. Shock waves from a powerful earthquake can

trigger smaller earthquakes in a distant location hundreds of miles away

if the geologic conditions are favorable.
See also plate tectonics Seismic Waves There are several types of
earthquake waves including P, or primary, waves, which are
compressional and travel fastest; and S, or secondary, waves, which are
transverse, i.e., they cause the earth to vibrate perpendicularly to the
direction of their motion. Surface waves consist of several major types
and are called L, or long, waves. Since the velocities of the P and S
waves are affected by changes in the density and rigidity of the material
through which they pass, the boundaries between the regions of the earth
known as the crust, mantle, and core have been discerned by
seismologists; scientists who deal with the analysis and interpretation of
earthquake waves. Seismographs are used to record P, S, and L waves.
The disappearance of S waves below depths of 1,800 mi (2,900 km)
indicate that at least the outer part of the earths core is liquid.
Seismology is the science of Earthquakes and related phenomena. 1
Seismograph:
The Researcher Propose that Seismograph is an instrument that records
the ground motions. Seismogram is a continuous written record of an
earthquake recorded by a seismograph.

Seismology word derived from Greek word Seismos meaning Earthquake and Logos meaning
science.

Seismic Zonation Map of India:

The Researcher Propose that Seismic Zonation map of a country is a

guide to the seismic status of a region and its susceptibility to
earthquakes. India has been divided into five zones with respect to
severity of earthquakes. Of these, Zone V is seismically the most active
where earthquakes of magnitude 8 or more could occur recent strong
motion observations around the world have revolutionized thinking on
the design of engineering structures, placing emphasis also on the
characteristics of the structures themselves it should be realized that in
the case of shield type earthquakes, historic data are insufficient to define
zones because recurrence intervals are much longer than the recorded

human history this may often give a false sense of security. Occurrence
of the damaging earthquake at Latur, falling in zone I is a typical
example of this situation.
The earths crust is a rocky layer of varying thickness ranging from
a depth of about 10kilometers under the sea to 65 kilometers under the
continents. The crust is not one piece but consists of portions
called plates which vary in size from a few hundred to thousands of
kilometers. The theory of plate tectonics holds that the plates ride up on
the more mobile mantle, and are driven by some yet unconfirmed
mechanisms, perhaps thermal convection currents. When these plates
contact each other, stress arises in the crust. These stresses can be
classified according to the type of movement along the plates
boundaries:
(a) Pulling away from each other,
(b) Pushing against one another and
(c) Sliding sideways relative to each other.

All these movements are associated with earthquakes. The areas of

stress at plate boundaries which release accumulated energy by slipping
or rupturing are known as 'faults'. The theory of 'elasticity' says that the
crust is continuously stressed by the movement of the tectonic plates; it
eventually reaches a point of maximum supportable strain. A rupture
then occurs along the fault and the rock rebounds under its own elastic
stresses until the strain is relieved. The fault rupture generates vibration
called seismic (from the Greek 'seismos' meaning shock or earthquake)
waves, which radiates from the focus in all directions. The point of
rupture is called the 'focus' and may be located near the surface or deep
below it. The point on the surface directly above the focus is termed as
the epicenter of the earthquake.

Magnitude:
The Researcher Propose that it is a quantity to measure the size of an
earthquake and is independent of the place of the observation.
Richter scale:
The Researcher Propose that the local magnitude is defined as the
logarithm of the maximum amplitude measured in microns on a
seismogram written by Wood-Anderson seismograph with free period of
0.8 second, magnification of 2,800, damping factor of 0.8 calculated to
be at a distance of 100 kms. The relative size of events is calculated by
comparison to a reference event of ML=0, using the formula, ML=log Alog Ao where A is the maximum trace amplitude in micrometer recorded
on a standard seismograph and Ao is a standard value which is a function
of epicentral distance () in kilometers.
Classification of earthquakes1
Category
Magnitude on Richter Scale
Up to 4.9
Slight
5.0 to 6.9
Moderate
7.0 to 7.9
Great
8.0 and more
Very Great
India has witnessed some of the most devastating earthquakes
during the last century like the one in Kangra (1905), Bihar-Nepal (1934)
and in Assam (1950). In the recent past, earthquakes have caused havoc
in Uttarkashi (1991), Latur (1993), Jabalpur (1997), Chamoli (1999) and
in Bhuj (2001). On 26th January 2001, India experienced one of the
worst earthquakes in recent times. Measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale,
the earthquake caused incalculable damage not just to its epicenter, Bhuj
but also to other towns of the district of Kutch and to about 500 villages
out of the total of 900 villages. The reported damage to property in
1

Source: www.imd.gov.in

10

Gujarat was about Rs.21, 000crore and the numbers of human lives lost
were about 14,000. Of these, more than 500 deaths were reported from
Ahmedabad, situated at a distance of about 350 kms from Bhuj. In the
same city, close to 150 multi-storied buildings crumbled down. Cities far
away from the epicenter, like Surat, too reported damage to property.
Some damaging earthquake in India and appropriate number of
lives lost1
Year of
occurrence

Intensity

Others

1618
1720
1737

Bombay
Delhi
Bengal

6.5
-

1803

Mathura

6.5

1803

Kumaon

6.5

1819

Kutchch

8.0

XI

1828

Srinagar

6.0

1833

Bihar

7.7

1848

Mt.Abu,
Rajasthan

6.0

1869

Assam

7.5

1885

Srinagar

7.0

1897

Shillong

8.7

XII

8.0

XI

7.0

1905
1906

Place of
occurrence

Himachal
Pradesh
Himachal
Pradesh

1916

Nepal

7.5

1918

Assam

7.6

Source: www.imd.gov.in

2000 lives lost

Some lives lost
300,000 lives lost
The shock felt up to
Calcutta.
Killed 200-300 people.
Chief towns of Tera,
Kathara and Mothala
razed to the ground.
1000 people killed.
Hundreds of people
killed
Few people killed
Affected an area of
2,50,000 Sq. miles.
Kamiarary area
destroyed.
Wide spread
destruction in Shillong.
Thousands of people
killed.
Heavy damage.
All houses collapsed at
Dharchulla.
Heavy damage.

11

1930

Dhubri,
Meghalaya

7.1

IX

Heavy damage in
Dhubri.
Large number of border
area people killed.

1934

Bihar, Nepal

8.3

XI

7.5

IX

25,000 people killed

8.1
7.8

X
-

Very heavy damage.

Heavy damage.
Heavy damage to life
and property.
Heavy damage.

1941
1947

Quetta (in
Pakistan)
Andaman
Dibrugarh

1950

Assam

8.6

XII

1952

NE India
Bulandshahar,
U.P.

7.5

6.7

VIII Many people killed

1956

Anjar, Gujarat

7.0

VIII

1958
1967
1969

6.3
6.1
6.5
5.7

VIII Lots of damage.

1988

Kapkote, U.P.
Koyna,
Bhadrachalam
Dharamshala
(H.P)
Assam

Hundreds of people
killed
VIII Many people killed
VIII Koyna Nagar razed.
1 Heavy damage.

7.2

IX

1988

Bihar- Nepal

6.5

VIII

1991

Uttarkashi

6.6

VIII

1993

Latur

6.4

VIII

1997

Jabalpur

6.0

VIII

1999

Chamoli

6.8

VIII

2001

Bhuj

6.9

1935

1956

1986

Few people killed

Large number of people
killed.
Lots of damage to life
and property.
Heavy damage to life
and property about, 000
people killed.
Lots of damage to
property, about 39 lives
lost.
Lots of damage to
property about 100
people lost lives.
Huge devastation, about
~ 14000 people lost
lives

India has had a long history of earthquake occurrences. About 65% of

the total area of the country is vulnerable to seismic damage of buildings in
varying degrees. The most vulnerable areas, according to the present seismic
zone map of India, are located in the Himalayan and sub-Himalayan regions,

12

Kutch and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Depending on varying degrees
of seism city, the entire country can be divided into the following seismic
regions:

Kashmir and Western Himalayas - Covers the states of Jammu and Kashmir,
Himachal Pradesh and sub-mountainous areas of Punjab

Central Himalayas - Includes the mountain and sub-mountain regions of

Uttar Pradesh and the sub-mountainous parts of Punjab

North-east India - Comprises the whole of Indian territory to the east of north
Bengal

Indo-Gangetic basin and Rajasthan - This region comprises of Rajasthan,

plains of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal

Cambay and Rann of Kutch

Peninsular India, including the islands of Lakshwadeep

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands

Frequency of Occurrence of Earthquakes 1
Descriptor

Magnitude
Great
8 and higher
Major
7 - 7.9
Strong
6 - 6.9
Moderate
5 - 5.9
Light
4 - 4.9
Minor
3 - 3.9
Very Minor
2 - 2.9
Based on observations since 1900.
Based on observations since 1990.

Source: www.imd.gov.in

Average Annually
1
17
134
1319
13,000 (estimated)
130,000 (estimated)
1,300,000 (estimated)

13

Year-wise description of Earth Quakes

Number of Earthquakes Worldwide for 2000 - 2005. Located by the US

Geological Survey National Earthquake Information Center
Magnitude
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
8.0 to 9.9
1
1
0
1
2
1
7.0 to 7.9
14
15
13
14
14
9
6.0 to 6.9
158
126
130
140
140
116
5.0 to 5.9
1345
1243
1218
1203
1509
1307
4.0 to 4.9
8045
8084
8584
8462
10894
10264
3.0 to 3.9
4784
6151
7005
7624
7937
5782
2.0 to 2.9
3758
4162
6419
7727
6317
3249
1.0 to 1.9
1026
944
1137
2506
1344
20
0.1 to 0.9
5
1
10
134
103
0
No Magnitude 3120
2938
2937
3608
2939
642

Total

22256

23534

27454

31419

* 31199 * 21390

Estimated
Deaths

231

21357

1685

33819

284010

1957

List of Some Significant Earthquakes in India1

Date
1819 Jun 16
1869 Jan 10
1885 May 30
1897 Jun 12
1905 Apr 04
1918 Jul 08
1930 Jul 02
1934 Jan 15
1941 Jun 26
1943 Oct 23

23.6
25
34.1
26
32.3
24.5
25.8
26.6
12.4
26.8

Epicenter
68.6
93
74.6
91
76.3
91.0
90.2
86.8
92.5
94.0

1950 Aug 15 28.5

96.7

1956 Jul 21 23.3

1967 Dec 10 17.37
1975 Jan 19 32.38

7.0
73.75
78.49

Source: www.imd.gov.in

Location
Kutch,Gujarat
Near Cachar, Assam
Sopor, J&K
Shillongplateau
Kangra, H.P
Srimangal, Assam
Dhubri, Assam
Bihar-Nepalborder
Andaman Islands
Assam
Arunachal Pradesh-China
Border
Anjar, Gujarat
Koyna, Maharashtra
Kinnaur, Hp

Magnitude
8.0
7.5
7.0
8.7
8.0
7.6
7.1
8.3
8.1
7.2
8.5
7.0
6.5
6.2

14

1988 Aug 06 25.13

1988 Aug 21 26.72
1991 Oct 20 30.75

95.15
86.63
78.86

1993 Sep 30 18.07

76.62

1997 May 22 23.08

1999 Mar 29 30.41
2001 Jan 26 23.40

80.06
79.42
70.28

Manipur-Myanmar Border
Bihar-Nepal Border
Uttarkashi, Up Hills
Latur - Osmanabad,
Maharashtra
Jabalpur, MP
Champoli, UP
Bhuj, Gujarat

6.6
6.4
6.6
6.3
6.0
6.8
6.9

Some of the largest earthquakes of the world have occurred in India and
the earthquake engineering developments in the country started rather early.
After the 1897 Assam earthquake a new earthquake resistant type of housing
was developed which is still prevalent in the north-east India. The Baluchistan
earthquakes of 1930s led to innovative earthquake resistant constructions and to
the development of first seismic zone map. The institutional development started
in the late 1950s and earthquake engineering concepts have been applied to
numerous major projects in high seismic regions in the country. Extensive
damage during several moderate earthquakes in recent years indicate that despite
such early gains, earthquake risk in the country has been increasing alarmingly.
Most buildings even in high seismic regions of the country continue to be built
without appropriate earthquake resistant features. At the higher end of
earthquake technology, the gap between state-of-the practice of earthquake
engineering and research in India, bench-marked against the advanced countries,
has been widening.
The Researcher Propose that Indian earthquake problem cannot be
overemphasized. More than about 60% of the land area is considered prone to
shaking of intensity VII and above (MMI scale). In fact, the entire Himalayan
belt is considered prone to great earthquakes of magnitude exceeding 8.0, and in
a short span of about 50 years, four such earthquakes have occurred: 1897
Assam (M8.7), 1905 Kangra (M8.6), 1934 Bihar-Nepal (M8.4), and 1950
Assam-Tibet (M8.7). Earthquake engineering developments started rather early
in India. For instance, development of the first seismic zone map and of the
earthquake resistant features for masonry buildings took place in 1930s, and

15

formal teaching and research in earthquake engineering started in late 1950s.

Despite an early start, the seismic risk in the country has been increasing rapidly
in the recent years. Five moderate earthquakes in the last eleven years (1988
Bihar-Nepal: M6.6, about 1,004 dead; 1991 Uttarkashi: M6.6, about 768 dead;
1993 Latur: M6.4, about 8,000 dead; 1997 Jabalpur: M6.0, about 38 dead; and
1999 Chamoli: M6.5, about 100 dead) have clearly underlined the inadequate
preparedness of the country to face damaging earthquakes. The paper discusses
the developments of earthquake engineering in India during the last one hundred
years, the current status of earthquake risk reduction in India, strengths and
weaknesses of Indian model of earthquake engineering developments, and the
future challenges.
Extensive Definition:
The Researcher Propose that an earthquake is the result of a sudden
release of energy in the Earths crust that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes are
recorded with a seismometer, also known as a seismograph. The moment
magnitude of an earthquake is conventionally reported, or the related and mostly
obsolete Richter magnitude, 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.
At the Earth's surface, earthquakes manifest themselves by a shaking and
sometimes displacement of 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.
In its most generic sense, the word earthquake is used to describe any
seismic eventwhether a natural phenomenon or an event caused by humans
that generates seismic waves. Earthquakes are caused mostly by rupture of
geological faults, huge amounts of gas migration, mainly methane deep within

16

the earth, but also by volcanic activity, landslides, mine blasts, and nuclear
experiments.
An earthquake's point of initial rupture is called its focus or hypocenter.
The term epicenter means the point at ground level directly above this.
Naturally occurring earthquakes:
The Researcher Propose that tectonic earthquakes will occur anywhere
within the earth where there is sufficient stored elastic strain energy to drive
fracture

propagation

along

a fault

plane.

In

the

case

of transform or convergent type plate boundaries, which form the largest fault
surfaces on earth, they will move past each other smoothly and a
seismically only if there are no irregularities or asperities along the boundary
that increase the frictional resistance. Most boundaries do have such asperities
and this leads to a form of stick-slip behavior. Once the boundary has locked,
continued relative motion between the plates leads to increasing stress and
therefore, stored strain energy in the volume around the fault surface. This
continues until the stress has risen sufficiently to break through the asperity,
suddenly allowing sliding over the locked portion of the fault, releasing the
stored energy. This energy is released as a combination of radiated
elastic strain seismic waves, frictional heating of the fault surface, and cracking
of the rock, thus causing an earthquake. This process of gradual build-up of
strain and stress punctuated by occasional sudden earthquake failure is referred
to as the Elastic-rebound theory. It is estimated that only 10 percent or less of an
earthquake's total energy is radiated as seismic energy. Most of the earthquake's
energy is used to power the earthquake fracture growth or is converted into heat
generated by friction. Therefore, earthquakes lower the Earth's available elastic
potential energy and raise its temperature, though these changes are negligible
compared to the conductive and convective flow of heat out from the Earth's
deep interior.

17

Earthquakes away from plate boundaries:

The Researcher Propose that where plate boundaries occur within
continental lithosphere, deformation is spread out a over a much larger area than
the plate boundary itself. In the case of the San Andreas fault continental
transform, many earthquakes occur away from the plate boundary and are
related to strains developed within the broader zone of deformation caused by
major irregularities in the fault trace (e.g. the Big bend region).
The Northridge earthquake was associated with movement on a blind thrust
within such a zone. Another example is the strongly oblique convergent plate
boundary between the Arabian and Eurasian plates where it runs through the
northwestern part of the Zagros mountains. The deformation associated with this
plate boundary is partitioned into nearly pure thrust sense movements
perpendicular to the boundary over a wide zone to the southwest and nearly pure
strike-slip motion along the Main Recent Fault close to the actual plate boundary
itself. This is demonstrated by earthquake focal mechanisms.
All tectonic plates have internal stress fields caused by their interactions
with neighboring plates and sedimentary loading or unloading (e.g.
deglaciation). These stresses may be sufficient to cause failure along existing
fault planes, giving rise to intra-plate earthquakes.
Deep focus earthquakes:
The Researcher Propose that the majority of tectonic earthquakes
originate at depths not exceeding tens of kilometers. In subduction zones, where
older and colder oceanic crust descends beneath another tectonic plate, Deep
focus earthquakes may occur at much greater depths (up to seven hundred
kilometers). These seismically active areas of subduction are known as WadatiBenioff zones. These are earthquakes that occur at a depth at which the sub
ducted lithosphere should no longer be brittle, due to the high temperature and

18

pressure. A possible mechanism for the generation of deep focus earthquakes is

faulting caused by olivine undergoing a phase transition into a spinal structure.
Earthquakes and volcanic activity:
The Researcher Propose that earthquakes also often occur in volcanic
regions and are caused there, both by tectonic faults and by the movement
of magma in volcanoes. Such earthquakes can serve as an early warning of
volcanic eruptions.
Earthquake storms:
The Researcher Propose that sometimes a series of earthquakes occur in
a sort of earthquake storm, where the earthquakes strike a fault in clusters, each
triggered by the shaking or stress redistribution of the previous earthquakes.
Similar to aftershocks but on adjacent segments of fault, these storms occur over
the course of years, and with some of the later earthquakes as damaging as the
early ones. Such a pattern was observed in the sequence of about a dozen
earthquakes that struck the North Anatolian Fault in Turkey in the 20th century,
the half dozen large earthquakes in New Madrid in 1811-1812, and has been
inferred for older anomalous clusters of large earthquakes in the Middle East
and in the Mojave Desert.
Size and frequency of occurrence:
The Researcher Propose that minor earthquakes occur nearly constantly
around the world in places like California and Alaska in the U.S., as well as in
Chile, Peru, Indonesia, Iran, Pakistan the Azores in Portugal, Turkey, New
Zealand, Greece, Italy, and Japan, Larger earthquakes occur less frequently, the
relationship being exponential; for example, roughly ten times as many
earthquakes larger than magnitude 4 occur in a particular time period than
earthquakes larger than magnitude 5. In the (low seismicity) United Kingdom,
for example, it has been calculated that the average recurrences are:

19

An earthquake of 3.7 - 4.6 every year

An earthquake of 4.7 - 5.5 every 10 years

An earthquake of 5.6 or larger every 100 years.

The number of seismic stations has increased from about 350 in 1931 to

many thousands today. As a result, many more earthquakes are reported than in
the past because of the vast improvement in instrumentation (not because the
number of earthquakes has increased). The USGS estimates that, since 1900,
there have been an average of 18 major earthquakes (magnitude 7.0-7.9) and one
great earthquake (magnitude 8.0 or greater) per year, and that this average has
been relatively stable. In fact, in recent years, the number of major earthquakes
per year has actually decreased, although this is likely a statistical fluctuation.
More detailed statistics on the size and frequency of earthquakes is available
from the USGS.
Most of the world's earthquakes (90%, and 81% of the largest) take place
in the 40,000-km-long, horseshoe-shaped zone called the circum-Pacific seismic
belt, also known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, which for the most part bounds
the Pacific Plate. Massive earthquakes tend to occur along other plate
boundaries, too, such as along the Himalayan Mountains.
With the rapid growth of mega-cities such as Mexico City, Tokyo or
Tehran, in areas of high seismic risk, some seismologists are warning that a
single quake may claim the lives of up to 3 million people.
Earthquakes take place at locations where there are mountains. If you
want to know the exact locations, take the relief globe from your drawing room
and run your finger along the mountain line. You now have the complete data on
where most earthquakes have been occurring in the world. Now, that is not the
end of it. Earthquakes can and have been occurring at other locations too,
particularly where there are not necessarily any major mountain ranges; the
1993 earthquake in Deccan plateau of Marathwada in central India is a recent

20

example of this from our country. This means that in India, virtually over 60%
of the area is under the threat of moderate to strong earthquake shaking.
Understanding earthquakes is an on-going process. Two questions are
most frequently asked: (a) why do earthquakes occur? And (b) Can we predict
earthquakes? Let us address the first one. There is a large differential pressure
and temperature between the center of the Earth and its surface; the pressure
inside is about 4 million atmospheres and the temperature about 6000C. So
most matter inside the Earth is in the hot molten form of lava. This gradient
coupled with the presence of magnetic field of the Earth, generates a circulation
of the Earth's mass - from the North Pole to the South Pole along the axis and
from South Pole to the North Pole along the surface. Of course, the rate of this
motion is very small, on an average of about 2 inches per year in active
earthquake areas. The journey of the Earth's mass from the South Pole to the
North Pole is what all of us participate in. Understandably, since the pace of
motion is not uniform across the entire Earth, some parts move faster than the
others do. Consequently, the Earth's surface can be visualized to consist of a
number of pieces, called tectonic plates, which move towards the North Pole.
Also, the motion of these plates is not a smooth one but happens in fits and
starts, thanks to the limited strength of the Earth's material to resist the strains
generated by these relative motions. So, every time a tectonic plate moves more
than its neighbor and slips over it, large amount of strain energy is suddenly
released and there is a tremor of the Earth, which we call as an earthquake. The
junctions of these plates are named as faults. Again, many of these faults lie
along the mountains that all of us observe.
Now, coming to the second question on predicting earthquakes, it is
virtually impossible to predict when and where the next earthquake will occur in
the world. Reports of having predicted earthquakes are very hotly debated even
today. Most prediction studies are based on a presumed structure of the Earth's
cross-section and on very simplified models of the movement of the earth's
crust. These developments are based on a limited data that too from the top few

21

kilometers of the Earth's crust. Therefore, prediction studies have effectively not
taken off.
Earthquakes dont kill people; it is the structures built by man that kill
people. With frequent reminders of moderate earthquakes staring into our eyes,
India is at the crossroads of earthquake preparedness. It has only two options to
choose from prepare now or pay later. For a country with relatively fragile
economy and with a very dense demographic distribution, the second option will
be a very costly proposition. Even if it means an uphill task, time is ripe to take
the challenge with open arms.

22

1.3 Introduction to Volcanic eruptions:

The Researcher Propose that volcano vents or fissures in the earth's crust
through which gases, molten rock, or lava, and solid fragments are discharged.
Their study is called volcanology. The term volcano is commonly applied both
to the vent and to the conical mountain (cone) built up around the vent by the
erupted rock materials. Volcanoes are described as active, dormant, or extinct.
The soil resulting from decomposition of volcanic materials is extremely fertile,
and the ash itself is a good polishing and cleansing agent.
We have probably heard in the news about volcanic eruptions, or you
might remember when Mount St. Helens erupted. Perhaps you've even seen an
active volcano. Although they are often a destructive force, volcanoes are
amazing facets of creation. They come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and eruption
types.
Volcanoes erupt when magma, red-hot liquid rock, seeps up through a
vent in the earth. More violent eruptions occur when pyroclastic material - a
mixture of magma, rocks, ash, and hot gases - is exploded upward by pressure
caused by underground gases and magma.
When magma flows above the surface of the earth, it is called lava.
Usually lava changes from bright red to duller red, gray, or black as air causes it
to cool and solidify.
Volcanic eruptions vary in size and display. There are six common types
of eruptions, with differing features. Plinian eruptions usually have thick lava
and high gas content. They can shoot pyroclastic material high into the air,
moving at hundreds of feet per second. These eruptions can last for hours or
even days. Hawaiian eruptions are not usually very explosive; instead, they
produce streams of slow-moving lava. An interesting feature of Hawaiian
eruptions are "fire fountains", huge fountains of magma being spewed into the
air. These fountains last anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours.

23

Strombolian eruptions put on an impressive display but are not usually very
dangerous. During these eruptions, lava is shot fifty to a few hundred feet into
the air and is accompanied by booming noises. These eruptions do not produce
much lava flow. Vulcanian eruptions do not have much lava flow either, but
they tend to be larger than Strombolian ones. They produce a lot of ash and spit
out "bombs" of hard pyroclastic material. Hydrovolcanic eruptions occur when
water vapor hits hot magma and gases, and forms huge steam clouds that rise
from the volcano. Fissure eruptions occur when magma leaks up through a long
crack in the ground. They are associated with "curtains of fire" - magma being
spewed up to a small height all along a fissure.
There are also different shapes and sizes of volcanoes. Stratovolcanos
are usually very high, with pointy tops. They are formed by repeated explosions,
usually Plinian, and by slow-moving lava. Eruptions from these volcanoes are
usually very large but occur infrequently. Mount Vesuvius, which buried the
Roman city of Pompeii in 79 AD, is a stratovolcano. Shield-type volcanoes are
usually spread out over a large area and have gently sloping sides. They are
caused by minor explosions (usually Hawaiian) and erupt more frequently than
stratovolcanoes. Most of the major volcanoes in Hawaii are shield volcanoes.
Scoria Cones are the most common volcano type, usually caused by Strombolian
eruptions. They are shaped like upside-down cones, with slightly squished tops.
Scoria cones usually erupt only once.
Origin of Volcano:
The Researcher Propose that volcanoes are one of the most dynamic,
powerful, and visible forces on Earth. What are volcanoes and what factors
cause them to form in certain areas? How are geothermal features like fumaroles
and geysers related to these temperamental mountains?
Let us start by looking at the volcano itself and learn the different parts
of it, the rocks associated with it, and where volcanoes form.

24

Form of Volcano:
The Researcher Propose that hot magma, melted rock below Earth's
crust, rises and collects in a magma chamber deep below the surface. If the
magma flows through a conduit up to a vent on the surface, then it may cause an
eruption and form a volcano.
Gases, lava, and pyroclastic material are erupted from volcanic vents.
The mountain that forms from layers of lava and tephra is called a volcano. The
word "volcano" comes from the name of a Roman god, Vulcan, who was the
god of fire. Magma that solidifies inside a volcano can form dikes and sills.
Volcanoes are classified as active, dormant or extinct.
The Magma Chamber:
The Researcher Propose that magma is the name given to melted liquid
rock below Earth's surface. It is stored below the volcano in a chamber or
reservoir. During active periods, this reservoir fills with magma. After a large
eruption, or during dormancy, this reservoir can drain, which may trigger the
creation of a caldera.
The Magma Conduit:
The Researcher Propose that the magma conduit is the plumbing system
of the volcano. Molten magma creates pipes, through the volcano. Magma
then travels through them to the surface.
The Main Vent:
The Researcher Propose that the main vent often is located at or near the
summit of the volcano. This is where most eruptive activity (lava flows,
pyroclastic flows, and large gas emissions) occurs.

25

Lava Flows:
The Researcher Propose that Lava flows occur during some eruptions.
Once magma reaches the vent and flows onto the surface of Earth it is called
lava. Lava flows add land to the surface, and build the mountains we call
volcanoes. The island of Hawaii is nearly 100% cooled and solidified lava!
Pyroclastic Flows:
The Researcher Propose that pyroclastic flows occur during some
eruptions. These are super-heated clouds of volcanic material ranging from ash
to volcanic bombs. Pyroclastic flows travel very fast, and can destroy everything
in their path.
The Volcano:
The Researcher Propose that volcanoes are built from layers of lava and
tephra (particles of rock, solidified lava, and ash of all different sizes). The lava
cools on the sides of the volcano and hardens into rock. Pyroclastic flows and
eruption clouds deposit tephra on top of lava layers, increasing the size of the
mountain.
Dikes and Sills:
The Researcher Propose that the molten, pressurized magma intrudes
into the solid volcanic rock to create dikes and sills. Dikes cut across volcanic
rock layers, and sills run parallel to the layers. Eventually the magma hardens
inside Earth and becomes an intrusive igneous rock.
Vulcan, Roman God of Fire:
The Researcher Propose that in Roman mythology, Vulcan was the god
of fire. He was also known as the blacksmith of the gods.
There is a small volcanic island in the Mediterranean Sea called
Vulcano. The local residents once believed the volcano on the island was the

26

chimney of Vulcan's workshop. They thought the hot lava and smoke issuing
from the mountain were products of Vulcan's work as he created thunderbolts
for Jupiter, king of the gods, and weapons for Mars, god of war.
Active, Dormant, and Extinct:
The Researcher Propose that volcanologists classify volcanoes based on
how much activity has been recorded over time.
Active:
The Researcher Propose that an active volcano is currently erupting or
has erupted in recent history. Active volcanoes can have eruptions of gases,
pyroclastic material, tephra, and lava.
Dormant:
The Researcher Propose that a dormant volcano is not presently erupting,
and has not erupted in recent history. There is still potential for renewed activity,
because there still may be magma moving or cooling deep inside the volcano.
Extinct:
The Researcher Propose that an extinct volcano has not erupted in recent
history and is unlikely to erupt again. Wind and water have broken and
smoothed the shape of the mountain. The magma has drained below the surface
or cooled inside the volcano.
Magma:
The Researcher Propose that magma is the word used to describe melted
or molten rock inside Earth. Magma is composed of elements, minerals, and
gases that were present in the rock before it melted.
The major elements in magma are those present in Earth's crust: oxygen
(O), silicon (Si), aluminum (Al), iron (Fe), calcium (Ca), sodium (Na),
magnesium (Mg), and potassium (K). These elements combine to form minerals

27

such as magnetite, hauynite, olivine, pyroxene, hornblende, plagioclase,

potassium feldspar (k-feldspar), and quartz.
Magma also contains dissolved gases like water vapor (H2O), carbon
dioxide (CO2), and sulfur dioxide (SO2).
Composition on Magma:
The Researcher Propose that the composition of the magma determines
the eruption style, rock type, and volcano shape. Variations in the chemical
compositions and properties of the magma determine whether it will be
classified as mafic, felsic, or intermediate.
Types of Volcanoes:
The Researcher Propose that volcanoes are openings, or vents, in the
surface of Earth where gases, lava and pyroclastic material are erupted. Because
of the different types of magma, and the locations where they form, volcanoes
can have a wide variety of shapes and sizes.
Volcanoes are classified based on their height, shape, magma type, and
eruption style. In this section, you can learn about four types of volcanoes.
The two primary types are shield volcanoes and composite volcanoes.
Cinder cones and lava domes are considered to be secondary cones, because
they occur on or near composite or shield volcanoes.
Shield Volcanoes:
The Researcher Propose that Shield volcanoes have the shape of a
warrior's shield lying flat on the ground: very broad with large bases. This is due
to the low viscosity of the magma. They are not as steep as composite
volcanoes, but are often greater in volume.
Shield volcanoes usually have slow, gentle eruptions that produce large
volumes of mafic magma (rich in iron and magnesium). Although these

28

eruptions are usually relatively quiet, there can be large explosions when magma
comes into contact with groundwater, vaporizing the water instantly. Shield
volcanoes are found commonly in oceanic areas, such as Hawaii. The Big Island
of Hawaii is made up of five huge shield volcanoes.
Formation of Shield Volcanoes:
The Researcher Propose that Explore the steps involved in the formation
and growth of a shield volcano.
Initial Vent Formation:
The Researcher Propose that a magma reservoir sits below the ocean
floor. Pressure builds, pushing the magma closer and closer to the surface. Small
vents and fissures open on the ocean floor, and lava escapes. Pillow lavas form
when the molten rock comes in contact with the cold seawater.
Shield Building:
The Researcher Propose that many successive lava flows, over thousands
or even millions of years build a mountain that is shaped like a warrior's shield.
Eruptions happen often, and large amounts of lava are poured out of the vent, so
the mountains can grow to immense proportions.
Lava Fountains:
The Researcher Propose that Shield volcano eruptions are commonly
gentle and effusive, with great quantities of basaltic lava flowing out of the vent.
Mafic magma has low viscosity and flows easily, so lava from a shield volcano
can flow great distances. Sometimes spectacular lava fountains occur when
molten rock is squirted thousands of feet in the air above an erupting vent.
Eruptions and Intrusions:
The Researcher Propose that magma rising from a sea-floor vent can
come to the surface to cause an eruption at the main vent or at a fissure or

29

smaller vent on the flank of the volcano. Magma can also create intrusive
igneous structures like dikes and sills.
Caldera Formation:
The Researcher Propose that after an eruption all of the magma has
either been expelled through the vents, or has drained back into a reservoir deep
below the volcano. The conduits through which it flowed are left hollow and
empty. Because of the heavy weight of hardened lava over the unstable, empty
magma conduits, the summit of the volcano can collapse, forming a huge crater
known as a caldera.
Erosion and Reef Building:
The Researcher Propose that erosion from the wind and waves carves
away at the volcano's summit and flanks. The volcano's height is reduced as it is
eroded from the top, and the weight of the layers and layers of lava causes the
volcano to subside (sink). Sandy sediments build up, and coral reefs begin to
grow in the shallow water. As water depth increases, the coral die from lack of
sunlight. New reefs can grow on top of the deeper ones.
Atoll Formation:
The Researcher Propose that continued erosion and subsidence (sinking)
of the volcano reduce its height to sea level or below. Coral reefs keep growing,
building on each other in the shallow water. The reefs eventually form an atoll,
which is a group of islands in the shape of a ring with a lagoon in the middle.
Seamount Formation:
The Researcher Propose that eventually the volcano sinks faster than the
reefs are growing. Below sea level wave erosion flattens the top of the volcano,
which is now called a seamount.

30

Shield Volcanoes in National Parks

Explore some of America's national parks where shield volcanoes can be found.
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve
Composite Volcanoes:
The Researcher Propose that these volcanoes are also called
stratovolcanoes because they are made from many layers (strata) of rock, ash,
and hardened lava. In addition, volcanic mudflows (lahars) can make up some of
the layers.
Composite volcanoes experience very explosive eruptions because of the
intermediate to felsic magma types (high viscosity, high silica, low melting
temperature). Composite volcanoes are steeper near the summit, but slope more
gently near the base of the mountain. Composite volcanoes are typically found
on island arcs and continents at subduction zones.
How Composite Volcanoes Form
Explore the steps involved in the formation and growth of a composite
volcano.
Magma Reservoir:
The Researcher Propose that a magma reservoir sits below the ground in
Earth's crust. Composite volcanoes form in areas where subduction occurs.
Subduction happens when tectonic plates collide and one plate is pushed below
the other into the interior of Earth.
The magma creating composite volcanoes is likely to have a high content
of silica, making it explosive. As the volume of magma in the reservoir
increases, pressure builds until a vent opens in the ground and a volcano is
formed.

31

Lava Layers:
The Researcher Propose that composite volcanoes are also called
tratovolcanoes because they are composed of layers (strata) of lava flows,
tephra, and mudflows. Lava, magma that has reached Earth's surface, pours out
of the main vent at the summit of the volcano, flows down its sides and hardens
to form a steep mountain.
Tephra Layers:
The Researcher Propose that composite volcano eruptions do not always
involve lava. Some eruptions release pressurized volcanic gases in great
explosions that expel tephra (ash, lapilli, cinders, bombs) into the air. This
material can fall back onto the volcano, adding another layer to its height and
width.
Continued Layering:
The Researcher Propose that an eruption of lava flows and pyroclastic
material continue, building a mountain that will be thousands of feet high.
Typically, composite volcanoes erupt andesite-based lava, but they can contain
lava of any composition from basalt to rhyolite.
Continued Layering:
The Researcher Propose that composite volcanoes are usually active over
hundreds of thousands of years. During this time, there are many eruptions with
periods of dormancy between them. Generally, lava flows and pyroclastic
deposits do not occur in the same eruption. The volcanoes grow to great heights,
typically having a gentle slope at the base, and a steeper slope at the summit.
Explosive Eruptions:
The Researcher Propose that composite volcanoes frequently erupt
explosively. Magma can push its way inside the volcano to form dikes and sills,
or flow out of a vent. Composite volcanoes can have multiple vents, at the

32

summit and on the flanks of the mountain. Lahars (volcanic mudflows) can
course down the side of the volcano, and hot pyroclastic flows rush down slope
carrying gases, tephra, and debris at high speeds and temperatures.
Caldera Formation:
The Researcher Propose that during an eruption, the magma and gases
that were creating high pressures inside the volcano are released. This leaves the
top of the mountain very unstable. This instability can cause the summit of the
volcano to collapse in on itself, forming a caldera.
Lava Dome Formation:
The Researcher Propose that renewed volcanism in the caldera can lead
to the formation of lava domes in the caldera. Lava domes form when viscous
lava pours out of the vent. Volcanic gas and steam are still released from the
caldera as the magma and pyroclastic material cool.
Erosion:
The Researcher Propose that after many thousands or millions of years,
the summit and flanks of the dormant volcano are eroded and smoothed. The
layers of the volcano that were formed from tephra and mudslides erode more
easily than the layers formed from lava flows. Erosion can also expose intrusive
igneous rocks like dikes and sills that formed inside the volcano's layers.
Composite Volcanoes in National Parks:
The Researcher Propose that explore some of America's national parks
where composite volcanoes can be found.
Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve
Katmai National Park and Preserve
Lake Clark National Park and Preserve
Mount Rainier National Park

33

North Cascades National Park

Cinder Cones:
The Researcher Propose that Cinder cones are considered secondary
cones because they generally form in areas of other volcanic activity, including
on composite and shield volcanoes. Cinder cones are peaks formed when
pyroclastic materials are ejected into the air from a vent and fall back to the
ground around the vent in a cone-shaped pile resembling a mound of cinders.
The cones are small, steep-sided, and symmetrical. These volcanoes can
form individually over a vent. They can also form in the crater or on the flank of
another larger volcano. Wizard Island in Crater Lake National Park in Oregon
formed after the summit of Mount Mazama collapsed.

34

1.4 Introduction to Tsunami:

The Researcher Propose that the term tsunami comes from the Japanese
word, composed of the two tsu (tsu) meaning "harbour" and nami (nami),
meaning "wave". (For the plural, one can either follow ordinary English practice
and add an s, or use an invariable plural as in the Japanese.)
Tsunamis are sometimes referred to as tidal waves, which are unusually
high sea waves that are triggered especially by earthquakes. In recent years, this
term has fallen out of favor, especially in the scientific community, because
tsunamis actually have nothing to do with tides. The once-popular term derives
from their most common appearance, which is that of an extraordinarily high
tidal bore. Tsunami and tides both produce waves of water that move inland, but
in the case of tsunami the inland movement of water is much greater and lasts
for a longer period, giving the impression of an incredibly high tide. Although
the meanings of "tidal" include "resembling" or "having the form or character of
the tides, and the term tsunami is no more accurate because tsunami are not
limited to harbours, use of the term tidal wave is discouraged by geologists and
oceanographers.
As early as 426 BC the Greek historian Thucydides inquired in his book
History of the Peloponnesian War about the causes of tsunami, and was the first
to argue that ocean earthquakes must be the cause.
"The cause, in my opinion, of this phenomenon must be sought in the
earthquake. At the point where its shock has been the most violent the sea is
driven back, and suddenly recoiling with redoubled force, causes the inundation.
Without an earthquake I do not see how such an accident could happen."
The Roman historian Ammines Marcellinus described the typical
sequence of a tsunami, including an incipient earthquake, the sudden retreat of
the sea and a following gigantic wave, after the 365 AD tsunami devastated
Alexandria.

35

While Japan may have the longest recorded history of tsunamis, the
sheer destruction caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami
event mark it as the most devastating of its kind in modern times, killing around
230,000 people. The Sumatran region is not unused to tsunamis either, with
earthquakes of varying magnitudes regularly occurring off the coast of the
island.
Tsunami can be generated when the sea floor rapidly deforms and
vertically displaces the overlying water. Tectonic earthquakes are a particular
kind of earthquake that are associated with the Earth's crustal deformation; when
these earthquakes occur beneath the sea, the water above the deformed area is
displaced from its equilibrium position. More specifically, a tsunami can be
generated when thrust faults associated with convergent or destructive plate
boundaries move abruptly, resulting in water displacement, owing to the vertical
component of movement involved. Movement on normal faults will also cause
displacement of the seabed, but the size of the largest of such events is normally
too small to give rise to a significant tsunami.
Tsunamis have a small amplitude (wave height) offshore, and a very
long wavelength (often hundreds of kilometers long, whereas normal ocean
waves have a wavelength of only 30 or 40 meters), which is why they generally
pass unnoticed at sea, forming only a slight swell usually about 300 millimeters
(12 in) above the normal sea surface. They grow in height when they reach
shallower water, in a wave shoaling process described below. A tsunami can
occur in any tidal state and even at low tide can still inundate coastal areas.
On April 1, 1946, a magnitude-7.8 (Richter scale) earthquake occurred
near the Aleutian Islands, Alaska. It generated a tsunami which inundated Hilo
on the island of Hawai'i with a 14-metre high (46 ft) surge. The area where the
earthquake occurred is where the Pacific Ocean floor is sub ducting (or being
pushed downwards) under Alaska.

36

Examples of tsunami originating at locations away from convergent

boundaries include Storegga about 8,000 years ago, Grand Banks 1929, Papua
New Guinea 1998 (Tappin, 2001). The Grand Banks and Papua New Guinea
tsunamis came from earthquakes which destabilized sediments, causing them to
flow into the ocean and generate a tsunami. They dissipated before traveling
transoceanic distances.
The cause of the Storegga sediment failure is unknown. Possibilities
include an overloading of the sediments, an earthquake or a release of gas
hydrates (methane etc.).
The 1960 Valdivia earthquake (Mw 9.5) (19:11 hrs UTC), 1964 Alaska
earthquake (Mw 9.2), 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake (Mw 9.2) (00:58:53 UTC)
and 2011 Thoku earthquake (Mw9.0) are recent examples of powerful mega
thrust earthquakes that generated tsunamis (known as teletsunamis) that can
cross entire oceans. Smaller (Mw 4.2) earthquakes in Japan can trigger tsunamis
(called local and regional tsunamis) that can only devastate nearby coasts, but
can do so in only a few minutes.
Origin of Tsunami:
Tsunamis are generated by any large, impulsive displacement of the sea bed
level.
Earthquakes generate tsunamis by vertical movement of the sea floor. If the sea
floor movement is horizontal, a tsunami is not generated. Earthquakes of M 6.5
are critical for tsunami generation.
Tsunamis are also triggered by landslides into or under the water surface, and
can be generated by volcanic activity and meteorite impacts.

37

Occurrences of Tsunami:
On the average, there are two tsunamis per year somewhere in the world which
cause damage near the source.
Approximately every 15 years a destructive, Pacific-wide tsunami occurs.
The destructive tsunami on Dec 26th, 2004 on the Indian Coast seems to have
occurred for the first time in the history.
Travel of Tsunami:
Tsunami velocity is dependent on the depth of water through which it travels.
Tsunamis travel approximately 700 kmph in 4000 m depth of sea water. In 10
m of water depth the velocity drops to about 36 kmph.
For example, the tsunami from Sumatra coastal earthquake traveled to Tamil
Nadu coast in about two hours.
Even on shore tsunamis can faster than a person can run.
Size of Tsunami:
Tsunamis range in size from centimeters to over 30 m height. Most tsunamis
are less than 3 m in height.
In deep water (greater than 200 m), tsunamis are rarely over 1m high and will
not be noticed by ships due to their long period (time between crests).
As tsunamis propagate into shallow water, the wave height can increase by
over 10 times.
Tsunami heights can vary greatly along a coast. The waves are amplified by
certain shoreline and bathymetric (sea floor) features.
A large tsunami can flood land up to more than 1.5 km from the coast.

38

The force of some tsunamis is enormous. Large rocks weighing several tons
along with boats and other debris can be moved inland hundreds of feet by
tsunami wave activity. Homes and other buildings are destroyed. All this
material and water move with great force and can kill or injure people.
Some Historical Tsunamis:
The Researcher Propose that prior to the Tsunami of 26 December 2004,
the most destructive Pacific-wide Tsunami of recent history was generated along
the coast of Chile on May 22, 1960. No accurate assessment of the damage and
deaths attributable to this Tsunami along the coast of Chile can be given;
however, all coastal towns between the 36th and 44th (latitude) parallels either
were destroyed or heavily damaged by the action of the waves and the quake.
The combined Tsunami and earthquake toll included 2,000 killed, 3000 injured
2,000,000 homeless and $550 million damages. Off Corral, the waves were
estimated to be 20.4 meters (67 feet) high. The Tsunami caused 61 deaths in
Hawaii, 20 in the Philippines, and 100 or more in Japan. Estimated damages
were $50 million in Japan, $24 million Hawaii and several millions along the
west coast of the United States and Canada. Wave heights varied from slight
oscillations in some areas to range of 12.2 meters (40 feet) at Pitcairn Islands;
10.7 meters (35 feet) at Hilo, Hawaii and 6.1 meters (20 feet) at various places
in Japan.
The hydrographic survey in Japan after the great Kwato earthquake of
September 1, 1923 showed that vertical displacements of the order of 100
meters had occurred over a large area of sea floor. Tsunamis are very common
over the Pacific Ocean because it is surrounded on all sides by a seismically
active belt. In the Hawain Islands, Tsunamis approach from all directions,
namely, from Japan, the Aleutian Islands and from South America.

39

Tsunami Risk in India:

The Researcher Propose that the Indian coastal belt has not recorded
many Tsunamis in the past. Waves accompanying earthquake activity have been
reported over the North Bay of Bengal. During an earthquake in 1881 which had
its epicenter near the centre of the Bay of Bengal, Tsunamis were reported. The
earthquake of 1941 in Bay of Bengal caused some damage in Andaman region.
This was unusual because most Tsunamis are generated by shocks which occur
at or near the flanks of continental slopes. During the earthquakes of 1819 and
1845 near the Rann of Kutch, there were rapid movements of water into the sea.
There is no mention of waves resulting from these earthquakes along the coast
adjacent to the Arabian Sea, and it is unlikely that Tsunamis were generated.
Further west, in the Persian Gulf, the 1945 Mekran earthquake (magnitude 8.1)
generated Tsunami of 12 to 15 meters height. This caused a huge deluge, with
considerable loss of life and property at Ormara and Pasi. The estimated height
of Tsunami at Gulf of Bombay was 15m but no report of damage is available.
The estimated height of waves was about 2 meters at Mumbai, where boats were
taken away from their moorings and casualties occurred. A list showing the
Tsunami that affected Indian coast in the past is given in Table-3.2. The
information given in the Table is sketchy and authenticity cannot be confirmed
except the Tsunami of 26th December 2004.
Above facts indicate the coastal region of Gujarat is vulnerable to
Tsunamis from great earthquakes in Mekran coast. Earthquake of magnitude 7
or more may be dangerous. It may be noted that all earthquake do not generate
Tsunami. Research is still being undertaken in this field. For the Indian region,
two potential sources have been identified, namely Mekran coast and Andaman
to Sumatra region.
Model generated Travel time of 26th December Tsunami is shown in Fig
3.1. Fig. 3.2 indicates the wave heights generated by the model which show the

40

wave heights in Indian coast could have been between 2-4 meter. (Actual on
some coasts was observed more than 4m)
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea mega thrust
earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, 26 December 2004, with
an epicenter off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known
by the scientific community as the SumatraAndaman earthquake. The resulting
tsunami was given various names, including the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami,
South Asian tsunami, Indonesian tsunami, the Christmas tsunami and the
Boxing Day tsunami.
The earthquake was caused when the Indian Plate was sub ducted by the
Burma Plate and triggered a series of devastating tsunamis along the coasts of
most landmasses bordering the Indian Ocean, killing over 230,000 people in
fourteen countries, and inundating coastal communities with waves up to 30
meters (100 ft) high. It was one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded
history. Indonesia was the hardest-hit country, followed by Sri Lanka, India, and
Thailand.
With a magnitude of Mw 9.19.3, it is the third largest earthquake ever
recorded on a seismograph. The earthquake had the longest duration of faulting
ever observed, between 8.3 and 10 minutes. It caused the entire planet to vibrate
as much as 1 centimeter (0.4 inches) and triggered other earthquakes as far away
as Alaska. Its epicenter was between Simeulue and mainland Indonesia. The
plight of the affected people and countries prompted a worldwide humanitarian
response. In all, the worldwide community donated more than $14 billion (2004
US$) in humanitarian aid.
Tsunami Risk in Asia:
The Researcher Propose that the earthquake was initially documented as
moment magnitude 8.8. In February 2005 scientists revised the estimate of the
magnitude to 9.0. Although the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has accepted

41

these new numbers, the United States Geological Survey has so far not changed
its estimate of 9.1. The most recent studies in 2006 have obtained a magnitude
of Mw 9.19.3. Dr. Hiroo Kanamori of the California Institute of Technology
believes that Mw 9.2 is a good representative value for the size of this great
earthquake.
The hypocenter of the main earthquake was approximately 160 km (100
mi), in the Indian Ocean just north of Simeulueisland, off the western coast of
northern Sumatra, at a depth of 30 km (19 mi) below mean sea level (initially
reported as 10 km (6.2 mi)). The northern section of the Sunda mega thrust,
ruptured; the rupture having a length of 1,300 km (810 mi). The earthquake
(followed by the tsunami) was felt simultaneously in Bangladesh, India,
Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Singapore and the Maldives. Splay faults, or
secondary "pop up faults", caused long, narrow parts of the sea floor to pop up
in seconds. This quickly elevated the height and increased the speed of waves,
causing the complete destruction of the nearby Indonesian town of Lhoknga.
Indonesia lies between the Pacific Ring of Fire along the north-eastern
islands adjacent to New Guinea, and the Alpide belt that runs along the south
and west from Sumatra, Java, Bali, and Flores to Timor.
Great earthquakes such as the Sumatra-Andaman event, which are
invariably associated with mega thrust events insubduction zones, have seismic
moments that can account for a significant fraction of the global earthquake
moment across century-scale time periods. Of all the seismic moment released
by earthquakes in the 100 years from 1906 through 2005, roughly one-eighth
was due to the Sumatra-Andaman event. This quake, together with the Good
Friday Earthquake (Alaska, 1964) and the Great Chilean Earthquake (1960),
account for almost half of the total moment. The much smaller but still
catastrophic 1906 San Francisco earthquake is included in the diagram below for
perspective. Mw denotes the magnitude of an earthquake on the moment
magnitude scale.

42

Since 1900 the only earthquakes recorded with a greater magnitude were
the 1960 Great Chilean Earthquake (magnitude 9.5) and the 1964 Good Friday
Earthquake in Prince William Sound (9.2). The only other recorded earthquakes
of magnitude 9.0 or greater were off Kamchatka, Russia, on 4 November 1952
(magnitude 9.0)[17] and Thoku, Japan (magnitude 9.0) in March 2011. Each of
these mega thrust earthquakes also spawned tsunamis in the Pacific Ocean.
However, the death toll from these was significantly lower, primarily because of
the lower population density along the coasts near affected areas and the much
greater distances to more populated coasts and also due to the superior
infrastructure and warning systems in MEDCs (More Economically Developed
Countries) such as Japan.
Other very large mega thrust earthquakes occurred in 1868 (Peru, Nazca
Plate and South American Plate); 1827 (Colombia, Nazca Plate and South
American Plate); 1812 (Venezuela, Caribbean Plate and South American Plate)
and1700 (western North America, Juan de Fuca Plate and North American
Plate). All of them are believed to be greater than magnitude 9, but no accurate
measurements were available at the time.
Tectonic plates:
The Researcher Propose that the mega thrust earthquake was unusually
large in geographical and geological extent. An estimated 1,600 kilometers
(1,000 mi) of fault surface slipped (or ruptured) about 15 meters (50 ft) along
the subduction zone where the Indian Plate slides (or sub ducts) under the
overriding Burma Plate. The slip did not happen instantaneously but took place
in two phases over a period of several minutes:
Seismographic and acoustic data indicate that the first phase involved a
rupture about 400 kilometers (250 mi) long and 100 kilometers (60 mi) wide,
located 30 kilometers (19 mi) beneath the sea bedthe largest rupture ever
known to have been caused by an earthquake. The rupture proceeded at a speed

43

of about 2.8 kilometers per second (1.7 miles per second) (10,000 km/h or 6,200
mph), beginning off the coast of Aceh and proceeding north-westerly over a
period of about 100 seconds.
A pause of about another 100 seconds took place before the rupture
continued northwards towards the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. However, the
northern rupture occurred more slowly than in the south, at about 2.1 km/s (1.3
mi/s) (7,500 km/h or 4,700 mph), continuing north for another five minutes to a
plate boundary where the fault type changes from subduction to strike-slip (the
two plates slide past one another in opposite directions).
The Indian Plate is part of the great Indo-Australian Plate, which
underlies the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal, and is drifting north-east at an
average of 6 centimeters per year (2.4 inches per year). The India Plate meets
the Burma Plate (which is considered a portion of the great Eurasian Plate) at the
Sunda Trench. At this point the India Plate sub ducts beneath the Burma Plate,
which carries the Nicobar Islands, the Andaman Islands, and northern Sumatra.
The India Plate sinks deeper and deeper beneath the Burma Plate until the
increasing temperature and pressure drive volatiles out of the sub ducting plate.
These volatiles rise into the overlying plate causing partial melting and the
formation of magma. The rising magma intrudes into the crust above and exits
the Earth's crust through volcanoes in the form of a volcanic arc. The volcanic
activity that results as the Indo-Australian Plate sub ducts the Eurasian Plate has
created the Sunda Arc.
As well as the sideways movement between the plates, the sea floor is
estimated to have risen by several meters, displacing an estimated 30 cubic
kilometers (7.2 cu mi) of water and triggering devastating tsunami waves. The
waves did not originate from a point source, as was inaccurately depicted in
some illustrations of their paths of travel, but rather radiated outwards along the
entire 1,600-kilometre (1,000 mi) length of the rupture (acting as a line source).
This greatly increased the geographical area over which the waves were

44

observed, reaching as far as Mexico, Chile, and the Arctic. The raising of the sea
floor significantly reduced the capacity of the Indian Ocean, producing a
permanent rise in the global sea level by an estimated 0.1 millimeters.
Aftershocks and other earthquakes:
The Researcher Propose that numerous aftershocks were reported off the
Andaman Islands, the Nicobar Islands and the region of the original epicenter in
the hours and days that followed. The magnitude 8.7 2005 Sumatra earthquake,
which originated off the coast of the Sumatran island of Nias, is not considered
an aftershock, despite its proximity to the epicenter, and was most likely
triggered by stress changes associated with the 2004 event. This earthquake was
so large that it produced its own aftershocks (some registering a magnitude of as
great as 6.1) and presently ranks as the 7th largest earthquake on record since
1900. Other aftershocks of up to magnitude 6.6 continued to shake the region
daily for up to three or four months. As well as continuing aftershocks, the
energy released by the original earthquake continued to make its presence felt
well after the event. A week after the earthquake, its reverberations could still be
measured, providing valuable scientific data about the Earth's interior.
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake came just three days after a
magnitude 8.1 earthquake in an uninhabited region west of New Zealand's
subantarctic Auckland Islands, and north of Australia's Macquarie Island. This is
unusual, since earthquakes of magnitude 8 or more occur only about once per
year on average. Some seismologists have speculated about a connection
between these two earthquakes, saying that the former one might have been a
catalyst to the Indian Ocean earthquake, as the two earthquakes happened on
opposite sides of the Indo-Australian Plate. However, the U.S. Geological
Survey sees no evidence of a causal relationship in this incident. Coincidentally,
the earthquake struck almost exactly one year (to the hour) after a 6.6 magnitude
earthquake killed an estimated 30,000 people in the city of Bam in Iran on 26
December 2003.

45

Some scientists confirm that the December earthquake had activated

Leuser Mountain, a volcano in Aceh province along the same range of peaks as
Mount Talang, while the 2005 Sumatra earthquake had sparked activity in Lake
Toba, an ancient crater in Sumatra. Geologists say that the eruption of Mount
Talang in April 2005 is connected to the December earthquake.
Energy released:
The Researcher Propose that the energy released on the Earth's surface
only (ME, which is the seismic potential for damage) by the 2004 Indian Ocean
earthquake and tsunami was estimated at 1.11017 joules, or 26 megatons of
TNT. This energy is equivalent to over 1500 times that of the Hiroshima atomic
bomb, but less than that of Tsar Bomb, the largest nuclear weapon ever
detonated. However, the total work done MW (and thus energy) by this quake
was 4.01022 joules (4.01029 ergs), the vast majority underground. This is
over 360,000 times more than its ME, equivalent to 9,600 gigatons of TNT
equivalent (550 million times that of Hiroshima) or about 370 years of energy
use in the United States at 2005 levels of 1.081020 J.
The earthquake generated a seismic wavering of the Earth's surface of up
to 2030 cm (812 in), corresponding to the effect of the tidal forces caused by
the Sun and Moon. The shock waves of the earthquake were felt across the
planet; as far away as the U.S. state of Oklahoma, where vertical movements of
3 mm (0.12 in) were recorded. By February 2005, the earthquake's effects were
still detectable as a 20 m (0.02 mm; 0.0008 in) complex harmonic oscillation
of the Earth's surface, which gradually diminished and merged with the
incessant free oscillation of the Earth more than 4 months after the earthquake.
Because of its enormous energy release and low split depth, the
earthquake generated remarkable seismic ground motions around the globe,
particularly due to huge Rayleigh (surface) elastic waves that exceeded 1 cm
(0.4 in) in vertical amplitude everywhere on Earth. The record section plot
below displays vertical displacements of the Earth's surface recorded by

46

seismometers from the IRIS/USGS Global Seismographic Network plotted with

respect to time (since the earthquake initiation) on the horizontal axis, and
vertical displacements of the Earth on the vertical axis (note the 1 cm scale bar
at the bottom for scale). The seismograms are arranged vertically by distance
from the epicenter in degrees. The earliest, lower amplitude, signal is that of the
compressional (P) wave, which takes about 22 minutes to reach the other side of
the planet (the antipode; in this case near Ecuador). The largest amplitude
signals are seismic surface waves that reach the antipode after about 100
minutes. The surface waves can be clearly seen to reinforce near the antipode
(with the closest seismic stations in Ecuador), and to subsequently encircle the
planet to return to the epicentral region after about 200 minutes. A major
aftershock (magnitude 7.1) can be seen at the closest stations starting just after
the 200 minute mark. This aftershock would be considered a major earthquake
under ordinary circumstances, but is dwarfed by the main shock.
The shift of mass and the massive release of energy very slightly altered
the Earth's rotation. The exact amount is not yet known, but theoretical models
suggest the earthquake shortened the length of a day by 2.68 microseconds, due
to a decrease in theoblateness of the Earth. It also caused the Earth to minutely
"wobble" on its axis by up to 2.5 cm (0.98 in) in the direction of 145 east
longitude, or perhaps by up to 5 or 6 cm (2.0 or 2.4 in). However, because of
tidal effects of the Moon, the length of a day increases at an average of 15 s per
year, so any rotational change due to the earthquake will be lost quickly.
Similarly, the natural Chandler wobble of the Earth, which in some cases can be
up to 15 m (50 ft), will eventually offset the minor wobble produced by the
earthquake.
More spectacularly, there was 10 m (33 ft) movement laterally and 45
m (1316 ft) vertically along the fault line. Early speculation was that some of
the smaller islands south-west of Sumatra, which is on the Burma Plate (the
southern regions are on the Sunda Plate), might have moved south-west by up to
36 m (120 ft), but more accurate data released more than a month after the

47

earthquake found the movement to be about 20 cm (8 in). Since movement was

vertical as well as lateral, some coastal areas may have been moved to below sea
level. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands appear to have shifted south-west by
around 1.25 m (4 ft 1 in) and to have sunk by 1 m (3 ft 3 in).
In February 2005, the Royal Navy vessel HMS Scott surveyed the
seabed around the earthquake zone, which varies in depth between 1,000 and
5,000 m (550 and 2,730 fathoms; 3,300 and 16,400 ft). The survey, conducted
using a high-resolution, multi-beam sonar system, revealed that the earthquake
had made a huge impact on the topography of the seabed. 1,500-metre-high
(5,000 ft) thrust ridges created by previous geologic activity along the fault had
collapsed, generating landslides several kilometers wide. One such landslide
consisted of a single block of rock some 100 m high and 2 km long (300 ft by
1.25 mi). The momentum of the water displaced by tectonic uplift had also
dragged massive slabs of rock, each weighing millions of tons, as far as 10 km
(6 mi) across the seabed. An oceanic trench several kilometres wide was
exposed in the earthquake zone.
The TOPEX/Poseidon and Jason-1 satellites happened to pass over the
tsunami as it was crossing the ocean. These satellites carry radars that measure
precisely the height of the water surface; anomalies of the order of 50 cm (20 in)
were measured. Measurements from these satellites may prove invaluable for
the understanding of the earthquake and tsunami. Unlike data from tide gauges
installed on shores, measurements obtained in the middle of the ocean can be
used for computing the parameters of the source earthquake without having to
compensate for the complex ways in which close proximity to the coast changes
the size and shape of a wave.

48

Chapter II: Concepts of Earthquake, Volcano & Tsunami

2.1 Concept of Earthquake:
The Researcher Propose that an earthquake is caused by a sudden slip on
a fault. Stresses in the earth's outer layer push the sides of the fault together.
Stress builds up and the rocks slips suddenly, releasing energy in waves that
travel through the earth's crust and cause the shaking that we feel during an
earthquake. An EQ occurs when plates grind and scrape against each other. In
California there are two plates the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate.
The Pacific Plate consists of most of the Pacific Ocean floor and the California
Coast line. The North American Plate comprises most the North American
Continent and parts of the Atlantic Ocean floor. This primary boundary between
these two plates is the San Andreas Fault. The San Andreas Fault is more than
650 miles long and extends to depths of at least 10 miles. Many other smaller
faults like the Hayward (Northern California) and the San Jacinto (Southern
California) branch from and join the San Andreas Fault Zone. The Pacific Plate
grinds northwestward past the North American Plate at a rate of about two
inches per year. Parts of the San Andreas Fault system adapt to this movement
by constant "creep" resulting in many tiny shocks and a few moderate earth
tremors. In other areas where creep is NOT constant, strain can build up for
hundreds of years, producing great EQs when it finally releases.
Earthquakes induced by human activity have been documented in a few
locations in the United States, Japan, and Canada. The cause was injection of
fluids into deep wells for waste disposal and secondary recovery of oil, and the
use of reservoirs for water supplies. Most of these earthquakes were minor. The
largest and most widely known resulted from fluid injection at the Rocky
Mountain Arsenal near Denver, Colorado. In 1967, an earthquake of magnitude
5.5 followed a series of smaller earthquakes. Injection had been discontinued at
the site in the previous year once the link between the fluid injection and the
earlier series of earthquakes was established. Other human activities, even

49

nuclear detonations, have not been linked to earthquake activity. Energy from
nuclear blasts dissipates quickly along the Earth's surface. Earthquakes are part
of a global tectonic process that generally occurs well beyond the influence or
control of humans. The focus (point of origin) of earthquakes is typically tens to
hundreds of miles underground. The scale and force necessary to produce
earthquakes are well beyond our daily lives. We cannot prevent earthquakes;
however, we can significantly mitigate their effects by identifying hazards,
building safer structures, and providing education on earthquake safety.
Interior of the Earth:

The Researcher Propose that five billion years ago the Earth was formed
by a massive conglomeration of space materials. The heat energy released by this
event melted the entire planet, and it is still cooling off today. Denser materials
like iron (Fe) sank into the core of the Earth, while lighter silicates (Si), other
oxygen (O) compounds, and water rose near the surface. The earth is divided into
four main layers: the inner core, outer core, mantle, and crust. The core is
composed mostly of iron (Fe) and is so hot that the outer core is molten, with
about 10% sulfur (S). The inner core is under such extreme pressure that it
remains solid. Most of the Earth's mass is in the mantle, which is composed of

50

iron (Fe), magnesium (Mg), aluminum (Al), silicon (Si), and oxygen (O) silicate
compounds. At over 1000 degrees C, the mantle is solid but can deform slowly in
a plastic manner. The crust is much thinner than any of the other layers, and is
composed of the least dense calcium (Ca) and sodium (Na) aluminum-silicate
minerals. Being relatively cold, the crust is rocky and brittle, so it can fracture in
earthquakes.
A fault is a fracture or zone of fractures between two blocks of rock.
Faults allow the blocks to move relative to each other. This movement may occur
rapidly, in the form of an earthquake - or may occur slowly, in the form of creep.
Faults may range in length from a few millimeters to thousands of kilometers.
Most faults produce repeated displacements over geologic time. During an
earthquake, the rock on one side of the fault suddenly slips with respect to the
other. The fault surface can be horizontal or vertical or some arbitrary angle in
between.

Earth scientists use the angle of the fault with respect to the surface
(known as the dip) and the direction of slip along the fault to classify faults. Faults
which move along the direction of the dip plane are dip-slip faults and described
as either normal or reverse, depending on their motion. Faults that move
horizontally are known as strike-slip faults and are classified as either right-lateral

51

or left-lateral. Faults, which show both dip-slip and strike-slip motion are known
as oblique-slip faults.
Normal fault- a dip-slip fault in which the block above the fault has
moved downward relative to the block below. This type of faulting occurs in
response to extension and is often observed in the Western United States Basin
and Range Province and along oceanic ridge systems.
Thrust fault- a dip-slip fault in which the upper block, above the fault
plane, moves up and over the lower block. This type of faulting is common in
areas of compression, such as regions where one plate is being sub ducted under
another as in Japan. When the dip angle is shallow, a reverse fault is often
described as a thrust fault.
Strike-slip fault - a fault on which the two blocks slide past one another.
The San Andreas Fault is an example of a right lateral fault.
A left-lateral strike-slip fault is one on which the displacement of the
far block is to the left when viewed from either side.
A right-lateral strike-slip fault is one on which the displacement of the
far block is to the right when viewed from either side.
Earthquakes occur on faults - strike-slip earthquakes occur on strike-slip
faults, normal earthquakes occur on normal faults, and thrust earthquakes occur
on thrust or reverse faults. When an earthquake occurs on one of these faults, the
rock on one side of the fault slips with respect to the other. The fault surface can
be vertical, horizontal, or at some angle to the surface of the earth. The slip
direction can also be at any angle.

52

Earthquake stress transfer:

The Researcher Propose that the state of stress on a fault is a key factor
used to determine if rupture is imminent. A common view is that once an
earthquake has occurred and released stress on a fault, the fault will remain quiet
until stresses in the Earths crust have time to rebuild, typically over hundreds to
thousands of years. Probabilistic earthquake catastrophe models follow this
concept, which is known as the seismic cycle. The mean return period depends on
the long-term rate of tectonic stress loading t/ t, which is usually assumed
constant; the failure stress f; and the earthquake stress drop 0. Variations in the
stress drop lead to some deviations from mean return period, a concept known as
aperiodicity. In practice, event probabilities are directly determined from the
recurrence of past earthquakes by using statistical approaches, such as the Poisson
process method or a time-dependent renewal model. In the Poissonian approach,
the odds of an earthquake do not change with time, whereas in the renewal model
approach, the odds increase with time based on the time since the last event.
An important discovery made in the mid-1990s1 was that the stress
released on a fault during an earthquake does not simply dissipate; instead, it
moves down the fault and concentrates in sites nearby, typically at the tips of the
rupture. On nearby faults, at distances of kilometers to hundreds of kilometers, the
effect is an increase in stress. This stress jump will displace the one due to
tectonic stress loading assumed in the seismic cycle. Although the stress increase
may be small (typically less than or equal to about 1% of the stress released in the
initial earthquake), its effects can be significant. Note that a decrease of stress
would have the opposite effect, possibly delaying the next earthquake, a
phenomenon known as quiescence. These increases and decreases in stress along
a fault are described by the stress transfer theory. Positive stress transfer (i.e., an
increase in stress) can temporally modify a faults seismic cycle and advance the
next earthquake by a time period.

Reasenberg and Simpson, 1992; King et al., 1994

53

Earthquake interaction in Turkey:

The Researcher Propose that the North Anatolian Fault in Turkey is a
major active strike-slip fault along the boundary between the Eurasian Plate and
the Anatolian Plate. It is among the worlds most heavily populated fault zones
and an ideal case study for earthquake clustering and propagating rupture
sequences. Earthquakes have been shown to jump from one fault segment to
another from the east end to the west end of the fault, starting in 1939 and ending
in a series of two events in 1999. As shown in Figure 4, an additional earthquake
occurred on the Marmara Fault system in 1912, but this event was not part of the
sequence.
The 1999 Clustered Events:
The Researcher Propose that the two most recent and destructive
earthquakes in Turkey occurred on the North Anatolian Fault in 1999. The
magnitude (M) 7.6 Izmit Earthquake, also known as the Kocaeli Earthquake,
occurred on August 17, 1999. Only three months later, the M7.2 Dzce
Earthquake struck 110 km (68 mi) to the east on November 12, 1999. The series
of earthquakes caused close to 19,000 fatalities with over 48,000 hospitalized
injuries1. At the time, the population in the area affected by the two earthquakes
was about 20 million, one-third of the population of the entire country.
Furthermore, almost one-half of the Turkish economic infrastructures are located
in this region2. Insurance loss estimates following the Kocaeli Earthquake were
approximately US$2 billion (in 1999 dollars) 3. The Kocaeli Earthquake affected
residential parts and city centers of many towns, in particular Izmit but also
Dzce, which was then devastated by the second event a few months later.
Using the example of the 1999 Kocaeli and Dzce earthquake cluster,
Figure 6 illustrates the principle of stress interactions. The net stress changes due

Erdik, 2000
Sahin and Tari, 2000
3
Swiss Re, 2000
2

54

to the 1999 Kocaeli Earthquake are represented in red for a stress increase and in
purple for a stress decrease. The Dzce Earthquake occurred three months later in
a region of increased stress, as predicted by the theory of stress transfer. For the
whole Turkey and Aegean region, it has been shown that the majority of large
earthquakes since the start of the 19th century (>30 events) occurred in regions of
increased stress and none have occurred in regions of clear decreased stress 1.
Seismic Hazard in the Istanbul Region:
The Researcher Propose that following the 1999 earthquake events, the net
positive stress changes migrated to the ends of the fault. Arguably, the increase in
stress along the Marmara Fault system, which is just south of the city of Istanbul,
has increased the risk for the city2 an urban center of 10 million inhabitants. The
present-day stress conditions in this region, computed using the most recent data
available3. An accurate knowledge of the historical earthquake record in the
region, including well-resolved ruptures for the 1894, 1912, and 1999 events, in
combination with the secular loading stress, gives a realistic view of the presentday seismic hazard near Istanbul.
The quantification of the net stress changes due to a recent earthquake is
crucial to determine the risk linked to clustering. However, a new earthquake will
only be triggered if the fault is already sufficiently loaded (i.e., late in its seismic
cycle). The current state of loading on the fault can only be assessed with the
knowledge of the fault history and of the secular rate of the tectonic stress
loading. The North Anatolian Fault (plus the Marmara Fault system in the Sea of
Marmara) is therefore one of the most appropriate on Earth to determine
earthquake interactions. Reliable information covers almost two seismic cycles
(i.e., over the past 500 years or so), providing a unique opportunity to quantify the
actual state of stress of the region.

Nalbant et al., 2002; Nalbant et al., 1998; Stein et al., 1997; Parsons et al., 2000; Hubert -Ferrari et al., 2000
Parsons et al., 2000; Hubert-Ferrari et al., 2000,
3
Armijo et al., 2005
2

55

Records kept during the Ottoman Empire provide accurate descriptions of

earthquake damage that date back to the start of the 16th century. Today, more
details on fault history are available through new field studies (e.g., discovery of
submarine fault scarps in the Sea of Marmara using a remote operated vehicle)
and proposed models of secular stress loading based on geodetic data sets (e.g. ,
from GPS data).
A team from the U.S. Geological Survey quantified the seismic hazard in
Istanbul using a model that incorporated stress interactions 1. Based on the Poisson
approach, they found a 15 to 25% chance of an earthquake damaging the city
from 2000 through 2030. However, because the major faults of the Istanbul region
are likely late in their seismic cycles, the probability increases to nearly 5015%
based on the renewal model of earthquake recurrence. Furthermore, with the
increase of stress due to the 1999 Kocaeli Earthquake, the interaction-based
probability is over 6015%.
Earthquake interactions in Indonesia:
The Researcher Propose that the M9.3 Indian Ocean Earthquake that was
initiated off the coast of Sumatra and the Andaman Islands on December 26, 2004
is best known for its devastating tsunami, which propagated across the entire
Indian Ocean basin. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, if both the direct
and indirect effects of the earthquake are taken into account, this event was the
fourth deadliest earthquake in recorded history, behind the 1556 Huaxian
Earthquake in China, the 1976 Tangshan Earthquake in China2, and 1138 Aleppo
Earthquake in Syria2. Only three months later on March 28, 2005, a second major
event, the M8.7 Nias Earthquake, struck just south of the 2004 rupture, causing
more than 1,000 casualties. A tsunami was again generated, this time only causing
minor damage in the far-field. Since then, several other large (M>7) and deadly
earthquakes have occurred along the Sumatra subduction zone, also known as the
Sunda Trench.
1
2

Parsons et al., 2000

U.S. Geological Survey, 2008

56

Smaller events (M<7) occurring on the Sumatran Fault, a large onshore

transform (strike-slip) fault running north to south on Sumatra Island, can also
have disastrous consequences due to the proximity of this fault to major
population centers. Figure 9 illustrates the tectonics of the region, as well as the
population density throughout Sumatra and the northern end of Java.
The 2004 and 2005 Clustered Events:
The Researcher Propose that insured property losses from the 2004 Indian
Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami were approximately US$5 billion (in 2004
dollars) 1. The earthquake-induced tsunami particularly affected the Indonesian
province of Aceh. The second clustered event occurred three months afterward in
March 2005, about 200 km (124 mi) south of the first event, causing widespread
power outages and more damage in regions already devastated by the first
earthquake and tsunami. In particular, Nias Island, which was partially destroyed
by the 2004 earthquake and tsunami, was in close proximity to the epicenter of
the March 2005 event. As a result, when the 2005 earthquake struck, it did even
more damage in the southwest part of this island than the 2004 event.
Changes in Seismic Hazard since 2004:
The Researcher Propose that Table A lists some of the deadly earthquakes
along the Sunda Trench and Sumatran Fault between 2004 and 2008.3 Events on
the Sunda Trench, or Sumatra subduction zone, are generated by thrust faulting
and able to produce tsunamis, while events on the Sumatran Fault are generated
onshore by strike-slip faulting. Although events on the Sumatran Fault are 1 to 2
magnitude units smaller than subduction earthquakes, they are also able to
produce significant damage, such as the March 6, 2007 event, which killed 70
people.

Swiss Re, 2004

57

Table A. Deadly earthquakes in the Sumatra region between 2004 and 2008 1
Date

Magni Fault
tude

December 26, 2004

March 28, 2005
July 17, 2006
March 6, 2007

9.3
8.7
7.7
6.4

September 12, 2007

8.4;
7.9
7.4

February 20, 2008

Sunda Trench
Sunda Trench
Sunda Trench
Sumatran
Fault
Sunda Trench
Sunda Trench

Potential
Stress
Triggered
Event?
No
Yes
No
Yes

Fatalities

No

25

Yes

283,105*
1,315
730
70

The net stress increase on the Sumatra subduction zone and the Sumatran
Fault resulting from the four largest earthquakes (M>7) that occurred in the
region between 2004 and 2007 (see Table 1) is represented on Figure 12. The
net stress increase is shown at three different times: December 2004, July 2006,
and February 2008. The events are chronicled below.
December 2004February 2005:
The Researcher Propose that the M9.3 Indian Ocean Earthquake occurs,
relaxing stress along a consequent part of the Sumatra subduction zone and
increasing stress southward2 and on the north part of the Sumatran Fault 3. The
rupture extent of the future March 28, 2005 M8.7 event is outlined in black just
south of the 2004 rupture, and its northern end is located in a region of increased
stress. Field observations made before 2006 along the Sunda Trench (off the
west coast of central Sumatra), show that this portion of the subduction zone is
near the end of its seismic cycle 4. It suggests that this part of the subduction
zone is ready to rupture because of the long-term tectonic loading.

Source: USGS http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/world/historical_country_mag.php#indonesia

McCloskey et al., 2005; Pollitz et al., 2006
3
McCloskey et al., 2005
4
McCloskey et al., 2005
2

58

March 2005July 2006:

The Researcher Propose that the March 2005 Nias Earthquake (M8.7)
occurs only three months after the 2004 event in a region of increased stress,
with its epicenter approximately 189 km (117 mi) south of the 2004 event.
Stresses imposed by this second rupture have brought the thrust segment
immediately to the south closer to failure and have expanded the area of
increased stress on the Sumatran Fault 1. Another event (M7.7) occurs south of
Sumatra along the subduction zone in July 2006. However, there was no
evidence of stress transfer and the degree of stress loading on the fault segment
was unknown.
August 2006February 2008:
The Researcher Propose that a M6.4 earthquake occurs in March 2007
on the Sumatran Fault in a region where the stress has been increased by the
M8.7 2005 Nias event. Two subsequent earthquakes (M8.4 and M7.9) occur in
September 2007 in the middle of the seismic gap of the Sumatra subduction
zone (i.e., locked segment that has not experienced seismic activity for a long
time). There were observations that the tectonic stress loading at the location of
these two large earthquakes matched the stress released during the events of
1797 and 18332. Then, in February 2008, a M7.4 earthquake struck at the
boundary between the 2004 and 2005 rupture zones on the subduction zone. It is
unclear whether this earthquake occurred in a region of increased stress or in a
region relaxed since March 2005, as assumed in the map in Figure 12, where the
continuous blue coloring indicates fault rupture across entire length of the
subduction zone.
The fact that no seismic gap seemed to remain between the events of
December 2004 and March 2005 would suggest that all the stress was released
in this region. However, fault heterogeneities, such as bends, can lead to local
stress perturbations. In such a case, the February 2008 event might have been a
1
2

Nalbant et al., 2005

Natawidjaja et al., 2006; Nalbant et al., 2005

59

result of stress concentration, although this process is highly difficult to

quantify.
At present, two distinct segments of the Sumatra subduction zone are
highly stressed due to stress transfer and could generate M>7.5 earthquakes. The
northern and southern parts of the Sumatran Fault are also stressed and could
potentially produce clustered events in the range of M67.1
Earthquake interaction in the New Madrid:
The Researcher Propose that another well-known example of earthquake
clustering is the case of the New Madrid earthquake sequence that occurred in
the Central U.S. in late 1811 and early 1812. Over the span of two months, four
M>7 earthquakes occurred along the faults bordering the states of Arkansas,
Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, and Illinois. The first event, which occurred on
December 16, 1811 with an estimated magnitude of 7.28.1, and the last event,
which occurred on February 7, 1812 with an estimated magnitude of 7.58.0, are
believed to have ruptured two fault zones defined by modern seismicity: the
northeast-striking Cottonwood Grove Fault and the west-dipping Reel foot
thrust fault, respectively. The second earthquake was the smallest of the
sequence, occurring the same day as the first one on December 16, 1811 with a
magnitude of 7.0this event may have been an aftershock, or may have
occurred on a separate fault. The third earthquake of M7.07.8 struck on
January 23, 1812 and has been interpreted in two ways: as a strike-slip rupture
on the Northeast Arm of the New Madrid Seismic Zone, or a remotely triggered
event that occurred outside of the New Madrid Seismic Zone 2.
Although the 18111812 earthquake sequence changed the course of the
Mississippi River and destroyed entire forests, fatalities and damage to
infrastructures were low because the area was sparsely settled in the early 19th
century. The present-day population in the New Madrid region, however,
includes the cities of Memphis, Jackson, Jonesboro, and Cape Girardeau. If this
1
2

list of Indonesian earthquakes, see http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/world/historical_count ry_mag.php#indonesia

Mueller et al., 2004

60

earthquake sequence occurred today, it would have devastating consequences.

An analysis conducted by RMS indicates that a repeat of the February 7, 1812
event alone would cause over US$115 billion in insured losses to the
surrounding region1.
Scenarios of Clustered Events:
The Researcher Propose that the actual impact of the 18111812
earthquake sequence is still poorly understood. In particular, the January 23,
1812 event had few documented eyewitness accounts. Furthermore, since this
time, there has not been a significant event on these faults. Due to the lack of
historical information, one way to assess the current seismic hazard in the New
Madrid Seismic Zone based on interaction-based methods is to test different
stress transfer scenarios, as illustrated in Figure 16. Since return periods in such
an intra-plate environment are long approximately 550 to 1,100 years2 a
Poissonian approach to earthquake recurrence clearly cannot explain a
succession of four M>7 earthquakes striking in a two-month period as observed
in 1811 and 1812. It should be noted, however, that pale liquefaction data in the
New Madrid region suggests a return period of only 500 years in this area.
By taking into account all known faults in the New Madrid Seismic
Zone, interaction-based models show that a series of two events and a series of
three events are possible in many ways. For example, based on the theory of
stress transfer, there is a clear interaction between the Cottonwood Grove Fault
and the Reel foot thrust fault that most likely led to the 18111812 cluster
sequence.
In certain active tectonic regions of the world, it is possible to illustrate
how interaction-based earthquake recurrence models fit nicely to the observed
historical record. For example, the 1999 M>7 events in Izmit and Dzce,
Turkey, and the 20042005 M>8 events in the Indian Ocean are good examples
of the triggering of earthquakes due to stress interactions. Furthermore, the
1
2

Hall et al., 2006

Wesnousky et al., 1992

61

theory of stress transfer can be used in probabilistic earthquake catastrophe

models to quantify the risk associated with spatio-temporal clustering. Different
scenarios of clustered events can be explored, such as in the New Madrid
Seismic Zone in the Central U.S., which lead to new alternatives for earthquake
risk assessment.

62

2.2 Concept of Volcano:

The Researcher Propose that a volcano is a vent or an opening on the
surface of the earths crust that allows hot magma, volcanic ashes and gases to
escape from below the earths surface.
Volcanoes are mostly found where the tectonic plates are diverging or
converging. Tectonic plates are nothing but the large scale motion of earths
lithosphere. Volcanoes can also form at places where the earths crust is thin and
stretched.
Origin of name:
The word volcano has its origin from the little island of Vulcano in the
Mediterranean Sea off Sicily. Centuries ago, people residing this area believed
that Vulcano was the chimney of the forge of Vulcan (Lat. Volcanus)--the
blacksmith of the Roman gods.
Types of volcanoes:
The Researcher Propose that depending on the frequency of eruption of
the volcanoes they are categorized as:
Active volcanoes: These are the ones that are still alive and erupt
frequently. For example: Barren Island in the Andaman sea.
Dormant volcanoes: These are the ones that have erupted in historical
times and are quiet now. For example: Mauna Kea, one of the five volcanoes that
make the big island of Hawaii.
Extinct volcanoes: According to the scientists the volcanoes that are
unlikely to erupt again, because the volcano no longer has a lava supply are
termed as extinct volcano. For example: the volcanoes on the Hawaiian
Emperor Seamount chain in the Pacific Ocean
Geologists however group volcanoes into four main kinds:
Cinder cones,
Composite volcanoes,

63

Shield volcanoes, and

Lava domes.
Geophysical hazards: volcanic eruptions
The Researcher Propose that volcanic eruptions happen when lava and gas
are discharged from a volcanic vent. The most common consequences of this are
population movements as large numbers of people are often forced to flee the
moving lava flow. Volcanic eruptions often cause temporary food shortages and
volcanic ash landslides called Lahar.The most dangerous type of volcanic
eruption is referred to as a 'glowing avalanche'. This is when freshly erupted
magma forms hot pyroclastic flow which has temperatures of up to 1,200 degrees.
The pyroclastic flow is formed from rock fragments following a volcanic
explosion, the flow surges down the flanks of the volcano at speeds of up to
several hundred kilometers per hour, to distances often up to 10km and
occasionally as far as 40 km from the original disaster site.
The International Federation response adjusts to meet the needs of each
specific circumstance. As population movement is often a consequence, the
provision of safe areas, shelter, water, food and health supplies are primordial.
In general response prioritizes temporary shelter materials; safe water and basic
sanitation; food supplies; and the short term provision of basic health services
and supplies.
Plate Volcanoes - The majority of volcanoes are formed when two of the
Earths plates meet and collide. These volcanoes actually occur on the ocean
floor.
If the amount of magma is significant enough, then the magma rises above
the surface of the ocean. This is known as an island. When the two plates collide
and one plate forces the other plate beneath it, a different reaction occurs.
If this happens, then the friction that is caused during this reaction makes
the plate melt that is beneath the other plate. This then causes magma to rise up,

64

and this creates a volcano. The volcanoes that form by this method are usually the
most dangerous and the most volatile ones.
Shield Volcanoes - Shield volcanoes are extremely broad and flat when
compared to other volcanoes.
Their shape is created by a significant amount of lava running down the
surface of the volcano, and then cooling. The eruptions of shield volcanoes arent
as severe as other volcanoes. When a shield volcano erupts, gases escape and the
lava rise to the surface to gently flow down the sides of the volcano.
Composite Volcanoes - Composite volcanoes, also known as stratovolcanoes, are formed by alternate layers of rock fragments and lava. The shape
of a composite volcano is large and cone-like.
Caldera Volcanoes - Caldera volcanoes are formed from considerable
amounts of magma erupting from sub-surface magma chambers. When the
magma erupts, it leaves an empty space below the surface. The eruption of a
caldera volcano generally has the coolest lava; but, they are the most dangerous
because their eruption might also cause tsunamis, large pyroclastic surges, and
widespread falling of ash.
Decade Volcanoes - These volcanoes are sixteen volcanoes that have been
identified by scientists as noteworthy due to their large eruptions, and their
closeness to populated areas. They include: Avachinsky-Koryaksky in Russia,
Nevado de Colima in Mexico, Mount Etna in Italy, Galeras in Colombia, Mauna
Loa in the United States, Mount Merapa in Indonesia, Mount Nyiragongo in
Africa, Mount Rainer in the United States, Sakurajima in Japan, Santa Maria in
Guatemala, Santorini in Greece, Taal Volcano in the Philippines, Teide in Spain,
Ulawun in New Britain, Mount Unzen in Japan, and Mount Vesuvius in Italy.

65

Origin of Volcano:
The Researcher Propose that volcanoes are one of the most dynamic,
powerful, and visible forces on Earth. What are volcanoes and what factors
cause them to form in certain areas? How are geothermal features like fumaroles
and geysers related to these temperamental mountains?
Let us start by looking at the volcano itself and learn the different parts
of it, the rocks associated with it, and where volcanoes form.
Form of Volcano:
The Researcher Propose that hot magma, melted rock below Earth's
crust, rises and collects in a magma chamber deep below the surface. If the
magma flows through a conduit up to a vent on the surface, then it may cause an
eruption and form a volcano.
Gases, lava, and pyroclastic material are erupted from volcanic vents.
The mountain that forms from layers of lava and tephra is called a volcano. The
word "volcano" comes from the name of a Roman god, Vulcan, who was the
god of fire. Magma that solidifies inside a volcano can form dikes and sills.
Volcanoes are classified as active, dormant or extinct.
The Magma Chamber:
The Researcher Propose that magma is the name given to melted liquid
rock below Earth's surface. It is stored below the volcano in a chamber or
reservoir. During active periods, this reservoir fills with magma. After a large
eruption, or during dormancy, this reservoir can drain, which may trigger the
creation of a caldera.

66

The Magma Conduit:

The Researcher Propose that the magma conduit is the plumbing system
of the volcano. Molten magma creates pipes, through the volcano. Magma
then travels through them to the surface.
The Main Vent:
The Researcher Propose that the main vent often is located at or near the
summit of the volcano. This is where most eruptive activity (lava flows,
pyroclastic flows, and large gas emissions) occurs.
Lava Flows:
The Researcher Propose that Lava flows occur during some eruptions.
Once magma reaches the vent and flows onto the surface of Earth it is called
lava. Lava flows add land to the surface, and build the mountains we call
volcanoes. The island of Hawaii is nearly 100% cooled and solidified lava!
Pyroclastic Flows:
The Researcher Propose that pyroclastic flows occur during some
eruptions. These are super-heated clouds of volcanic material ranging from ash
to volcanic bombs. Pyroclastic flows travel very fast, and can destroy everything
in their path.
The Volcano:
The Researcher Propose that volcanoes are built from layers of lava and
tephra (particles of rock, solidified lava, and ash of all different sizes). The lava
cools on the sides of the volcano and hardens into rock. Pyroclastic flows and
eruption clouds deposit tephra on top of lava layers, increasing the size of the
mountain.

67

Dikes and Sills:

The Researcher Propose that the molten, pressurized magma intrudes
into the solid volcanic rock to create dikes and sills. Dikes cut across volcanic
rock layers, and sills run parallel to the layers. Eventually the magma hardens
inside Earth and becomes an intrusive igneous rock.
Vulcan, Roman God of Fire:
The Researcher Propose that in Roman mythology, Vulcan was the god
of fire. He was also known as the blacksmith of the gods.
There is a small volcanic island in the Mediterranean Sea called
Vulcano. The local residents once believed the volcano on the island was the
chimney of Vulcan's workshop. They thought the hot lava and smoke issuing
from the mountain were products of Vulcan's work as he created thunderbolts
for Jupiter, king of the gods, and weapons for Mars, god of war.
Active, Dormant, and Extinct:
The Researcher Propose that volcanologists classify volcanoes based on
how much activity has been recorded over time.
Active:
The Researcher Propose that an active volcano is currently erupting or
has erupted in recent history. Active volcanoes can have eruptions of gases,
pyroclastic material, tephra, and lava.
Dormant:
The Researcher Propose that a dormant volcano is not presently erupting,
and has not erupted in recent history. There is still potential for renewed activity,
because there still may be magma moving or cooling deep inside the volcano.

68

Extinct:
The Researcher Propose that an extinct volcano has not erupted in recent
history and is unlikely to erupt again. Wind and water have broken and
smoothed the shape of the mountain. The magma has drained below the surface
or cooled inside the volcano.
Magma:
The Researcher Propose that magma is the word used to describe melted
or molten rock inside Earth. Magma is composed of elements, minerals, and
gases that were present in the rock before it melted.
The major elements in magma are those present in Earth's crust: oxygen
(O), silicon (Si), aluminum (Al), iron (Fe), calcium (Ca), sodium (Na),
magnesium (Mg), and potassium (K). These elements combine to form minerals
such as magnetite, hauynite, olivine, pyroxene, hornblende, plagioclase,
potassium feldspar (k-feldspar), and quartz.
Magma also contains dissolved gases like water vapor (H2O), carbon
dioxide (CO2), and sulfur dioxide (SO2).
Composition of Magma:
The Researcher Propose that the composition of the magma determines
the eruption style, rock type, and volcano shape. Variations in the chemical
compositions and properties of the magma determine whether it will be
classified as mafic, felsic, or intermediate.

69

2.3 Concept of Tsunami:

The Researcher Propose that Tsunami is a series of ocean waves typically
caused by large undersea earthquakes or volcano eruptions at tectonic plate
boundaries. These surges of water may reach 100 feet and cause widespread
destruction when they crash ashore. They race across the sea at a speed up to 500
miles per hour and cross the entire Pacific Ocean in less than one day. Their long
wavelength means that they lose very little energy along the way.
Tsunami of December 2004, caused by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake, is the
most infamous tsunami of modern times with disastrous consequences in many
areas humanitarian toll: it affected more than 18 countries from Southeast Asia to
Southern Africa, killing more than 250,000 people in a single day and leaving
more than one million homeless,(ii)economic toll: it left several million of dollars
of economic loss affecting fishing and tourist industries,(iii)environmental and
medical threats including water pollution and flooding and endemic diseases.
The rationale for writing this paper is to report the tsunami events in the
eleven nations bordering the Indian Ocean, as they received less publicity than
their Southeast Asian countries counterpart although the 2004 tsunami had real
humanitarian, economic, and environmental impact in these regions more than
1,000 miles away from the epicenter.
Furthermore, these regions are at risk from the devastating effects of
future tsunami due to the presence of a tectonic interactive plate, absence of a
tsunami warning system in the Indian Ocean, and lack of established
communication network providing timely information to that region.

70

Origin of Tsunami:
Tsunamis are generated by any large, impulsive displacement of the sea bed
level.
Earthquakes generate tsunamis by vertical movement of the sea floor. If the sea
floor movement is horizontal, a tsunami is not generated. Earthquakes of M 6.5
are critical for tsunami generation.
Tsunamis are also triggered by landslides into or under the water surface, and
can be generated by volcanic activity and meteorite impacts.
Occurrences of Tsunami:
On the average, there are two tsunamis per year somewhere in the world which
cause damage near the source.
Approximately every 15 years a destructive, Pacific-wide tsunami occurs.
The destructive tsunami on Dec 26th, 2004 on the Indian Coast seems to have
occurred for the first time in the history.
Travel of Tsunami:
Tsunami velocity is dependent on the depth of water through which it travels.
Tsunamis travel approximately 700 kmph in 4000 m depth of sea water. In 10
m of water depth the velocity drops to about 36 kmph.
For example, the tsunami from Sumatra coastal earthquake traveled to Tamil
Nadu coast in about two hours.
Even on shore tsunamis can faster than a person can run.

71

Size of Tsunami:
Tsunamis range in size from centimeters to over 30 m height. Most tsunamis
are less than 3 m in height.
In deep water (greater than 200 m), tsunamis are rarely over 1m high and will
not be noticed by ships due to their long period (time between crests).
As tsunamis propagate into shallow water, the wave height can increase by
over 10 times.
Tsunami heights can vary greatly along a coast. The waves are amplified by
certain shoreline and bathymetric (sea floor) features.
A large tsunami can flood land up to more than 1.5 km from the coast.
The force of some tsunamis is enormous. Large rocks weighing several tons
along with boats and other debris can be moved inland hundreds of feet by
tsunami wave activity. Homes and other buildings are destroyed. All this
material and water move with great force and can kill or injure people.
Tectonic plates:
The Researcher Propose that the mega thrust earthquake was unusually
large in geographical and geological extent. An estimated 1,600 kilometers
(1,000 mi) of fault surface slipped (or ruptured) about 15 meters (50 ft) along
the subduction zone where the Indian Plate slides (or sub ducts) under the
overriding Burma Plate. The slip did not happen instantaneously but took place
in two phases over a period of several minutes:
Seismographic and acoustic data indicate that the first phase involved a
rupture about 400 kilometers (250 mi) long and 100 kilometers (60 mi) wide,
located 30 kilometers (19 mi) beneath the sea bedthe largest rupture ever
known to have been caused by an earthquake. The rupture proceeded at a speed

72

of about 2.8 kilometers per second (1.7 miles per second) (10,000 km/h or 6,200
mph), beginning off the coast of Aceh and proceeding north-westerly over a
period of about 100 seconds.
A pause of about another 100 seconds took place before the rupture
continued northwards towards the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. However, the
northern rupture occurred more slowly than in the south, at about 2.1 km/s (1.3
mi/s) (7,500 km/h or 4,700 mph), continuing north for another five minutes to a
plate boundary where the fault type changes from seduction to strike-slip (the
two plates slide past one another in opposite directions).
The Indian Plate is part of the great Indo-Australian Plate, which
underlies the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal, and is drifting north-east at an
average of 6 centimeters per year (2.4 inches per year). The India Plate meets
the Burma Plate (which is considered a portion of the great Eurasian Plate) at the
Sunda Trench. At this point the India Plate sub ducts beneath the Burma Plate,
which carries the Nicobar Islands, the Andaman Islands, and northern Sumatra.
The India Plate sinks deeper and deeper beneath the Burma Plate until the
increasing temperature and pressure drive volatiles out of the sub ducting plate.
These volatiles rise into the overlying plate causing partial melting and the
formation of magma. The rising magma intrudes into the crust above and exits
the Earth's crust through volcanoes in the form of a volcanic arc. The volcanic
activity that results as the Indo-Australian Plate sub ducts the Eurasian Plate has
created the Sunda Arc.
As well as the sideways movement between the plates, the sea floor is
estimated to have risen by several meters, displacing an estimated 30 cubic
kilometers (7.2 cu mi) of water and triggering devastating tsunami waves. The
waves did not originate from a point source, as was inaccurately depicted in
some illustrations of their paths of travel, but rather radiated outwards along the
entire 1,600-kilometre (1,000 mi) length of the rupture (acting as a line source).
This greatly increased the geographical area over which the waves were

73

observed, reaching as far as Mexico, Chile, and the Arctic. The raising of the sea
floor significantly reduced the capacity of the Indian Ocean, producing a
permanent rise in the global sea level by an estimated 0.1 millimeters.
Aftershocks and other earthquakes:
The Researcher Propose that numerous aftershocks were reported off the
Andaman Islands, the Nicobar Islands and the region of the original epicenter in
the hours and days that followed. The magnitude 8.7 2005 Sumatra earthquake,
which originated off the coast of the Sumatran island of Nias, is not considered
an aftershock, despite its proximity to the epicenter, and was most likely
triggered by stress changes associated with the 2004 event. This earthquake was
so large that it produced its own aftershocks (some registering a magnitude of as
great as 6.1) and presently ranks as the 7th largest earthquake on record since
1900. Other aftershocks of up to magnitude 6.6 continued to shake the region
daily for up to three or four months. As well as continuing aftershocks, the
energy released by the original earthquake continued to make its presence felt
well after the event. A week after the earthquake, its reverberations could still be
measured, providing valuable scientific data about the Earth's interior.
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake came just three days after a
magnitude 8.1 earthquake in an uninhabited region west of New Zealand's
subantarctic Auckland Islands, and north of Australia's Macquarie Island. This is
unusual, since earthquakes of magnitude 8 or more occur only about once per
year on average. Some seismologists have speculated about a connection
between these two earthquakes, saying that the former one might have been a
catalyst to the Indian Ocean earthquake, as the two earthquakes happened on
opposite sides of the Indo-Australian Plate. However, the U.S. Geological
Survey sees no evidence of a causal relationship in this incident. Coincidentally,
the earthquake struck almost exactly one year (to the hour) after a 6.6 magnitude
earthquake killed an estimated 30,000 people in the city of Bam in Iran on 26
December 2003.

74

Some scientists confirm that the December earthquake had activated

Leuser Mountain, a volcano in Aceh province along the same range of peaks as
Mount Talang, while the 2005 Sumatra earthquake had sparked activity in Lake
Toba, an ancient crater in Sumatra. Geologists say that the eruption of Mount
Talang in April 2005 is connected to the December earthquake.
Energy released:
The Researcher Propose that the energy released on the Earth's surface
only (ME, which is the seismic potential for damage) by the 2004 Indian Ocean
earthquake and tsunami was estimated at 1.11017 joules, or 26 megatons of
TNT. This energy is equivalent to over 1500 times that of the Hiroshima atomic
bomb, but less than that of Tsar Bomb, the largest nuclear weapon ever
detonated. However, the total work done MW (and thus energy) by this quake
was 4.01022 joules (4.01029 ergs), the vast majority underground. This is
over 360,000 times more than its ME, equivalent to 9,600 gigatons of TNT
equivalent (550 million times that of Hiroshima) or about 370 years of energy
use in the United States at 2005 levels of 1.081020 J.
The earthquake generated a seismic wavering of the Earth's surface of up
to 2030 cm (812 in), corresponding to the effect of the tidal forces caused by
the Sun and Moon. The shock waves of the earthquake were felt across the
planet; as far away as the U.S. state of Oklahoma, where vertical movements of
3 mm (0.12 in) were recorded. By February 2005, the earthquake's effects were
still detectable as a 20 m (0.02 mm; 0.0008 in) complex harmonic oscillation
of the Earth's surface, which gradually diminished and merged with the
incessant free oscillation of the Earth more than 4 months after the earthquake.
Because of its enormous energy release and low split depth, the
earthquake generated remarkable seismic ground motions around the globe,
particularly due to huge Rayleigh (surface) elastic waves that exceeded 1 cm
(0.4 in) in vertical amplitude everywhere on Earth. The record section plot
below displays vertical displacements of the Earth's surface recorded by

75

seismometers from the IRIS/USGS Global Seismographic Network plotted with

respect to time (since the earthquake initiation) on the horizontal axis, and
vertical displacements of the Earth on the vertical axis (note the 1 cm scale bar
at the bottom for scale). The seismograms are arranged vertically by distance
from the epicenter in degrees. The earliest, lower amplitude, signal is that of the
compressional (P) wave, which takes about 22 minutes to reach the other side of
the planet (the antipode; in this case near Ecuador). The largest amplitude
signals are seismic surface waves that reach the antipode after about 100
minutes. The surface waves can be clearly seen to reinforce near the antipode
(with the closest seismic stations in Ecuador), and to subsequently encircle the
planet to return to the epicentral region after about 200 minutes. A major
aftershock (magnitude 7.1) can be seen at the closest stations starting just after
the 200 minute mark. This aftershock would be considered a major earthquake
under ordinary circumstances, but is dwarfed by the main shock.
The shift of mass and the massive release of energy very slightly altered
the Earth's rotation. The exact amount is not yet known, but theoretical models
suggest the earthquake shortened the length of a day by 2.68 microseconds, due
to a decrease in theoblateness of the Earth. It also caused the Earth to minutely
"wobble" on its axis by up to 2.5 cm (0.98 in) in the direction of 145 east
longitude, or perhaps by up to 5 or 6 cm (2.0 or 2.4 in). However, because of
tidal effects of the Moon, the length of a day increases at an average of 15 s per
year, so any rotational change due to the earthquake will be lost quickly.
Similarly, the natural Chandler wobble of the Earth, which in some cases can be
up to 15 m (50 ft), will eventually offset the minor wobble produced by the
earthquake.
More spectacularly, there was 10 m (33 ft) movement laterally and 45
m (1316 ft) vertically along the fault line. Early speculation was that some of
the smaller islands south-west of Sumatra, which is on the Burma Plate (the
southern regions are on the Sunda Plate), might have moved south-west by up to
36 m (120 ft), but more accurate data released more than a month after the

76

earthquake found the movement to be about 20 cm (8 in). Since movement was

vertical as well as lateral, some coastal areas may have been moved to below sea
level. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands appear to have shifted south-west by
around 1.25 m (4 ft 1 in) and to have sunk by 1 m (3 ft 3 in).
In February 2005, the Royal Navy vessel HMS Scott surveyed the
seabed around the earthquake zone, which varies in depth between 1,000 and
5,000 m (550 and 2,730 fathoms; 3,300 and 16,400 ft). The survey, conducted
using a high-resolution, multi-beam sonar system, revealed that the earthquake
had made a huge impact on the topography of the seabed. 1,500-metre-high
(5,000 ft) thrust ridges created by previous geologic activity along the fault had
collapsed, generating landslides several kilometers wide. One such landslide
consisted of a single block of rock some 100 m high and 2 km long (300 ft by
1.25 mi). The momentum of the water displaced by tectonic uplift had also
dragged massive slabs of rock, each weighing millions of tons, as far as 10 km
(6 mi) across the seabed. An oceanic trench several kilometres wide was
exposed in the earthquake zone.
The TOPEX/Poseidon and Jason-1 satellites happened to pass over the
tsunami as it was crossing the ocean. These satellites carry radars that measure
precisely the height of the water surface; anomalies of the order of 50 cm (20 in)
were measured. Measurements from these satellites may prove invaluable for
the understanding of the earthquake and tsunami. Unlike data from tide gauges
installed on shores, measurements obtained in the middle of the ocean can be
used for computing the parameters of the source earthquake without having to
compensate for the complex ways in which close proximity to the coast changes
the size and shape of a wave.

77

Chapter III: Effects of Earthquake, Volcano & Tsunami

3.1 Effects of Earthquake:
The Researcher Propose that a general study of earthquakes includes:
consideration of the nature of ground faults, the propagation of shock waves
through the earth mass, the specific nature of recorded major quakes, etc.
However, the material presented here is focused mainly on the basic concepts of
designing the buildings capable to resist earthquake effects, which is a scope
of earthquake engineering, the branch of engineering devoted to mitigating
earthquake hazards. Earthquake engineering covers the investigation and
solution of the problems created by damaging earthquakes, and consequently the
work involved in the practical application of these solutions, i.e. in planning,
designing, constructing and managing earthquake-resistant structures and
facilities.
Characteristics of Earthquakes:
The Researcher Propose that a major earthquake is usually rather short in
duration, often lasting only a few seconds and seldom more than a minute or so.
In general, during a quake there are usually one or more major peaks of
magnitude of motion. These peaks represent the maximum effect of the quake.
Although the intensity of the quake is measured in terms of the energy
release at the location of the ground fault, the critical effect on the given
structure is determined by the ground movements at the location of the structure.
The effect of these movements is affected mostly by the distance of the structure
from the epicenter, but they are also influenced by the geological conditions
directly beneath the structure and by the nature of the entire earth mass between
the epicenter and the structure.

78

Modern

recording

equipment

and

practices

provide

us

with

representations of the ground movements at various locations, thus allowing us

to simulate the effects of major earthquakes. One of the most common
earthquake representations is acceleration of the ground in one horizontal
direction plotted as a function of elapsed time; a typical acceleration record of
an earthquake is shown on the figure below. For use in physical tests in
laboratories or in computer modeling, records of actual quakes may be "played
back" on structures in order to analyze their responses.
Although it may seem like a gruesome way to achieve it, we advance our
level of competency in design every time there is a severe earthquake that results
in some major structural damage to buildings. Engineering societies and other
groups routinely send investigating teams to the sites of major quakes to report on
the effects on buildings in the area. Of particular interest are the effects on
recently built structures, because these buildings are, in effect, full-scale tests of
the validity of our most recent design techniques. Each new edition of the
building codes reflects some of the results of this cumulative growth of
knowledge gained from the latest disasters.
General Effects of Earthquakes:
The Researcher Propose that the ground movements caused by
earthquakes can have several types of damaging effects. Some of the major
effects are:
Ground shaking, i.e. back-and-forth motion of the ground, caused by the
passing waves of vibration through the ground;
Soil failures, such as liquefaction and landslides, caused by shaking;
Surface fault ruptures, such as cracks, vertical shifts, general settlement of an
area, landslides, etc.

79

Tidal waves (tsunamis), i.e. large waves on the surface of bodies of water that
can cause major damage to shoreline areas.
A dramatic illustration of several building collapses (entire buildings
tilted over) induced by soil failure (liquefaction) in the 1964 Niigata (Japan)
earthquake is shown in the figure below.
The effects of an earthquake include fire, loss of lifes, tidal waves that
cause tsunami, avalanches, flooding, broken gas lines and destroy of roads and
bridges. Other effects include building damages and spilling of hazardous
chemicals.
The effect of an earth quake is dependent on its strength and magnitude.
An earth quake strong in both strength and magnitude leads to the destruction of
property, landslides and tsunamis if the area is close to a water body. Mild earth
quakes cause minimal damage like cracks on building walls and swaying of
buildings.
The effects of earthquakes include: avalanches, tidal waves (tsunamis),
fires, flooding, death, building damage, destruction of infrastructures, broken
gas lines and spills of hazardous chemicals. An earthquake is the consequence of
an abrupt release of energy in the Earth's crust that generates seismic waves.
The effects of earthquakes include: direct shaking of manmade structures
such as buildings and bridges, landslides and liquefaction due to the stress of
seismic waves and tsunamis off the coasts of affected regions. Tsunamis
typically have waves that reach up to 10 meters.
The effects of earthquakes include damage to buildings and in worst
cases the loss of human life. The effects of the rumbling produced by
earthquakes usually leads to the destruction of structures such as buildings,
bridges, and dams. They can also trigger landslides.

80

Some of the most visible effects of an earthquake are damage to

buildings and roads and death. Other effects include broken gas lines, fires and
in some cases a tsunami.
The effects of earthquakes produce extreme damages. Some of the
massive earthquake cause massive damage. For instance loss of property and
lifestyles and deformed ground surfaces is also another damages with brings a
country that has been affected to a standstill in development. Exposure to deep
minerals and formation of new minerals is also an effect of earthquakes.
Direct Shaking Hazards and Human-Made Structures:
The Researcher Propose that most earthquake-related deaths are caused by
the collapse of structures and the construction practices play a tremendous role in
the death toll of an earthquake. In southern Italy in 1909 more than 100,000
people perished in an earthquake that struck the region. Almost half of the people
living in the region of Messina were killed due to the easily collapsible structures
that dominated the villages of the region. A larger earthquake that struck San
Francisco three years earlier had killed fewer people (about 700) because building
construction practices were different type (predominantly wood). Survival rates in
the San Francisco earthquake was about 98% that in the Messina earthquake was
between 33% and 45%)1. Building practices can make all the difference in
earthquakes, even a moderate rupture beneath a city with structures unprepared
for shaking can produce tens of thousands of casualties.
Although probably the most important, direct shaking effects are not the
only hazard associated with earthquakes, other effects such as landslides,
liquefaction, and tsunamis have also played important part in destruction
produced by earthquakes.

Zebrowski, 1997

81

Geologic Effects on Shaking:

The Researcher Propose that when we discussed earthquake intensity we
discussed some of the basic factors that affect the amplitude and duration of
shaking produced by an earthquake (earthquake size, distance from fault, site and
regional geology, etc.) and as you are aware, the shaking caused by seismic waves
can cause damage buildings or cause buildings to collapse. The level of damage
done to a structure depends on the amplitude and the duration of shaking. The
amplitudes are largest close to large earthquakes and the duration generally
increases with the size of the earthquake (larger quakes shake longer because they
rupture larger areas). Regional geology can affect the level and duration of
shaking but more important are local site conditions. Although the process can be
complicated for strong shaking, generally shaking in soft sediments is larger and
longer than when compared with the shaking experienced at a "hard rock" site.
Effect of Earthquake on Built Environment:
The Researcher Propose that when an earthquake strikes it supplies a great
amount of sudden energy to buildings and structures. The only way this energy
can be absorbed by the building is by causing some damage. The damage could
be classified into two kind, structural members and non-structural. The nonstructural components are the window panes/ brick infill walls/ tiles/ false ceiling
etc. and this type of damage does not threaten the structural integrity of the
building, however, structural damage to columns, beams, shear walls and floor
slabs is also caused by the cracking of concrete and elongation/yielding of steel.
Effectively all energy absorbed is associated with some form of damage. When
the damage in the structural members crosses a threshold level which can also be
said to be the capacity of that building the building would collapse. Presently the
designers are aiming to absorb all of the seismic energy through controlled
yielding of steel and cracking of concrete so that the threshold danger level is not
exceeded. The aim is to use the full capacity of the structure so as to prevent a
total collapse. Even if the building does not collapse, the yielding of steel and

82

cracks in concrete may cause the structure to be so badly damaged that the
building would be unusable and subsequently condemned.

83

3.2 Effects of Volcano:

The Researcher Propose that volcanoes affect people in many ways, some
are good and some are not. Some of the bad ways are that houses, buildings,
roads, and fields can get covered with ash. As long as you can get the ash off
(especially if it is wet), your house may not collapse, but often the people leave
because of the ash and are not around to continually clean off their roofs. If the
ash fall is really heavy it can make it impossible to breathe.
Lava flows are almost always too slow to run over people, but they can
certainly run over houses, roads, and any other structures.
Pyroclastic flows are mixtures of hot gas and ash, and they travel very
quickly down the slopes of volcanoes. They are so hot and choking that if you are
caught in one it will kill you. They are also so fast (100-200 km/hour) that you
cannot out-run them. If a volcano that is known for producing pyroclastic flows is
looking like it may erupt soon, the best thing is for you to leave before it does.
Some of the good ways that volcanoes affect people include producing
spectacular scenery, and producing very rich soils for farming.
Gases:
The Researcher Propose that water vapor, the most common gas released
by volcanoes, causes few problems. Sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide and hydrogen
are released in smaller amounts. Carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide, and
hydrogen fluoride are also released but typically less than 1 percent by volume.
Gases pose the greatest hazard close to the vent where concentrations are greatest.
Away from the vent the gases quickly become diluted by air. For most people
even a brief visit to a vent is not a health hazard. However, it can be dangerous for
people with respiratory problems.
The continuous eruption at Kilauea presents some new problems. Long
term exposure to volcanic fumes may aggravate existing respiratory problems. It
may also cause headaches and fatigue in regularly healthy people. The gases also

84

limit visibility, especially on the leeward side of the island where they become
trapped by atmospheric conditions.
A deadly eruption:
The Researcher Propose that the 1815 explosive eruption of Tambora
volcano in Indonesia and the subsequent caldera collapse produced 9.5 cubic
miles (40 cubic kilometers) of ash. The eruption killed 10,000 people. An
additional 80,000 people died from crop loss and famine.
Aircraft:
The Researcher Propose that to put it mildly, ash is bad for jet aircraft
engines. Apparently the problem is much more severe for modern jet engines
which burn hotter than the older ones. Parts of these engines operate at
temperatures that are high enough to melt ash that is ingested. Essentially you end
up with tiny blobs of lava inside the engine. This is then forced back into other
parts where the temperatures are lower and the stuff solidifies. As you can
imagine this is pretty bad. One problem that I heard about is that pilots start losing
power and apply the throttle, causing the engine to be even hotter and melt more
ash. Added to this is the fact that ash is actually tiny particles of glass plus small
mineral shardspretty abrasive stuff. You can imagine that dumping a whole
bunch of abrasive powder into a jet engine is not good for the engine. This has
been a pretty non-scientific explanation of the problem. I just found an article that
describes the problem a little more technically.
The ash erodes sharp blades in the compressor, reducing its efficiency.
The ash melts in the combustion chamber to form molten glass. The ash then
solidifies on turbine blades, blocking air flow and causing the engine to stall. 1

FAA Aviation Safety Journal, Vol. 2, No. 3.

85

Major eruptions:
The Researcher Propose that the effect an eruption will have on a nearby
city could vary from none at all to catastrophic. For example, atmospheric
conditions might carry ash away from the city or topography might direct lahars
and pyroclastic flows to unpopulated areas. In contrast, under certain atmospheric,
eruption and/or topographic conditions, lahars, pyroclastic flows, and/or ash fall
could enter the city causing death and destruction.
This scenario brings up several interesting problems. How do you
evacuate a large population if there is little warning before the eruption? Where
do these people go? If an eruption is highly likely yet hasnt happened yet how
long can people be kept away from their homes and businesses?
I should point out that in most volcanic crises geologists advice local civil
defense authorities. The civil defense authorities decide what to do concerning
evacuations, etc.
What happens to the towns around a volcano when it erupts depends on
many things. It depends of the size and type of eruption and the size and location
of the town. A few examples might help. The 1984 eruption of Mauna Loa in
Hawaii sent lava towards Hilo but the eruption stopped before the flows reached
the town. The 1973 eruption of Heimaey in Iceland buried much of the nearby
town of Heimaey under lava and cinder. The 1960 eruption of Kilauea in Hawaii
buried all of the nearby town of Kapoho under lava and cinder. In 1980, ash from
Mount St. Helens fell on many towns in Washington and Oregon. The 1902
eruption of Mount Pelee on the island of Martinique destroyed the town of Saint
Pierre with pyroclastic flows. In 1985, the town of Armero was partially buried by
lahars generated on Ruiz.1
There are many different types of volcanic eruptions and associated
activity: phreatic eruptions (steam-generated eruptions), explosive eruption of
1

Decker and Decker (1989)

86

high-silica lava, effusive eruption of low-silica lava (e.g., basalt), pyroclastic

flows, lahars (debris flow) and carbon dioxide emission. All of these activities can
pose a hazard to humans. Earthquakes, hot springs, fumaroles, mud pots and
geysers often accompany volcanic activity.
The concentrations of different volcanic gases can vary considerably from
one volcano to the next. Water vapor is typically the most abundant volcanic gas,
followed by carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide. Other principal volcanic gases
include hydrogen sulfide, hydrogen chloride, and hydrogen fluoride. A large
number of minor and trace gases are also found in volcanic emissions, for
example hydrogen, carbon monoxide, halocarbons, organic compounds, and
volatile metal chlorides.
Large, explosive volcanic eruptions inject water vapor (H2O), carbon
dioxide (CO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), hydrogen chloride (HCl), hydrogen fluoride
(HF) and ash (pulverized rock and pumice) into the stratosphere to heights of 16
32 kilometers (1020 mi) above the Earth's surface. The most significant impacts
from these injections come from the conversion of sulfur dioxide to sulfuric acid
(H2SO4), which condenses rapidly in the stratosphere to form fine sulfate
aerosols. The aerosols increase the Earth's albedoits reflection of radiation from
the Sun back into space and thus cool the Earth's lower atmosphere or
troposphere; however, they also absorb heat radiated up from the Earth, thereby
warming the stratosphere. Several eruptions during the past century have caused a
decline in the average temperature at the Earth's surface of up to half a degree
(Fahrenheit scale) for periods of one to three years sulfur dioxide from the
eruption of Huaynaputina probably caused the Russian famine of 16011603.
One proposed volcanic winter happened c. 70,000 years ago following the
super eruption of Lake Toba on Sumatra Island in Indonesia. According to the
Toba catastrophe theory to which some anthropologists and archeologists
subscribe, it had global consequences, killing most humans then alive and
creating a population bottleneck that affected the genetic inheritance of all

87

humans today. The 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora created global climate
anomalies that became known as the "Year without a summer" because of the
effect on North American and European weather. Agricultural crops failed and
livestock died in much of the Northern Hemisphere, resulting in one of the worst
famines of the 19th century. The freezing winter of 174041, which led to
widespread famine in northern Europe, may also owe its origins to a volcanic
eruption.
It has been suggested that volcanic activity caused or contributed to the
End-Ordovician, Permian-Triassic, Late Devonian mass extinctions, and possibly
others. The massive eruptive event which formed the Siberian Traps, one of the
largest known volcanic events of the last 500 million years of Earth's geological
history, continued for a million years and is considered to be the likely cause of
the "Great Dying" about 250 million years ago, which is estimated to have killed
90% of species existing at the time.
The sulfate aerosols also promote complex chemical reactions on their
surfaces that alter chlorine and nitrogen chemical species in the stratosphere. This
effect,

together

with

increased

stratospheric

chlorine

levels

from

chlorofluorocarbon pollution, generates chlorine monoxide (ClO), which destroys

ozone (O3). As the aerosols grow and coagulate, they settle down into the upper
troposphere where they serve as nuclei for cirrus clouds and further modify the
Earth's radiation balance. Most of the hydrogen chloride (HCl) and hydrogen
fluoride (HF) are dissolved in water droplets in the eruption cloud and quickly fall
to the ground as acid rain. The injected ash also falls rapidly from the
stratosphere; most of it is removed within several days to a few weeks. Finally,
explosive volcanic eruptions release the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide and thus
provide a deep source of carbon for biogeochemical cycles.
Gas emissions from volcanoes are a natural contributor to acid rain.
Volcanic activity releases about 130 to 230 teragrams (145 million to 255 million
short tons) of carbon dioxide each year. Volcanic eruptions may inject aerosols

88

into the Earth's atmosphere. Large injections may cause visual effects such as
unusually colorful sunsets and affect global climate mainly by cooling it.
Volcanic eruptions also provide the benefit of adding nutrients to soil through the
weathering process of volcanic rocks. These fertile soils assist the growth of
plants and various crops. Volcanic eruptions can also create new islands, as the
magma cools and solidifies upon contact with the water.
Ash thrown into the air by eruptions can present a hazard to aircraft,
especially jet aircraft where the particles can be melted by the high operating
temperature; the melted particles then adhere to the turbine blades and alter their
shape, disrupting the operation of the turbine. Dangerous encounters in 1982 after
the eruption of Galunggung in Indonesia, and 1989 after the eruption of Mount
Redoubt in Alaska raised awareness of this phenomenon. Nine Volcanic Ash
Advisory Centers were established by the International Civil Aviation
Organization to monitor ash clouds and advise pilots accordingly. The 2010
eruptions of Eyjafjallajkull caused major disruptions to air travel in Europe.
The Earth's Moon has no large volcanoes and no current volcanic activity,
although recent evidence suggests it may still possess a partially molten core.
However, the Moon does have many volcanic features such as maria (the darker
patches seen on the moon), rilles and domes.
The planet Venus has a surface that is 90% basalt, indicating that
volcanism played a major role in shaping its surface. The planet may have had a
major global resurfacing event about 500 million years ago, from what scientists
can tell from the density of impact craters on the surface. Lava flows are
widespread and forms of volcanism not present on Earth occur as well. Changes
in the planet's atmosphere and observations of lightning have been attributed to
ongoing volcanic eruptions, although there is no confirmation of whether or not
Venus is still volcanically active. However, radar sounding by the Magellan probe
revealed evidence for comparatively recent volcanic activity at Venus's highest

89

volcano Maat Mons, in the form of ash flows near the summit and on the northern
flank.
There are several extinct volcanoes on Mars, four of which are vast shield
volcanoes far bigger than any on Earth. They include Arsia Mons, Ascraeus
Mons, Hecates Tholus, Olympus Mons, and Pavonis Mons. These volcanoes have
been extinct for many millions of years, but the European Mars Express
spacecraft has found evidence that volcanic activity may have occurred on Mars
in the recent past as well.
Jupiter's moon Io is the most volcanically active object in the solar system
because of tidal interaction with Jupiter. It is covered with volcanoes that erupt
sulfur, sulfur dioxide and silicate rock, and as a result, Io is constantly being
resurfaced. Its lavas are the hottest known anywhere in the solar system, with
temperatures exceeding 1,800 K (1,500 C). In February 2001, the largest
recorded volcanic eruptions in the solar system occurred on Io. Europa, the
smallest of Jupiter's Galilean moons, also appears to have an active volcanic
system, except that its volcanic activity is entirely in the form of water, which
freezes into ice on the frigid surface. This process is known as cry volcanism, and
is apparently most common on the moons of the outer planets of the solar system.
In 1989 the Voyager 2 spacecraft observed cry volcanoes (ice volcanoes)
on Triton, a moon of Neptune, and in 2005 the CassiniHuygens probe
photographed fountains of frozen particles erupting from Enceladus, a moon of
Saturn. The ejecta may be composed of water, liquid nitrogen, dust, or methane
compounds. CassiniHuygens also found evidence of a methane-spewing cry
volcano on the Saturnian moon Titan, which is believed to be a significant source
of the methane found in its atmosphere. It is theorized that cryovolcanism may
also be present on the Kuiper Belt Object Quaoar.

90

A 2010 study of the exoplanet COROT-7b, which was detected by transit

in 2009, studied that tidal heating from the host star very close to the planet and
neighboring planets could generate intense volcanic activity similar to Io.
Traditional beliefs about volcanoes:
The Researcher Propose that many ancient accounts ascribe volcanic
eruptions to supernatural causes, such as the actions of gods or demigods. To the
ancient Greeks, volcanoes' capricious power could only be explained as acts of
the gods, while 16th/17th-century German astronomer Johannes Kepler believed
they were ducts for the Earth's tears. One early idea counter to this was proposed
by Jesuit Athanasius Kircher (16021680), who witnessed eruptions of Mount
Etna and Stromboli, then visited the crater of Vesuvius and published his view of
an Earth with a central fire connected to numerous others caused by the burning
of sulfur, bitumen and coal.
Various explanations were proposed for volcano behavior before the
modern understanding of the Earth's mantle structure as a semisolid material was
developed. For decades after awareness that compression and radioactive
materials may be heat sources, their contributions were specifically discounted.
Volcanic action was often attributed to chemical reactions and a thin layer of
molten rock near the surface.
A volcano is actually an opening or a fissure, in the Earth's crust, through
which lava or molten rocks, ash and toxic gases present below the surface of
Earth are discharged by a sudden, violent eruption. Sometimes, it can be a
mountain-like structure with a bowl-shaped depression at the top, through which
these substances are expelled. The term 'volcano' is derived from the name of the
Roman God of fire, Vulcan.
Volcanic structures are usually formed at places where the tectonic plates
are either converging or diverging. A stretching or thinning of the Earth's crust,
can also lead to the formation of volcanoes. They are often classified into three

91

types, on the basis of their frequency of eruptions, i.e. active, dormant and extinct.
The active volcanoes are characterized by regular eruptions, while the dormant
volcanoes are those that erupted in the past, but are silent now. On the other hand,
an extinct volcano is the one that erupted in the remote past and is unlikely to
erupt again.
Effects on the Environment:
The Researcher Propose that it has been known for a long time that
volcanic eruptions affect the environment in various ways. Whether large or
small, eruptions do affect the environment for a period of time, mostly because of
the gases they spew out. Many gases, like sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, carbon
monoxide, chlorine (as HCl gas), fluorine (as HF gas), hydrogen, helium and
hydrogen sulfide (H2S) are released into the environment. Along with all these
comes out a huge amount of water vapor. Their effects on the environment
depend on many factors like the local climate pattern, the scale on which the
eruption has taken place, and the layer of the atmosphere to which the gases have
spread, etc.
Sulfur dioxide spreads to the top of the atmosphere where it reflects the
rays of the Sun, and thus leads to the cooling of the atmosphere. This has the
effect of bringing down the average global temperature, for a period of one or two
years. A famous example of this is the cooling of the surface temperature of the
Earth brought about after the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in Philippines.
Sulfur dioxide reacts with other gases and particles in the atmosphere to
form volcanic smog.
Sulfur dioxide also causes acid rain, air pollution, and depletion of the
ozone layer.
Carbon dioxide absorbs the Sun's rays, thereby increasing surface
temperature of the Earth.

92

Carbon dioxide is a heavy gas and thus can get trapped in some low-lying
areas called depressions. People who breathe CO2-laden air of such an area can
succumb to death. CO2 can also accumulate in the soil.
Hydrogen chloride (HCl), owing to its extremely acidic nature, contributes
to acid rains after an eruption.
The volcanic ash released into the atmosphere after an eruption spreads to
hundreds of square miles. It blankets the atmosphere around the volcano, blocking
the rays of the Sun from reaching the ground. It has been theorized that a very
large volcano can cause a 'volcanic winter'.

Effects on Living Beings:

The Researcher Propose that volcanic eruptions affect plants and animals
in myriad ways. Moreover, these eruptions impact lives both directly (loss of life
and property), and indirectly (local environmental changes). Volcanic ash blows
out as minute particles. When it is inhaled, it can cause coughing and shortness of
breath. People suffering from asthma, bronchitis, and emphysema are especially
affected by it.

Coarser particles from pyroclastic flow can be lethal. When

inhaled, they cause death by choking the lungs and causing burns.

Exposure to ash also causes other symptoms like runny nose and
sore throat.

Extremely hot lava can swiftly kill plants and animals.

Due to the reduced visibility resulting from ash, accidents often

take place in the area around the eruption.

People living in vicinity of an eruption are at risk of injury and

even death by roof collapse. This is because ash particles
continually get deposited on the roofs of the dwellings. If the
weight increases beyond what a roof can endure, it buckles.

93

Fine ash particles get in the eye and cause irritation, burning, and
itching. The cornea, which is the exposed part of the eye, suffers
abrasion and inflammation.

A volcanic eruption is a natural calamity which, besides causing loss of

human life and property, can cause considerable environmental changes. Though
we cannot prevent the occurrence of such eruptions, we can reduce their
devastating effects. Movement of magma, changes in the quantity and quality of
gases emitted by the volcanoes and small earthquakes can serve as signals of
volcanic eruptions. So, proper monitoring of these signals, ready disaster
management techniques, and creating awareness among the general public about
the hazards of volcanic eruptions can play an important role in minimizing the
losses that occurs during such a disaster.
Negative Effects:
The Researcher Propose that volcanoes affect people in many ways, some
are good, and some are not. Some of the bad ways are that houses, buildings,
roads, and fields can get covered with ash. As long as you can get the ash off
(especially if it is wet), your house may not collapse, but often the people leave
because of the ash and are not around to continually clean off their roofs. If the
ash fall is really heavy it can make it impossible to breathe.
Positive Effects:
The Researcher Propose that some of the good ways that volcanoes affect
people include producing spectacular scenery, and producing very rich soils for
farming. Volcanic eruptions create economic mineral deposits. All this often
generates tourism. These results can greatly boost a settlement's economy.
The main good effect that volcanoes have on the environment is to provide
nutrients to the surrounding soil. Volcanic ash often contains minerals that are
beneficial ot plants, and if it is very fine ash it is able to break down quickly and

94

get mixed into the soil. Another benefit might be the fact that volcanic slopes are
often rather inaccessible, especially if they are steep. Thus they can provide
refuges for rare plants and animals from the ravages of humans and livestock.

95

3.3 Effects of Tsunami:

The Researcher Propose that Tsunamis are some of the most devastating
natural disasters known to man. Think of a flood with its source being an ocean
and you can grasp a little of how much devastation tsunamis can create. For most
people who live in land the greatest threat is from overflowing rivers and creeks.
Normally extraordinarily heavy rainfall causes rivers and other waterways to
overflow. The excess water creates deadly currents and sweep away people,
causing them to drown. It also does a lot of damage in the initial surge and then
with standing water. A tsunami has all of these detrimental effects plus the added
destructive power crashing waves.
As you many know a tsunami is caused by a strong earthquake on the
ocean bed. The vibrations travel through the water traveling sometimes thousands
of kilometers. If you were on the water or deep sea diving in SCUBA gear you
would not notice much probably just rough waves or a momentarily strong
downward pull if you were underwater. However, a tsunami gains its true
destructive power as it approaches land. The water level becomes shallower
causing the waves caused by the earthquake to compress and combine. This is
what creates the massive and destructive waves that cause so much destruction.
Imagine over several tons worth of water either falling on you or surging
towards you. You would have a better chance at the Running of the Bulls. The
waves not only sweep people away, but can also destroy even well built
structures. The costs to human life can also be devastating. The deadliest tsunamis
in recorded history were the Christmas tsunamis of 2004 in the Indian Ocean. On
December 24, 2004, a massive 9.2 earthquake occurred of the island of Sumatra.
It created a deadly series of tsunamis that swept Indonesia, India, Madagascar,
and Ethiopia. The death toll was estimated to be in the neighborhood of 300,000
to 350,000. This was one of the greatest losses of life due to a major natural
catastrophe in modern history.

96

The immediate destruction is only the beginning of the damage. After the
waters retreated there was the elevated risk of disease created by stagnant and
contaminated water. Since most tsunamis occur south of the Equator and In the
Pacific this only raises the risk of disease further.
There can also be more interesting effects that deal solely with scientific
curiosity. The Christmas tsunami was so powerful it actually sped up the rotation
of the Earth reducing the length of its sidereal day. The earthquake that spawned
it also caused the Earth to vibrate all over by as much as 1 cm.
The effects of a tsunami on a coastline can range from unnoticeable to
devastating. The effects of a tsunami depend on the characteristics of the seismic
event that generated the tsunami, the distance from its point of origin, its size
(magnitude) and, at last, the configuration of the bathymetry (that is the depth of
water in oceans) along the coast that the tsunami is approaching.
Small tsunamis, non-destructive and undetectable without specialized
equipment, happen almost every day as a result of minor earthquakes and other
events. They are very often too far away from land or they are too small to have
any effect when they hit the shore. When a small tsunami comes to the shoreline it
is often seen as a strong and fast-moving tide.
Tsunamis have long periods and can overcome obstacles such as gulfs,
bays and islands. These tsunamis make landfall usually in the form of suddenly
decreasing and then rapidly increasing water levels (not unlike a tidal bore) a
combination of several large waves or bore-type waves. Generally tsunamis
arrive, not as giant breaking waves, but as a forceful rapid increase in water levels
that result in violent flooding.
However, when tsunami waves become extremely large in height, they
savagely attack coastlines, causing devastating property damage and loss of life.
A small wave only 30 centimeters high in the deep ocean may grow into a
monster wave 30m high as it sweeps over the shore. The effects can be further

97

amplified where a bay, harbour, or lagoon funnels the waves as they move inland.
Large tsunamis have been known to rise to over 100 feet!
Destruction:
The Researcher Propose that the amount of energy and water contained in
a huge tsunami can cause extreme destruction when it strikes land.
The initial wave of a huge tsunami is extremely tall; however, most
damage is not sustained by this wave. Most of the damage is caused by the huge
mass of water behind the initial wave front, as the height of the sea keeps rising
fast and floods powerfully into the coastal area. It is the power behind the waves,
the endless rushing water that causes devastation and loss of life. When the giant
breaking waves of a tsunami batter the shoreline, they can destroy everything in
their path.
Destruction is caused by two mechanisms: the smashing force of a wall of
water traveling at high speed, and the destructive power of a large volume of
water draining off the land and carrying all with it, even if the wave did not look
large.
Objects and buildings are destroyed by the sheer weight of the water, often
reduced to skeletal foundations and exposed bedrock. Large objects such as ships
and boulders can be carried several miles inland before the tsunami subsides.
Tsunami waves destroy boats, buildings, bridges, cars, trees, telephone
lines, power lines - and just about anything else in their way. Once the tsunami
waves have knocked down infrastructure on the shore they may continue to travel
for several miles inland, sweeping away more trees, buildings, cars and other man
made equipment. Small islands hit by a tsunami are left unrecognizable.
Especially along a high seismic area, known as the Ring of Fire, tsunamis
may have dramatic consequences as they hit less developed countries.

98

The buildings infrastructures in these poorer nations are not well built and
cannot withstand the impact of the tsunami. Whole areas and towns are a picture
of destruction as the tsunami leaves at trail devastation and misery behind it.
Death:
The Researcher Propose that one of the biggest and worst effects of a
tsunami is the cost to human life because unfortunately escaping a tsunami is
nearly impossible. Hundreds and thousands of people are killed by tsunamis.
Since 1850 alone, tsunamis have been responsible for the loss of more than
430,000 lives. There is very little warning before a tsunamis hits land. As the
water rushes toward land, it leaves very little time to map an escape plan.
People living in coastal regions, towns and villages have no time to
escape. The violent force of the tsunami results in instant death, most commonly
by drowning. Buildings collapsing, electrocution, and explosions from gas,
damaged tanks and floating debris are another cause of death. The tsunami of
December 2004 that struck South East Asia and East Africa killed over 31,000
people in Sri Lanka only, leaving 23,000 injured.
Disease:
The Researcher Propose that Tsunami waves and the receding water are
very destructive to structures in the run-up zone. The areas close to the coast are
flooded with sea water, damaging the infrastructure such as sewage and fresh
water supplies for drinking.
Flooding and contamination of drinking water can cause disease to spread
in the tsunami hit areas. Illnesses such as malaria arise when water is stagnant and
contaminated. Under these conditions it is difficult for people to stay healthy and
for diseases to be treated, so infections and illnesses can spread very quickly,
causing more death.

99

Environmental impacts:
The Researcher Propose that Tsunamis not only destroy human life, but
have a devastating effect on insects, animals, plants, and natural resources. A
tsunami changes the landscape. It uproots trees and plants and destroys animal
habitats such as nesting sites for birds. Land animals are killed by drowning and
sea animals are killed by pollution if dangerous chemicals are washed away into
the sea, thus poisoning the marine life.
The impact of a tsunami on the environment relates not only to the
landscape and animal life, but also to the man-made aspects of the environment.
Solid waste and disaster debris are the most critical environmental problem faced
by a tsunami-hit country.
Combined with the issue of waste is that of hazardous materials and toxic
substances that can be inadvertently mixed up with ordinary debris. These include
asbestos, oil fuel, and other industrial raw materials and chemicals. Rapid cleanup of affected areas can result in inappropriate disposal methods, including air
burning and open dumping, leading to secondary impacts on the environment.
Contamination of soil and water is the second key environmental impact
of a tsunami. Salivation of water bodies such as rivers, wells, inland lakes, and
groundwater aquifers can occur in most cases. This also affects the soil fertility of
agricultural lands, due to salivation and debris contamination, which will affect
yields in the medium and long term. Sewage, septic tanks and toilets are damaged
contaminating the water supply.
Last but not least, there may be radiation resulting from damage to nuclear
plants, as it happened in Japan in March 2011. Since radiation exists for a long
time, it has the capacity to inflict damage upon anything exposed to it. Radiation
is most dangerous to animals and humans causing destruction as molecules lose
their electrons. The damage caused by radiation to the DNA structure determines
birth defects, cancers even death.

100

Cost:
The Researcher Propose that massive costs hit communities and nations
when a tsunami happens. Victims and survivors of the tsunami need immediate
help from rescue teams.
Governments around the world may help with the cost of bringing aid to
devastated areas. National institutions, the United Nations, other international
organizations, community groups and NGOs, and a variety of other entities come
together to provide different kinds of aid and services. There might also be
appeals and donations from people who have seen pictures of the area in the
media.
Reconstruction and clean up after a tsunami is a huge cost problem.
Infrastructure must be replaced, unsafe buildings demolished and rubbish cleared.
Loss of income in the local economy and future losses from the destruction of
infrastructure will be a problem for some time to come.
The total financial cost of the tsunami could be millions or even billions of
dollars of damage to coastal structures and habitats. It is difficult to put an exact
figure on the monetary cost but the cost may represent an important share of a
nations GDP.
Psychological Impacts of Tsunami:
The Researcher Propose that how would you feels if you lived through a
natural disaster? How would you feel afterwards? Could you imagine your life
being turned around, losing your house, losing your possessions, and losing loved
ones in a matter of minutes? Many people faced these questions after the 2004
Indian Ocean tsunami hit and changed their lives as they knew it.

Natural

disasters can cause detrimental effects on the health and emotional well being on
those who are impacted by them. The fear that those who survive face after the
disaster can cause them to develop psychological problems.

They may feel

101

anxiety, stress, and panic when thinking about the disaster, reflecting back on it,
or even just encountering a new situation that is similar to the previous disaster.
Survivors of natural disasters, such as the 2004 tsunami, undergo psychological
distress that will harm their mental health and there are certain risks, symptoms,
emotional responses, and coping mechanisms that are associated with this
distress.
While the majority of survivors recover from disasters with no long lasting
effects on their psychological health, a fraction of the survivors will experience
long-term psychological distress. The level of distress is often dependent on both
pre-disaster and post-disaster factors. Pretrauma psychological symptoms are
often good indicators of post-disaster symptoms. Also, the extent to which the
disaster affected you plays a large role in post-disaster symptoms. Depending on
how much financial loss, material destruction, education levels, age, and the level
and quality of social support will lead to different amounts of distress after the
disaster. Impaired mental health is also due to the direct impact of the disaster,
such as physical injury, the loss of loved ones, and the perception of life threat. A
study was done on a number of tourists who were in Stockholm, one of the
hardest hit cities, to determine their psychological distress based on different
types of psychological exposure. The study was done fourteen months after the
tsunami and showed that the more severely exposed groups faced more
psychological distress. It showed that the perception of life threat alone was
associated with both general and posttraumatic distress.

Also, the lower the

education levels, the higher the percentage of posttraumatic stress. The younger
age groups experienced more general psychological distress while females
experienced both types of stress more than males.
One type of psychological distress that occurs after natural disasters is
posttraumatic stress. Posttraumatic stress disorder is a severe anxiety disorder
that can develop after exposure to any event and results in psychological trauma.
Diagnostic symptoms for PTSD include re-experiencing the original trauma
through flashbacks or nightmares, avoidance of stimuli associated with the

102

trauma, and increased arousal. Due to the major destruction of India, the loss of
life, and relocations, many people developed this disorder.

A study was

conducted in a coastal fishing village in Tamil Nadu, India to determine the

prevalence and risk factors that are associated with it.

A community-based

household survey was given to the adults in the village. The survey was given
two months after the disaster hit. The Harvard Trauma Questionnaire was used to
assess posttraumatic stress disorder. The prevalence of the disorder was 12.7
percent.

Some of the most common symptoms those who were facing this

disorder experienced were reoccurring thoughts and sleep disturbances. Less

prevalent symptoms included irritability and emotional numbness. Out of those
who sought help from a psychiatrist, 48.9 percent were diagnosed with major
depressive disorder and 31.9 percent were diagnosed with posttraumatic stress
disorder.

Some of the risk factors for developing PTSD after the tsunami

included those with no household incomes, women, those who experienced

personal injury, and those who lost a family member due to the disaster.
While most the studies are conducted on adults, the distress and
posttraumatic stress in children also need to be analyzed. About 23-30 percent of
children develop full symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder in the first six
months after disasters. Developing PTSD increases their risk of other disorders
and the impairment of psychological functioning. One of the most critical factors
in their chance of developing PTSD is the personal perception of life threat. Other
factors include a cultural perspective on the disaster and family support. A study
was conducted one year after the tsunami to determine the prevalence of PTSD in
children. It was conducted in the Akkaraipettai village in India. The age of the
children involved in the study ranged from ten to sixteen years old and they were
all in middle school. The two tests used were the Impact of Events Scale (IES)
and the Childrens Revised Impact of Events Scale (CRIES) to identify the
prevalence of PTSD. Also using the Pediatric Emotional Distress Scale (PEDS),
the results showed that the disaster caused emotional distress to the children even
a year after it occurred. 94.2 percent of males and all females scored high on

103

anxiety withdrawal and scored equally high on fearfulness. Another study found
that 13 percent developed posttraumatic stress disorder while 48 percent reported
re-experiencing and arousal symptoms. It also found that the loss of a family
member is a major contributing factor of children developing emotional distress
and PTSD.
Children who are indirectly exposed to natural disasters will show
emotional responses to them. One way to cope with such disasters is through art
therapy. One study used sand play to visually see the emotional responses of a
group of immigrant and refugee preschoolers living in South Asia only two weeks
after the tsunami hit. Flooding is a dangerous disaster because it can occur
without any warning and is very destructive. Preschoolers typically demonstrate
regressive behaviors, such as clinging, thumb sucking, bedwetting, whimpering
and loss of appetite, frightened facial expressions, and night terrors. This study
examined how children relive trauma through play.

Although they were

indirectly exposed to the disaster, their parents reactions greatly influenced

theirs, but very few children are at risk of developing posttraumatic stress
disorder. Also, the medias portrayal of the event has a negative impact on the
childrens emotional responses because they absorb the visual images and
information without cognitively processing it. One attempt to allow children to
cope with the disaster is sand play, in which they can master their feelings by
creating scenes in a sand tray using human characters, religious figures, animals,
and objects.

In this experiment, 29 percent of the children represented the

tsunami. 9 percent directly represented it, with the tsunami itself, devastating
floods, and babies who ended up in trees and rooftops. 20 percent indirectly
represented the tsunami with sea monsters devouring people and animals and
other cars and houses hidden in the sand. Some of the verbal representations
included, This is a tsunami, Everyone is dead, and People died in the water.
The children were enthusiastic about their creations but the main negative
emotions were sadness, followed by anxiety. Sand play helps the children to
come to terms and understand the disaster.

104

Adults also had very profound emotional responses to the tsunami. In a

village of Tamil Nadu, emotional responses were obtained by the survivors. They
varied based on their occupation, how the tsunami affected their daily lives, and if
they or someone they loved was injured or lost. One fisherman reported that the
worst of his losses was the loss of his trust over the all-providing mother sea.
Both men and women considered that the loss of their pride had more
psychological impact than anything else.

Parents who lost children were

inconsolable in their anguish and widows felt widow ship symbolized their fall
from grace and loss of security.

After the tsunami many peoples attitudes

changed towards life. Many housewives felt that men were more fatalistic after
the disaster. Parents believed that the tragedy shattered their dreams about their
childrens career. Also, their financial standings changed and many felt they
became more economical and now have to plan for their finances. Teenagers
attitudes also changed as some believed they now have to be more serious and
responsible rather than easygoing.
Survivors of natural disasters explore several coping methods to try to
resolve their psychological distress. A study was conducted in a coastal village
of Tamil Nadu to gain insight on the coping mechanisms used by the local
communities nine months after the tsunami. Participants were selected based on
their social roles and included fisherman, housewives, community leaders, and
members of the youth. The survivors valued their unique, individual, social and
spiritual coping strategies more than formal health services. They had a tendency
to collectivize their personal sorrow. They viewed themselves as an integral part
of a larger traumatized society and not as lonely sufferers.

The village has

frequent social gatherings to remember the deceased. Those who lost loved ones
adopted a custom of planting and caring for coconut saplings to remember them.
They offered foods favored by their loved ones who died to the saplings. Many
children sacrificed school to help earn livelihoods for their families. Also, the
community expressed four themes in their spiritual coping strategies: requiems,
rituals, religious beliefs, and spiritual seeking. Grief and mourning were loud and

105

publicly demonstrated. Requiems were held with traditional music and social
customs. They believed in the existence of an immortal soul that would reincarnate them into higher forms of life. Most people claimed that their religious
beliefs were the most important factor contributing to their survival. Therefore
their religious practices were strengthened by the tsunami. This study showed
that coping mechanisms are shaped by ethno-cultural variations.
The 2004 tsunami that hit the Indian Ocean had detrimental effects on the
psychological health on those who survived the disaster, and even those who
heard about it through the media. Anxiety, psychological distress, and even
posttraumatic stress disorder became prevalent in those who were affected. The
degree in which they were affected was dependent on many factors. Those who
were more severely emotional hurt were those who had lower education levels,
less financial support, less family and social support, women, youth, those who
were personally injured, or those who lost love ones because of the tsunami.
Many coping mechanisms are available for those who experience psychological
distress, including art therapy, religious beliefs, community gatherings, and
professional help.
Victims of tsunami events often suffer psychological problems which can
last for days, years or an entire lifetime. Survivors of the Sri Lankan tsunami of
December 2004 were found to have PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) when
examined by the World Health Organization (WHO): 14% to 39% of these were
children, 40% of adolescents and 20% of mothers of these adolescents were found
to have PTSD 4 months after the tsunami.
Impact Assessment of Tsunami 2004: Tamil Nadu, India
The Researcher Propose that the 2004 Tsunami that struck South-east
Asian countries is a rarest of rare earth dynamics. The Wegeners theory of Plate
Tectonics proved significantly correct indicating earths re-adjustments would be
disastrous and cause calamity to humanity. Experts say the bungling of marine

106

ecological system would have long term impact. The first environmental
assessment of a range of coastal ecosystems along the south coast of India were
initiated by various organizations, including the NGOs providing some
preliminary observations on the nature and scale of the tsunamis impact on their
biophysical character.
After Tsunami: The Physical Impacts, Tamil Nadu, India
1. As high as 30,000 hectares of Cauvery delta area has turned saline, making the
land unfit for cereal cropping. The area needs reclamation.
2. The winter crops on coastal area especially in districts of Nagapattinam,
Tiuvarur, Cuddalore, as 20,000 hectares were inundated.
3. Casurina saplings, groundnut and horticultural crops raised in areas at
Kodiyakarai in Cuddalore district have withered.
4. Having lost the standing crops, the crop loss estimate may even touch 5-7
crores of rupees.
5. The agricultural activities were halted at 123 coastal villages in Nagapattinam
district 53 villages at Cuddalore district. Farmers say, that, the cultivation could
not be taken up for a few years in view of salinity of soil.

6. In few districts, the Paddy fields in some areas were sand cast up to a height of
15cms.

7. The water in wells far away from the sea have also become saline.
8. The most significant change caused by is the cartographic changes; that is
entire Indian continent was dragged to east by 9mm.
9. The entire marine ecology along Tamilnadu has been shattered.
10. Though Nagapattinam and Tiruvarur districts were known for their natural
drainage system, the silted canals and tall bunds put up by aqua culture farms

107

contributed to water clogging for several hours in some areas. The sea breeze
added to the farmers woes. Though the coconut, and cashew grooves withstood
the onslaught.
11. The coastal fresh water bodies have become saline, due to slamming of ocean
waves over them.
12. The soil chemistry on the coastal & neighbouring areas has changed, from its
original nature.
13. The texture and the composition of beach sand has changed.
14. LTL, HTL (low tide level and hide tide level) of coast has been changed,
observably.
15. The extent of Marine fishing area has been reduced observably.
16. The Two esturine mouths of Adyar and Cooum rivers have been widened, the
sand bars at the mouth area were washed away, allowing free mix of water of sea
and river.
17. The width of the beach has been reduced, because the shoreline has been
brought forward few metres.
18. Many coastal tourist spots have lost their attraction and charm hence the
tourism income also has been reduced drastically. Income coss loss may be
estimated at 15 to 20 crores.
19. Over night, the word Tsunami had become the buzzword of entire Indian
humanity.
20. The economic slump caused by Tsunami in the sectors like agriculture and
industries has affected the normal economic life.

108

Tsunami: Economic impacts

1. The fishing economy along the coast has been seriously endangered.
Thousands of fishermen were missing, lost their fishing equipment, like nets,
fishing boats, rowing rods etc.
2. The imports and exports of marine products like fish, prawns, coral reeds,
oysters, pearl fishing etc were jeopardized.
3. Heavy monetary and property loss was found at Chennai Harbour. The cargo
sheds of the Chennai Port have been devastated beyond repair.
4. The reconstruction and restructuring of what has been lost would impair the
ongoing projects of future extension or developmental programmers.
5. Recapitalizing the damaged industrial units is a daunting task.
Estimated Loss of Tsunami, India:
(Direct Costs)
Human loss - 13,000-15,000
Missing Population

- >45,000

No. affected - 2,50,000

Homeless - 3.75 lakhs
Material Loss - 1.5 billion
House broken - 6.7 lakhs
Fishing boats - 45,000
Merchant ships - 796
Lenth of Railway lines - 12,000 kms
Loss to Chennai fort & Harbour - 50 crores
Bridges of Causeways 57
Raw cargo - 1.2 lakh tons

109

Natural forests - 200 sq .km

Mangrove Forests - 500 sq .km
Marine life - l lakh tons
Private Property - 2.3 Billions
Live stock loss - 11,683 cows + 10721 sheep + 9788 goats
Poultry loss - Rs. 2 millions
Fish production - 20.30 million tons
Fishing Nets - 5 crores worth
Fishing Motor 1576
Crop Loss - 5 to 6 crores.
Tsunami - Virtual loss:
(Intangible loss)
Psychologically depressed people - >3 Lakh
Water phobia affected people & children - >1.2 Lakh
Parent less children - >7.5 thousand
Widows - 4.2 thousands
Widowers - 1.3 thousands
Mentally depressed and stressed people - 12,000
Emotional, anxiety, anguish, pathos - >1 lakh
affected people no. of alcoholics - 47,000
Drugs intake Considerably increased
Juvenile Criminals - increased by 30%

110

Tsunami - Public Infrastructure Damage:

The Researcher Propose that the total irrigation area damaged is estimated
approximately 28000ha in province (9.6% of the total irrigated). Damage to
irrigation systems and rice fields may cause huge loss of rice production per year.
Two to three years may be needed to bring normal productivity back. All flood
control and coastal structures near the coast of Kanyakumari were severely
damaged by the tsunami, including up to 271kilometres upstream many rivers in
Kanyakumari district had real hard hit. Similarly the tsunami damaged completely
many state and National highway.
The number and severity of destroyed public facilities was massive. Two
major ports in Chennai and Tuticorin are completely out of function. Damage to
government offices and hospitals hindered a coordinated response during the first
month of emergency relief.
Tsunami- Livelihoods:
The Researcher Propose that the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of
people have been affected. Examples include: An estimated 42,000 hectares of
prawn/fish farms along the coast have been lost, diminishing investments and
opportunities for small scale businesses. Land tenure is now uncertain for many
families who used to live in the coastal strip. Uncertainties regarding the future of
rice farming, coconut plantations fish farms and open sea fishing (due to damage
of fishery equipments). Lost assets, belonging and livelihood security
possibilities, especially along the coastal strip, all of which may result in higher
dependency on natural resources.
Tsunami Disturbed Ecosystem and Ground Water:
The Researcher Propose that many natural ecosystems (mangroves, coral
reefs, near shore zones including fish farms, freshwater reservoirs and the coastal

111

strip) have been heavily damaged, leaving them more vulnerable to possible
future events such as high tides.
Strategies and Solutions:
The Researcher Propose that establishing a global warning system for
Tsunamis in Indian Ocean should be mad mandatory, to protect the humanity
from another killers tsunami. Economic activities along the coast, including
tourism development should be regulated under a uniform National policy
Permanent houses, leaving a safety distance (500m) from sea shore should
be constructed. A forestation, is the only method through which, loss can be
minimize. The protection of natural forests along the coast, stringent forest
policies should be adopted.
Reduction of residential colonies along the sea coast would minimize the
human loss and banning of residential colonies within 200 meters. Advanced
technology should be adopted at seismic stations, meteorological stations,
especially oceanographic research centers. Technical coordination between
developed and developing countries may certainly improve the forecasting
situations.

112

Chapter IV: Safety Precautions

4.1 Safety Precautions of earthquake:
The Researcher Propose that there is no effective warning system for
earthquakes, which makes preliminary precautions even more critical. At the
same time, knowing how to behave when a quake strikes and what to do after the
event is just as important to staying safe.
Before an Earthquake:
The Researcher Propose that there are many things families and
individuals can do to prepare for an earthquake, including the following:
Learn how to survive during the ground motion. This is described in the "During
the Earthquake" section below. The earthquake safety tips there will prepare you
for the fast action needed - most earthquakes are over in seconds so knowing what
to do instinctively is very important.
Teach all members of your family about earthquake safety. This includes: 1) the
actions you should take when an earthquake occurs, 2) the safe places in a room
such as under a strong desk, along interior walls, and 3) places to avoid such as
near windows, large mirrors, hanging objects, heavy furniture and fireplaces.
Stock up on emergency supplies. These include: battery operated radio (and
extra batteries), flashlights (and extra batteries), first aid kit, bottled water, two
weeks food and medical supplies, blankets, cooking fuel, tools needed to turn off
your gas, water and electric utilities.
Arrange your home for safety: Store heavy objects on lower shelves and store
breakable objects in cabinets with latched doors. Don't hang heavy mirrors or
pictures above where people frequently sit or sleep.

113

Anchor heavy appliances and furniture such as water heaters, refrigerators and
bookcases.
Store flammable liquids away from potential ignition sources such as water
heaters, stoves and furnaces.
Get Educated. Learn what to do during an earthquake (see below). Then you
will be ready for the fast action needed. Make sure that all members of your
family have this important education.
Learn where the main turn-offs are for your water, gas and electricity. Know
how to turn them off and the location of any needed tools.
Install latches on cupboard doors to prevent them from opening during a quake.
Use non-skid shelf liners for kitchen and bathroom cupboards, medicine
cabinets, and closet shelves.
Store heavy items or glassware in lower cabinets so they do not become
dangerous projectiles.
Update home insurance policies to adequately cover building costs, possession
replacement, and injury deductibles.
Secure large appliances such as refrigerators, water heaters, air conditioners, and
other bulky items with straps, bolts, and other stabilizing methods.
Be sure both old and new buildings meet earthquake construction requirements.
Do not put heavy artwork, mirrors, or shelves over beds.
Firmly secure bookcases, artwork, mounted televisions and other objects to
withstand as much shaking as possible.
Take clear photos of valuables as a record for insurance purposes.

114

Prepare an earthquake emergency kit with non-perishable food, bottled water,

copies of important documents (birth certificates, prescriptions, insurance papers,
etc.), flashlights, first aid materials, blankets, spare glasses, and other essential
items and store it where it will be easily accessible in case of a quake.
Keep cell phones charged and replace emergency kit supplies as necessary to
keep them usable.
Plan alternative commuting routes in case an earthquake damages roads.
Set up a family meeting location in a safe area.
Teach all family members basic first aid, how to behave during a quake, and
what to do after a quake.
Be prepared to act. Know how to act so your response is automatic. Identify safe
places in your work area to Drop, Cover and Hold On. Know at least two ways
to exit the building safely after an earthquake.
Stock up on emergency supplies. Keep the basics: flashlight, first-aid kit,
whistle, gloves, goggles, blankets and sturdy shoes. Coordinate supplies with your
work group or department. Plan as if food and water may not be available for
about 24 hours and
Other supplies for up to 3 days. Arrange your work area for safety. Make sure
that bookcases, large file cabinets and artwork are anchored. Store heavy objects
on low shelves. Store breakable objects in cabinets with latches. Use normal work
order process to get furniture anchored.
During an Earthquake:
The Researcher Propose that Earthquake can last just a few seconds or as
long as several minutes, and knowing how to react during the quake can help
prevent injuries:

115

If you are indoors, stay there. Quickly move to a safe location in the room such
as under a strong desk, a strong table, or along an interior wall. The goal is to
protect yourself from falling objects and be located near the structural strong
points of the room. Avoid taking cover near windows, large mirrors, hanging
objects, heavy furniture, heavy appliances or fireplaces.
If you are cooking, turn off the stove and take cover.
If you are outdoors, move to an open area where falling objects are unlikely to
strike you. Move away from buildings, power lines and trees.
If you are driving, slow down smoothly and stop on the side of the road. Avoid
stopping on or under bridges and overpasses, or under power lines, trees and large
signs. Stay in your car.
Immediately seek a safe location such as in a doorway (if you live in an old,
adobe house that is not reinforced), beneath a table or desk, or along an interior
wall away from windows or hazardous objects.
Cover the back of your head and your eyes to minimize injury from flying
debris.
Do not take elevators during an earthquake.
If cooking, turn off heating elements immediately.
If outdoors, stay in open areas away from buildings, power lines, trees, and other
potential hazards.
If driving, stop quickly but safely and stay in the vehicle. Do not stop near
power lines, bridges, overpasses, or other potentially dangerous locations.
Stay calm and brace yourself to keep your balance, sitting if possible.

116

Remain calm as the quake occurs others will respond to your actions. A cool
head can prevent panic. If you are indoors when the shaking occurs, stay there.
Move away from windows and unsecured tall furniture. Drop, cover and hold on
under a desk, a table or along an interior wall. Protect your head, neck and face.
Stay under cover until the shaking stops and debris settles.
If you are outdoors, move to an open area away from falling hazards such as
trees,
Power lines, and buildings. Drop to the ground and cover your head and neck.
After an Earthquake:
The Researcher Propose that quick thinking after an earthquake hits can
minimize immediate dangers. Proper earthquake safety precautions after a tremor
include the following:
Check for injuries; attend to injuries if needed, help ensure the safety of people
around you.
Check for damage. If your building is badly damaged you should leave it until it
has been inspected by a safety professional.
If you smell or hear a gas leak, get everyone outside and open windows and
doors. If you can do it safely, turn off the gas at the meter. Report the leak to the
Gas Company and fire department. Do not use any electrical appliances because a
tiny spark could ignite the gas.
If the power is out, unplug major appliances to prevent possible damage when
the power is turned back on. If you see sparks, frayed wires, or smell hot
insulation turn off electricity at the main fuse box or breaker. If you will have to
step in water to turn off the electricity you should call a professional to turn it off
for you.

117

Be prepared for aftershocks, which may be stronger than the initial jolt.
Tend injuries immediately and summon emergency assistance if necessary.
Check for structural damage, but do not enter a building that shows damage or
has visible cracks in the walls or foundation.
Wear shoes at all times to avoid stepping on broken glass.
Turn off gas, electricity, and water if damage is suspected or if advised to do so
by authorities.
Be cautious opening cabinets, cupboards, and closets in case items may be
poised to fall.
Keep phone lines clear for emergency use.
Be patient: It may take hours or days to restore all services depending on the
severity of the quake.
Remain calm and reassuring. Check yourself and other for injuries. Do not move
injured people unless they are in danger. Use your training to provide first aid, use
fire extinguishers, and clean up spills. In laboratories, safely shut down processes
when possible.
Expect aftershocks.
After large earthquakes, tremors and aftershocks can continue for days.
Be ready to act without electricity or lights. Know how to move around your
work area and how to exit in the dark. Know how to access and use your
emergency supplies. Be aware of objects that have shifted during the quake.
If you must leave a building, use extreme caution. Continually assess your
surroundings and be on the lookout for falling debris and other hazards. Take your

118

keys, personal items and emergency supplies with you if safe to do so. Do not reenter damaged buildings until an all-clear is given.
Use telephones only to report a life-threatening emergency. Cell and hard-line
phone systems will be jammed. Text messages take less band width and may go
through when voice calls cant be made.
Earthquake Safety Rules:
The Researcher Propose that suggested safety rules during and after the
earthquakes are as follows:
During the earthquake:
1. Do not panic, keep calm.
2. Extinguish all fires.
3. If the earthquake catches you indoors, stay indoors. Take cover under a sturdy
piece of furniture. Stay away from glass, or loose hanging objects.
4. If you are outside, move away from buildings, steep slopes and utility wires.
5. If you are in a crowded place, do not rush for cover or to doorways.
6. If you are in a moving vehicle, stop as quickly as safety permits, but stay in the
vehicle until the shaking stops.
7. If you are in a lift, get out of the lift as quickly as possible.
8. If you are in a tunnel, move out of the tunnel to the open as quickly as safety
permits.

119

After the earthquake:

1. Check for casualties and seek assistance if needed.
2. If you suspect a gas leak, open windows and shut off the main valve. Leave the
building and report the gas leaks. Do not light a fire or use the telephone at the
site.
3. Turn off the main valve if water supply is damaged.
4. Do not use the telephone except to report an emergency or to obtain assistance.
5. Stay out of severely damaged buildings as aftershocks may cause them to
collapse. Report any building damage to the authorities.
6. As a precaution against tsunamis, stay away from shores, beaches and lowlying coastal areas. If you are there, move inland or to higher grounds. The upper
floors of high, multi-storey, reinforced concrete building can provide safe refuge
if there is no time to quickly move inland or to higher grounds.
Safety Precautions as a homeowner or tenant:
Check your home for earthquake hazards, and create a plan to secure items that
may be vulnerable to shaking
Bolt down or provide other strong support for water heaters and other gas
appliances, since fire damage can result from broken gas lines and appliance
connections. Use flexible connections wherever possible.
Place large or heavy objects on the lower shelves. Securely fasten shelves to
walls. Brace or anchor high or top-heavy objects.
In new construction or alterations, follow building codes to minimize earthquake
hazards. Sites for construction should be selected and engineered to reduce the
hazards of damage from an earthquake.

120

Keep a 7-10 day supply of food and water. To maintain freshness it is important
to rotate this stock periodically.
Safety Precautions as a parent or head of family:
Hold occasional home earthquake drills to provide help avoid injury and panic
during an earthquake.
Create a family emergency communications plan *(500K download) and make
sure everyone knows what to do. An earthquake could occur when your family is
not together. Take a few minutes with your family to establish a plan for how and
when to reunite after an earthquake.
Teach responsible members of your family how to turn off electricity, gas, and
water at the main switch and valves. If in doubt, check with your local utilities
offices for instructions.
Caution: Never shut off gas unless you suspect a gas leak or can smell gas. If the
gas is ever shut off, all pilot lights must be re-lit.
Provide responsible members of your family basic first aid and C.P.R. training.
Call Red Cross Safety Services for information about training classes.
Keep a flashlight and a battery-powered transistor radio in the home, ready for
use at all times. Keep fresh batteries with these items.
Keep immunizations up-to-date for all family members.
Conduct calm family discussions about earthquakes and other possible disasters.
Avoid frightening disaster stories, but talk frankly and rationally about the
possible consequences of catastrophic events.
Keep a 7-10 day supply of food and water. To maintain freshness it is important
to rotate this stock periodically.

121

The Earthquake Preparedness:

The Researcher Propose that but whether earthquake prediction is possible
or not, one has to learn to live with them if one insists on living in areas with
earthquake hazard. So, most effort of scientists and engineers is focused on
earthquake preparedness, from both engineering and sociological points of view.
To prepare facing earthquakes, we must know two basic characteristics of
earthquakes, namely Magnitude and Intensity. The former is a measure of the
amount of energy released by the earth during the earthquake. It is represented on
a numerical scale of Richter Magnitude using the natural logarithm of maximum
displacement experienced by the ground. An earthquake of Richter magnitude
around 5.0 releases as much energy as that discharged by the Hiroshima nuclear
bomb. As the magnitude goes up by 1.0 on the Richter scale, the energy release
increases by about 30 times.
On the other hand, the consequence of the above energy released by the
earth is the damage and destruction to natural and man-made facilities.
Understandably, the damage will vary depending on the proximity of the facility
to the region where the slip has taken place along the earthquake fault. The extent
of this damage is measured on another scale called the Modified Mercalli
Intensity scale. This scale is a qualitative one and represented on a Roman scale I
to XII. Shaking from about intensity IV is felt by all human beings. Shaking
intensities VIII and IX reflect heavy damage in buildings. When shaking of the
Earth reaches the upper end of XII on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale, the
surface of the Earth is severely distorted.
Based on the occurrence of earthquakes in the past in and around India,
the country is divided into five seismic zones, namely zones I, II, III, IV and IV,
where I is the least severe and V is the most severe. Based on this zoning, about
60% of Indias land area is under moderate seismic threat or more, i.e., under
seismic zone III or above. In fact, the 1993 Killari earthquake in which over

122

10,000 persons died, occurred in an area that was considered to be non-seismic,

i.e., in seismic zone I. After this, the seismic zone map has been revised to have
only four seismic zones; with zone I merged to zone II. Even now, amongst our
four mega-cities, Delhi is in seismic zone IV, while Bombay, Calcutta and
Madras are in seismic zone III. Despite this level of seismic hazard, little is being
done, particularly in these cities, to make the development akin to earthquake
shaking. The quality of both design engineering and construction is way behind
the expected seismic standards.
The common man concept of an earthquake-proof house is only heuristic.
If one attempt to make a house that will not incur any damage during a large
earthquake, it is very likely that another pyramid will be built, though not of the
Egyptian scale. Yes, it is very uneconomical to build houses, or any structure for
that matter, that dont incur any damage during strong earthquake shaking.
Therefore, some amount of damage is permitted in structures, the extent being
decided based on the performance demand on the damaged structures. Hence,
engineering effort is to balance the cost of the structure with the controlleddamage in it during an earthquake. The very engineers who are already well
conversant with making structures for no earthquake conditions, can design such
structures, termed as earthquake-resistant structures, with a little additional
education.
Design of structures for earthquakes is different from that for any other
natural phenomenon, like wind and wave. An earthquake imposes displacement
on the structure, while winds and waves apply force on it. The displacement
imposed at the base of the structure during an earthquake causes inertia forces to
be generated in it, which are responsible for damage in the structure. As a
consequence of this, the mass of the structure being designed assumes
importance; the more the mass, the higher is the inertia force.
After a whole gamut of earthquake experiences collected during the 20th
century from across the world, today the earthquake engineering community

123

believes that there are four virtues of an earthquake-resistant structure. These are:
(a) sufficient strength capacity to resist earthquake forces, (b) adequate stiffness
capacity to not deform too much, (c) large ductility capacity to stay stable
even after a damaging earthquake, and (d) good configuration features of
building size, shape and structural system that are not detrimental to favorable
seismic behavior. Engineers designing structures for winds and waves, tend to
mostly concentrate their attention on the first two aspects, namely strength and
stiffness. However, in earthquake design, the latter two virtues assume a more
important role. The following parallel helps in better remembering these four
virtues. In looking for a bride-groom for your daughter, you are looking at a
prospective son-in-law who (a) is rich, so that he can take care of the shopping
requirements of your daughter, (b) is educated, so that he can easily find another
job if the company he is working in winds up, (c) can bend-backwards, to the
rather abrupt changes in mood of you daughter, and (d) has no vices.
Earthquake Engineering Education in India:
The Researcher Propose that India has had five moderate earthquakes
(Richter Magnitudes ~6.0-6.4) since 1988 as reminders to improve the earthquake
preparedness of the country. And, historically, some of the great earthquakes
(Richter Magnitudes >8.0) have occurred in India and that too four in the last 115
years. The world seismic community has taken advantage of the experiences from
these events, but we in India have paid no heed to these reminders. Today, the
number of persons interested in improving the earthquake preparedness in the
country is effectively very small. Moreover, most of these persons are in the
academia. And, when members of the academia suggest steps for improving the
preparedness, they are unfortunately charged with working for their own cause as
they tend to be branded as benefactors of increased activities in this direction.
There are poor/no campaign of sensitizing the decision-makers and
Government on the need for earthquake preparedness. Moreover, in the past four
decades, the earthquake engineering and preparedness education has been

124

primarily restricted to within the classrooms. The academia has failed in guiding
the country with the right inputs at the right times. Every time an earthquake took
place in the country, the situation was not capitalized on. Earthquake engineering
is taught as a specialization only at the University of Roorkee and as an elective
course at a few of the IITs. In fact, the subject has been so mystified that it is
unfortunately considered to be very different from the mainstream civil
engineering. Consequently, there is a serious shortage of trained civil engineering
manpower with background in earthquake-resistant constructions.
Even today most consulting engineers do not follow even the available
Indian Standard design provisions for making earthquake-resistant constructions,
even in projects being executed in the Delhi, which is in seismic zone IV. But,
over the last century, seismic engineering has evolved in countries like Japan,
New Zealand and USA, and is reasonably well documented. The Indian
professional community can learn from this vast experience available across the
world.
Indian earthquake problem cannot be overemphasized. More than about
60% of the land area is considered prone to shaking of intensity VII and above
(MMI scale). In fact, the entire Himalayan belt is considered prone to great
earthquakes of magnitude exceeding 8.0, and in a short span of about 50 years,
four such earthquakes have occurred: 1897 Assam (M8.7), 1905 Kangra (M8.6),
1934 Bihar-Nepal (M8.4), and 1950 Assam-Tibet (M8.7).
Earthquake engineering developments started rather early in India. For
instance, development of the first seismic zone map and of the earthquake
resistant features for masonry buildings took place in 1930s, and formal teaching
and research in earthquake engineering started in late 1950s. Despite an early
start, the seismic risk in the country has been increasing rapidly in the recent
years. Five moderate earthquakes in the last eleven years (1988 Bihar-Nepal:
M6.6, about 1,004 dead; 1991 Uttarkashi: M6.6, about 768 dead; 1993 Latur:
M6.4, about 8,000 dead; 1997 Jabalpur: M6.0, about 38 dead; and 1999 Chamoli:

125

M6.5, about 100 dead) have clearly underlined the inadequate preparedness of the
country to face damaging earthquakes. The paper discusses the developments of
earthquake engineering in India during the last one hundred years, the current
status of earthquake risk reduction in India, strengths and weaknesses of Indian
model of earthquake engineering developments, and the future challenges.
Two important elements emerge which need urgent attention to improve
the earthquake safety scenario in the country: the institutional development
whereby the discipline of earthquake engineering is nurtured and developed at a
much larger number of locations, and involvement of professional engineers and
architects into the seismic agenda. Quality manpower in earthquake engineering is
clearly in short supply and a major effort needs to be made to strengthen the same.
With the above background, it may be pertinent to discuss some recent positive
developments:
1. In recent years, earthquake engineering activities have spread to other
institutions in the country and active earthquake engineering groups now exist at
IIT Kanpur and Mumbai. Also, some of the CSIR laboratories are now engaged in
earthquake engineering research and consultancy. In addition, Nuclear Power
Corporation and other organizations dealing with nuclear power plants now have
considerable capabilities in earthquake engineering as is the case with some of the
top consulting firms.
2. A few individual enthusiasts are now spearheading the efforts towards
earthquake safety in their own region. For instance, a few engineers and architects
in Darjeeling (zone IV) have been instrumental in incorporation of nominal a
seismic provisions in the building bye-laws for that region. Another local group
has been pushing the agenda of earthquake safety in Imphal (zone V) in north-east
India.
3. The highly successful continuing education programmers conducted by IIT
Kanpur at different locations in the country, at times with class size of about 100

126

persons, have created considerable interest amongst professional engineers, and

clearly demonstrated that the professional engineers are willing to join the seismic
safety agenda if given the right tools.
4. The Indian Concrete Journal, a very old and respected journal with wide-spread
readership amongst the professional engineers, has brought out two exclusive
issues related to earthquake engineering (ICJ 1994, 1998). The recently published
Vulnerability Atlas of India (BMTPC, 1997) is expected to help contribute
significantly in sensitizing the administrators and engineers to the earthquake
problem.
5. Five damaging earthquakes in the last eleven years have made it easier to
initiate discussions in the country on earthquake issues. The enormous tragedy of
the Latur earthquake and the massive earthquake rehabilitation program thereafter
have contributed significantly to capacity building and awareness at least in and
around Maharashtra. After the recent Chamoli earthquake, there is now a
discussion on setting up of a Earthquake Risk Evaluation Centre for north India.
6. A National Information Centre for Earthquake Engineering is in the process of
being set up at IIT Kanpur with the objective to acquire and disseminate the
earthquake engineering materials. In a developing country such as India, basic
poverty issues like food, shelter, health, and education remain the highest priority
and natural disaster mitigation does not get the priority that it should. Amongst
the major challenges ahead is to sensitize the policy makers, the politicians and
the administrators to the issues of earthquake safety. With five damaging
earthquakes in the last eleven years, this is the right time to initiate a sustained
and proactive effort in this direction.

127

4.2 Safety Precautions during volcanic eruptions:

The Researcher Propose that explosive volcanoes blast hot solid and
molten rock fragments and gases into the air. As a result, ashflows can occur on
all sides of a volcano and ash can fall hundreds of miles downwind. Dangerous
mudflows and floods can occur in valleys leading away from volcanoes. If you
live near a known volcano, active or dormant, be prepared to follow volcano
safety instructions from your local emergency officials.
Mudflows:
The Researcher Propose that Mudflows are powerful rivers of mud that
can move 20 to 40 mph. hot ash or lava from a volcanic eruption can rapidly melt
snow and ice at the summit of a volcano. The melt water quickly mixes with
falling ash, with soil cover on lower slopes, and with debris in its path. This
turbulent mixture is dangerous in stream channels and can travel more than 50
miles away from a volcano. Intense rainfall can also erode fresh volcanic deposits
to form large mudflows. If you see the water level of a stream begin to rise,
quickly move to high ground. If a mudflow is approaching or passes a bridge, stay
away from the bridge.
Stay out of the area defined as a restricted zone by government officials.
Effects of a volcanic eruption can be experienced many miles from a volcano.
Mudflows and flash flooding, wild land fires, and even deadly hot ash flow can
reach you even if you cannot see the volcano during an eruption. Avoid river
valleys and low lying areas. Trying to watch an erupting volcano up close is a
deadly idea.
Evacuation:
The Researcher Propose that although it may seem safe to stay at home
and wait out a volcanic eruption, if you are in a hazardous zone, doing so could be

128

very dangerous. Stay safe. Follow authorities instructions and put your volcano
evacuation plan into action.
Prepare for a Volcano Emergency:
Learn about your community warning systems and emergency plans.
Be prepared for the hazards that can accompany volcanoes:
Mudflows and flash floods
Landslides and rock falls
Earthquakes
Ash fall and acid rain
Tsunamis
Make evacuation plans. If you live in a known volcanic hazard area, plan a route
out and have a backup route in mind.
Develop an emergency communication plan. In case family members are
separated from one another during a volcanic eruption (a real possibility during
the day when adults are at work and children are at school), have a plan for
getting back together. Ask an out-of-state relative or friend to serve as the family
contact, because after a disaster, its often easier to call long distance. Make sure
everyone knows the name, address, and phone number of the contact person.
Have disaster supplies on hand:
Flashlight and extra batteries
First aid kit and manual
Emergency food and water

129

Non-electric can opener

Essential medicines
Dust masks and goggles for every member of the household
Sturdy shoes
During a Volcanic Eruption:
Follow the evacuation order issued by authorities.
Avoid areas downwind and river valleys downstream of the volcano.
Listen to a battery-operated radio or television for the latest emergency
information.
If caught indoors:
Close all windows, doors, and dampers.
Put all machinery inside a garage or barn.
Bring animals and livestock into closed shelters.
If trapped outdoors:
Seek shelter indoors.
If caught in a rock fall, roll into a ball to protect your head.
If caught near a stream, be aware of mudflows. Move up slope, especially if you
hear the roar of a mudflow.

Protect yourself during ash fall:

130

Wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants.

Use goggles to protect your eyes.
Use a dust mask or hold a damp cloth over your face to help breathing.
Keep car or truck engines off.
If possible, stay away from volcanic ash fall areas.
When outside:
Cover your mouth and nose. Volcanic ash can irritate your respiratory system.
Wear goggles to protect your eyes.
Keep skin covered to avoid irritation from contact with ash.
Clear roofs of ash fall. Ash fall is very heavy and can cause buildings to
collapse. Exercise great caution when working on a roof.
Avoid driving in heavy ash fall. Driving will stir up more ash that can clog
engines and stall vehicles.
If you have a respiratory ailment, avoid contact with any amount of ash. Stay
indoors until local health officials advise it is safe to go outside.
Remember to help your neighbors who may require special assistance
infants, elderly people, and people with disabilities.
A volcanic eruption can be an awesome and destructive event. Here are
some tips on how to avoid danger and what to do if you're caught near an
eruption.
Safety Tips:

131

Stay away from active volcanoes.

If you live near an active volcano, keep goggles and a mask in an emergency kit,
along with a flashlight and a working, battery-operated radio.
Know your evacuation route. Keep gas in your car.
If a Volcano Erupts in Your Area:
Evacuate only as recommended by authorities to stay clear of lava, mud flows,
and flying rocks and debris.
Avoid river areas and low-lying regions.
Before you leave the house, change into long-sleeved shirts and long pants and
use goggles or eyeglasses, not contacts. Wear an emergency mask or hold a damp
cloth over your face.
If you are not evacuating, close windows and doors and block chimneys and
other vents, to prevent ash from coming into the house.
Be aware that ash may put excess weight on your roof and need to be swept
away. Wear protection during cleanups.
Ash can damage engines and metal parts, so avoid driving. If you must drive,
stay below 35 miles (56 kilometers) an hour.
Before a Volcano:
Put goggles and disposable breathing masks for each family member in your
disaster supply kit.
Stay away from active volcano sites.

132

If you live near a known volcano, active or dormant, learn about your
community warning systems and emergency plans, and be ready to evacuate at a
moment's notice.
Have an emergency disaster plan for you and your family.
Be prepared for the hazards that can accompany volcanoes:
Mudflows and flash floods
Landslides and rock falls
Earthquakes
Ash fall and acid rain
Tsunamis
During a Volcano:
Listen to a battery-operated radio or television for the latest emergency
information.
Follow the evacuation order issued by authorities.
Avoid areas downwind and river valleys downstream of the volcano.
If caught indoors:
Close all windows, doors, and dampers.
Put all machinery inside a garage or barn.
Bring animals and livestock into closed shelters.
If trapped outdoors:

133

Seek shelter indoors.

If caught in a rock fall, roll into a ball to protect your head.
If caught near a stream, be aware of mudflows. Move up slope, especially if you
hear the roar of a mudflow.
Protect yourself during ash fall:
Wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants.
Use goggles to protect your eyes.
Use a dust mask or hold a damp cloth over your face to help breathing.
Keep car or truck engines off.
Remember: Stay out of the area defined as a restricted zone by government
officials. Effects of a volcanic eruption can be experienced many miles from a
volcano. Mudflows and flash flooding, wild land fires, and even deadly hot ash
flow can reach you even if you cannot see the volcano during an eruption. Avoid
river valleys and low lying areas. Trying to watch an erupting volcano up close is
a deadly idea.
After a Volcanic Eruption:
If possible, stay away from volcanic ash fall areas.
When outside: Cover your mouth and nose. Volcanic ash can irritate your
respiratory system.
Wear goggles to protect your eyes.
Keep skin covered to avoid irritation from contact with ash.

134

Clear roofs of ash fall. Ash fall is very heavy and can cause buildings to
collapse. Exercise great caution when working on a roof.
Avoid driving in heavy ash fall. Driving will stir up more ash that can clog
engines and stall vehicles.
If you have a respiratory ailment, avoid contact with any amount of ash. Stay
indoors until local health officials advise it is safe to go outside.
Remember to help your neighbors who may require special assistance infants,
elderly people, and people with disabilities.
You can do many things to protect yourself and your family from the
dangers a volcanic eruption can cause. The best way to do protect yourself and
your family is to follow the advice of local officials. Local authorities will provide
you with information on how to prepare for a volcanic eruption, and if necessary,
on how to evacuate (leave the area) or take shelter where you are.
If a pyroclastic flow, or lava flow is headed toward you:
Leave the area immediately. If you are warned to evacuate because an eruption
is imminent, evacuate.
If you can drive rather than walk, use your vehicle to evacuate. When driving
keep doors and windows closed, drive across the path of danger if you can or
away from the danger if you cannot, and watch for unusual hazards in the road.
Protecting yourself during ash fall:
Stay inside, if possible, with windows and doors closed.
Wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants.
Use goggles to protect your eyes. If ash is continually falling, you may not be
able to shelter indoors for more than a few hours, because the weight of the ash

135

could collapse the roof of your building and block air intakes into the building.
Listen to authorities for advice on leaving the area when ash fall lasts more than a
few hours.
Exposure to ash can harm your health, particularly the respiratory (breathing)
tract. To protect yourself while you are outdoors or while you are cleaning up ash
that has gotten indoors, a disposable particulate respirator (also known as an air
purifying respirator) may be considered. An N-95 respirator is the most common
type of disposable particulate respirator and can be purchased at businesses such
as hardware stores. It is important to follow directions for proper use of this
respirator. For more information, see NIOSH-Approved Disposable Particulate
Respirators (Filtering Face pieces). If you dont have a particulate respirator, you
can protect yourself by using a nuisance dust mask as a last resort, but you should
stay outdoors for only short periods while dust is falling. Nuisance dust masks can
provide comfort and relief from exposure to relatively non-hazardous
contaminants such as pollen, but they do not offer as much protection as a
particulate respirator. Cleanup or emergency workers may need a different type of
breathing protection based on their work activity. Note that disposable particulate
respirators do not filter toxic gases and vapors.
Keep your car or truck engine switched off. Avoid driving in heavy ash fall.
Driving will stir up ash that can clog engines and stall vehicles. If you do have to
drive, keep the car windows up and do not operate the air conditioning system.
Operating the air conditioning system will bring in outside air and ash.
Hazards:
The Researcher Propose that high speed lava flow containing toxic gases
and 400 degrees + molten rock, which would be too fast for a person to out run.

136

Volcanic eruption clouds, liable to disperse ash over a large area (1000 km +)
and affecting the local infrastructure in various ways such as:
Aircraft accessibility, diversions and delays.
Food supplies, crops and live stock.
Dangerous driving conditions: poor visibility.
Vehicle air filtration systems blocked causing overheating and mechanical
failure.
Drainage systems blocked and potential for local flooding.
Railway lines affected.
Water supplies affected.
Health problems as a result of ash particles within the atmosphere such as:
Increased risk of Asthma reaction.
General respiratory and breathing problems.
Potential for severe reaction with moisture within lungs causing a cementing
affect within the lungs.
Local eye irritation.
Preventative measures and recommendations:
Monitor weather conditions particularly wind direction (wind changes direction
with attitude).
Have plans to evacuate up wind to a safe area under cover.

137

Have clear medical evacuation plans, which may be affected by aircraft and
vehicle accessibility.
Where protective face masks and goggles.
Make regular updates with the volcanic monitoring centre.
Have sufficient water, food and medical equipment supplies, when travelling
and at base location (minimum 72hours).
Once major eruption as been declared have plans in place to return to a safe
location and at a suitable distance.
Preparation for those living in a volcano area:
The Researcher Propose that protecting your family in the event of a
volcanic eruption can mean the difference between life and death. More likely, it
will help you protect your health and property from volcanic "ash", rocks that can
spread for many miles. However, knowing how to prepare for a volcanic eruption
can be confusing without the right information. Organizing a plan of attack is key
to proper preparation, and educating everyone in your family or household will
help to better ensure their safety and well being when disaster erupts.
Put together an emergency supply kit. This kit is something that anyone
living in a volcano zone should have prepared at all times. The kit should include
such items as a first aid kit, food and water supplies, a mask to protect against ash
such as one used when mowing lawns, a manual can opener, a flashlight with
extra batteries or preferably a crank model, any necessary medications, sturdy
shoes, goggles or other eye protection, and a battery-powered radio. Ensure that
everyone in your family knows where the emergency supplies that you prepared
are located.

138

A flashlight, phone charger, and radio combined as one, that runs on both
solar power and hand cranking is the ideal item to have ready in your house for
any natural disaster event. Pack this if you have one.
Buy proper respiratory protection. Purchase an air purifying respirator,
also referred to as an N-95 disposable respirator. This can be bought at your local
hardware store.
Have the necessary communication devices ready. Use your radio or
television at home to listen for volcano updates or evacuation notices.
Be aware of what your local disaster sirens sound like. When a volcanic
eruption occurs, you'll need to listen for those to go off.
Set an emergency evacuation plan with your family. Review it in depth
with them, so that each person knows what to do in the event of an eruption, how
to find one another if you're apart, and how to contact neighbors and/or
emergency services if you cannot get away from the property using your own
transportation.
If anyone has disabilities, these need to be taken account of in the plan.
Include pets and livestock in the plan.
Discuss with your family what you will do if there are warnings to evacuate and
any of you don't want to leave. Bear in mind that it is not fair to other family
members if some of you choose to stay behind in spite of evacuation warnings,
and precautions should always be taken to ensure that those family members who
want to leave can do so.
Know how to switch off all utilities and ensure that every family member old
enough to be responsible for turning off utilities knows how to do so.

139

Talking to children about the possibility of a disaster and what to do in the event
is better than pretending it may never happen. If children are aware that
everything is planned should something go wrong, their fear and anxiety will be
reduced in the event of a disaster because they'll know how to respond.
Create an emergency kit specifically for your car. It should include maps,
tools, a first aid kit if you haven't already packed one with your other emergency
supplies, a fire extinguisher, flares, additional non-perishable food, booster cables,
sleeping bags and/or emergency blankets, and a flashlight.
At the time of an actual evacuation:
The Researcher Propose that listen for advice and instructions. Check your
pre-prepared emergency gear and have it ready to go.
Prepare the car or other vehicle. Check that you have a full tank of gas and
keep all vehicles under cover until ready to leave (ash can prevent the engines
from working).
Make transportation arrangements with other families or friends if you do
not have a vehicle of your own.
Attend to livestock and pets. In the event that your house and property are
directly impacted by the volcano, your animals will not be able to escape. Do
what you can within reason to ensure their safety.
Place your livestock in an enclosed area or make arrangements to transport
them as far offsite as possible.
Make transportation plans for your family pets. Be aware that most
emergency shelters will be unable to accommodate them. If keeping your pets
with you, you'll need to be sure that you have planned ahead for enough food and
water for them. Alternatively, leave messages on social networking sites such as

140

Twitter asking for people who are available in the area who can board your pets
temporarily until the disaster is over. You are bound to get a lot of kind offers.
Evacuate as instructed:
The Researcher Propose that takes your prepared kit with you, and makes
sure that your car emergency kit is in the car. Turn off the electric, gas, heating
oil, and water in your home if time allows. It is recommended that you don't turn
off the gas unless you suspect a leak or you're instructed to do so, as it can be
weeks before a professional can get to you to turn it back on after a disaster event.
Disconnect the appliances in your home if time allows. Take the designated
evacuation routes, and prepare yourself for delays. Other routes may be blocked,
so you want to ensure that you are taking the route suggested by authorities.
Stay put if you are instructed by the authorities to do so:
The Researcher Propose that run extra water in the sinks, bathtubs, and
other containers as an emergency supply for cleaning (use as little as possible) or
purifying and drinking. You can also get emergency drinking water from a water
heater.
Don't use the toilet if there is no running water. It will make the house
smell terrible. Instead, construct if necessary and use an emergency makeshift
toilet as described in the article Prepare for a Hurricane.
Close and secure all of the windows and any doors that lead to the outside.
Make sure that your heater, air conditioner and all fans are turned off.
Make sure that your fireplace damper is closed.
Continue to listen to the TV or radio for announcements and news.
Place your family into a room on ground level that does not have windows in it.

141

Preparing for ash fall:

The Researcher Propose that the most likely hazard during a volcanic
eruption is ash fall. Knowing how to deal with it is important whether you're
remaining in place or you're traveling.
Stay indoors. Close all windows and doors; some may need to be sealed
with tape or similar (damp towels work well). Stopper up any vents to outside if
possible. Avoid using anything that sucks in air from outside or changes
circulation patterns by heating or exhausting air, such as air conditioning or
dryers.
Bring all pets indoors. If you have livestock, bring them into sheds, barns,
or other shelters. Even the garage will do as a temporary shelter. Ensure that
livestock have enough food and water.
Fill your bath and other containers with water. This may become a very
important water source if ash impacts local water supplies. Protect sensitive
electronics until the ash fall has well and truly ceased; only uncover them when
the environment is totally ash-free.
Keep your car, trucks, and any machinery under cover. If you cannot park
your vehicles somewhere inside, cover them with a car cover or tarpaulin. Avoid
driving unless you have no choice. Protect all machinery from volcanic ash by
covering in tarpaulins.
If you can, disconnect drainpipes from rain gutters (eaves troughs) from
downspouts or drainpipes. Doing this can help to prevent your drains clogging.
Disconnect the rainwater supply channel to any rainwater tanks to protect your
stored water and cover up any gaps on the tank.
Wear protective gear if you need to move around outside. If you have
them, wear safety goggles to protect your eyes, and a respirator to protect your

142

lungs, and cover the rest of your body, including your head and hands, as much as
possible. Improvise a shemagh (Arab wraparound headscarf) to keep grit off your
head and out of your eyes and lungs. Even swimming goggles and clothing can be
used to protect your eyes and breathing if that's all you have.
When entering a building after being outside under ash, remove your outer
layer of clothing. The ash is difficult to remove from anything it falls on. Remove
contact lenses if going outside and wear glasses instead. If the ash gets in behind
contact lenses, it can cut into your eye, causing corneal abrasions.
After the ash fall, stay indoors and follow the radio instructions. When you
do go outside, keep away from ash falls and build-up of ash and continue to wear
protective clothing.
Don't drive through ash fall. It will clog your car's engine severely and
cause serious abrasion damage to the car. Keep children, pets, and animals
indoors. If pets and animals have ash on their fur, hoofs, or paws, wash it away to
prevent them from ingesting it and give them plenty of water to drink.
Try to remove ash fall from your roof. It looks like snow, but it's heavy
like sand and abrasive to breathe. If the amount of ash fall is too heavy, your roof
is in danger of collapsing: four inches (100mm) can collapse weaker roofs.[16].
No need to get it all off; leaving a thin layer is fine and sweeping it off would
make a lot of dust. Moisten ash using a sprinkler or spray hose to dampen it
before cleaning. Make sure you're wearing a protective mask and clothing.
Don't fall off your roof! It will be difficult for rescuers to notice or reach
you after a volcano. Unless you have special equipment, don't even try it on a
sloped roof more than one story up, or over hard or dangerous surfaces. Check for
property damage. Make notes and take photographs so that you can make your
insurance claim.

143

If you must go outside during the ash fall, try to put something over your mouth
and wear a gas mask.
Check on friends and neighbors. This is especially important if you know they
may need assistance, or have special needs.
Ideally have a landline telephone in the room in which you will be holding up.
This can be used to let your emergency contact know to keep their phone line
available in case you need to let them know about any life-threatening problems
or issues.
Only use the phone lines for emergency calls to avoid clogging the
communications systems.
Report broken utility lines to authorities if you see any.

144

4.3 Safety Precautions during Tsunami:

The Researcher Propose that Tsunamis are ocean waves produced by
earthquakes or underwater landslides. As the waves approach the coast, their
speed decreases and their height increases. Waves that are 10 to 20 feet high can
be very destructive. Tsunamis dont happen very often, but when they do they
cause many deaths and injuries. Always listen to the radio and television for the
latest information and instructions for your area.
A Tsunami is a natural disaster that has occurred frighteningly frequently
in various parts of the world in the preceding decade. This makes for a need for
everyone living in or near coastal areas to be completely aware of what exactly a
tsunami is and the kind of damage it can cause to lives and property. A tsunami is
a massive wave of ocean water that rushes towards the coast at a mind boggling
pace and with a huge height due to an earthquake on the sea bed. Such a wave can
be extremely powerful and reduce everything in its path to rubble. It is thus vital
to be aware of the safety tips and precautions that can be followed to remain safe
and secure during a tsunami and increase ones chances of surviving such an
ordeal.
1. The first step is to make an assessment of the kind of risk and danger you are
in. You should try to gain knowledge about whether the town or city you live in is
located in a high risk zone or a relatively danger free zone.
2. If your town falls in a high risk zone that is vulnerable to tsunamis, you should
always try to remain updated on the weather reports in the region. When an
earthquake occurs on the floor of the sea, there is usually a time gap before the
wave actually hits the coast. This time must be well utilized to escape or evacuate
to higher ground or safer areas. Government warnings must be adhered to and
taken seriously.
3. An action plan must be in place that all your family members must be aware of
in case you find yourself in the midst of a tsunami. There should be earmarked

145

safety shelters that everyone must proceed to when such an event happens. In case
there is no such plan in place, there can be utter chaos and confusion with no one
really sure what to do next.
4. In case you are on a beach and observe the sea completely receding backwards
in a most unnatural way, you should rush away from the coast line and try to go as
far away from the area as possible. The waters receding significantly is a sure shot
sign of an oncoming tsunami. If a smaller wave has already hit the shoreline and
the waters have completely receded after that, a tsunami is definitely on the way.
The water is just gathering enough potential energy to hit the shore hard.
5. If you are visiting a coastal region for a vacation or holiday in a high risk area,
you must choose a hotel that has safety measures and evacuation plans in place to
deal with a tsunami. The building where the hotel has been built must be
according to safety guidelines with enough exits and safety shelters in place. You
must also check whether the staff is well trained to handle such emergencies.
6. If you are on a ferry or a ship out into the sea and have no time to rush away
from the coast line on the land when you hear a warning about a possible tsunami,
it is best to rush out into the sea as far from the coastline as possible as the water
will rush onto the land and this will leave you safe and secure in the relatively
calmer waters of the sea.
Tsunami Safety Rules:
The Researcher Propose that a strong earthquake felt in a low-lying
coastal area is a natural warning of possible, immediate danger. Keep calm and
quickly move to higher ground away from the coast.
All large earthquakes do not cause tsunamis, but many do. If the quake is
located near or directly under the ocean, the probability of a tsunami increases.
When you hear that an earthquake has occurred in the ocean or coastline regions,
prepare for a tsunami emergency.

146

Tsunamis can occur at any time, day or night. They can travel up rivers
and streams that lead to the ocean.
A tsunami is not a single wave, but a series of waves. Stay out of danger
until an "All Clear" is issued by a competent authority.
Approaching tsunamis are sometimes heralded by noticeable rise or fall of
coastal waters. This is nature's tsunami warning and should be heeded.
Approaching large tsunamis are usually accompanied by a loud roar that
sounds like a train or aircraft. If a tsunami arrives at night when you can not see
the ocean, this is also nature's tsunami warning and should be heeded.
A small tsunami at one beach can be a giant a few miles away. Do not let
modest size of one make you lose respect for all.
Sooner or later, tsunamis visit every coastline in the Pacific. All tsunamis like hurricanes - are potentially dangerous even though they may not damage
every coastline they strike.
Never go down to the beach to watch for a tsunami!
Tsunamis can move faster than a person can run!
During a tsunami emergency, your local emergency management office,
police, fire and other emergency organizations will try to save your life. Give
them your fullest cooperation.
Homes and other buildings located in low lying coastal areas are not safe.
Do NOT stay in such buildings if there is a tsunami warning.
The upper floors of high, multi-story, reinforced concrete hotels can
provide refuge if there is no time to quickly move inland or to higher ground.

147

If you are on a boat or ship and there is time, move your vessel to deeper
water (at least 100 fathoms). If it is the case that there is concurrent severe
weather, it may may safer to leave the boat at the pier and physically move to
higher ground.
Damaging wave activity and unpredictable currents can effect harbor
conditions for a period of time after the tsunami's initial impact. Be sure
conditions are safe before you return your boat or ship to the harbor.
Stay tuned to your local radio, marine radio, NOAA Weather Radio, or
television stations during a tsunami emergency - bulletins issued through your
local emergency management office and National Weather Service offices can
save your life.
Follow natures warnings: If you are in a low-lying coastal area and feel a
strong earthquake, keep calm and quickly move to higher ground away from the
coast.
Approaching tsunamis are sometimes heralded by noticeable rise or fall of
coastal waters. They are also usually accompanied by a loud roar that sounds like
a train or aircraft. These environmental cues are a natural warning. Keep calm and
quickly move to higher ground away from the coast.
The upper floors of high, multi-story, reinforced concrete hotels can
provide refuge if there is no time to quickly move inland or to higher ground.
A tsunami is not a single wave, but a series of waves. Stay out of danger
until an "ALL CLEAR" is issued by a competent authority.
Tsunamis are not surfable! They are not V-shaped or curling waves. Most
frequently they come onshore as a rapidly-rising turbulent surge of water choked
with debris.

148

If you are on a boat or ship and there is time, move your vessel to deeper
water (at least 100 fathoms). If severe weather is also occurring, it may be safer to
leave the boat at the pier and physically move to higher ground until the ALL
CLEAR is issued.
During a tsunami emergency, your local emergency management office,
police, fire and other emergency organizations will try to save your life.
Stay tuned to your local radio, marine radio, NOAA Weather Radio, or
television stations during a tsunami emergency. Bulletins issued through your
local emergency management office and National Weather Service offices can
save your life
Precautions for those at risk of a Tsunami:
The Researcher Propose that if you live in a coastal area that is hit by an
earthquake, especially near the Pacific Ocean, the chances of a tsunami hitting
increase. Take these precautions immediately after an earthquake.
-Turn on your radio or TV to hear if there is a tsunami warning
-Move away from the shoreline and to higher ground
-Do not go to the beach, especially if you see a noticeable recession of water away
from the shoreline.
Protecting your home and property:
The Researcher Propose that if you live in an area of the world where
tsunamis could occur, there are a few precautions you can take to help prevent
damage to your home and property.
-Elevate your home if it's on the coast.
-Make a list of things to bring inside in case a tsunami hits.

149

-Have your home inspected by an engineer to determine ways to divert water

away from the structure.
-Contact your insurance agent. Homeowners' policies don't cover tsunami
flooding. Inquire about the National Flood Insurance Program.
Tsunami tips for boaters:
The Researcher Propose that if you are on a boat when a tsunami is
possibly approaching, move to deeper waters. Upon returning to your boat after a
tsunami hits land, be cautious because wave conditions may be severe and strong
currents may exist for a period after the tsunami hits.
Family Disaster Plan:
The Researcher Propose that long before a natural disaster strikes, it is
wise to create a family disaster plan, especially for children. Make the following
decisions before the evacuation actually occurs:
1. Determine a place to meet outside your neighborhood.
2. Determine a second meeting place in case the first one is damaged or ruined.
3. Decide on another family member (apart from members of your household) to
call to check-in in case you are separated. Ideally, the contact should be someone
out-of-state.
4. Designate someone to take the disaster kit when they evacuate.
Before and During a Tsunami:
Know your local community's suggested evacuation routes to safe areas, where
shelter can be provided while you await the "all clear".

150

Be prepared to survive on your own for at least three days. To do this, you
should prepare an emergency kit for your home and car, along with a portable
one.
Consider taking a first aid course and learn survival skills.
Tune to a radio station that serves your area and listen for instructions from
emergency officials. Follow these instructions and wait for the "all clear" before
returning to the coast.
Stay away from the beach do not go down to watch a tsunami come.
Move inland to higher ground immediately and stay there.
If there is a noticeable recession in the water away from the shoreline, this is
considered natures tsunami warning and you should move away immediately.
After a Tsunami:
Stay away from flooded and damaged areas until officials say it is safe to go
back.
Stay away from debris in the water it could cause health and safety risks.
Save yourself first, not your possessions.
Help injured or trapped people give first aid where appropriate.
Do not move seriously injured persons unless they are in immediate danger or
further injury.
Help a neighbor who may require special assistance, like elderly people or small
children or people with disabilities.

151

Stay out of the building if water remains around it tsunami waters, like flood
waters, can cause buildings to sink and collapse.
Check food supplies any food that has come in contact with flood waters
should be thrown out because it may be contaminated.
What to do or not to do under risk of tsunami:
If you are in an area at risk from tsunamis:
You should find out if your home, school, workplace, or other frequently visited
locations are in tsunami hazard areas.
Know the height of your street above sea level and the distance of your street
from the coast or other high-risk waters.
Evacuation orders may be based on these numbers. Also find out the height
above sea level and the distance from the coast of outbuildings that house
animals, as well as pastures or corrals.
Plan evacuation routes from your home, school, workplace, or any other place
you could be where tsunamis present a risk.
If possible, pick areas (30 meters) above sea level or go as far as 3 kilometers
inland, away from the coastline. If you cannot get this high or far, go as high or
far as you can. Every meter inland or upward may make a difference. You should
be able to reach your safe location on foot within 15 minutes. After a disaster,
roads may become impassable or blocked.
Be prepared to evacuate by foot if necessary. Footpaths normally lead uphill and
inland, while many roads parallel coastlines. Follow posted tsunami evacuation
routes; these will lead to safety. Local emergency management officials can
advise you on the best route to safety and likely shelter locations.

152

If your children's school is in an identified inundation zone, find out what the
school evacuation plan is. Find out if the plan requires you to pick your children
up from school or from another location. Telephone lines during a tsunami watch
or warning may be overloaded and routes to and from schools may be jammed.
Practice your evacuation routes. Familiarity may save your life. Be able to
follow your escape route at night and during inclement weather. Practicing your
plan makes the appropriate response more of a reaction, requiring less thinking
during an actual emergency situation.
Use a Weather Radio or stay tuned to a local radio or television station to keep
informed of local watches and warnings.
Talk to your insurance agent. Homeowners' policies may not cover flooding
from a tsunami. Ask about the Flood Insurance Program.
Discuss tsunamis with your family. Everyone should know what to do in a
tsunami situation. Discussing tsunamis ahead of time will help reduce fear and
save precious time in an emergency. Review flood safety and preparedness
measures with your family.
If you are visiting an area at risk from tsunamis:
The Researcher Propose that check with the hotel, motel, or campground
operators

for

tsunami

evacuation

information and

find

out

what

the

warning system is for tsunamis. It is important to know designated escape routes

before a warning is issued.
Protect Your Property:
You should avoid building or living in buildings within 200 meters of the high
tide coastline. These areas are more likely to experience damage from tsunamis,
strong winds, or coastal storms.

153

Make a list of items to bring inside in the event of a tsunami. A list will help you
remember anything that can be swept away by tsunami water.
Elevate coastal homes. Most tsunami waves are less than 3 meters. Elevating
your house will help reduce damage to your property from most tsunamis.
Take precautions to prevent flooding. Have an engineer check your home and
advise about ways to make it more resistant to tsunami water. There may be ways
to divert waves away from your property. Improperly built walls could make
your situation worse. Consult with a professional for advice.
Ensure that any outbuildings, pastures, or corrals are protected in the same way
as your home. When installing or changing fence lines, consider placing them in
such a way that your animals are able to move to higher ground in the event of a
tsunami.
What to Do if You Feel a Strong Coastal Earthquake:
The Researcher Propose that if you feel an earthquake that lasts 20
seconds or longer when you are in a coastal area, you should:
Drop, cover, and hold on. You should first protect yourself from the earthquake
damages.
When the shaking stops Gather members of your household and move quickly to
higher ground away from the coast. A tsunami may be coming within minutes.
Avoid downed power lines and stay away from buildings and bridges from
which Heavy objects might fall during an aftershock.

154

If you are on land:

Be aware of tsunami facts. This knowledge could save your life! Share this
knowledge with your relatives and friends. It could save their lives!
If you are in school and you hear there is a tsunami warning, you should follow
the advice of teachers and other school personnel.
If you are at home and hear there is a tsunami warning, you should make sure
your entire family is aware of the warning. Your family should evacuate your
house if you live in a tsunami evacuation zone. Move in an orderly, calm and safe
manner to the evacuation site or to any safe place outside your evacuation zone.
Follow the advice of local emergency and law enforcement authorities.
If you are at the beach or near the ocean and you feel the earth shake, move
immediately to higher ground, and DO NOT wait for a tsunami warning to be
announced. Stay away from rivers and streams that lead to the ocean as you
would stay away from the beach and ocean if there is a tsunami. A regional
tsunami from a local earthquake could strike some areas before a tsunami warning
could be announced.
Tsunamis generated in distant locations will generally give people enough time
to move to higher ground. For locally-generated tsunamis, where you might feel
the ground shake, you may only have a few minutes to move to higher ground.
High, multi-story, reinforced concrete hotels are located in many low-lying
coastal areas. The upper floors of these hotels can provide a safe place to find
refuge should there be a tsunami warning and you cannot move quickly inland to
higher ground.
Homes and small buildings located in low-lying coastal areas are not designed to
withstand tsunami impacts. Do not stay in these structures should there be a
tsunami warning.

155

Offshore reefs and shallow areas may help break the force of tsunami waves, but
large and dangerous wave can still be a threat to coastal residents in these areas.
Staying away from all low-lying areas is the safest advice when there is a
tsunami warning.
If you are on a boat:
The Researcher Propose that since tsunami wave activity is imperceptible
in the open ocean, do not return to port if you are at sea and a tsunami warning
has been issued for your area. Tsunamis can cause rapid changes in water level
and unpredictable dangerous currents in harbors and ports.
The Researcher Propose that if there is time to move your boat or ship
from port to deep water (after a tsunami warning has been issued), you should
weigh the following considerations:
Most large harbors and ports are under the control of a harbor authority and/or a
vessel traffic system. These authorities direct operations during periods of
increased readiness (should a tsunami be expected), including the forced
movement of vessels if deemed necessary. Keep in contact with the authorities
should a forced movement of vessel be directed.
Smaller ports may not be under the control of a harbor authority. If you are
aware there is a tsunami warning and you have time to move your vessel to deep
water, then you may want to do so in an orderly manner, in consideration of other
vessels.
Owners of small boats may find it safest to leave their boat at the pier and
physically move to higher ground, particularly in the event of a locally-generated
tsunami.

156

Concurrent severe weather conditions (rough seas outside of safe harbor) could
present a greater hazardous situation to small boats, so physically moving yourself
to higher ground may be the only option.
Damaging wave activity and unpredictable currents can affect harbors for a
period of time following the initial tsunami impact on the coast. Contact the
harbor authority before returning to port making sure to verify that conditions in
the harbor are safe for navigation and berthing.
What to Do After a Tsunami:
You should continue using a Weather Radio or staying tuned to a Coast Guard
Emergency frequency station or a local radio or television station for updated
Emergency information. The Tsunami may have damaged roads, bridges, or other
places that may be unsafe.
Check yourself for injuries and get first aid if necessary before helping injured
or trapped persons.
If someone needs to be rescued, call professionals with the right equipment to
help many people have been killed or injured trying to rescue others in flooded
areas.
Help people who require special assistance Infants, elderly people, those without
transportation, large families who may need additional help in an emergency
situation, people with disabilities, and the people who care for them.
Avoid disaster areas. Your presence might hamper rescue and other emergency
operations and put you at further risk from the residual effects of floods, such as
contaminated water, crumbled roads, landslides, mudflows, and other hazards.
Use the telephone only for emergency calls. Telephone lines are frequently
overwhelmed in disaster situations. They need to be clear for emergency calls to
get through.

157

Stay out of a building if water remains around it. Tsunami water, like
floodwater, can undermine foundations, causing buildings to sink, floors to crack,
or walls to collapse.
When re-entering buildings or homes, use extreme caution. Tsunami-driven
floodwater may have damaged buildings where you least expect it.

Carefully

watch every step you take.

Wear long pants, a long-sleeved shirt, and sturdy shoes. The most common
injury following a disaster is cut feet.
Use battery-powered lanterns or flashlights when examining buildings. Batterypowered lighting is the safest and easiest to use, and it does not present a fire
hazard for the user, occupants, or building. Do not use candle.
Examine walls, floors, doors, staircases, and windows to make sure that the
building is not in danger of collapsing.
Inspect foundations for cracks or other damage. Cracks and damage to a
foundation can render a building uninhabitable.
Look for fire hazards. There may be broken or leaking gas lines, flooded
electrical circuits, or submerged furnaces or electrical appliances. Flammable or
explosive materials may have come from upstream. Fire is the most frequent
hazard following floods.
Check for gas leaks. If you smell gas or hear a blowing or hissing noise, open a
window and get everyone outside quickly. Turn off the gas using the outside main
valve if you can, and call the gas company from a neighbor's home. If you turn off
the gas for any reason, it must be turned back on by a professional.
Look for electrical system damage. If you see sparks or broken or frayed wires,
or if you smell burning insulation, turn off the electricity at the main fuse box or
circuit breaker. If you have to step in water to get to the fuse box or circuit

158

breaker, call an electrician first for advice. Electrical equipment should be

checked and dried before being returned to service.
Check for damage to sewage and water lines. If you suspect sewage lines are
damaged, avoid using the toilets and call a plumber. If water pipes are damaged,
contact the water company and avoid using water from the tap. You can obtain
safe water from undamaged water heaters or by melting ice cubes that were made
before the tsunami hit. Turn off the main water valve before draining water from
these sources. Use tap water only if local health officials advise it is safe.
Watch out for wild animals especially poisonous snakes that may have come
into buildings with the water. Use a stick to poke through debris. Tsunami
floodwater flushes snakes and animals out of their homes.
Watch for loose plaster, drywall, and ceilings that could fall.
Take pictures of the damage both of the building and its contents, for insurance
claims. Open the windows and doors to help dry the building.
Shovel mud before it solidifies.
Check food supplies. Any food that has come in contact with floodwater may be
contaminated and should be thrown out.
Expect aftershocks If the earthquake was very large (magnitude 8 to 9+ on the
Richter scale) and located nearby. Some aftershocks could be as large as
magnitude 7+ and capable of generating another tsunami. The number of
aftershocks will decrease over the course of several days, weeks, or months
depending on how large the main shock was.
Watch your animals closely. Keep all your animals under your direct control.
Hazardous materials abound in flooded areas. Your pets may be able to escape
from your home or through a broken fence. Pets may become disoriented,
particularly because flooding usually affects scent markers that normally allow

159

them to find their homes. The behavior of pets may change dramatically after any
disruption, becoming aggressive or defensive, so be aware of their well-being and
take measures to protect them from hazards, including displaced wild animals,
and to ensure the safety of other people and animals.

160

Chapter V: Legal Framework and other provision

5.1 Earthquake Disaster mitigation:
The Researcher Propose that the word mitigation may be defined as the
reduction in severity of something. Earthquake disaster mitigation, therefore,
implies that such measures may be taken which help reduce severity of damage
caused by earthquake to life, property and environment. While earthquake
disaster mitigation usually refers primarily to interventions to strengthen the built
environment, and earthquake protection is now considered to include human,
social and administrative aspects of reducing earthquake effects, however,
earthquake mitigation being more widely used and understood expression, it is
used here as synonym to earthquake protection
It should, however, be noted that reduction of earthquake hazards through
prediction was considered to be the one of the effective measures, and much effort
was spent on prediction strategies. While earthquake prediction does not
guarantee safety and even if predicted correctly the damage to life and property
on such a large scale warrants the use of other aspects of mitigation.

Role and responsibilities of different professionals in earthquake

disaster mitigation process:
Non Professional:
Group

Pre-Disaster

Media

1. Promoting
awareness and
preparedness
programs for
general public.
2. Guiding
government
agencies in
identifying

Post-Disaster
1. Special news
bulletins and
programs related
to happenings.
2. Highlights of
mitigation
techniques.
3. Realistic
reporting and

161

3.

Government
Organizations
(GO) and Agencies

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.
NGOs

1.

2.

3.

Civil Defense

1.

2.

existing hurdles,
their possible
causes and
removal.
Critical reviews
on research
directions,
education and
course of actions.
National disaster
preparedness
plans.
Code and
specification
enforcement.
Building and
infra-structure
stock
management.
Collaboration with
research
organizations and
universities.
Budgeting and
fund raising for
protection.
Developing
relevant data bank
at local level.
Imparting
awareness and
conducting
workshops and
training programs.
Linkage with
other GOs and
NGOs.
Preparing and
training for post
disaster relief
operation.
Sharing training
with civil
administration.

highly
professional
journalism

1. Developing
contingency
plans for
immediate and
long-term relief.
2. Co-ordination
between
National and
International
relief agencies.
3. Removing
hurdles for
immediate and
emergency
handling of
issues.
Fire fight, controlling
leakage
of
gases,
epidemic
diseases
control, provision of
food, water, medicine,
clothes,
temporary
bridges,
temporary
roads,
temporary
shelters.

Fire fight, controlling

leakage
of
gases,
epidemic
diseases
control, provision of
food, water, medicine,
clothes,
temporary
bridges,
temporary
roads,
temporary
shelters.

162

Rescue Workers

1. Preparing for
response to
disaster.
2. Developing skills
to the best of
abilities.
3. Registering with
local NGO or GO
as trained rescue
worker.

Fire fight, controlling

leakage
of
gases,
epidemic
diseases
control, provision of
food, water, medicine,
clothes,
temporary
bridges,
temporary
roads,
temporary
shelters.

Professional:
Group
Engineers

Urban and Regional

Planners

Pre-Disaster

Post-Disaster

1. Developing
1. Classifying
insight into
damaged
engineering aspect
structures.
of earthquake
2. Demolition
resistant
techniques for
structures.
structures in a
2. Persuading clients
progressive
to protect.
collapse mode.
3. Designing
3. Proposing
earthquake
choice of repair
resistant
methods and
structures.
strengthening
4. Seismic
techniques.
evaluation of
building and its
components.
5. Improving
earthquake
resistance of
existing buildings
and infrastructure
facilities.
1. Micro-zoning and Learning from disaster
vulnerability
and updating plans.
mapping.
2. Population density
optimization.
3. Protection
strategies for
infrastructure
facilities and

163

Medical Doctors and

Paramedics

1.

2.

3.

4.

transportation.
Developing
national data on
medical resources.
Categorizing
nodes according
to resources.
Training allied
professionals for
preparedness and
formulation of
preparedness
module.
Linkage with
international

1. Emergency
mobilization of
resources.
2. Filtering
affected people
according to
requirements
and injuries.
3. Epidemic
control
strategies.

Organizations for relief.

Researchers and
Academicians

1. Strengthening
understanding of
regional
seismicity,
collecting and
analyzing data and
developing
modules for
mitigation.
2. Developing
guidelines for
codes for local
building materials
and construction
methodologies.
3. Updating and
transferring
knowledge
through midcareer training
programs for
professionals.
4. Advising different
agencies for
developing
contingency plans.

1. Assessing extent
of damage.
2. Learning from
disaster and
reconsidering
research options.
3. Preparing postdisaster
rehabilitation
plans and
imparting
updated
information.

164

Non-engineered construction:
The Researcher Propose that non-engineered construction as opposed to
engineered construction may be defined as buildings constructed without state-ofthe-art application and which is merely based on experience of local masons, and
skilled and semi-skilled workers. Since scientific consideration is absent, such
construction lacks seismic load resistance. While such construction most of the
time is prevalent in rural areas of the developing world, therefore, non-engineered
construction is mostly referred to the construction in rural areas of developing
countries. In the opinion of the author, however, the terminology should be
extended to structures where state-of-the-art applications have deliberately or
undeliberately been omitted, abused, misapplied or suppressed, specially after the
experience of the 2001 Bhuj earthquake (Gujarat, India), and other major disasters
in Iran and Turkey etc. and more recently the lethal Tsunami in the Indian Ocean.
An example of the frequent recurrence of severe earthquakes in an area marked
by prevalent non-engineered construction was seen on 1st Feb. 1991 in Chitral,
Pakistan. The northern area of Pakistan stretching from Chitral to Gilgit was
shaken up by an earthquake of magnitude 6.8 on the Richter scale. Approximately
100 villages were affected where almost 2900 houses were destroyed and almost
14786 houses were severely damaged. Intervention through engineering aspects
of earthquake disaster mitigation helped in reducing the severity of damage.
Rural construction in most parts of the third world is marked by its large
dead weights, both for walls and for roofs. Such construction while may be good
enough for gravitational forces and for thermal insulation, have to pay a heavy toll
when it comes to the earthquake forces, as it generates high seismic forces which
increases with weight and the height at which they occur. As most of the materials
used do not possess the desired strength and ductility, the destruction leads to
fatalities. Recent earthquakes in Iran, Turkey, India and Northern areas of
Pakistan are a testimony to the vulnerability of such a construction.

165

Current methods of construction for both types of rural construction in

India, however, is said to incorporate few if any features for seismic safety. While
elaborating the construction techniques in rural housing to improve resistance to
seismic forces, reported that materials used for rural housing in northern areas of
India consist primarily of stone, wood and mud plaster. These materials are
locally available while the manufactured building materials such as cement and
steel, which have to be transported from outside, over long distances, and, over
tortuous routes, become too expensive. The construction techniques presently
employed are quite adequate for gravity loads, but are poor for lateral forces. The
walls and the roofs are thick and heavy, thereby leading to generation of large
lateral forces even during moderate earthquake, to be resisted by structures
lacking seismic resistance.
While discussing the design and construction needs for rural structures,
emphasized that the prevalent methods of rural construction in India results in
houses and farm structures that are often primitive and afford little protection
from natural hazards. Because of poor construction methods and absence of
planning, the whole pattern of rural settlement in India is unsatisfactory. All
dwellings need frequent repairs because of crack formation and other damages.
Very few rural dwellings can resist earthquakes, floods or other natural disasters
and are usually built afresh by the villagers in the same traditional manner. This
often results in a dwelling that is structurally even more unsound than the one
destroyed.
Whatever has been discussed by renowned researchers in this area holds
true for the majority of the rural construction in the Indian subcontinent, Iran,
Turkey and probably in many other developed countries, pointing to a need of
identifying technological errors in these types of construction and suggesting
ways and means to rectify them. A concerted effort, therefore, is desired by
planners, architects and structural engineers to mitigate the hazards that these
structures pose during and after earthquake.

166

Earthquake Disaster Management: India

The Researcher Propose that the Disaster Management Act, 2005 (DM
Act, 2005) lays down institutional and coordination mechanism for effective
disaster management (DM) at the national, state and district levels. the
Government of India (GOI) in recognition of the importance of disaster
management as a national priority had set up a High Powered committee (HPC) in
August 1999 and a National Committee on Disaster Management (DM) after
Gujarat earthquake for making recommendation on the preparation of DM plans
and for suggestion effective of mitigation mechanism. Recommendation of the
HPC laid the foundation for DM framework in India.
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) was created under
the chairmanship of Honble Prime Minister of India as the apex body for DM in
India. Similarly, such authorities at the states levels are headed by the Chief
Ministers or Governors as the case may be. Also, the District Disaster
Management Authorities are headed by District collectors and co-chaired by the
elected representatives of the respective district. With a Purpose to tackle these
issues very seriously, a provision is made to make such highest government
authorities to head such departments. The Act Also mandates the creation of the
Nation Disaster Response Force (NDRF) for specialized response and the
National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) for institutional capacity
development. These bodies have been set up to facilities the paradigm shift from
the hitherto relief-centric approach to a more proactive, holistic and integrated
approach of strengthening disaster preparedness, mitigation and emergency
response.
Indias high earthquake risk and vulnerability is evident from the fact that
about 59 percent of Indias land area could face moderate to severe earthquakes.
During the period 1990 to 2006, more than 23,000 lives were lost due to 6 major
earthquakes in India, which also caused enormous damage to property and public
infrastructure. The occurrence of several devastating earthquakes in areas hitherto

167

considered safe from earthquakes indicated that the built environment in the
country indicates that the built environment in the country is extremely fragile and
our ability to prepare ourselves and effectively respond to earthquakes is
inadequate. All these major earthquakes established that the causalities were
caused primarily due to the collapse of buildings.
According to the latest seismic zone map of India, about 59 percent of
Indias land area is vulnerable to moderate or severe seismic hazard, i.e. prone to
shaking of MSK intensity VII and above. In the recent past, most Indian cities
have witnessed the phenomenal growth of multi-growth of multistoried buildings,
super malls, luxury apartments and social infrastructure as a part of the process of
development. The rapid expansion of the built environment in moderate or high
risk cities makes it imperative to incorporate seismic risk reduction strategies in
various aspects of urban planning and construction of new structures. During the
period 1990-2006, India has experienced 6 major earthquakes that have resulted
in over 23,000 deaths and caused enormous damage to property, assets and
infrastructure.
A continuous and integrated process of planning, organizing, coordinating
and implementing measures which are necessary or expedient for prevention of
danger or threat of any disaster, mitigation or reduction of risk of any disaster or
its severity or consequences, capacity building, preparedness to deal with any
disaster, prompt response to any threatening disaster situation or disaster,
assessing the severity or magnitude of effects of any disaster, evacuation, rescue
and relief, and rehabilitation and reconstruction.
The critical areas of concern for the management of earthquake in India
include the:
Lack of awareness among various stakeholders about the seismic risk;
Inadequate attention to structural mitigation measures in the engineering
education syllabus;

168

Inadequate monitoring and enforcement of earthquake-resistant building codes

and town planning bye-laws;
Absence of systems of licensing of engineers and masons.
Absence of earthquake-resistant features in no engineered construction in
suburban and rural areas;
Lack of formal training among professionals in earthquake-resistant construction
practices; and
Lack of adequate preparedness and response capacity among various
stakeholder groups.
Guideline for earthquake management:
The Researcher Propose that Central ministries and Departments and the
State Governments will prepare DM plans, which will have specific components
on earthquake management, based on these Guidelines. These plans will cover all
aspects of the entire DM cycle, be reviewed and updated at periodic intervals and
implemented through appropriate, well coordinated and time bound actions as laid
down in these Guidelines. As most development activities, especially in high
seismic risk areas, can enhance earthquake risk unless special efforts are made to
address these concerns, all these agencies will make special efforts to ensure the
incorporate of earthquake-resistant features in the design and construction of all
new buildings and structures.

169

These Guidelines rest on the following six pillars of seismic safety for
improving the effectiveness of earthquake management in India.

Earthquake resistant design and construction of new structures:

The Researcher Propose that in most earthquakes, the collapse of
structures like houses, schools, hospitals and public buildings results in the
widespread loss of lives and damage. Earthquake also destroys public
infrastructure like roads, dams and bridges, as well as public utilities like power
and water supply installations. Past earthquakes show that over 95% of the lives
lost were due to the collapse of buildings that were not earthquake-resistant.
Though there are buildings codes and other regulations which make it mandatory
that all structures in earthquake-prone areas in the country must be built in

170

accordance with earthquake-resistant construction techniques, new constructions

often overlook strict compliance to such regulations and building codes.
Faculty members in engineering colleges, architecture colleges, Industrial
Training Institutes (ITIs) and polytechnics will also be provided adequate
exposure to earthquake resistance design and construction techniques, so that
students are made aware of earthquake-resistance design and construction. While
the implementation of these Guidelines in areas within seismic Zone III will be
initiated during Phase I, these efforts will be intensified in these during Phase II.
There are approximately 12 crore buildings in seismic Zones III, IV and
V. Most of these buildings are not earthquake-resistant and are potentially
vulnerable to collapse in the event of a high intensity earthquake. As it is not
practically feasible or financially viable to retrofit all the existing buildings, these
Guidelines recommend the structural safety audit and retrofitting of select critical
lifelines structures and high priority buildings. Such selection will be based on
considerations such as the degree of risk, the potential loss of life and the
estimated financial implications for each structure, especially in high-risk areas,
i.e. seismic Zones III, IV and V. While these Guidelines indicate an illustrative
list of such buildings and structures, the state government/SDMAs will
consultation with their SEMCs and Hazards Safety Cells (HSCs), review their
existing built environment, and prepare such lists.
India has suffered the effects of a number of earthquakes in the recent past
in which the poor seismic performance of the built environment emerged as a key
area of concern. A number of initiatives have been taken in India to address this
problem and these include, among others, revision and strengthening of the codes
of practice, drafting of development regulations and building bylaws to take
seismic safety into account, sensitization and awareness building in the
community, and capacity building efforts directed at various stakeholders in the
building delivery process. Architects, as initiators of projects, coordinate the team
of professionals responsible for the building-delivery process. Therefore, there is

171

an urgent need to reach out directly to tomorrows architects through sensitization

in seismic safety issues to better prepare them for their professional roles.
Earthquake- resistant architecture has fairly recently been included in the
academic curriculum of undergraduate colleges of architecture.
To supplement and strengthen this, a unique initiative was launched in
India in 2008 to directly reach the undergraduate students of architecture through
an Annual Workshop Series that is now in its sixth year. Through these
workshops, nearly three hundred undergraduate students of architecture have been
trained in concepts of the earthquake resistance of buildings. The objective of the
series is to sensitize students of architecture in earthquake-resistant design
practices through technical lectures followed by design studios in which they are
given hands-on guidance in earthquake-resistant design by working on an
architectural design project in the Time Sketch format that they are familiar with.
This paper presents a brief overview of this activity.
The earthquake risk of a community is a function of its location in a
known earthquake-hazard zone, its population, and the condition of its building
stock. The risk gets exacerbated in the presence of high population densities,
especially in urban areas and vulnerable physical built environments for which
poor performance causes casualties and losses in earthquakes. There is thus a real
need for the civil engineering and architecture professions to be equipped with the
capacity to incorporate earthquake resistance in the built environment. Clearly,
the earthquake hazard transforms into a disaster in a vulnerable built environment,
in which building and lifeline collapses contribute to loss of lives and huge
financial losses. Major factors that determine the satisfactory seismic performance
of the built environment are: architectural configuration, structural design,
nonstructural elements, and quality of construction.
Buildings perform poorly during earthquakes due to the absence of
inadequacy of earthquake-resistant design processes and features which should
have been incorporated in all the stages of conception, design, analysis, and

172

construction. Architects occupy the apex position in project conceptualization,

planning, and implementation, coordinating various professionals from different
disciplines including, but not limited to civil engineering, electrical and
mechanical engineering, geotechnical, sanitary, and plumbing engineering, and
urban planning. Poor conceptual design and detailing of various elements by the
architect will seriously impair the ability of structural and construction engineers
to incorporate adequate earthquake resistance in a building.
Regulation and Enforcement:
The Researcher Propose that a periodic revision of the codes and standards
relating to earthquake-resistant construction will be undertaken by drafting groups
within a fixed time-frame of five years or even earlier on priority basis, in keeping
with international practices. Other than the BIS, there are a number of other
bodies that develop design codes and guidelines in the country, e.g. the Indian
Roads Congress (IRC), Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport and Highway
(MoSRTH), Research Designs and Standards Organization (RDSO), Ministry of
Railways (MOR), and the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), Department
of Atomic Energy (DAE). Codes developed by these organizations will also be
updated and made consistent with the current state-of-the-art techniques on
earthquake-resistant design and construction. These agencies also have a number
of construction practices regulated through internal memos, the reviews of which
will also b undertaken at the earliest.
Design provisions are required on many topics that have been addressed
so far in the existing codes or guidelines in India. Such topics include:
Seismic design of non-structural elements and components of buildings and
structures.
Seismic design of reinforced masonry structures.
Seismic evaluation and strengthening of structures.

173

Seismic design of buried and above ground pipelines.

Seismic design and ductile detaining of steel structures.
Seismic design and ductile detaining of bridge piers.
Seismic design, construction and manufacture of facilities, structures and
components related to electrical power generation, transmission and distribution.
Seismic design of tunnels.
Creation of Public awareness on Seismic safety and risk reduction:
The Researcher Propose that a comprehensive awareness campaign will be
developed and implemented on the safe practices to be followed before, during
and after an earthquake. This campaign will also emphasize the prevalent seismic
risk and vulnerability of the states as well as highlight the roles and
responsibilities of all communities and stakeholders in addressing this risk.
A handbook on earthquake safety will be prepared for the general public
highlighting the safety of persons (i.e., indoors, outdoors, and driving), buildings
and structures and non-structural contents of buildings.
A homeowners seismic safety manual will be prepared Emphasizing
earthquake-resistant techniques for new buildings and for the seismic
strengthening and retrofitting of existing buildings.
A manual on structural safety audit of infrastructure and lifeline buildings will
be prepared.
Translations of the above documents into local and regional languages will be
undertaken for easy comprehension.
Video films will be prepared for the general public to articulate the earthquake
risk, vulnerability and preparedness and mitigation measures.

174

Capacity development:
The Researcher Propose that the developments of high-quality education
materials, textbooks, field training and the improvement of the quality of teaching
at all levels will be given due emphasis. Education and training programmes will
be designed, with greater attention on developing the capacity and skills of
trainers and trained teachers. Appropriately designed science and technology
courses will be introduced to orient all targets groups including school teachers
and health professionals in the subject. The central and state government will
encourage knowledge institutions to undertake research, teaching a training,
which will further contribute to improving earthquake education in India.
The management and control of the adverse consequences of future
earthquakes will require coordinated, prompt and effective response systems at
the district and the community levels. Many of the components of response
initiatives are the same for different types of disasters and systems need to be
developed considering the multi-hazard scenario of various regions in order to
optimally utilize available resources.
The approach to Management of Earthquakes in India, as spelt out by
these Guidelines, envisages the institutionalization of initiatives and activities
based on scientific strategies, covering pre-earthquake components of prevention,
mitigation and preparedness, as well as post-earthquake components of
emergency response, rehabilitation and recovery. The objectives of all activities
related to the management of earthquakes is to evolve a community that is
informed, resilient and prepared to face such disasters in the future, with a
minimal loss of lives and damage to property, assets and infrastructure.

175

Supplementary Damping - A New Concept in Earthquake Resistant

Buildings:
The Researcher Propose that a major earthquake is the most extreme
condition that a building may be required to survive during its lifetime. Incase
buildings are unable to survive this natures might then the price to be paid can be
colossal in terms of loss to lives and property. To survive this natures fury safely
and surely also poses the greatest challenge to the architects and structural
engineers. However the modern day computational power and the technological
advances in the field of seismic protection have made the solution once
considered un-surmountable a reality. Considerable testing both in the field and
the laboratory coupled with quality research work has helped increase our
understanding of how buildings behave and respond during earthquakes and other
intense motions. This has led to newer approaches and methodologies towards
designing safer structures.
The heightened seismic activity in and around the Indian sub-continent
and the recent quakes in Kashmir and the low intensity temblors in Delhi, Gujarat
and eastern India are a constant reminder that we are living in an active seismic
belt. Awareness levels are growing and people today are becoming increasingly
savvy about the seismic components of the buildings they live and work in. Also
over the years the expectations of consumers has increased manifold, today many
expect and demand that their building/s be designed to the highest possible
standards. A decade ago most were satisfied with and wanted to prevent a total
building collapse, today many are demanding buildings that are safe to stay and
work in immediately after an quake. Important public buildings like hospitals and
emergency command centers are being designed for full functionality even during
a major earthquake.
When an earthquake strikes it supplies a great amount of sudden energy to
buildings and structures. The only way this energy can be absorbed by the
building is by causing some damage. The damage could be classified into two

176

kind, structural members and non-structural. The non-structural components are

the window panes/ brick infill walls/ tiles/ false ceiling etc. and this type of
damage does not threaten the structural integrity of the building, however,
structural damage to columns, beams, shear walls and floor slabs is also caused by
the cracking of concrete and elongation/yielding of steel. Effectively all energy
absorbed is associated with some form of damage. When the damage in the
structural members crosses a threshold level which can also be said to be the
capacity of that building the building would collapse. Presently the designers are
aiming to absorb all of the seismic energy through controlled yielding of steel and
cracking of concrete so that the threshold danger level is not exceeded. The aim is
to use the full capacity of the structure so as to prevent a total collapse. Even if the
building does not collapse, the yielding of steel and cracks in concrete may cause
the structure to be so badly damaged that the building would be unusable and
subsequently condemned.
Population explosion has made high-rises the order of the day as it is the
only logical solution and way of accommodating the growing population within
the boundaries of the cities. It is needless to emphasize that tall buildings are
prone to larger movements and damage than low rise structures during
earthquakes and as the number of people occupying a high-rise at any given time
is far greater so also the risk of collateral damage. Apart from ensuring structural
safety during earthquakes high-rises are giving the engineers another cause of
concern i.e. mitigation of wind induced vibrations that cause occupant discomfort.
Excessive floor accelerations which are caused by relatively frequent strong wind
motions can render a building unserviceable for reasons of occupant discomfort.
Humans can perceive accelerations greater than one hundredth of that of
acceleration due to gravity. This effect is more pronounced in tall slender
buildings and for the building to qualify for serviceability the dynamic response
of the structure to wind induced vibrations needs to be reduced. To overcome
these effects the common approach is that of increasing the stiffness of the lateral

177

load resisting members. This has two major disadvantages which can lead to
further complications and occasionally degradation in building design:
(a) Increased structural costs due to additional steel and concrete for making the
building stiffer and
(b) Increased stiffness would imply that the building now would attract higher
seismic forces than before.
Thus the vulnerability of the building for seismic loading becomes higher
which is a cause of concern.
Reinforced Concrete Structures are considered to possess 5% inherent
damping whereas steel structures are believed to have 2% damping. However
actual site measurements have shown that intrinsic damping of buildings is far
more complicated and variable than the generic figures of 2 and 5%. Damping
reduces as height increases and also the damping levels greatly differ from one
building to another. For building up to 50 meters in height the measured intrinsic
damping was seen to vary from 1 to 5% whereas for very tall structures greater
than 200 meters in height the intrinsic damping was just 0.5 to 1%. What is of
greater concern is that this intrinsic damping cannot be accurately known or
calculated at the design stage. The only way to tell the correct damping is by
physical testing and measurements after the building is constructed. This
uncertainty in the damping levels can prove fatal under seismic conditions. To
prove the case in point if in actual the damping is 1%, where as the designer has
designed the building assuming 5% damping then the structure so designed will
not be able to perform to the expected standards in the event of an earthquake.
This emphasizes the thought process that the designers should assume a
conservative damping value while designing else it is almost certain that even
with computer aided analysis and design the buildings designed would be unsafe.
Additional engineered and accurate damping can be very easily added to
buildings by installing certain mechanical devices called dampers. Dampers can

178

provide damping up to 25-30% of the critical, thereby ensuring that the building
will perform very well in seismic conditions as also strong winds in case of very
tall buildings. Dampers act as shock absorbers and energy dissipaters during any
type of motion and thus prevent the building from damage. By using dampers the
designer is able to overcome the uncertainties of low intrinsic damping and this
helps in predicting the dynamic response accurately. By adding additional
damping the stiffness and building mass can also be reduced thereby ensuring that
the building is now subjected to lower seismic forces. The advantages of
additional damping is reduced building sway thus preventing damage to structural
and nonstructural components, reduced design forces as much of the energy is
dissipated by the dampers and the uncertainty in the level of intrinsic damping is
overcome through engineered supplementary damping.
Supplementary damping is also the most efficient and cost effective way
to achieve energy dissipation in buildings. This would inadvertently mean
decreasing the energy dissipation demand on the structural components i.e.
beams/columns/slabs thereby increasing the survivability of the building
structure. Dampers are mechanical devices that look somewhat like huge shock
absorbers and their function is to absorb and dissipate the energy supplied by the
ground movement during an earthquake so that the building remains unharmed.
Whenever the building is in motion during an earthquake tremor or excessive
winds, dampers help in restricting the building from swaying excessively and
thereby preventing structural damage. The energy absorbed by dampers gets
converted into heat which is then dissipated harmlessly into the atmosphere.
Dampers thus work to absorb earthquake shocks ensuring that the structural
members i.e. beam and columns remain unharmed. There are four types of
dampers i.e. Viscoelastic, Friction, Metallic Yield and Fluid Viscous.
(a) Traditional Viscoelastic dampers are stacked plates separated by inert polymer
materials. They have proved to be problematic over a varying temperature range
and have not achieved much success in practical applications due to the somewhat

179

undesirable added spring effect of these devices. There are no manufacturers that
manufacture purely Viscoelastic damper.
(b) Friction dampers consist of sliding steel plates and work on the principal that
when two metal surfaces slide, friction heat is produced and energy gets
dissipated. These types of dampers are susceptible to corrosion and cold welding
which has a direct effect on the yielding threshold. There are also some associated
maintenance problems.
(c) Metallic dampers consist of multiple steel plates which yield when a threshold
force is reached. In other words these dampers become active only after a trigger
force is crossed. As the metal yields, it dissipates energy. These dampers are
required to be replaced after every seismic event. Over a period of time they have
also not been able to catch the momentum as the technology in the other damper
field has fast progressed.
(d) Fluid viscous dampers have existed for a long time and were developed and
used in the aerospace industry. After the end of the cold war era the US
government decided to make this technology available for civilian applications
and the seismic dampers are as a direct result of that. Fluid viscous dampers are
fluid filled metal cylinders with pistons and work like shock absorbers. They have
proved to be the most superior of the lot both for seismic and wind applications.
One of these biggest advantages is that they can be modeled to great accuracy and
therefore the response of structures using them can be accurately studied. They
absorb energy at all frequency ranges of the earthquake and also do not need to be
replaced after an earthquake. Generally the life of the fluid viscous damper will be
as long as the life of the structure it is protecting. They also have a great
flexibility in design and can be configured to protect against an earthquake of any
magnitude. They can be installed both on new and existing structures.

180

5.2 Disaster risk governance in volcanic areas:

The Researcher Propose that a broad range of measures have been under
taken at different scales of governance to manage the risks associated with
environmental hazards in an attempt to strengthen the resilience of social,
physical and coupled systems. These activities, carried out by diverse sets of
actors, are shaped by complex institutional configurations that vary across sociopolitical contexts. The types of measures adopted to manage risk and the
appropriateness of these measures have been the subject of intense debate in
disaster and disaster risk studies, as well as in international, intergovernmental
and NGO forums, but the institutional arrangements governing these choices have
received considerably less scrutiny. This absence is particularly noticeable in the
literature on volcanic disasters and disaster risks, where the focus has traditionally
been on the individual and collective actions of stakeholders living in close
proximity to the hazard and less on the prevailing governance regimes.
Three characteristics of disaster risk governance regimes are discussed and
provide the basis for further analysis of risk management and development
processes in volcanic areas: i) formal and informal institutional relationships; ii)
actors and networks; and iii) central-local governance arrangements. There are
obvious overlaps between these governance categories; for example, networks can
be both formal and informal, stretch across governance scales or be localised.
However, by analysing decision-making with respect to these analytical
categories, one can begin to comprehend the types of influences on collective
action decisions to manage risk across socio-political, temporal and hazard
contexts.

181

The STREVA Approach: 1

The Researcher Propose that STREVA is a four-year UK Research
Council funded interdisciplinary project that aims to reduce the risks associated
with volcanic activity and hence the impact of volcanic disasters on people and
assets in the Caribbean and Latin America. It binds physical and social scientists,
local partners and policy-makers in understanding how risks interact and change
over time in volcanic areas, shaping disaster resilience. Part of the STREVA
project involves a retrospective or forensic analysis2 of four well studied
volcanoes with recent eruptive histories: Soufrire Hills, Montserrat; Tungurahua,
Ecuador; Galeras, Colombia and Soufrire St Vincent, St Vincent and the
Grenadines.
By reconstructing and evaluating the conditions and causes involved in
particular destructive events at these volcanoes, as well as the collective
responses, STREVA aims to develop an understanding of the processes
contributing to and key components of resilience. It also seeks to produce a theory
of change that explains the causal links that tie programme inputs to expected
programme outputs, or a plausible and sensible model of how a programme is
supposed to work2. Based on the indicators and theory of change generated
during the forensic process, STREVA will then assess resilience and the capacity
to manage the risks associated with future eruptions at two volcanoes with no
recent eruptive history: Cotacachi, Ecuador; and Cerro Machn, Colombia.
Potential volcanic disaster scenarios will be developed for each of these trial
volcanos, in partnership with local authorities, with the intention of promoting
learning and risk reduction without the need for a disaster to have occurred to
initiate these improvements.
STREVA is concerned with the role of governance systems and
institutional capacity in disaster resilience. This paper provides a conceptual basis
for understanding the links between the resilience of communities living close to
1
2

STREVA :- Strengthening Resilience in Volcanic Areas

Weiss, 1998: 55

182

volcanoes and the governance systems that surround them. This disaster risk
governance framework will be tested and refined through its application in the
analysis of the governance systems contiguous with the four well-studied volcanic
systems. If it provides a useful categorisation of these regimes and the kind of
policies produced as a result to address disaster risk, it will then be used to guide
primary data collection and analysis at the trial volcanoes.
Governance and volcanoes:
The Researcher Propose that Volcano poses a specific set of governance
challenges because of their distinctive nature. Volcanic eruptions contribute only
a small percentage to total disaster impacts in terms of loss of life, the number of
people affected an economic damage; nevertheless, they present significant risks
to populations, livelihoods and infrastructure located nearby. This level of
exposure is increasing, driven by population growth and migration to large urban
centers such as Mexico City, Tokyo, Yogyakarta and Manila, located in volcanic
areas. Volcanoes also offer a number of benefits to those living on their slopes,
such as fertile soils for agriculture and tourism incomes; and some, such as
Merapi in Indonesia, are considered sacred by local people 1. These factors do in
fact explain why people are there and what they are doing. Hence, although
resettlement programmes can reduce the level of exposure effectively, they may
be ethically and politically undesirable and have negative consequences for
livelihoods and the family economy.
High levels of uncertainty surrounding the volcanic hazards themselves
also create governance challenges. Eruptions and the associated risks are
notoriously hard to predict in terms of timing, duration, type of eruption,
geographical or population exposure and vulnerability to different types of
hazard. This makes forward planning and risk reduction in volcanic areas
particularly problematic. Volcanic disasters can last for months and even years,
completely destroying local settlements, leaving them uninhabitable for long
1

Head, 2006; Donovan, 2009

183

periods after the eruption has ended. The 1995-1999 eruption of Soufriere Hills
Volcano in Montserrat, for example, involved a slow, incremental escalation of
volcanic activity and associated hazards, after several years of precursory seismic
activity1. More than 15 years after the eruption began it is still not considered to
be over, but none of the scientists involved in monitoring the volcano would have
assigned a high probability to this outcome at the start of the eruption. In Peru, the
20062008 eruption of the Ubinas volcano was the first long-lasting crisis that the
Peruvian civil authorities had to cope with, and as such is has provided important
lessons for other areas with active volcanoes2. In both these examples, critical
lessons were learned by policy-makers during the crisis periods with regard to
communicating with the public and managing large-scale evacuations.
An additional consideration and one that is critical to disaster risk
governance is the number of volcanoes globally that have no record of a
historical eruption. Exposed populations are likely to discount the risk of a
volcanic disaster occurring if they have no experience of eruptions, and without
public demand governments are unlikely to priorities DRM 3. Furthermore,
secondary volcanic hazards can occur in the absence of an eruption, creating more
complex exposure and risk dynamics, challenging existing institutional
arrangements. Intense rainfall during Hurricane Mitch in October 1998, for
example, produced a lahars flow on the Casita volcano in Nicaragua that
destroyed two towns, killing over 2,500 people 4.
Despite presenting very peculiar challenges for collective action, the
governance context has received very little attention in studies of volcanic
disasters because of the lack of interdisciplinary research in this field. There is
however a growing awareness among the natural hazards community that social
science and interdisciplinary perspectives are needed in order for hazards research
to be relevant and applicable to disaster managers. There are encouraging signs

Kokelaar, 2002: 5
Rivera, et al. 2010
3
Maskrey, 1989
4
Kerle et al., 2003
2

184

that volcanology journals are becoming increasingly supportive of articles on

decision-making in volcanic emergencies that use social science theories and
methodologies.
Pre-crisis period, in which action may be taken to mitigate existing and
anticipate future risk, such as land-use planning, retrofitting roofs, the
development and enforcement of building codes, education and training
programmes. These can be carried out on the basis of risk assessments. Land use
planning is a prospective tool that can be used to prevent or limit construction in
unsafe areas, while relocation and rezoning of space is a corrective tool to reduce
existing exposure to hazards. Education on early warning systems is a reactive
measure but education related to building practice that reduces ash entry into
homes is a risk management activity that anticipates and reduces risk in the future.
Crisis period, which we can sub-divide into: a) start of the crisis and
potential long period of unrest (often characterised by seismic activity), which can
be treated as preparedness phase; and b) heightening of the crisis, usually initiated
by an eruption, prompting emergency response activities to reduce negative
impacts on people, such as food aid and shelter provision.
Post-crisis period, characterised by short and longer-term recovery
measures (the first of which may commence during the crisis period) to restore
livelihoods and infrastructure as well as reduce future losses and promote
sustainability1. These corrective and prospective risk reduction measures are more
likely to occur in the post-crisis period than before an event has occurred, for
reasons outlined below and in the next section.
These three temporal phases may overlap and are not necessarily
demarcated by the hazard itself; nor do they represent a cyclical shift in the social
system (from stability-to crisis-returning to a stable state). Indeed, the concept of
a disaster cycle has been heavily criticised by social scientists for representing

Alexander 2002; Tierney 2012

185

disasters as temporary interruptions of a linear development process, after which

victims lives return to normal1. In fact we can often observe hysteresis or
irreversibility, rather than cyclicality, in environmental and social systems
following perturbations2. Disasters can act as catalysts promoting policy change
by highlighting previous failures. For instance, the 1985 Mexico City earthquake
promoted the creation of a coordinated institutional structure for disaster
management3. Although the federal government had an emergency plan prior to
the earthquake it was simplistic and inadequate, leaving government agencies
with no idea how to act.
These disaster risk/ DRM phases may however represent important
differences in terms of governance arrangements. Different social norms govern
collective action to reduce vulnerability over the longer term (pre-crisis) than
those responsible for mobilising emergency response during a crisis4.
Organised responses to disaster risk:
The Researcher Propose that collective action to reduce disaster risk may
be different in important ways from interventions in sectoral issues such as health
and education. Vulnerability to geo-physical and hydro-meteorological events is
multi-dimensional and dynamic, as well as spatially and temporally contingent,
and is therefore inadequately addressed through linear policy-making5. Like
sectoral policy issues, however, DRM has some public good characteristics. For
example, the market does not provide sufficient construction of robust levees
because individuals and communities do not take into account the flood protection
benefits that these might offer to others. At the same time, people may construct
levees that protect themselves, with a negative external impact on others, such as
those who live outside the embankments. Other aspects of DRM like early
warning systems, on the other hand, display characteristics of non-rivalry
1

Christoplos et al. 2001; Hewitt 1983; Twigg 2004

Whitten et al. 2012
3
Quarantelli 1993
4
Tierney 2012
5
Rashed and Weeks, 2003
2

186

whereby consumption by one individual does not reduce the availability of the
good to others and non-excludability, so people cannot be excluded from using
the good. For all these reasons, and because states have a moral and often legal
duty to protect their citizens, DRM is generally considered to be a government
responsibility, albeit with private sector and civil society participation in delivery
and standard setting, and as such has been influenced by broader thinking on
public service delivery1.
Disasters as collective action problems:
The Researcher Propose that disasters present collective action problems
because the effective delivery of DRM requires contributions from multiple
actors, but the perceived cost to individuals and governments of investing in
DRM is often greater than the perceived benefit. These motivational challenges
often prevent action from being taken to reduce risk. Nonetheless, the mix of
incentives and disincentives may vary between DRM activities. There are often
economic disincentives to prospective risk reduction: for example, governments
have incentives to allow property developers to build on the coast in hurricaneprone areas, destroying the mangroves that offer natural protection against storm
surge, because of the high value of these properties and the tax revenues. On the
other hand, corrective risk management projects, such as relocation of settlements
or retrofitting of buildings, are of enormous value to the construction sector and
can be lucrative for local politicians, despite the fact that housing solutions and
sites offered to low-income families are often inappropriate.
In addition to the trade-offs identified above, the International Panel for
Climate Change (IPCC) report Managing the risk of extreme events and disasters
to advance climate change adaptation identifies a number of other economic,
political and psychological constraints on effective DRM provision 2.

1
2

Wilkinson, 2012a
Field et al., 2012

187

Underestimation of the risk: even when governments are aware of the risks, they
often underestimate the likelihood of the event occurring
Budget constraints: particularly when the upfront costs are high, governments
will often focus on short-run financial goals, rather than on the potential longterm benefits, in the form of reduced risks
Difficulties in making trade-offs: many governments are not accustomed to
using cost-benefit analysis methods that compare upfront costs with expected
discounted benefits in the form of a reduction in future losses
Procrastination: governments may delay making a decision when faced with
ambiguous choices
Samaritans dilemma: the expected availability of external post-disaster support
can undermine ex-ante DRM measures when there are no incentives
Politicians dilemma: the benefits of public investment in DRM will not be
visible quickly (and maybe not during a politicians term in office), especially
when hazards are infrequent, and this reduces political will.
Disaster Management: India
The Researcher Propose that the Government of India in recognition of the
importance of disaster management as a national priority had set up a High
Powered committee (HPC) in August 1999 and a National Committee on Disaster
Management (DM) after Gujarat earthquake for making recommendation on the
preparation of DM plans and for suggestion effective of mitigation mechanism.
Recommendation of the HPC laid the foundation for DM framework in India.
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) was created under
the chairmanship of Honble Prime Minister of India as the apex body for DM in
India. Similarly, such authorities at the states levels are headed by the Chief
Ministers or Governors as the case may be. Also, the District Disaster

188

Management Authorities are headed by District collectors and co-chaired by the

elected representatives of the respective district. With a Purpose to tackle these
issues very seriously, a provision is made to make such highest government
authorities to head such departments. The Act Also mandates the creation of the
Nation Disaster Response Force (NDRF) for specialized response and the
National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) for institutional capacity
development. These bodies have been set up to facilities the paradigm shift from
the hitherto relief-centric approach to a more proactive, holistic and integrated
approach of strengthening disaster preparedness, mitigation and emergency
response.

189

5.3 Disaster risk governance in Tsunamis areas:

General Measures:
The Researcher Propose that adopting integrated multi-hazard approach
with emphasis on cyclone and tsunami risk mitigation in coastal areas.
Implementation of early warning system for cyclones and tsunamis. Streamlining
the relief distribution system in disaster affected areas. Design, practice and
implementation of evacuation plans with emphasis on self reliance for sustenance
with the locals (coastal community) Component on planning for reconstruction
and rehabilitation should be added in disaster management plans at all levels.
Emphasis on mental health and to socio-psychological issues should be accorded
in every plan. Identification and strengthening of existing academic centers in
order to improve disaster prevention, reduction and mitigation capabilities.
Capacity building programmes to be taken up on priority basis such as:

Training of all concerned including community

Public awareness programmes

Enhancing capabilities of the Institutes working in field of disaster

mitigation and management

Structural Measures:
1. Construction of cyclone shelters
2. Plantation of mangroves and coastal forests along the coast line
3. Development of a network of local knowledge centers (rural/urban) along the
coast lines to provide necessary training and emergency communication during
crisis time (e.g. centers developed by M.S. Swaminathan Foundation in
Pondicherry)

190

4. Construction of location specific sea walls and coral reefs in consultation with
experts
5. Development of break waters along the coast to provide necessary cushion
against cyclone and tsunami hazards
6. Development of tsunami detection, forecasting and warning dissemination
centers
7. Development of a Bio-Shield - a narrow strip of land along coastline.
Permanent structures should come up in this zone with strict implementation of
suggested norms. Bio-Shield can be developed as coastal zone disaster
management sanctuary, which must have thick plantation and public spaces for
public awareness, dissemination and demonstration.
8. Identification of vulnerable structures and appropriate retrofitting for
tsunami/cyclone resistance of all such buildings as well as appropriate planning,
designing, construction of new facilities like:

Critical infrastructures e.g. power stations, warehouses, oil and

other storage tanks etc. located along the coastline.

All other infrastructure facilities located in the coastal areas

Public buildings and private houses

All marine structures

Construction and maintenance of national and state highways and

other coastal roads

Non-Structural Measures:
The Researcher Propose that Strict implementation of the coastal zone
regulations (within 500 m of the high tide line with elevation of less than 15 m
above m.s.l. Mapping the coastal area for multiple hazards, vulnerability and risk
analysis up to taluka /village level. Development of Disaster Information

191

Management System (DIMS) in all the coastal states. Aggressive capacity

building requirements for the local people and the administration for facing the
disasters in wake of tsunami and cyclone, based on cutting edge level

Developing tools and techniques for risk transfer in highly

vulnerable areas

Launching a series of public awareness campaign throughout the

coastal area

Training

of

local

administration

in

forecasting

warning

dissemination and evacuation techniques

Awareness generation and training among the fishermen, coast

guards, officials from fisheries department and port authorities and
local district officials etc., in connection with evacuation and post
tsunami storm surge management activities. Regular drills should
be conducted to test the efficacy of the DM plans.

Studies focusing on the tsunami risk in India may be taken under

NCRM project.

Actions Required in Coastal Areas for Protection against Tsunami / cyclone

mitigation
The Researcher Propose that to achieve the satisfactory level of disaster
mitigation in coastal areas, following activities need to be carried out:

Revision of Coastal Zone Regulation Act in wake of tsunami storm

surge hazards and strict implementation of the same. The current
Coastal Regulations Zone (extract) is attached as Appendix A to
this chapter. This responsibility may be given to respective state
disaster management authorities. A special task force for this
purpose may be constitutes comprising the representatives from
various departments of the government and other relevant
organizations (e.g. Departments of Forestry, Fisheries, Soil

192

Conservation, Town and Country Planning Organization, Navy,

Coast Guard and IMD etc.)

A state of the art EOC may be established within the authority for
monitoring purpose.

Initiating disaster watch (bay watch) safety measures along

important beaches in the country, providing round the clock
monitoring, warning and lifeguard facilities etc.

Organization of sensitization workshops on cyclone/tsunami risk

mitigation in various states for senior bureaucrats / politicians for
these states.

Organizing drills on regular basis to check the viability of all plans

and to check the readiness of all concerned

Training of professionals, policy planners and others involved with

disaster mitigation and management programmes in the states

Retrofitting of important buildings:

I.

Fire stations / police stations/ army structures/ hospitals

II.

VIP residences / offices/ railways, airport, etc.

III.

Schools/colleges

IV.

Hazardous industries

V.

Other critical structures (i.e. power stations, warehouses, oil and

other storage tanks etc)

Designing incentives: Providing legislative back up to encourage people to
adopt cyclone, tsunami resistant features in their homes e.g. tax rebate in terms of
house tax and/or income tax.
Developing public private partnerships.

193

Tsunami Effects and Design Solutions:

Phenomenon of Inundation
EFFECT

DESIGN SOLUTION

Flooded basement

Choose sites at higher elevations

Flooding of lower floors

Raise the buildings above flood elevation

Flooding of mechanical electrical &

communication system & equipment

Do not stack or install vital material or

equipments on floors or basement lying
below tsunami inundation level
Damage to building materials &
Protect hazardous material storage
contents
facility located in tsunami prone area.
Contamination of affected areas with

Locate mechanical systems &

water borne pollutants
equipments at higher location in
the building

Use corrosion resistant

concrete & steel for the portions
of the building
Hydrostatic forces (Pressure on walls

Elevate building above flood

by variation in water depth on opposite
level.
sides

Provide adequate openings to

allow water to reach equal heights
inside & outside of buildings.

Design for static water

pressure on walls.
Buoyancy floatation or uplift forces

Elevate building to avoid

caused by buoyancy
flooding.

Anchor building to foundation

to prevent floatation
Saturation of soil causing slope

Evaluate bearing capacity &

instability and/or loss of bearing
shear strength of soil that support
capacity
building foundation &
embankment slopes under
condition of saturation.

Avoid slopes or setbacks from

slope that may be destabilized
when inundated.

194

Specific Design Principles for Tsunamis:

Know the Tsunami Risk at the site:

Distance from the sea

Elevation above mean sea level

Height of high tide above m. s. l.

Maximum run-up of the tsunami above the site elevation

Depth and speed of the tsunami wave for design purposes.

Role of land Use Planning:

Local Context

Understanding Trade offs

Review and update existing Safety elements

Review and update existing Land Use Elements

Review and update existing Zoning, and other regulations

Land Use Planning Strategies

Site Planning Strategies to reduce Tsunami Risk:

Avoiding by building on high ground necessary for vital

installations

Slowing the tsunami wave by frictional techniques forests,

ditches, slopes and beams

Deflecting the tsunami away by using angled walls suitable for

important installations

Brute resistance through stiffened strong structural design costly

buildings

High rise buildings with open ground storey, designed for wave
forces Hotels, offices etc

Stilted buildings for various uses.

195

Tsunami Resistant Buildings New Developments:

Locally applicable Tsunami Hazard Information on Design

Intensities

Performance Objectives

Mandatory use of building Codes Design Criteria

Safety under Multi-hazard environment

Qualified Engineers and Architects - knowledge about Earthquake,

Wind and Tsunami resistant planning and design

Ensure quality construction

Protection of existing buildings and infrastructure Assessment, Retrofit,

Protection measures:

Inventory of existing assets

Assessment of Vulnerability and deficiencies to be taken care of

through retrofitting

Methods of retrofitting and use in design

External protection methods from the onslaught of tsunami

Special Precautions in locating and designing infrastructure and critical

facilities:

Considerations in relocating and redevelopment of infrastructure

Considerations in relocating and redevelopment of

facilities

critical

196

Planning for Evacuation:

Vertical evacuation High rise buildings, special shelters

Horizontal evacuation Locating high grounds, building high

enough mounds

Awareness about evacuation areas and routes

The Present status of Tsunami Warnings in India:

The Researcher Propose that Tsunami is least probability event in India. As
such, there are no coral provisions of Tsunami warnings in India as yet though;
there is a good seismological network in India to record any earthquake within the
country and its neighborhood. The need of a Tsunami Warning Centre (TWC) in
India is now being conceptualized at the Government of India level.
The Department of Ocean Development in Cooperation with Departments of
Space and Science and Technology is evolving a plan of tsunami warning system
in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. The data from observing points to
Warning Centre(s) will be sent through satellite links, Specific systems called
Deep Ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis (DART) using Bottom
Pressure Recorder, acoustic modem, acoustic release system, and battery pack
bolted to platform and float action and recovery aids will be deployed.
International Status of Tsunami Warning and Communication System:
The Researcher Propose that present techniques of Tsunami prediction are
severely limited. The only way to determine, with certainty, if an earthquake is
accompanies by a Tsunami, is to note the occurrence and epicenter of the
earthquake and then detect the arrival of the Tsunami at a network of tide stations.
While it is possible to predict when a Tsunami will arrive at coastal locations, it is
not yet possible to predict the wave height, number of waves, duration of hazard,
or the forces to be expected from such waves at specific locations.

197

Tsunami Warning System is based on the concept that Tsunamis travel at

much slower velocity (500 to 700 km per hour or 0.20 km/sec) as compared to
seismic waves (6 to 8 km per second). That is seismic waves move 30 to 40 times
faster than Tsunami waves. Thus, after the occurrence of a damaging earthquake
and quick determination of epicenter, warning time of a few minutes to 2 to 3
hours is available depending upon the distance from the epicenter to the coast
line.

This time can be utilized for warning the coastal community if quick

detection and rapid communication systems are established.

Tsunami Warning System:
The Researcher Propose that following most common methods of detection is in
use:

Japan has a network of land/sea sensors that records seismic activity and
feeds information to a national agency able to issue evacuation warnings
within a minute of occurrence of any earthquake. Earthquake warning
issued by Japan Meteorological Agency are relayed via satellite to the
Municipal offices and automatically broadcast from several sets of
loudspeakers.

Pacific Ocean issues warnings of tidal waves heading in a particular

direction.

Presently land and sea based sensors connected to satellite based link are
available.

Satellite telemetry is used for data collection and dissemination; receive

and display of Tsunami warning utilizing existing Geostationary
operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) and Data Collection
Interrogation System (DCIS).

An earthquake activates seismic

instrument, which transmits signal to the GOES platform which responds

automatically transmitting an alert code to an active device at warning site.

Developing Tsunami and earthquake data base verification, Tsunami

model, preparation of hazard assessment maps for the coast line combing

198

historical and modeling result, establishment of seismic and tidal sensors

using satellite telemetry to provide early warning information.

Extensive network of seismic and tidal station, as well as communication

systems, to ensure that the warning information is prompt and accurate.

System performs with detection of an earthquake, which has required

magnitude to trigger the alarm attached to the seismograph. The alarm
thresholds are set so that ground vibrations of the amplitude and duration
associated with an earthquake of approximate amplitude 6.5 or greater or
Richter scale anywhere in Pacific will cause them to sound.

Tsunami Warning Centers:

The Researcher Propose that as part of an international cooperative effort
to save lives and protect property, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administrations (NOAA) National Weather Service operates two Tsunami
warning centers. The Alaska Tsunami Warning Center (ATWC) IN Palmer,
Alaska, serves as the regional Tsunami Warning Center for Alaska, British
Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and California.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Ewa Beach, Hawaii, serves as the
regional Tsunami Warning Centre for Hawaii and as a national/international
warning center for Tsunamis that pose a Pacific-wide threat. These international
warning efforts become a formal arrangement in 1965 when PTWC assumed the
international warning responsibilities of the Pacific Tsunami Warning System
(PTWS). The PTWS is composed of 26 international Member States that are
organized as the International Coordination Group for the Tsunami Warning
System in the Pacific.
Tsunami Watch and Warning Dissemination:
The Researcher Propose that the objective of the PTWS is to detect,
locate, and determine the magnitude of potentially Tsunamigenic earthquake
occurring in the Pacific Basin or its immediate margins. Earthquake information

199

is provided by seismic stations operated by PTWC, ATWC, the U.S. Geological

Surveys National Earthquake Information Centre and international sources. If
the location and magnitude of an earthquake meet the known criteria for
generation of a Tsunami, a Tsunami warning is issued to warm of an imminent
Tsunami hazard.

The warning includes predicted Tsunami arrival times at

selected coastal communities within the geographic area defined by the maximum
distance the Tsunami could travel in a few hours.

A Tsunami watch with

additional predicted Tsunami arrival times is issued for a geographic area defined
by the distance the Tsunami could travel in a subsequent time period.

If a

significant Tsunami is detected by sea-level monitoring instrumentation, the

Tsunami warning is extended to the entire Pacific Basin. Seal level (or tidal)
information is provided by NOAAs National Ocean Service, PTWC, ATWC,
university monitoring networks and other participating nations of the PTWS. The
International Tsunami Information Center, part of the Intergovernmental
Oceanographic Commission, monitors and evaluates the performance and
effectiveness of the Pacific Tsunami Warning System. This effort encourages the
most effective data collection, data analysis, Tsunami impact assessment and
warning dissemination to all TWS participants.
Tsunami Warning Dissemination:
The Researcher Propose that Tsunami watch, warning and information
bulletins are disseminated to appropriate emergency officials and the general
public by a variety of communication methods:

Tsunami watch, warning and information bulletins issued by

PTWC and Atlantic Tsunami Warning Centre (ATWC) are
disseminated to local, state, national and international users as well
as the media.

These users, in turns, disseminate the Tsunami

information to the public, generally over commercial radio and

television channels.

200

The NOAA Weather Radio System, based on a large number of

VHF transmitter sites, provides direct broadcast of Tsunami
information to the public.

The US Coast Guard also broadcasts urgent marine warnings and

related Tsunami information to coastal users equipped with
medium frequency (MF) and very high frequency (VHF) marine
radios.

Local authorities and emergency managers are responsible for

formulating and executing evacuation plans for areas under a
Tsunami warning. The public is advised to stay-turned to the local
media for evacuation orders and latest Tsunami warnings. People
are advised not to return to low lying coastal areas until all clear
signals are issued from the Warning Centre.

Some concepts of Work Plan for the Tsunami Warning System in India:

Assumption: Least probability event. Return period once after

several hundred years. No parallel in recorded history like Tsunami
of 26 December 2004. Proposed system should be sustainable and
cost - effective.

Observational system should be of multi use type (Oceanography,

Meteorology, Geophysics)

Policy decision: Codal Provision to issue Tsunami warning.

Identification/Establishment of Nodal Department

Identification of Vulnerable area

Fixation of critical value for the issuance of Tsunami warnings

(Magnitude 7.0 or above in Richter Scale )

Assessment of Present Capacity: (observation network and

Communication of data & warnings, gap areas and needs)

Cost effective and sustainable communication system (Radio and

Satellite based communication)

201

Awareness Programme Targets

For Scientific communities (Those Researchers connected with

aspects of Tsunami)

Coordinators and Operators of Warning System

Disaster Managers

General Public

Research

Compilation of historical records

Development of model to predict probable maximum Tsunami

heights along different coastal locations in India.

Propagation time charts

Mitigation measures:
The Researcher Propose that since the return period of destructive
Tsunami are very large, Tsunami mitigation measure should be considered along
with mitigation measure of other natural hazards like tropical cyclone, coastal
flooding, coastal erosion (due strong monsoon and other natural hazards) etc.
However, specific Tsunami protective measures may be undertaken for the vital
coastal installations like important ports, nuclear plants along the coast high value
coastal installation properties.
Tsunami Disaster Management: India
The Researcher Propose that the Disaster Management Act, 2005 (DM
Act, 2005) lays down institutional and coordination mechanism for effective
disaster management (DM) at the national, state and district levels. the
Government of India (GOI) in recognition of the importance of disaster
management as a national priority had set up a High Powered committee (HPC) in
August 1999 and a National Committee on Disaster Management (DM) after
Gujarat earthquake for making recommendation on the preparation of DM plans

202

and for suggestion effective of mitigation mechanism. Recommendation of the

HPC laid the foundation for DM framework in India.
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) was created under
the chairmanship of Honble Prime Minister of India as the apex body for DM in
India. Similarly, such authorities at the states levels are headed by the Chief
Ministers or Governors as the case may be. Also, The District Disaster
Management Authorities (DDMA) are headed by District collectors and cochaired by the elected representatives of the respective district. With a Purpose to
tackle these issues very seriously, a provision is made to make such highest
government authorities to head such departments. The Act Also mandates the
creation of The Nation Disaster Response Force (NDRF) for specialized response
and the National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) for institutional
capacity development. Standing National Crisis Management Committee
(SNCMC) this committee was constituted for effective co-ordination and
implementation of response and relief measures in the wake of disasters. The
committee consists secretaries and chairman of different departments under the
Government of India. These bodies have been set up to facilities the paradigm
shift from the hitherto relief-centric approach to a more proactive, holistic and
integrated approach of strengthening disaster preparedness, mitigation and
emergency response.
New institutional mechanisms:
The Researcher Propose that the existing mechanisms had based on postdisaster relief and rehabilitation and they have proved to be robust and effective
mechanisms in addressing these requirements. The changed policy/approach,
however, mandates a priority to full disaster aspects of mitigation, prevention and
preparedness and new institutional and policy mechanisms are being put in place
to address the policy change.

203

It is proposed to constitute a National Emergency Management Authority

at the National level. The High Powered Committee on Disaster Management
which was set up in August, 1999 and submitted its Report in October, 2001, had
inter alia recommended that a separate Department of Disaster Management be
set up in the Government of India. It was, however, felt that conventional
Ministries/Departments have the drawback of not being flexible enough
especially in terms of the sanction procedures. The organization at the Apex level
will have to be multi-disciplinary with experts covering a large number of
branches. The National Emergency Management Authority has, therefore, been
proposed as a combined Secretariat/Directorate structure a structure which will
be an integral part of the Government and, therefore, will work with the full
authority of the Government while, at the same time, retaining the flexibility of a
field organization. The National Emergency Management Authority will be
headed by an officer of the rank of Secretary/Special Secretary to the Government
in the Ministry of Home Affairs with Special Secretaries/Additional Secretaries
from the Ministries/Departments of Health, Water Resources, Environment &
Forests, Agriculture, Railways, Atomic Energy, Defense, Chemicals, Science &
Technology, Telecommunications, Urban Employment and Poverty Alleviation,
Rural Development and India Meteorological Department as Members of the
Authority. The Authority would meet as often as required and review the status of
Warning systems, mitigation measures and disaster preparedness. When a disaster
strikes, the Authority will coordinate disaster management activities. The
Authority will be responsible for:i.

Coordinating/mandating

Governments

policies

for

disaster

reduction/mitigation.
ii.

Ensuring adequate preparedness at all levels in order to meet disasters.

iii.

Coordinating response to a disaster when it strikes.

iv.

Coordination of post disaster relief and rehabilitation.

The various prevention and mitigation measures outlined above are aimed at
building up the capabilities of the communities, voluntary organizations and

204

Government functionaries at all levels. Particular stress is being laid on ensuring

that these measures are institutionalized considering the vast population and the
geographical area of the country. This is a major task being undertaken by the
Government to put in place mitigation measures for vulnerability reduction. This
is just a beginning. The ultimate goal is to make prevention and mitigation a part
of normal day-to-day life. The above mentioned initiatives will be put in place
and information disseminated over a period of five to eight years. We have a firm
conviction that with these measures in place, we could say with confidence that
disasters like Orissa cyclone and Bhuj earthquake will not be allowed to recur in t
is country; at least not at the cost, which the country has paid in these two
disasters in terms of human lives, livestock, loss of property and means of
livelihood.

205

Chapter VI: Conclusion

Earthquake, Volcano and Tsunami have always been serious challenges
before the world the scenario is all the more grim now with population explosion
and uncontrolled development. The Government of India and United Nations has
made an attempt to by making legal provision for natural disaster such as
Earthquake, Volcano and Tsunami. The Government of India enacted The
Disaster Management Act, 2005 and also constitutes authorities have rights and
duties for disaster mitigation. However development of a regulatory framework
and institutionalization alone is not sufficient for dealing with disasters. It is
necessary for the government to allot adequate funds and give attention to the
issue of disaster management from the broader prospective of protection of
human and human rights, all within the framework of good governance and state
responsibility. The need of hour is to focus on sustainable development that
balances the needs of the people without destroying the delicate balance of nature.

206

Chapter VII: Recommendation and Suggestions

1. Create accurate and informative database regarding the collection of
information of availability of various safety and other equipment.
2. Organizational supply chain or link must be established between the
NGOs and such other institutional and volunteers in the field.
3. Up to date information must be collected and recorded regarding
current scientific researcher and technology available on the topic.
4. Drill will have to be organized to society and volunteers prepared for
dealing with such emergencies.
5. Communication infrastructure and its skill must be developed by using
all possible Medias.
6. Government should pass legal regulation for construction activities
near Volcano and Tsunami affected areas and strict implementation of
such regulation.
7. NGOs should take part to spread awareness about the effect of
Earthquake, Volcano and Tsunami and educate the people about safety
precautions from such disaster.
8. Victims of the disaster should be treated with humanity and it is a
responsibility of government to come up with effect rehabilitation
policy for such victims.
9. Victims are the main culprit in case of India because authorities are not
bothering about their problem and corrupt government officials are
more interested in bribe instead of helping disaster victims, this
condition should be change in future.
10. National and international regime should enact policy and legal
regulation for environment protection from the effect of Earthquake,
Volcano and Tsunami. This is possible only if every nation in world
should co-ordinate with each other at time of nature disaster such as
Earthquake, Volcano and Tsunami.

207

Abbreviations
CCA - Climate change adaptation
DFID - Department for International Development
DRM - Disaster risk management
HFA - Hyogo Framework for Action
IPCC - Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
NGO - Non-governmental organization
PEA - Political economy analysis
STREVA - Strengthening Resilience in Volcanic Areas
UNDP - United Nations Development Programme
UNISDR - United Nations International Secretariat for Disaster
Reduction
DM - disaster management
HPC - High Powered committee
NDMA - The National Disaster Management Authority
NDRF - The Nation Disaster Response Force
NIDM - National Institute of Disaster Management
SNCMC - Standing National Crisis Management Committee
DDMA - The District Disaster Management Authorities

208

Bibliography
1. Coburn, A., and Spence, R. 1992, Earthquake Protection, 1st edition.
UK; John Wiley and Sons Ltd.
2. Cowasjee Earthquake Study Centre, NED.2001, Newsletter, Volume.1,
Issue.1.
3. Cowasjee Earthquake Study Centre, NED.2001, Newsletter, Volume.1,
Issue.2.
4. Cowasjee Earthquake Study Centre, NED.2004, Newsletter, Volume.4,
Issue.1.
5. Rafay,T. 1990, Construction techniques in rural housing to improve
resistance to seismic forces, In Proceeding of Conference on Rural
Housing in Pakistan. Pakistan: University of Engineering and Technology,
Lahore.
6. Wasti, S.T. 1990, The earthquake safety of rural housing in Pakistan. In
Proceeding of Conference on Rural Housing in Pakistan. Pakistan:
University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore.
7. Mahmood, K.; Mian, Z.; and Wasti, S. T. 1978, Design and
construction needs for rural structures. In proceeding of International
Seminar on Low Cost Farm Structures for Rural Development. Pakistan:
Faculty of Engineering, University of Peshawar
8. Aspect of Earthquake Disaster mitigation:Sahibzada F. A. Rafeeqi NED
University of Engineering and Technology, Karachi, Pakistan
9. Auden, J.B. (1942), A Geological Investigation of Tunnel Alignments
for the Jumna HydroElectric Scheme, Rec. Geological Survey of India,
vol. LXXVII, Professional Paper No. 2, pp1-29. BMTPC (1997),

209

Vulnerability Atlas of India: Earthquake, Windstorm and Flood Hazard

Maps and Damage Risk to Housing, Building Materials & Technology
Promotion Council, New Delhi.
10. Berg, G.V., Das, Y.C., Gokhale, K.V.G.K., and Setlur, A.V. (1969),
The Koyna, India, Earthquake, Proc. 4th World Conference on
Earthquake Engineering, Santiago, Chile, Vol.III, pp J2-44 to J2-57.
11. CAI (1965), Earthquake Resisting Buildings: Requirements and
Design Procedure for Concrete Construction, The Concrete Association of
India, Bombay.
12. EERI (1999) Innovative Earthquake Rehabilitation in India, Lessons
Learned Over Time, Vol. 2,
13. Earthquake Engineering Research Institute, Oakland, CA. GOI (1940),
Earthquake Resistant Design of Low Buildings, Govt. of India Press, New
Delhi.
14. GSI (1939), Officers of the Geological Survey of India, and Roy,S.C.,
The Bihar-Nepal Earthquake of 1934, Memoirs of the Geological Survey
of India, Vol.73, 391pp. IAEE (1986),
15. A Manual of Earthquake Resistant Non-Engineered Construction,
International Association for Earthquake Engineering. ICJ (1934),
16. Special Issue on The Great Indian Earthquake, The Indian Concrete J.,
8, 10, pp263-324. ICJ (1994),
17. Special Issue on Earthquake Resistant Construction, The Indian
Concrete J., 68, 11, pp605- 679. ICJ (1998),
18. Special Issue on Lessons from Recent Indian Earthquakes, The Indian
Concrete Journal, 72, 11, pp545-614. IS:456-1978 (1979),

210

19. Indian Standard Code of Practice for Plain and Reinforced Concrete
(Third Revision), Bureau of Indian Standards, New Delhi. IS:1893-1962
(1962),
20. Indian Standard Recommendations for Earthquake Resistant Design of
Structures, Bureau of Indian Standards, New Delhi. IS:1893-1984 (1984),
21. Indian Standard Criteria for Earthquake Resistant Design of
Structures, Bureau of Indian Standards, New Delhi. IS:4326-1993 (1993),
22. Indian Standard Code of Practice for Earthquake Resistant Design and
Construction of Buildings, Bureau of Indian Standards, New Delhi.
IS:13920-1993 (1993),
23. Indian Standard Code of Practice for Ductile Detailing of Reinforced
Concrete Structures Subjected to Seismic Forces, Bureau of Indian
Standards, New Delhi. IS:13935-1993 (1993),
24. Indian Standard Guidelines for Repair and Seismic Strengthening of
Buildings, Bureau of Indian Standards, New Delhi.
25.

Van

Rose

and

I.

Mercer, Volcanoes (2d

ed.

1991);

F.

Martin, Volcano (1996); H. Sigurdsson, Melting the Earth: The History of

Ideas

on

Volcanic

Eruptions (1999);

H.

Sigurdsson

et

al.,

ed., Encyclopedia of Volcanoes (1999); C. Oppenheimer, Eruptions that

Shook the World (2011).
26. See C. H. Scholz, The Mechanics of Earthquakes and Faulting (1991);
C. Lomnitz, Fundamentals of Earthquake Prediction(1994); D. S.
Brumbaugh, Earthquakes:

Science

and

Society (1998);

B.

A.

Bolt, Earthquakes (4th ed. 1999). See also bibliography under seismology.
27. Nicholson, Craig and Wesson, R.L., 1990, Earthquake Hazard
Associated with Deep Well Injection--A Report to the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1951, 74 p.

211

28. Volcanic and Seismic Hazards on the Island of Hawaii by Christina

Heliker, 1991, U.S. Geological Survey General Interest Publication.
29. WHO- Situation report on
tsunami. http://www.who.int/hac/crises/international/asia_tsunami/en/
30. The world wide web virtual library-2004 tsunami disaster www.vl.
scholarly and factual analyses, March 2005.
31. James DE. Imaging crust and upper mantle beneath southern Africa:
the southern Africa broadband seismic experiment. Leading
Edge. 2003;22(3):238249.
32. Indian Ocean tsunami disaster December 26,2004 and reconstructionCoordinates. Online Journal of Map and Geographic Round Table,
American Library Association February 2011,
http://www.stonybrook.edu/libmap/coordinates.htm.
33. Okal EA, et al. Field survey of the 2004 Indonesian Tsunami in
Madagascar. Earthquake Spectra.2006;22(S3):S263S283.
34. Escaleras MP, Register CA. Mitigating natural disasters through
collective action: the effectiveness of Tsunami early warnings. Southern
Economic Journal. 2008;74(4):10171034.
35. Suter K. After the tsunami: the politics of international
relief. Contemporary Review. March 2005;286
36. National Disaster Management Guidelines Management of Earthquake
A Publication of NDMA.Bachmann, H. (2003).

37. Seismic Conceptual Design of Buildings: Basic Principles for

Engineers, Architects, Building Owners, and Authorities, Federal Office
for Buildings and Logistics (BBL), Vertrieb Publikationen (in German).

212

38. BuildingMaterial and Technology Promotion Council (BMTPC;

2007). Vulnerability Atlas of India, New Delhi, India.

39. Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS; 2002). Indian Standard Criteria of

Earthquake Resistant Design of Structures, Part I: General Provisions and
Buildings, IS 1892-2002, New Delhi, India. 40. arthquake Engineering
Research Institute (EERI; 2002). 26 January 2001, Bhuj, India,
Earthquake Reconnaisance Report, CD-ROM , Oakland, California,
http://www.nicee.org/npeee/showpage.php? Id=149/ (last accessed 3 May
2013).

41. Murty, C. V. R. (2005). IITK-BMTPC Earthquake Tips: Learning

Earthquake Design and Construction, National Information Center of
Earthquake Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur.

42. Murty, C. V. R., and A. W. Charleson (2006). Earthquake Design

Concepts, National Information Center of Earthquake Engineering, Indian
Institute of Technology Kanpur.

43. Environmental law, Dr. Amod S. Tilak, First Edition 2009, Snow
White Publications Pvt Ltd, Mumbai.
44. Environmental concerns & strategies by T.N. Khushoo, 2 nd Rev. Ed,
1988, Ashish publication, Delhi.

45. Global Environment Risk edited by J. X. Kasperson & R. E.

Kasperson, United nations University press, Tokyo & Rawat Publication,
Jaipur, Ed 2003.

46. Environmental Engineering by Prof. S. M. Patil, VJTI, Mumbai, Ed.

2002.

213

47. Environmental Law in India by P. Leelakrishnan, LexisNexis

Butterworths (i) Publication, 2nd reprint 2002, New Delhi.
List of Websites

www.idrn.gov.in India disaster Resource Network

www.ndmindia.nic Natural Disaster management India. Provides current

news on Flood, Drought and Cyclones, Weather Links from NIC and
weather conditions/temperatures on Indian Ocean

www.nicee.org The

National

Information Center

of Earthquake

Engineering

www.dmibpl.org Disaster Management Institute

http://www.nidm.net National Institute of Disaster Management

http://gov.ua.nic.in/dmmc/ Disaster Mitigation and Management Centre

www.ndmindia.nic.in

http://www.dsalert.org/disaster-management/255-ndma-role-and-function

http://www.mha.nic.in

http://www.nicee.org/

http://www.stonybrook.edu/libmap/coordinates.htm.

http://www.who.int/hac/crises/international/asia_tsunami/en/

http://www.imd.gov.in/

214

Synopsis
Earthquake, Volcano and Tsunami: The Ultimate Environment
Destroyers

Bharat Mahendra Shah

Role No: 53

Group VI - Environment and Legal Order (Sem- VI)

Introduction:
The Researcher is researching on effect of Earthquake, Volcano and
Tsunami. These are the ultimate destroyer of the Natural Environment and
Human Environment. We usually think of the ground and the oceans are
peaceful things. The ground lies quietly beneath our feet, and the ocean laps
gently against the shore. But forces deep within the Earth can suddenly destroy
that peacefulness. These forces cause violent shakings called earthquakes;
explosions of ash, gases, and hot rocks called volcanoes; and huge waves called
tsunamis.
(iv)

Earthquake: The plates usually move very slowly. But sometimes

large pieces of the plates get caught. The plates keep trying to move,
but these large blocks of rock hold them back. The pressure and
energy build up. Then, suddenly, the rocks give way, releasing all that
pressure and energy. The plates jerk forward, and the ground shakes.
Far above, on the surface, people feel an earthquake. In a small
earthquake, the ground shakes a little, causing some hanging objects
to swing. Tree branches sway, as if there were a gentle breeze. Some

215

earthquakes are so small that we do not notice them. But sometimes

the shaking is so strong that buildings crumble, bridges collapse, and
large cracks open in the ground over large areas.

(v)

Volcano: A volcano occurs wherever magma from deep inside the

Earth comes out through a crack in the surface. Volcanoes usually
happen near the edges of the plates, where there are many cracks and
thin spots where the magma can leak out. When the magma pours
onto the surface, it hardens, often piling up into a mountain.
Sometimes, the liquid rock flows peacefully out across the land. This
is how many of the active volcanoes on the Hawaiian Islands behave.

(vi)

Tsunami: Tsunamis are huge waves caused by earthquakes or

volcanoes. They used to be called tidal waves. But the word tidal
means something to do with the oceans normal tides, and tsunamis
have nothing to do with the tides. Tsunamis can be as high as a
football field is long. They are the largest waves in the world.

Research Methodology: Doctrinal Research

Hypothesis:
Earthquake, Volcano and Tsunami has significant effect on our natural and
human environment which causes huge damages to life and property.

Chapterisation:
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Concept
Chapter 2.1: Concept of Earthquake

216

Chapter 2.2: Concept of Volcano

Chapter 2.3: Concept of Tsunami
Chapter 3: Effects
Chapter 3.1: Effects of Earthquake
Chapter 3.1: Effects of Volcano
Chapter 3.1: Effects of Tsunami
Chapter 4: Safety Precautions
Chapter 4.1: Safety Precautions during earthquake
Chapter 4.2: Safety Precautions during volcanic eruptions
Chapter 4.3: Safety Precautions during Tsunami
Chapter 5: Legal Framework

Conclusion: Earthquake, Volcano and Tsunami have always been serious

challenges before the world the scenario is all the more grim now with
population explosion and uncontrolled development. The need of hour is to
focus on sustainable development that balances the needs of the people without
destroying the delicate balance of nature.

217

Bibliography:
(i)

Books:
Environmental Law - Dr.Amod S.Tilak.
Law and Environment - P. Leelakrishnan.
Legal Research Methodology - Dr S. R. Myneni
Environmental Protection, Law and Policy in India - Kailash
Thakur.

(ii)

News Paper reports:

Times of India.
Free Press Journals.