EARTHQUAKE

REASONS,EFFECT & CONTROLL

NAME-SANTANU HOWLADER
CLASS-3rd YEAR,B.COM(HONS)
SUBJECT-ENVS
COLLAGE ROLL NO.-149
UNIVERSITY
REGISTRATION NO.-211-
1122-0122-16
Commented [SS1]:

Commented [SS2]:
 INTRODUCTION
An earthquake is a sudden release of energy in the earth’s
crustcaused by movement between tectonic plates along a fault
line.It is characterized by violent shaking of the ground produced
by deep seismic waves, which spread out from the initial point of
rupture (1).

Earthquakes can result in ground shaking, soil liquefaction,

landslides, fissures, avalanches and tsunamis. The extent of
destruction and harm caused by an earthquake depends on:

• magnitude

• intensity and duration

• the local geology

• the time of day that it occurs

• building and industrial plant design and materials

• the risk-management measures put in place (2–4).

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 REASONS
Earthquakes are usually caused when rock underground suddenly breaks along
fault.This sudden release of energy causes the seismic waves that make the ground
shake. When two blocks of rock or two plates are rubbing against each other, they stick a
little. They don't just slide smoothly; the rocks catch on each other. The rocks are still
pushing against each other, but not moving. After a while, the rocks break because of all
the pressure that's built up. When the rocks break, the earthquake occurs. During the
earthquake and afterward, the plates or blocks of rock start moving, and they continue
to move until they get stuck again. The spot underground where the rock breaks is called
the focus of the earthquake. The place right above the focus (on top of the ground) is
called the epicenter of the earthquake.
Earthquake-like seismic waves can also be caused by explosions underground. These
explosions may be set off to break rock while making tunnels for roads, railroads,
subways, or mines. These explosions, however, don't cause very strong seismic waves.
You may not even feel them. Sometimes seismic waves occur when the roof or walls of a
mine collapse. These can sometimes be felt by people near the mine. The largest
underground explosions, from tests of nuclear warheads (bombs), can create seismic
waves very much like large earthquakes. This fact has been exploited as a means to
enforce the global nuclear test ban, because no nuclear warhead can be detonated on
earth without producing such seismic waves.

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 MEASUREMENT
Earthquakes are recorded by a seismographic network. Each seismic
station in the network measures the movement of the ground at the site.
The slip of one block of rock over another in an earthquake releases
energy that makes the ground vibrate. That vibration pushes the adjoining
piece of ground and causes it to vibrate, and thus the energy travels out
from the earthquake in a wave.
There are many different ways to measure different aspects of an
earthquake. Magnitude is the most common measure of an earthquake's
size. It is a measure of the size of the earthquake source and is the same
number no matter where you are or what the shaking feels like. The Richter
scale is an outdated method that is no longer used that measured the
largest wiggle on the recording, but other magnitude scales measure
different parts of the earthquake.
Intensity is a measure of the shaking and damage caused by the
earthquake, and this value changes from location to location.

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 EFFECT
EARTHQUAKE INTENSITY
The effects of earthquake waves at the surface can be measured using an intensity
scale.This is an arbitrary scale based on observations of phenomena such as:

o the type and extent of damage,

o whether sleeping people were woken,
o whether items fell from shelves,
o whether the event was felt or heard.
The most common intensity scale used in Australia is the 12-point Modified Mercalli
scale. On this scale, intensities up to 5 are felt but cause no damage, while intensities
from 6 to 12 cause increasing amounts of damage. A Modified Mercalli Intensity of six is
abbreviated as MMI 6.

MODIFIED MERCALLI INTENSITY

(MMI) SCALE
1. Not felt.recorded by seismographs

2. Rarely felt, usually only on top floors of high buildings

3. Felt indoors, like a passing light truck

4. Windows, dishes, doors rattle. Like passing train

5. Felt by all. Small objects upset

6. Books off shelves. Trees shake. Isolated damage

7. Difficult to stand. Many poor buildings damaged

8. Significant damage. Branches broken from trees

9. General panic. Serious damage. Ground cracking

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 10. Most buildings destroyed. Rails bent slightly

Other intensity scales are used in some countries. The Rossi-Forel scale is relatively old, has values
from 1 to 10, and is still used in some countries. The JMA (Japan Meteorological Agency) scale from
1 to 7 is used in Japan and Taiwan. The MSK scale is the most recent, has 12 values that
approximate but are not the same the Modified Mercalli values, and is used extensively in
Europe.Intensity values can be correlated with other measures of ground motion, such as
displacement, velocity and acceleration. For example, MMI 6 corresponds to a peak ground velocity
of about 50 mm/s.Intensity is easy to use, even for historic earthquakes.

INTENSITY VARIABILITY
Maximum intensity normally occurs near the earthquake epicentre, with intensity values then
decreasing with distance.

An earthquake has a single magnitude, but intensity varies with distance.

Many factors affect surface ground motion, including topography and near-surface geology,
especially soft surface sediments. These variations can be considerable, even over short distances.

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It is common to find intensities ranging by ±1 unit in a neighbourhood, and not unusual to find values
±2 or more.

HOW TO CONTROLL
Every earthquake starts small. Beginning at one point, it extends outward, causing
tremors in and around its path. At some point, though, all earthquakes stop. So what
brings this mighty process to a halt? That’s an important question, because the duration
of an earthquake helps determine how much damage it will do. Will the tremor be of
mild magnitude—say, a magnitude 4 on the Richter scale, the kind that occur all over
the world every day—or a 9, which happens no more than once a decade on average? To
understand what makes an earthquake stop, it’s important to understand what makes it
go: the release of energy stored in rocks clustered around a fault, which separates
masses of the earth’s crust known as tectonic plates. These rocks are held in place by
friction. As time goes by, the movement of the plates causes the rocks around the fault to
bend and stretch. That, in turn, causes the rocks to store energy, like compressed
springs. Eventually, friction across the fault isn't able to hold the rocks back, and a crack
is created across the fault as it begins to slip. This releases part of the built-up energy,
some of which creates the seismic waves that travel to the earth’s surface and cause
damage. Earthquakes stop when there isn’t enough energy to keep them going. The
energy released by the sliding fault needs to be enough to overcome the friction holding
rocks in place. Once the earthquake comes up against too much friction, it will stop. An
earthquake can be stopped in its tracks, for example, when the crack on the fault hits
material that doesn’t slide as easily—in other words, that has more friction. An analogy
would be skiing off of snow onto dirt—you will stop pretty quickly. Hitting the site of a
recent earthquake can also stop a tremor, because such areas don’t have enough built-up
energy to propel an earthquake. A third possibility might be that the fault simply ends;
the amount of energy required to cut a new fault into intact rock is far greater than the
amount required to break an existing fault.

Then again, earthquakes can jump from one fault to another, often as far as
2.5 miles (4 kilometers) apart. So just as you never know when a big one
will hit, it’s hard to say when it might stop.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY
 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthquake
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 https://www.quora.com/What-causes-earthquakes
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