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INTRODUCTION
An earthquake is a movement or tremor of the earths crust and it originates naturally and
below the earths surface. It is generally accompanied by permanent change of level at the
surface; but mostly no permanent effect is visible at the surface except the damage done by
the shaking. Owing to the lowering or raising of parts of the earths surface relative to sea
level, portions of the sea floor covered with sediments may be raised up to form dry land
whereas other parts of the sea floor may be slightly raised so that the sea may become
much shallower.
CAUSES OF EARTHQUAKES
According to modern science, the causes of earthquakes are outlined under three major
headings:
i. Earthquakes due to volcanoes;
ii. Earthquakes due to tectonic movement of the earth; and,
iii. Earthquakes due to isostatic adjustments.
Besides these three major causes, which produce greater intensity in the tremor, there are
some localized and minor producing minor or local earthquakes.
Major Causes
Volcanoes
In the volcanic belts earthquakes are frequent. When volcanic eruptions take place, lava,
steam, gases as well as volcanic bombs and ashes, etc., come out with so enormous force
that they exert great impact on the sides of the volcanic vent. As a result of this, shaking of
the earths crust takes place. This shaking or quake continues till the force of eruption slows
down. The velocity of the earthquake waves depends upon the intensity and magnitude of
the volcanic eruptions. Generally, volcanic earthquakes have their severity felt upto a
distance of 100 or 150 miles. But there are cases when the shock was experienced at a very
long distance. Such was the case, with the earthquake in Krakatoa Island in 1883. The
whole island itself was blown off and huge sea waves washed away many villages from the
nearby islands of Sumatra and Java. Its impact was experienced in Cape Horn in South
America at a distance of 8,000 miles.
Tectonic Movement of Earth
Tectonic is a term derived from a Greek word Tekton meaning Builder, applied to all
internal forces, which build-up the features of the earths crust. The term includes both
Diastrophism and Volcanicity. Diastrophic forces are those forces which have disturbed or
deformed the earths crust, including folding, faulting, uplift (rejuvenation) and depression.
Diastrophic forces may be of continent and plateau building (Epeirogenic), or of mountain
building (Orogenic). Diastrophic forces generally cause earth movements, meaning
movements of the earth caused by the internal forces (compressive, tensional, uplifting,
folding and faulting), on both a major and minor scale, and both rapid (earthquakes) and
slow, which affect the crust of the earth. All tectonic forces are due to some substantial
change in the substratum under the crust. As a result, tensional forces (causing faults) and
compressional forces (causing folds) are produced. These forces are greatly responsible for
earthquakes. The earthquake in Assam which affected mainly north Lakhimpur and
Sibasagar districts in 1950 and the Bihar earthquake in 1934 are two good examples of
The nature of damage caused by earthquake is multifarious (diverse). In addition to manmade structures such as buildings, bridges, towers etc., that collapse due to them, there are
a number of other effects produced in nature. Roads are severely damaged due to
subsidence (ebb) of ground and enormous fissures appear on the ground. Where the ground
consists of water-soaked alluvium, the underground water gushes out at many places and
deposits masses of sand in the form of craters (valleys). Extensive landslides occur in the
hilly regions and rocky debris comes down to block the path of streams, passing the valley
below. These rocks impound large quantities of water and form artificial lakes which after a
few days or weeks may burst due to the pressure of accumulated water. This results in
extensive devastation. These floods also deposit large quantities of silt in the bed of the
streams and upset the natural drainage of water and the hydrologic regime of the area.
The destruction is at the highest when the shock has originated at some place below the
sea. In that case, huge sea waves are formed which cause enormous damage when they
strike the shore. On the other hand, when the earthquakes are accompanied by volcanic
activity, the destruction brought by them is neither very enormous nor is there intensity
very violent. Again the greatest destruction brought about by the earthquake is never at the
epicenter because at that point the waves only produce an up and down movement. The
destruction is the greatest at that point which is so situated that the waves reach it in an
oblique manner and produce a side to side shacking. But this point must not be at a great
distance from the focus or the place or origin of the earthquake.
CHANGES BROUGHT ABOUT BY EARTHQUAKES
The earthquakes seldom cause any significance change in the shape and disposition of the
landforms but they, no doubt, bring a great disaster and their influence is most felt through
the damage caused by them. Changes brought about by the earthquakes may be studies
under the following headings:
Expansion of the Crust
Expansion of the crust results in faults and fissures. The tension produced by the
earthquake displaces the earths crust along some fault plane. First fissures, or cracks, or
fault planes are formed and then the crust is displaced over these planes either in such a
way that one side goes up and the other goes down, or along the fault plane the blocks
move sideways. This displacement is either vertical or lateral. Sometimes the displacement
is buried deep under the mantle and is not visible to the eye. Sometimes an earth mold, like
a mole hill, is formed above the fault so buried.
Contraction of the Earth
Contraction of the earth is more common than expansion. It is seen in the doubling,
buckling, or bending of railway lines, pipe line, and the collapse of river bridges. All these
are the manifestations of the ends of the joints coming closer to each other.
Derangement of Drainage System
Expansion and contraction also take place at the bed of water bodies and the manifest result
is that the whole drainage system is deranged (unbalanced). If at certain places, lakes and
swamps are drained off, at others, fountains of water gush forth from below the earth. The
gushing force of water has often left the place flooded and a semi-permanent lake is formed
on that piece of land, which was once dry and inhabited. During one of the recent
earthquakes, the Lungarno Pacnotti in Pisa, Italy, dropped 3 meters from its previous level
and crevices (fissure) opened on the road following the earth movement and the nearby
along the ridge axis and on the transformed faults that connect offset ends of the ridge.
Indian Ocean Carlsberg Ridge
Mid Atlantic Ridge also extends to the center of Indian Ocean. There occur shallow
earthquakes.
Folding
The zones of major seismic activity in the earth correspond closely to belts of young
mountains. Surrounding the ancient shield areas of the continents and the large stable block
of the Pacific Ocean Basin (excluding the vicinity of the Hawaiian Islands) are situated the
following main earthquake zones:
Pacific Ocean Belt
The borders of the Pacific Ocean, with many complex branches, including a branching loop
through the Caribbean Sea, the islands of which are structurally like the Circum Pacific Belt.
In this belt occur about 80% of all shallow quakes, 90% of the intermediate ones and 99%
of the deep ones. The largest of the intermediate and deep quakes are assigned to the
Islands of Japan. Near Japan and the Philippines Islands, extreme northwestern side of
Pacific Plate is sub-ducting into the Continental Eurasian Plate, making extraordinary deep
trenches like Mariana and intense seismic activity. More deep quakes take place in the
triangle of Fiji, Tonga, and Kermadec Islands (east of Australia) than anywhere else.
Earthquakes in 1923 at Kwanto, Japan and in 1995 Kobe, Japan are examples of such
seismic activity.
The Mediterranean-Trans-Asiatic (Alpide) Belt
This whole belt is merging with the arc that runs through the East Indies. Here two kinds of
activities are involved. One is the transformed fault between African and Eurasian plates,
forming Atlas Mountains of the North Africa. This is of relatively shallow earthquake activity
area. Another activity area is where Austral-Indian Plate is sub-ducting into the Eurasian
plate, making an intense seismic area with epicenter at Himalayas, Hindukush, Karakoram
and Chittagong ranges. Slippage in these two plates are causing the formation of Himalayas
Mountains and also resulting in the seismic activity, like that of the earthquake of 1950 at
Assam and Tibet. The recent earthquake Harnai, Pakistan in 1997 is due to slippage in
transform boundary at Owen Fault Zone. Earthquakes in 1962 and 1968 with their epicenter
at Zagros Mountain Range in Iran are other examples of folding of folding activity.
Earthquakes of intense activity happened when movement occurred along with the
structural axis of Eurasian Plate. Examples are; in 1939 in Caucasus Range and Anatolia
sub-plateau [Atlas 30-G6]; in 1960 in Atlas Mountain Range at Agadir, Morocco [Atlas 36C2]; in 1963 in the tail of Alps Mountain Range at Skoplje, Yugoslavia [Atlas 22-F4]. The
whole city was destroyed.
Pamir-Baikal Belt
Pamir-Baikal Belt of Central Asia [Atlas 30-L6/P4] is noted for large shallow earthquakes.
Here, in earlier times (at the time of separation of Pangaea a super continent), European
and Asian Plates collided with each other and collision resulted in the formation of Ural
Mountains [Atlas 30-J4]. For many centuries, location of Ural Range in the mid of continent
remained a mystery. After the Theory of Plate Tectonics devised, this mystery was resolved.
It is an orogeny (periods of mountain making) of continental type when two plates collide
with each other. Whenever there is any subduction, it results in the formation of Ural