An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves.

The seismicity or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time.

The earth is made up of a number of layers. The surface of the earth is the layer called the crust, which is divided into segments called plates. These plates are constantly in motion, but any significant change in the plates will only be noticed after thousands of years. Every now and then the movement of one plate over another builds up energy, and it is released at the point where the plates meet, called the fault line. This release of energy is the basis for an earthquake.

San Andreas Fault Line

There are three main types of faults that may cause an earthquake:
Strike

slip, Thrust(or reverse), and Normal fault.

 Strike-slip faults are steep structures where the two sides of the fault slip horizontally past each other.

 In a thrust fault earthquake, the ground on one side of the fault moves up and over adjacent ground.

A third type of fault is a normal fault which occurs when ground on one side moves down the dip of the fault relative to the adjacent ground.

There are two ways in which scientists quantify the size of earthquakes:
Magnitude, Intensity.

and

The

Magnitude indicates the amount of energy released at the source (or epicentre) and is measured by the Richter Scale.

A Seismograph

The Richter scale was invented, logically enough, in the 1930s by Dr. Charles Richter, a seismologist at the California Institute of Technology. It is a measure of the largest seismic wave recorded on a seismograph located 100 kilometers from the epicenter of the earthquake.

Using this scale, a magnitude 5 earthquake would result in ten times the level of ground shaking as a magnitude 4 earthquake. In terms of energy, a magnitude 1 seismic wave releases as much energy as blowing up 6 ounces of TNT. A magnitude 8 earthquake releases as much energy as detonating 6 million tons of TNT.

MAGNITU DESCRIPTIO EFFECTS DE N Less than 2 Micro 2.0 - 2.9 3.0 3.9 4.0 4.9 Minor Minor Light Micro earthquakes, not felt. Generally not felt, but recorded. Often felt, but rarely causes damage. Noticeable shaking of indoor items. Significant damage unlikely.

OCCURENCE 8,000 per day 1,000 per day 49,000 per year 6,200 per year

5.0 5.9

Moderate

Can cause major damage to 800 per year poorly constructed buildings over small regions. Can be destructive in areas up to 120 per year about 160 kms across in populated areas. Can cause serious damage over larger areas. Can cause serious damage in areas several hundred kms 18 per year 1 per year

6.0 6.9

Strong

7.0 7.9 8.0 8.9

Major Great

The intensity of an earthquake at a particular locality indicates the violence of earth motion produced there by the earthquake. It is determined from reported effects of the tremor on human beings, furniture, buildings, geological structure, etc. Many places, have adopted the Modified Mercalli Scale (MMS) which classifies earthquake effects into twelve grades.

The scale quantifies the effects of an earthquake on the Earth's surface, humans, objects of nature, and man-made structures on a scale from I (not felt) to XII (total destruction). Values depend upon the distance to the earthquake, with the highest intensities being around the epi-central area.

MMS READING I

RICHTER SCALE 1.0 - 3.0

DESCRIPTIO EFFECTS N Instrumental Generally not felt by people unless in favorable conditions. Weak Felt only by a few people, especially on upper floors of buildings. Felt by people indoors, on upper floors of buildings. Standing motor cars may rock slightly. Felt indoors by many people, outdoors by few people during day. Dishes, windows, doors, walls make cracking sound.

II

3.0 - 3.9

III

3.0 - 3.9

Slight

IV

4.0 - 4.9

Moderate

4.0 - 4.9

Rather StrongFelt outside by most. Dishes and windows may break and large bells will ring. Strong Felt by all; many frightened and run outdoors, walk unsteadily. Windows, dishes,

VI

5.0 - 5.9

MMS READING VII

RICHTER SCALE 5.0 - 6.9

DESCRIPTIO EFFECTS N Very Strong Difficult to stand; furniture broken; damage negligible in building of good design and construction. Noticed by people driving motor cars. Damage slight in specially designed structures; considerable in ordinary substantial buildings with partial collapse. General panic; damage considerable in specially designed structures. Some well built wooden structures destroyed. Rails bent. Bridges destroyed. Rails bent greatly.

VIII

6.0 7.0+

Destructive

IX

6.0 7.0+

Violent

7.0+

Intense

XI XII

7.0+ 7.0+

Extreme

Cataclysmic Total destruction. Lines of sight and level distorted.

The effects of earthquakes include, but are not limited to, the following:

Shaking and ground rupture

Shaking and ground rupture are the main effects created by earthquakes, principally resulting in more or less severe damage to buildings and other rigid structures.

Landslides and avalanches produce slope Earthquakes can

instability leading to landslides and avalanches, which are major geological hazards.

Fires
Earthquakes can cause fires by damaging electrical power or gas lines.

Soil liquefaction

Soil liquefaction occurs when, because of the shaking, water-saturated granular material (such as sand) temporarily loses its strength and transforms from a solid to a liquid. Soil liquefaction may cause rigid structures, like buildings and bridges, to tilt or sink into

TSUNAMI
Tsunamis are longwavelength, long-period sea waves produced by the sudden or abrupt movement of large volumes of water. travel Tsunamis can also thousands of kilometers across open ocean and wreak destruction on far shores hours after the earthquake that generated them.

LOCATION 1 2 3 Southern Chile

MAGNITUDE DATE 9.5 May 22nd, 1960 Mar 28th, 1964 Dec 26th, 2004 Mar 11th, 2011

DEATHS 1,655 131 227,898

Prince William Sound, 9.2 Alaska, USA. Northern Sumatra, Indonesia (West coast) North Coast of Japan 9.1

9.0

16,200 28,000 (and rising)

Kamchatka, Russia.

8.9 - 9.0

Nov 4th, 1952 >10,000

JAPAN EARTHQUAKE
DATE : 11th March 2011 MAGNITUDE : 9.0 CASUALTIES : 15,281 deaths, 5,363 injured, 8,492 people missing

CHILE EARTHQUAKE
DATE : 27th February 2010 MAGNITUDE : 8.8 CASUALTIES : 562 identified fatalities

KASHMIR EARTHQUAKE
DATE : 8th October 2005 MAGNITUDE : 7.6 CASUALTIES : 79,000 dead, 106,000+ injured.

Secure furniture so it can't fall over or fall down.

Fix furniture, TVs and personal computers firmly in place to keep them from moving or falling over.

Plan safety measures to avoid injuries.

Keep slippers and sneakers nearby for safe escape. Keep a flashlight handy in case of power failure.

Confirm the strength of your house and walls.

Have your home inspected for earthquake safety and reinforced if necessary.

Always be ready to extinguish fires. Take steps for fire prevention and early detection.

Install fire alarms in your home for early warning. Keep electrical appliances unplugged when not in use. To prevent electric or gas fires, install circuit breakers.

Keep informed about disasters.

Keep yourself informed about disasters via newspapers, television, radio and the Internet.

Train yourself for emergencies.

Participate in disaster drills. Learn skills for self protection, fire prevention, fire fighting, rescue, first aid, emergency reporting, evacuation, and others.

PRESENTERS
SHEIKH HARIS ZIA 08-ME-39 IBRAHIM AZHAR 08-ME-53 MUHAMMAD HARIS 08-ME-69 AHMED HILAL KHAN 08-ME-125