EARTHQUAKE- A CURSE TO LIFE ON EARTH

PRESENTED BY: Dr.ATUL K. DESAI

(SVNIT, SURAT)
What is an Earthquake ?
VIBRATIONS OF EARTH’S SURFACE CAUSED BY WAVES
COMING FROM A SOURCE OF DISTURBANCE INSIDE THE
EARTH ARE DESCRIBED AS EARTHQUAKE.

OR

EARTHQUAKE IS A SHAKING OF THE EARTH CAUSED BY A

SUDDEN MOVEMENT OF ROCK BENEATH ITS SURFACE

* MOST EARTHQUAKES LAST FOR LESS THAN A MINUTE,

BUT SOMETIMES SHOCK MAY LAST, FOR AS LONG AS 3
TO 4 MINUTES.
CAUSES OF AN EARTHQUAKE :
1) TECTONIC ACTIVITY

2) VOLCANIC ACTIVITY

3) LAND SLIDES AND ROCK FALLS

4) ROCK BURSTING IN A MINE

5) NUCLEAR EXPLOSIONS

* THE EARTHQUAKES WHICH ENDANGER STRUCTURAL

SAFETY ARE LARGELY CAUSED BY TECTONIC ACTIVITY.
 THE EARTH
AND ITS
INTERIOR :
INEER CORE: SOLID HEAVY METALS - R~1290 km
OUTER CORE: LIQUID - THICKNESS ~ 2200 km
MANTLE : VISCOUSE THICKNESS ~ 2900 km
CRUST : LIGHT MATERIAL THICKNESS ~ 5–40 km
Core temp.: 2500º C :Pressure 4 x 106 atmosphere
Surface temperature: 25º C :Pressure 1 atmosphere
TECTONIC AND VOLCANIC ACTIVITY :
FAULTS :
A WEAK PLANE IN THE EARTH’S CRUST AND UPPER MANTLE
WHERE THE ROCK LAYERS HAVE RUPTURED AND SLIPPED.
FAULTS ARE CAUSED BY EARTHQUAKES, AND EARTHQUAKES
ARE LIKELY TO REOCCURE ON PREEXISTING FAULTS.

NORMAL REVERSE

LEFT LATERAL RIGHT LATERAL

 TECTONIC ACTIVITY :
(ELASTIC REBOUND THEORY)
When the rocks along a weak region in the Earth’s crust reach
their strength, a sudden movement takes place there; opposite
sides of the fault suddenly slip & release the large elastic
strain energy stored in the interface rock.
Energy Released during Bhuj EQ = 400 X Energy released by
1945 Atom Bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
Slip

Fault line

* Stress Build-up * Sudden Release

The sudden slip at the fault causes the earthquake…
After the earthquake is over, the process of strain build-up
at this modified interface between the rocks starts all over
again. Earth scientist know this as the Elastic Rebound
Theory.
AFTERSHOCK:
AFTER ELASTIC REBOUND THERE IS A READJUSTMENT AND
REAPPORTION OF THE REMAINING STRAINS IN THE REGION.
THE STRESS GROWS ON A SECTION OF FAULT UNTILL SLIP
OCCURS AGAIN; THIS CAUSES YET ANOTHER BUT SMALLER
EARTHQUAKE WHICH IS TERMED AS AFTERSHOCK.

FORESHOCKS :

EVEN BEFORE THE MAIN EVENT, THE ENERGY MAY BE

RELEASED FROM PARTS OF THE FAULT LEADING TO
SMALLER EARTHQUAKES BEFORE THE MAIN EARTHQUAKE;
CALLED FORESHOCKS.
 FORESHOCKS/ AFTERSHOCKS :
Events of shaking before/after the main EQ

Main Event
Size

Time
Foreshocks Aftershocks
CONTINENTAL DRIFT:
•Most of the earthquakes occur along the edges of the plates.
•Dot shaded area – earthquake prone belts of the world.
•Movement of plates is very slow but as much as 5 cm/year
Indo-Australian
plate :

This plate is
colliding against
the huge Eurasian
Plate and going
under the
Eurasian Plate,
this process of
one tectonic
plate getting
under another is
called
subduction.
FOCUS OR HYPOCENTER:
THE POINT FROM WHICH THE WAVES FIRST EMANATE OR
WHERE THE FAULT MOVEMENT STARTS IS CALLED THE
EARTHQUAKE FOCUS OR HYPOCENTER.
EPICENTER :
THE POINT ON THE GROUND SURFACE JUST ABOVE
THE FOCUS IS CALLED THE EPICENTER.
•SHALLOW FOCUS EARTHQUAKE :

THE FOCUS IS LESS THAN 70 km DEEP FROM GROUND

SURFACE.

•INTERMEDIATE FOCUS EARTHQUAKE :

THE FOCUS IS BETWEEN 70 km to 300 km DEEP FROM

GROUND SURFACE.

•DEEP FOCUS EARTHQUAKE :

THE FOCUS IS MORE THAN 300 km DEEP FROM GROUND
SURFACE.
EPICENTRAL DISTANCE :
DISTANCE BETWEEN EPICENTER AND RECORDING STATION
IN km OR IN DEGREES.

Epicentral distance
Epicenter Station
Epicenter Station

Focus

Focus 1º = 112 km
HOW TO LOCATE EPICENTRE?

•Triangulation Station 2

Can
Station 1 Only
“Estimate”
Location

Station 3
SEISMIC WAVES :
THE EARTHQUAKE RELEASE ELASTIC ENERGY WHICH TRAVELS
IN THE ROCK MEDIUM IN THE FORM OF WAVES.
 TYPES OF SEISMIC WAVES :
(a) BODY WAVES :

1. PRIMARY WAVES (P-WAVES)

2. SECONDARY WAVES (S-WAVES)

(b) SURFACE WAVES :

1. RAYLEIGH WAVES
2. LOVE WAVES
PRIMARY WAVES :
i. THE DIRECTION OF PARTICAL VIBRATION IS
LONGITUDINAL TO THE DIRECTION OF WAVE
PROPAGATION.
ii. DEFORMATION IS COMPRESSIONAL AND DILATATIONAL.
iii. CAN TRAVEL THROUGH SOLIDS AS WELL AS LIQUIDS.
iv. FASTER THAN ALL OTHER TYPES OF WAVE.
VELOCITY OF PRIMARY WAVES :
vp = k +(4/3) µ
 
Where ,
k = Bulk modulus or modulus of incompressibility
= pressure = p/(V/V)
change in volume / total volume
µ = Shear modulus or modulus of rigidity
 = Density
k  27,000 Mpa (granite)
 2,000 Mpa (water)
µ  16,000 Mpa (granite)
= 0 (water)
P-wave velocity vp  5.5 km/sec (granite)
SECONDARY WAVES :
i. SHEAR THE ROCK PARTICLES SIDEWAYS AT RIGHT
ANGLES TO THE DIRECTION OF WAVE TRAVEL.
ii. BEING TRANSVERSE WAVES, CANNOT PASS THROUGH
LIQUIDS

VELOCITY OF SECONDARY WAVE:

vs =  µ / 
 3.0 km/sec (granite)
= 0 km/sec (water)
RAYLEIGH WAVES :
i. THE PARTICLE DISPLACEMENTS ARE EXCLUSIVELY VERTICAL
AND IN THE DIRECTION OF PROPAGATION.
ii. NO TRANSVERSE VIBRATION.
iii. EACH PARTICLE DESCRIBES AN ELLIPTICAL ORBIT WHICH IS
RETROGRADE.

RAYLEIGH WAVE VELOCITY :

For poisson’s ratio  = 0.25 vr  0.9194 vs
LOVE WAVES :
i. THE DISPLACEMENT IS TRANSVERSE WITH NO VERTICAL
OR LONGITUDINAL COMPONENTS.
ii. PARTICLE MOTION IS RESTRICTED TO NEAR THE
SURFACE.
iii. BEING TRANSVERSE WAVES, CANNOT TRAVEL IN
LIQUIDS.

The wave velocity is in between the shear wave velocity of the

layer above and the layer below the discontinuity.
vs1 < vL < vs2
 DETECTING EARTHQUAKES
SEISMOGRAPH :
THIS IS AN INSTRUMENT THAT RECORDS EARTHQUAKE
GROUND MOTION IN A PARTICULAR DIRECTION AS A
FUNCTION OF TIME.
SEISMOGRAM :
IT IS A RECORD, i.e., TIME VERSUS AMPLITUDE, OF
GROUND MOTION RECORDED BY A SEISMOGRAPH.

AMPLITUDE :
THE MAXIMUM HEIGHT OF A WAVE CREST OR DEPTH OF A
TROUGH.
Strong ground motions are also recorded by another
instrument called accelerograph and the record
obtained on it is known as accelerogram.
HOW TO FIND EPICENTRAL DISTANCE ?

FIND OUT TIME LEG (S-P INTERVAL) FROM THE PARTICULAR

SEISMOGRAM i.e. ∆t.
∆t = d/vs - d/vp
HENCE, d= ∆t
1/vs - 1/vp

Epicentre Station

Focus
MAGNITUDE -SIZE OF AN
EARTHQUAKE :
MAGNITUDE IS A MEASURE OF THE STRENGTH OF AN
EARTHQUAKE OR STRAIN ENERGY RELEASED BY IT, AS
DETERMINED BY SEISMOGRAPHIC OBSERVATIONS.
SOME POINTS :
1. THIS IS A LOGARITHMIC VALUE ORIGINALLY DEFINED BY
CHARLES RICHTER (1935)
2. FOR SAME EPICENTER & SAME RECORDING STATION, A
LARGER EQ. WILL RECORD A LARGER AMPLITUDE ON THE
SEISMOGRAM THAN A SMALLER EQ..
3. FOR DIFFERENT EPICENTERS, THE EPICENTER OF A
SMALLER EQ. CLOSE ENOUGH TO RECORDING STATION
WILL RECORD LARGER AMPLITUDE ON THE SEISMOGRAM
THAN A LARGER EQ. TAKING PLACE AT A FAR AWAY
PLACE.
SOME POINTS : (CONTINUED)
4. DIFFERENT INSTRUMENTS WILL WRITE DIFFERENT
SEISMOGRAM FOR THE SAME EARTHQUAKE BEING
RECORDED AT THE SAME LOCATION.`
THE MAGNITUDE OF AN EARTHQUAKE MAY BE DEFINED AS :
M = log10A – log10A0
WHERE,
A = RECORDED TRACE AMPLITUDE FOR THE EARTHQAKE AT
A GIVEN DISTANCE (100 km FROM EPICENTER) AS
WRITTEN BY A STANDARD TYPE OF INSTRUMENT
(WOOD ANDERSON INSTRUMENT).
A0 = SAME AS “A” BUT FOR A PARTICULAR EARTHQAKE
SELECTED AS STANDARD.
 THE STANDARD SHOCK OF MAGNITUDE ZERO
IS DEFINED AS ONE THAT RECORDS A PEAK
APLITUDE OF (1/1000)th OF A MILLIMETER AT
A DISTANCE OF 100 km FROM THE EPICENTER.

 THUS, AN EARTHQUAKE THAT RECORDS A PEAK

AMPLITUDE OF 1 mm ON A STANDARD
SEISMOGRAPH AT 100 km WILL HAVE ITS
MAGNITUDE AS
M = log10(1) – log10 (10-3) = 0 – (-3) = 3

 SINCE, EQ. CANNOT BE RECORDED AT EXACT EPICENTRAL

DISTANCE OF 100 km, BASED ON THE DATA OF
CALIFORNIAN EARTHQUAKES, RICHTER PREPARED A
STANDARD TABLE OF  VERSUS logA0
  logA0
5 km -1.4
100 km -3.0
200 km -3.5
400 km -4.5
600 km -4.9 etc…

PROCEDURE FOR FINDING OUT MAGNITUDE :

a) LOCATE THE EPICENTER & FIND OUT EPICENTRAL DISTANCE
b) FROM THE TABLE FIND OUT logA0 FOR THIS VALUE OF .
c) MEASURE MAXIMUM AMPLITUDE (A) IN THE SEISMOGRAM.
Then,
M = log10A – log10A0
N
O
M
O
G
R
A
M
POINTS TO BE NOTED :
I. THIS DEFINITION OF EARTHQUAKE MAGNITUDE IS VALID
FOR A MAXIMUM EPICENTRAL DISTANCE OF @ 600 km.
HENCE, IT IS ALSO CALLED LOCAL MAGNITUDE (ML)
II. THERE ARE NO UPPER OR LOWER BOUNDS ON
EARTHQUAKE MAGNITUDE.
III. BECAUSE OF WAVE SCATTER AND SITE EFFECTS, THE
MAGNITUDE OBSERVED AT DIFFERENT STATIONS MAY
DIFFERENT. TAKE AVERAGE FROM VARIOUS STATIONS.
IV. WITH INCREASE IN MAGNITUDE BY 1.0, THE ENERGY
RELEASED BY THE EQ. INCREASES BY A FACTOR OF
ABOUT 30. THUS, A MAGNITUDE 8.0 EQ. RELEASES @ 30
TIMES THE ENERGY RELEASED BY A MAGNITUDE 7.0 EQ.
OR @ 900 TIMES THE ENERGY RELEASED BY A 6.0 EQ.
EARTHQUAKE INTENSITY :
 EXTENT OF SHAKING EXPERIENCED AT A GIVEN LOCATION
DUE TO A PARTICULAR EARTHQUAKE.
 INTENSITY OF THE SAME EQ. WILL BE DIFFERENT AT
DIFFERENT PLACES
 IT IS REFERRED BY A ROMAN NUMERAL.
 INTENSITY OF SHAKING AT A LOCATION DEPENDS ALSO
ON GEOLOGY/GEOGRAPHY OF THE AREA.
Analogy (100W bulb)

100 50 20 candle lights

MODIFIED MERCALLI INTENSITY SCALE (1956)
I. Not felt except by a very few under especially favorable
conditions.
II. Felt only by a few persons at rest, especially on upper floors
of buildings.
III. Felt quite noticeably by persons indoors, especially on
upper floors of buildings. Many people do not recognize it
as an earthquake. Standing motor cars may rock slightly.
Vibrations similar to the passing of a truck. Duration
estimated.
IV. Felt indoors by many, outdoors by few during the day. At
night, some awakened. Dishes, windows, doors disturbed;
walls make cracking sound. Sensation like heavy truck
striking building. Standing motor cars rocked noticeably.
MMS continued…

V. Felt by nearly everyone; many awakened. Some dishes,

windows broken. Unstable objects overturned. Pendulum
clocks may stop.
VI. Felt by all, many frightened. Some heavy furniture moved; a
few instances of fallen plaster. Damage slight.
VII. Damage negligible in buildings of good design and
construction; slight to moderate in well-built ordinary
structures; considerable damage in poorly built or badly
designed structures; some chimneys broken.
VIII. Damage slight in specially designed structures; considerable
damage in ordinary substantial buildings with partial
collapse. Damage great in poorly built structures. Fall of
chimneys, factory stacks, columns, monuments, walls. Heavy
furniture overturned.
MMS continued…

IX. Damage considerable in specially designed structures;

well-designed frame structures thrown out of plumb.
Damage great in substantial buildings, with partial
collapse. Buildings shifted off foundations.
X. Some well-built wooden structures destroyed; most
masonry and frame structures destroyed with
foundations. Rails bent.
XI. Few, if any (masonry) structures remain standing. Bridges
destroyed. Rails bent greatly.
XII. Damage total. Lines of sight and level are distorted.
Objects thrown into the air.
 Sr.No Location Date Mag.
.
1 Kachcha 16.1.1819 M7.8

2 Kachcha 19.61845 M6.3

3 Banaskantha 26.41948 M6.0

4 Bharuch 29.4.1964 M5.0

MAJOR
5 Kachcha 16.61903 M6.0
EQs 6 Bhavnagar 21.4.1919 M5.5
in 7 Jamnagar 31.10.1940 M6.0

GUJARAT 8 Kachcha 21.71956 M7.0

9 Bharuch 23.3.1970 M5.4

10 Bhavnagar 12.9.2000 M4.4

11 Kachcha 26.1.2002 M7.7

 Date-Time 26th Jan. 2001 at 8.46 a.m.
Location 23.41N 70.23E

Depth 16.0 kilometers

Magnitude 7.7

Region INDIA

Reference/ 65 miles (110 km) NNE of Jamnagar, India

Epicentre

Event length 18 to 21 Seconds

SOURCE:United States Geological Survey , National Earthquake

Information Center
Plate Tectonic : The strain that caused this earthquake is
due to the Indian plate pushing northward into the Eurasian
plate.
 LOSSES:
•18,602 people confirmed dead
•166,836 injured and
•600,000 homeless.
•332,000 houses destroyed
•751,000 damaged
•20,000 cattle dead
•Damage estimates are $5 billion US dollars.
i.e. Rs. 22000 Crore

This M7.7 earthquake is the first to hit metropolitan cities

of the country in the recent times and the modern
industrial constructions.
THE WAVE FORM RECORD:
Energy release :
The estimated energy release from the earthquake
was
7.0 ±1.1 10e15 Nm or 1.7 Megaton equivalent
i.e.
about 150 times the size of the atomic bomb that
devastated Hiroshima.
Intensity Estimates :

Intensity : IX to X on MSK scale. 

Faults in Kachchh  :
Affected Regions :
•About 20 districts in the state of Gujarat sustained
damage.
•The entire Kutch region of Gujarat, enclosed on
three sides by the Great Runn of Kutch, the Little
Runn of Kutch and the Arabian Sea
•Morbi ( ~125km east of Bhuj), Rajkot (~150km
southeast of Bhuj) and Ahmedabad (~300km east
of Bhuj). At least one multistorey building at Surat
(~375km southeast of Bhuj)
•The earthquake was felt throughout northwest
India and much of Pakistan.
•Also felt in western Nepal and Bangladesh.
ISOSEISMALS :-A line connecting points on the
Earth's surface at which earthquake intensity is the
same.
Damaged Structures :

1. BHONGA – Traditional Kachchhi Houses

2. Brick Masonry
3. Reinforced Concrete Buildings
4. Pre-cast Constructions
5. Bridges
6. Rail Road & Highway Embankments
7. Earth Dams
8. Liquefaction Effects
BHONGA – Traditional Kachchhi Houses
Brick Masonry
Arial view of
BHACHAU
Reinforced Concrete Buildings
SHIKHAR
APT.
Precast Concrete Structures
Bridge Structures
Rail Road & Highway Embankments
Earth Dams
Liquefaction Effects
 COPING WITH AN EARTHQUAKE :
(Some Dos and Don’ts)

        An earthquake does not cause death or injury by itself. People are
hurt by falling plaster and collapsing walls or falling of heavy
objects. Collapsing buildings and vibrations can cause short circuits
and electric fires. Lighted gas or stoves may also cause fires. All this
leads to panic and confusion. With some precautions it is possible to
avoid such confusion.
If you are caught indoors at the time of an earthquake :
•Keep calm.
•Stay away from glass windows, doors, almirahs, mirrors etc. 
•Stay away from falling plaster, bricks or stones.
•Get under a table or a sturdy cot so that you are not hurt by
falling objects.
•Do not rush towards the doors or staircase. They may be
broken or jammed.
If you are outdoors at the time of earthquake :
•If open space is available nearby, go there.
•Keep away from tall chimneys, buildings, balconies
and other projections.
•Do not run through streets; hoardings or lamps may
fall on you.
AFTER AN EARTHQUAKE:
•Check if you or anyone else is hurt. Use first aid
atleast on the cuts and bruises.
•Keep the streets clear for emergency services.
•Switch off all appliances like the refrigerator, TV or
radio. Turn off the gas.
•Wear shoes to protect your feet from debris.
•A battery operated radio will help you to get
important messages.
•Be prepared for more shocks. These aftershocks
always follow an earthquake.
Avoid the following in an earthquake :
•Do not crowd around damaged areas or buildings.
•Do not waste water. It will be needed for fire fighting.
•Do not move the seriously hurt people.
•Wait for medical help to arrive.
•Do not spread rumors. They lead to panic and worsen
the situation.
 Reinforcement details at Junctions
General Joint Confinement

Properly interlocked joints

do not ask for any extra steel
but increase the structural
stability to a great extent…

First Beam Stirrup at the face of support

BEHAVIOR PATTERN OF THE
BEAM-COLUMN JUNCTION
1 4 7

2 8
5

3 6 9
This CABLE STAYED bridge has a total length of 2.5 km

and crosses the Tarn River. It is 343 meters high, a world

record. The road, with two lanes on each side, will cross

the river at 270 meters above ground. At its highest point,

the viaduct is even higher than the Eiffel Tower. Conceived

by Norman Foster, this CABLE STAYED bridge is

supported by seven pylons, instead of the two that are

common for this kind of construction.