EARTHQUAKES
Week 2
EARTHQUAKES
What to explore this week:
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Predictablity
Linkages
Disastrous consequences
Impact of human activity
Minimizing the impact
Earthquake
Terminology
What causes
earthquakes?
 Elastic Rebound
 Sources of stress
 Plate Tectonics
 Other stresses
Measurement
 Magnitude
 one per earthquake
 related to energy released
 Richter or Moment scale
 Intensity
 many for each
earthquake
 measure of
effects
 Mercalli scale
Damage: Causes
 Ground motion
 Duration of
Shaking
 Surface Rupture
 Poor building
design
Effects
 Rupture
 Death
 Bldg collapse
Effects
 Fires
 Liquifaction
 Landslides
Damage:
Key
Factors
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Amount & duration of shaking
Water content of soil
Population concentration
Building construction
Distance from Epicenter
Depth of focus
Direction of rupture
Material amplification
Addressing
the Hazard
 Identify areas
at risk
 Forecast
Addressing
the Hazard
 Structural
adaptations
 Warning systems
EARTHQUAKES
 In what ways are earthquakes predictable?
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 To what other hazards are earthquakes
linked?
 What are the potentially disastrous
consequences of earthquakes?
 In what ways has human activity made
earthquake hazards catastrophic?
 How can the hazardous consequences of
earthquakes be minimized?