EARTHQUAKES
Introduction
Earthquakes are among the Earth’s
deadliest natural hazards, often
striking without warning and many of
the Earth’s earthquakes zones are in
highly populated areas. (U.S. Geological
Survey, 2024)
Introduction
There are over 500,000 detectable
earthquakes that occur around the
world every year, at least 100 of
them are destructive. (British
Geological Survey, 2021)
Introduction
An example of an earthquake is the
2022 (Mw) 7.0 Northwestern Luzon
Earthquake. It was a destructive
earthquake where its epicenter was 3
km northwest of Tayum, Abra. Leaving
11 dead, and directly affecting 574,266
people. Over 36,000 houses were
damaged and subsequently led to USD
1.88 billion in damages (NDRRMC, 2022)
WHAT ARE
EARTHQUAKES?
AN EARTHQUAKE IS A SUDDEN SHAKING OF
U.S. GEOLOGICAL
SURVEY. (2023). WHAT THE SURFACE OF THE EARTH CAUSED BY THE
IS AN EARTHQUAKE
AND WHAT CAUSES RELEASE OF STRAIN ENERGY FROM DEEP
THEM TO HAPPEN?
HTTPS://WWW.USGS.GO
UNDERGROUND.
V/PROGRAMS/EARTHQU
AKE-HAZARDS/SCIENCE-
EARTHQUAKES
THE ENERGY IS RELEASED IN THE FORM OF
SEISMIC WAVES AND TRAVELS IN A RIPPLE
MOTION; THE DAMAGE IS HEAVIER AND
MORE IMPACTFUL NEAR THE SOURCE OF THE
EARTHQUAKE, THE HYPOCENTER (BRITISH
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, 2021).
WHAT CAUSES
EARTHQUAKES?
CAUSES
The primary cause of an earthquake is the movement of tectonic
plates. These are prominent pieces that compose the Earth's crust. The
plates are often moving, which generates energy (U.S. Geological
Survey, 2023).
AN EARTHQUAKE OCCURS WHEN THERE IS SUDDEN MOVEMENT ALONG
FAULTS, RESULTING FROM THE (SUDDEN) RELEASE OF BUILT-UP
STRAIN PRESSURE, PROPAGATING SEISMIC ENERGY THROUGH THE
GROUND AND EVENTUALLY TO THE SURFACE. (BRITISH GEOLOGICAL
SURVEY, 2021)(U.S GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, 2024)
Movement within the Earth’s crust
Convection currents in the Earth's mantle
interacts with the Earth’s crust causing
continental drift and deformation
(Holmes, 1931).
Movement within the Earth’s crust
In the mantle, a constant heating and
cooling cycle leads to movement on the
surface of the Earth. Heat moving to the
surface leads to fractures and irregular
tectonic plates that are constantly
moving. (California Academy of Sciences,
2024)
Movement within the Earth’s crust
Heat moves towards the surface. Rising
mantle loses heat, becomes heavier and
sinks downward to the core of the earth,
where it is reheated. The moving mantle
creates currents that lead to shifts in
tectonic plates. (California Academy of
Sciences, 2024)
Elastic Rebound Theory
Elastic rebound theory was originally
proposed after the “great San Francisco
earthquake” in 1906 by the geologist
“Henry Fielding Reid”, who explained the
deformation caused by earthquakes.
(British Geological Survey, 2021)
Elastic Rebound Theory
According to this theory, before an earthquake, the
stress in the rocks on either side would buildup and
makes a gradual deformation. The deformation of
rocks surpasses the frictional force holding them
together, leading to sudden slip along the fault. The
process releases the accumulated stress, causing
the rocks on either side of the fault to return to
their original shape but offset. (British Geological
Survey, 2021)
Plate Tectonics
The plate tectonics shows how lithospheric
interacts and moves across Earth's surface.
The theory of plate tectonics was
developed without understanding the
forces that propel the plates, making it a
potent but purely kinematic explanation.
(Stern, R. J., 2007)
Plate Tectonics
The formulation and eventual acceptance of
the theory of plate tectonics in the late
1960s was a monumental turning point for
science, which has forever changed the way
that we think about the Earth and other
extraterrestrial rocky bodies (Palin and
Santosh, 2021).
The tectonic plates move very slowly, around a few centimeters per year, but this
can still cause massive deformation on the plate boundaries, which, after time, turn
into earthquakes (British Geological Survey, 2021).
Figure 1: Earthquakes are associated with tectonic plate boundaries (British Geological Survey, 2021)
ANATOMY OF AN
EARTHQUAKE
seismic wave
Anatomy of an
epicentre
earthquake Fault
The focus or the hypocenter is the exact point
where an earthquake rupture starts. focus
The epicenter is the point at the surface
directly above the focus of an earthquake.
Faults and its Types
Faults are fractures or cracks in the Earth's crust where movement occurs.
A fault is a zone of fractures. These fractures result from stress after the
build up of pressure. These broken up rocks will tend to move relative to
each other. When this movement is fast and sudden, it would cause an
earthquake. When the movement is slow, it will cause a creep. Faults may
range in length from a few millimeters to thousands of kilometers. (SED,
2024) (British Geological Survey, 2021)
U.S. Geological Survey. (2024). What is a fault and what are the different types? | U.S. geological survey. USGS.gov | Science for a changing world. https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-a-fault-and-what-are-different-types#news
Faults and its Types
Normal faults Reverse faults Strike-slip faults
Tensional forces result in Compressional forces result in Shear forces result in rocks
rocks moving away from each rocks moving towards each sliding past each other
other. other. horizontally.
Oblique faults
An oblique fault is a combination of
these three faults.
U.S. Geological Survey. (2024). What is a fault and what are the different types? | U.S. geological survey. USGS.gov | Science for a changing world. https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-a-fault-and-what-are-different-types#news
Seismic Waves Body waves: occur under the surface.
Primary (P) waves: Fastest waves that
The shifting of rock causes energy to be
compress and expand rocks in the
released in the form of seismic waves direction of the travel of wave
that travel through the Earth. There are propagation.
2 broad classes of seismic waves. Body Secondary (S) waves: Slower waves
waves and surface waves. that shake the ground perpendicular to
their direction of travel in an up and
Britannica. (2024).
Types of seismic down and sideward motion.
waves and how they
are recorded |
Britannica.
Encyclopedia
Surface waves: Slowest waves that
Britannica.
https://www.britannic
travel along the Earth's surface and
a.com/video/rock-
vibrations-Earth-
results in the most damage.
earthquake-waves-P-
surface/-218347 Love Waves: Fastest surface wave,
British Geological On the left is an moving the ground side to side.
Survey. (2021, June 10).
example of how
How are earthquakes
detected? different the Rayleigh Waves: Causes the ground to
https://www.bgs.ac.uk/ speeds of
discovering-
seismic waves shake in an elliptical motion. Most
geology/earth-
hazards/earthquakes/h are, recorded spread out wave, meaning it exists for a
ow-are-earthquakes- with a tool called
detected/ longer duration than others.
a seismograph.
HOW DO WE
MEASURE
EARTHQUAKES?
Measuring Earthquakes
Earthquakes are measured through 2 main categories. Magnitude and Intensity.
Magnitude is a measure of the size of an earthquake, constant no matter how
far from the earthquake. Intensity is the degree of shaking at a certain place and
decerases with distance from the epicenter. (British Geological Survey, 2024)
Unfortunately, many scales, such as the Richter scale, do not
provide accurate estimates for large magnitude earthquakes. Seismograph
A typical seismograph.
Seismographs are the primary tool for
measuring the magnitude of an
earthquake. Seismographs record the
motion of the ground by measuring the
amplitude and frequency of seismic
waves. Most scales use the
seismograph as a basis of their data. An
example of such a scale is the Richter
scale.
U.S. Geological Survey. (2024). Seismometers, seismographs, seismograms - what's the difference? How do they work? | U.S. geological survey. USGS.gov | Science for a changing world. U.S. Geological Survey. (2024). What is a
fault and what are the different types? | U.S. geological survey. USGS.gov | Science for a changing world. https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-a-fault-and-what-are-different-types#news
The Richter Scale The first widely-used method,
developed by Charles F. Richter
in 1934. It used a formula
based on the amplitude of the
largest wave recorded on a
specific type of seismometer
and the distance between the
earthquake and the
seismometer. That scale was
specific to California
earthquakes and crust; other
scales, based on wave
amplitudes and total
earthquake duration, were
developed for use in other
situations and they were
designed to be consistent with
Richter’s scale.
U.S. Geological Survey. (2024). Seismometers, seismographs, seismograms - what's the difference? How do they work? | U.S. geological survey. USGS.gov | Science for a changing world. U.S. Geological Survey. (2024). What is a
fault and what are the different types? | U.S. geological survey. USGS.gov | Science for a changing world. https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-a-fault-and-what-are-different-types#news
The Richter Scale
The Modified
Mercalli Scale
Developed in 1931 by the American
seismologists Harry Wood and Frank
The Modified Mercalli Scale
Neumann. This scale, composed of
increasing levels of intensity that range
from imperceptible shaking to
catastrophic destruction, is designated
by Roman numerals. It does not have a
mathematical basis; instead it is an
arbitrary ranking based on observed
effects. (U.S. Geological Survey, 2024)
Michigan Technological University. (2024). How do we measure earthquake magnitude? https://www.mtu.edu/geo/community/seismology/learn/earthquake-measure/
The Moment Magnitude Scale
Today the moment magnitude scale, abbreviated MW, is preferred because it works
over a wider range of earthquake sizes and is applicable globally. The moment
magnitude scale is based on the total moment release of the earthquake. Moment is
a product of the distance a fault moved and the force required to move it. It is
derived from modeling recordings of the earthquake at multiple stations.
Magnitudes are based on a logarithmic scale of base 10, meaning that a magnitude
5 earthquake is 10 times more powerful than a magnitude 4 earthquake.
Michigan Technological University. (2024). How do we measure earthquake magnitude? https://www.mtu.edu/geo/community/seismology/learn/earthquake-measure/
WHAT ARE THE
EFFECTS OF
EARTHQUAKES?
EFFECTS OF AN EARTHQUAKE
Ground shaking:
Can cause buildings, bridges, and other structures to
collapse.
Tsunamis:
Underwater earthquakes can generate large ocean
waves that travel long distances.
Landslides:
Slopes become unstable, leading to the downhill
movement of soil and rocks.
World Health Organization. (2024). Earthquakes. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/health-topics/earthquakes#tab=tab_1
EARTHQUAKE
SAFETY
BEFORE AN EARTHQUAKE
Know evacuation areas, emergency
phonecalls numbers, and possible hazards.
Prepare an emergency kit with all your
essential items.
Learn to use first aid kit, alarms, and turning
off technical supplies.
PH, A. (2019, April 23). What to do before, during and after an earthquake: PHIVOLCS. Government PH. https://governmentph.com/what-to-do-before-during-and-
after-an-earthquake-phivolcs/
DURING AN EARTHQUAKE
1 2 3 4 5
Drop, Cover, if next to the Run to an open STOP if inside a
shore, run to
and Hold higher ground Stay calm area if outside moving vehicle
PH, A. (2019, April 23). What to do before, during and after an earthquake: PHIVOLCS. Government PH. https://governmentph.com/what-to-
do-before-during-and-after-an-earthquake-phivolcs/
AFTER AN EARTHQUAKE
The possibility of people being more prepared is
increased when they are aware of and understand
properly the benefits of being prepared for
earthquakes and other disasters (Rostami-Moez et al,
2019).
Evacuate Asses
Expect
Aftershocks Be updated
PH, A. (2019, April 23). What to do before, during and after an earthquake: PHIVOLCS. Government PH. https://governmentph.com/what-to-do-before-during-
and-after-an-earthquake-phivolcs/
U.S. Geological Survey. (2024). Cool
earthquake facts | U.S. geological
survey. USGS.gov | Science for a
changing world.
https://www.usgs.gov/programs/earthq
uake-hazards/cool-earthquake-facts
British Geological Survey. (2021,
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