EARTHQUAKE

Earthquakes are measured using observations from seismometers. The moment magnitude is the
most common scale on which earthquakes larger than approximately 5 are reported for the entire
globe. The more numerous earthquakes smaller than magnitude 5 reported by national seismological
observatories are measured mostly on the local magnitude scale, also referred to as the Richter
magnitude scale. These two scales are numerically similar over their range of validity. Magnitude 3 or
lower earthquakes are mostly almost imperceptible or weak and magnitude 7 and over potentially
cause serious damage over larger areas, depending on their depth. The largest earthquakes in
historic times have been of magnitude slightly over 9, although there is no limit to the possible
magnitude. The most recent large earthquake of magnitude 9.0 or larger was a 9.0 magnitude
earthquake in Japan in 2011 (as of March 2014), and it was the largest Japanese earthquake since
records began. Intensity of shaking is measured on the modified Mercalli scale. The shallower an
earthquake, the more damage to structures it causes, all else being equal. [1]
In its most general sense, the word earthquake is used to describe any seismic event whether
natural or caused by humans that generates seismic waves. Earthquakes are caused mostly by
rupture of geological faults, but also by other events such as volcanic activity, landslides, mine
blasts, and nuclear tests. An earthquake's point of initial rupture is called its focus or hypocenter. The
epicenter is the point at ground level directly above the hypocenter.

Naturally occurring earthquakes

Fault types
Tectonic earthquakes occur anywhere in the earth where there is sufficient stored elastic strain energy to drive
fracture propagation along a fault plane. The sides of a fault move past each other smoothly and aseismically only if
there are no irregularities or asperities along the fault surface that increase the frictional resistance. Most fault
surfaces do have such asperities and this leads to a form of stick-slip behaviour. Once the fault has locked, continued
relative motion between the plates leads to increasing stress and therefore, stored strain energy in the volume around
the fault surface. This continues until the stress has risen sufficiently to break through the asperity, suddenly
allowing sliding over the locked portion of the fault, releasing the stored energy.[2] This energy is released as a
combination of radiated elastic strain seismic waves, frictional heating of the fault surface, and cracking of the rock,
thus causing an earthquake. This process of gradual build-up of strain and stress punctuated by occasional sudden
earthquake failure is referred to as the elastic-rebound theory. It is estimated that only 10 percent or less of an
earthquake's total energy is radiated as seismic energy. Most of the earthquake's energy is used to power the
earthquake fracture growth or is converted into heat generated by friction. Therefore, earthquakes lower the Earth's
available elastic potential energy and raise its temperature, though these changes are negligible compared to the
conductive and convective flow of heat out from the Earth's deep interior.[3]

Earthquake fault types

Main article: Fault (geology)
There are three main types of fault, all of which may cause an interplate earthquake: normal, reverse (thrust) and
strike-slip. Normal and reverse faulting are examples of dip-slip, where the displacement along the fault is in the
direction of dip and movement on them involves a vertical component. Normal faults occur mainly in areas where
the crust is being extended such as a divergent boundary. Reverse faults occur in areas where the crust is being
shortened such as at a convergent boundary. Strike-slip faults are steep structures where the two sides of the fault

slip horizontally past each other; transform boundaries are a particular type of strike-slip fault. Many earthquakes are
caused by movement on faults that have components of both dip-slip and strike-slip; this is known as oblique slip.
Reverse faults, particularly those along convergent plate boundaries are associated with the most powerful
earthquakes, megathrust earthquakes, including almost all of those of magnitude 8 or more. Strike-slip faults,
particularly continental transforms, can produce major earthquakes up to about magnitude 8. Earthquakes associated
with normal faults are generally less than magnitude 7. For every unit increase in magnitude, there is a roughly
thirtyfold increase in the energy released. For instance, an earthquake of magnitude 6.0 releases approximately 30
times more energy than a 5.0 magnitude earthquake and a 7.0 magnitude earthquake releases 900 times (30 30)
more energy than a 5.0 magnitude of earthquake. An 8.6 magnitude earthquake releases the same amount of energy
as 10,000 atomic bombs that were used in World War II.[4]
This is so because the energy released in an earthquake, and thus its magnitude, is proportional to the area of the
fault that ruptures[5] and the stress drop. Therefore, the longer the length and the wider the width of the faulted area,
the larger the resulting magnitude. The topmost, brittle part of the Earth's crust, and the cool slabs of the tectonic
plates that are descending down into the hot mantle, are the only parts of our planet which can store elastic energy
and release it in fault ruptures. Rocks hotter than about 300 degrees Celsius flow in response to stress; they do not
rupture in earthquakes.[6][7] The maximum observed lengths of ruptures and mapped faults (which may break in a
single rupture) are approximately 1000 km. Examples are the earthquakes in Chile, 1960; Alaska, 1957; Sumatra,
2004, all in subduction zones. The longest earthquake ruptures on strike-slip faults, like the San Andreas Fault
(1857, 1906), the North Anatolian Fault in Turkey (1939) and the Denali Fault in Alaska (2002), are about half to
one third as long as the lengths along subducting plate margins, and those along normal faults are even shorter.

Aerial photo of the San Andreas Fault in the Carrizo Plain, northwest of Los Angeles
The most important parameter controlling the maximum earthquake magnitude on a fault is however not the
maximum available length, but the available width because the latter varies by a factor of 20. Along converging plate
margins, the dip angle of the rupture plane is very shallow, typically about 10 degrees.[8] Thus the width of the plane
within the top brittle crust of the Earth can become 50 to 100 km (Japan, 2011; Alaska, 1964), making the most
powerful earthquakes possible.
Strike-slip faults tend to be oriented near vertically, resulting in an approximate width of 10 km within the brittle
crust,[9] thus earthquakes with magnitudes much larger than 8 are not possible. Maximum magnitudes along many
normal faults are even more limited because many of them are located along spreading centers, as in Iceland, where
the thickness of the brittle layer is only about 6 km.[10][11]
In addition, there exists a hierarchy of stress level in the three fault types. Thrust faults are generated by the highest,
strike slip by intermediate, and normal faults by the lowest stress levels.[12] This can easily be understood by

considering the direction of the greatest principal stress, the direction of the force that 'pushes' the rock mass during
the faulting. In the case of normal faults, the rock mass is pushed down in a vertical direction, thus the pushing force
(greatest principal stress) equals the weight of the rock mass itself. In the case of thrusting, the rock mass 'escapes'
in the direction of the least principal stress, namely upward, lifting the rock mass up, thus the overburden equals the
least principal stress. Strike-slip faulting is intermediate between the other two types described above. This
difference in stress regime in the three faulting environments can contribute to differences in stress drop during
faulting, which contributes to differences in the radiated energy, regardless of fault dimensions.

Earthquakes away from plate boundaries

Main article: Intraplate earthquake
Where plate boundaries occur within the continental lithosphere, deformation is spread out over a much larger area
than the plate boundary itself. In the case of the San Andreas fault continental transform, many earthquakes occur
away from the plate boundary and are related to strains developed within the broader zone of deformation caused by
major irregularities in the fault trace (e.g., the "Big bend" region). The Northridge earthquake was associated with
movement on a blind thrust within such a zone. Another example is the strongly oblique convergent plate boundary
between the Arabian and Eurasian plates where it runs through the northwestern part of the Zagros mountains. The
deformation associated with this plate boundary is partitioned into nearly pure thrust sense movements perpendicular
to the boundary over a wide zone to the southwest and nearly pure strike-slip motion along the Main Recent Fault
close to the actual plate boundary itself. This is demonstrated by earthquake focal mechanisms.[13]
All tectonic plates have internal stress fields caused by their interactions with neighbouring plates and sedimentary
loading or unloading (e.g. deglaciation).[14] These stresses may be sufficient to cause failure along existing fault
planes, giving rise to intraplate earthquakes.[15]

Shallow-focus and deep-focus earthquakes

Main article: Depth of focus (tectonics)

Collapsed Gran Hotel building in the San Salvador metropolis, after the shallow 1986 San Salvador earthquake
during mid civil war El Salvador.

Buildings fallen on their foundations after the shallow 1986 San Salvador earthquake, El Salvador.

leveled structures after the shallow 1986 San Salvador earthquake, El Salvador.
The majority of tectonic earthquakes originate at the ring of fire in depths not exceeding tens of kilometers.
Earthquakes occurring at a depth of less than 70 km are classified as 'shallow-focus' earthquakes, while those with a
focal-depth between 70 and 300 km are commonly termed 'mid-focus' or 'intermediate-depth' earthquakes. In
subduction zones, where older and colder oceanic crust descends beneath another tectonic plate, deep-focus
earthquakes may occur at much greater depths (ranging from 300 up to 700 kilometers).[16] These seismically active
areas of subduction are known as Wadati-Benioff zones. Deep-focus earthquakes occur at a depth where the
subducted lithosphere should no longer be brittle, due to the high temperature and pressure. A possible mechanism
for the generation of deep-focus earthquakes is faulting caused by olivine undergoing a phase transition into a spinel
structure.[17]

Size and frequency of occurrence

It is estimated that around 500,000 earthquakes occur each year, detectable with current instrumentation. About
100,000 of these can be felt.[31][32] Minor earthquakes occur nearly constantly around the world in places like
California and Alaska in the U.S., as well as in El Salvador, Mexico, Guatemala, Chile, Peru, Indonesia, Iran,
Pakistan, the Azores in Portugal, Turkey, New Zealand, Greece, Italy, India and Japan, but earthquakes can occur
almost anywhere, including Downstate New York, England, and Australia.[33] Larger earthquakes occur less
frequently, the relationship being exponential; for example, roughly ten times as many earthquakes larger than
magnitude 4 occur in a particular time period than earthquakes larger than magnitude 5. In the (low seismicity)
United Kingdom, for example, it has been calculated that the average recurrences are: an earthquake of 3.74.6
every year, an earthquake of 4.75.5 every 10 years, and an earthquake of 5.6 or larger every 100 years.[34] This is an
example of the GutenbergRichter law.

The Messina earthquake and tsunami took as many as 200,000 lives on December 28, 1908 in Sicily and Calabria.[35]

The 1917 El Salvador earthquake

The number of seismic stations has increased from about 350 in 1931 to many thousands today. As a result, many
more earthquakes are reported than in the past, but this is because of the vast improvement in instrumentation, rather
than an increase in the number of earthquakes. The United States Geological Survey estimates that, since 1900, there
have been an average of 18 major earthquakes (magnitude 7.07.9) and one great earthquake (magnitude 8.0 or
greater) per year, and that this average has been relatively stable.[36] In recent years, the number of major earthquakes
per year has decreased, though this is probably a statistical fluctuation rather than a systematic trend.[37] More
detailed statistics on the size and frequency of earthquakes is available from the United States Geological Survey
(USGS).[38] A recent increase in the number of major earthquakes has been noted, which could be explained by a
cyclical pattern of periods of intense tectonic activity, interspersed with longer periods of low-intensity. However,
accurate recordings of earthquakes only began in the early 1900s, so it is too early to categorically state that this is
the case.[39]

Most of the world's earthquakes (90%, and 81% of the largest) take place in the 40,000 km long, horseshoe-shaped
zone called the circum-Pacific seismic belt, known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, which for the most part bounds the
Pacific Plate.[40][41] Massive earthquakes tend to occur along other plate boundaries, too, such as along the Himalayan
Mountains.[42]
With the rapid growth of mega-cities such as Mexico City, Tokyo and Tehran, in areas of high seismic risk, some
seismologists are warning that a single quake may claim the lives of up to 3 million people.[43]

Induced seismicity
Main article: Induced seismicity
While most earthquakes are caused by movement of the Earth's tectonic plates, human activity can also produce
earthquakes. Four main activities contribute to this phenomenon: storing large amounts of water behind a dam (and
possibly building an extremely heavy building), drilling and injecting liquid into wells, and by coal mining and oil
drilling.[44] Perhaps the best known example is the 2008 Sichuan earthquake in China's Sichuan Province in May; this
tremor resulted in 69,227 fatalities and is the 19th deadliest earthquake of all time. The Zipingpu Dam is believed to
have fluctuated the pressure of the fault 1,650 feet (503 m) away; this pressure probably increased the power of the
earthquake and accelerated the rate of movement for the fault.[45] The greatest earthquake in Australia's history is also
claimed to be induced by humanity, through coal mining. The city of Newcastle was built over a large sector of coal
mining areas. The earthquake has been reported to be spawned from a fault that reactivated due to the millions of
tonnes of rock removed in the mining process.[46]

Measuring and locating earthquakes

Main article: Seismology
Earthquakes can be recorded by seismometers up to great distances, because seismic waves travel through the whole
Earth's interior. The absolute magnitude of a quake is conventionally reported by numbers on the moment magnitude
scale (formerly Richter scale, magnitude 7 causing serious damage over large areas), whereas the felt magnitude is
reported using the modified Mercalli intensity scale (intensity IIXII).
Every tremor produces different types of seismic waves, which travel through rock with different velocities:

Longitudinal P-waves (shock- or pressure waves)

Transverse S-waves (both body waves)

Surface waves (Rayleigh and Love waves)

Propagation velocity of the seismic waves ranges from approx. 3 km/s up to 13 km/s, depending on the density and
elasticity of the medium. In the Earth's interior the shock- or P waves travel much faster than the S waves (approx.
relation 1.7 : 1). The differences in travel time from the epicentre to the observatory are a measure of the distance
and can be used to image both sources of quakes and structures within the Earth. Also the depth of the hypocenter
can be computed roughly.

In solid rock P-waves travel at about 6 to 7 km per second; the velocity increases within the deep mantle to
~13 km/s. The velocity of S-waves ranges from 23 km/s in light sediments and 45 km/s in the Earth's crust up to
7 km/s in the deep mantle. As a consequence, the first waves of a distant earthquake arrive at an observatory via the
Earth's mantle.
On average, the kilometer distance to the earthquake is the number of seconds between the P and S wave times 8.[47]
Slight deviations are caused by inhomogeneities of subsurface structure. By such analyses of seismograms the
Earth's core was located in 1913 by Beno Gutenberg.
Earthquakes are not only categorized by their magnitude but also by the place where they occur. The world is
divided into 754 FlinnEngdahl regions (F-E regions), which are based on political and geographical boundaries as
well as seismic activity. More active zones are divided into smaller F-E regions whereas less active zones belong to
larger F-E regions.
Standard reporting of earthquakes includes its magnitude, date and time of occurrence, geographic coordinates of its
epicenter, depth of the epicenter, geographical region, distances to population centers, location uncertainty, a number
of parameters that are included in USGS earthquake reports (number of stations reporting, number of observations,
etc.), and a unique event ID.[48]

Effects of earthquakes

1755 copper engraving depicting Lisbon in ruins and in flames after the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, which killed an
estimated 60,000 people. A tsunami overwhelms the ships in the harbor.
The effects of earthquakes include, but are not limited to, the following:

Shaking and ground rupture

Damaged buildings in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, January 2010.

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. The severity of the local effects depends on the complex combination
of the earthquake magnitude, the distance from the epicenter, and the local geological and geomorphological
conditions, which may amplify or reduce wave propagation.[49] The ground-shaking is measured by ground
acceleration.
Specific local geological, geomorphological, and geostructural features can induce high levels of shaking on the
ground surface even from low-intensity earthquakes. This effect is called site or local amplification. It is principally
due to the transfer of the seismic motion from hard deep soils to soft superficial soils and to effects of seismic energy
focalization owing to typical geometrical setting of the deposits.
Ground rupture is a visible breaking and displacement of the Earth's surface along the trace of the fault, which may
be of the order of several metres in the case of major earthquakes. Ground rupture is a major risk for large
engineering structures such as dams, bridges and nuclear power stations and requires careful mapping of existing
faults to identify any which are likely to break the ground surface within the life of the structure.[50]

Landslides and avalanches

Main article: Landslide

Landslides became a symbol of the devastation the 2001 El Salvador earthquakes left, killing hundreds in its wake.
Earthquakes, along with severe storms, volcanic activity, coastal wave attack, and wildfires, can produce slope
instability leading to landslides, a major geological hazard. Landslide danger may persist while emergency personnel
are attempting rescue.[51]

Fires

Fires of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake

Earthquakes can cause fires by damaging electrical power or gas lines. In the event of water mains rupturing and a
loss of pressure, it may also become difficult to stop the spread of a fire once it has started. For example, more
deaths in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake were caused by fire than by the earthquake itself.[52]

Soil liquefaction
Main article: 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 the liquefied deposits. For example, in the 1964 Alaska earthquake, soil liquefaction
caused many buildings to sink into the ground, eventually collapsing upon themselves.[53]

Tsunami

The tsunami of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake

A large ferry boat rests inland amidst destroyed houses after a 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami struck Japan
in March 2011.
Main article: Tsunami
Tsunamis are long-wavelength, long-period sea waves produced by the sudden or abrupt movement of large volumes
of water. In the open ocean the distance between wave crests can surpass 100 kilometers (62 mi), and the wave
periods can vary from five minutes to one hour. Such tsunamis travel 600-800 kilometers per hour (373497 miles
per hour), depending on water depth. Large waves produced by an earthquake or a submarine landslide can overrun
nearby coastal areas in a matter of minutes. Tsunamis can also travel thousands of kilometers across open ocean and
wreak destruction on far shores hours after the earthquake that generated them.[54]

Ordinarily, subduction earthquakes under magnitude 7.5 on the Richter scale do not cause tsunamis, although some
instances of this have been recorded. Most destructive tsunamis are caused by earthquakes of magnitude 7.5 or more.
[54]

Floods
Main article: Flood
A flood is an overflow of any amount of water that reaches land.[55] Floods occur usually when the volume of water
within a body of water, such as a river or lake, exceeds the total capacity of the formation, and as a result some of the
water flows or sits outside of the normal perimeter of the body. However, floods may be secondary effects of
earthquakes, if dams are damaged. Earthquakes may cause landslips to dam rivers, which collapse and cause floods.
[56]

The terrain below the Sarez Lake in Tajikistan is in danger of catastrophic flood if the landslide dam formed by the
earthquake, known as the Usoi Dam, were to fail during a future earthquake. Impact projections suggest the flood
could affect roughly 5 million people.[57]

Human impacts
An earthquake may cause injury and loss of life, road and bridge damage, general property damage, and collapse or
destabilization (potentially leading to future collapse) of buildings. The aftermath may bring disease, lack of basic
necessities, and higher insurance premiums.

Major earthquakes

Earthquakes of magnitude 8.0 and greater since 1900. The apparent 3D volumes of the bubbles are linearly
proportional to their respective fatalities.[58]
One of the most devastating earthquakes in recorded history was the 1556 Shaanxi earthquake, which occurred on 23
January 1556 in Shaanxi province, China. More than 830,000 people died.[59] Most houses in the area were yaodongs
dwellings carved out of loess hillsidesand many victims were killed when these structures collapsed. The 1976
Tangshan earthquake, which killed between 240,000 to 655,000 people, was the deadliest of the 20th century.[60]
The 1960 Chilean Earthquake is the largest earthquake that has been measured on a seismograph, reaching 9.5
magnitude on 22 May 1960.[31][32] Its epicenter was near Caete, Chile. The energy released was approximately twice
that of the next most powerful earthquake, the Good Friday Earthquake (March 27, 1964) which was centered in

Prince William Sound, Alaska.[61][62] The ten largest recorded earthquakes have all been megathrust earthquakes;
however, of these ten, only the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake is simultaneously one of the deadliest earthquakes in
history.
Earthquakes that caused the greatest loss of life, while powerful, were deadly because of their proximity to either
heavily populated areas or the ocean, where earthquakes often create tsunamis that can devastate communities
thousands of kilometers away. Regions most at risk for great loss of life include those where earthquakes are
relatively rare but powerful, and poor regions with lax, unenforced, or nonexistent seismic building codes.