Earthquake Hazards

What is Earthquake?
• Is a feeble shaking to violent trembling of the
ground produced by the sudden displacement
of rocks or rock materials below the earth’s
surface.

• A sudden and violent shaking of the ground,

sometimes causing great destruction, as a result
of movements within the earth's crust or
volcanic action.
 Two Types of Earthquakes:

• Tectonic Earthquakes - are those generated by

the sudden displacement along faults in the
solid and rigid layer of the earth. (continental
plates & oceanic plates)
• Volcanic Earthquakes - are those induced by
rising lava or magma beneath active
volcanoes.
 What is a Fault?

• Refers to a fracture, fissure or a zone of

weakness where movement or displacement
has occurred or may occur again.
• A fault is said to be “active fault” if it has
historical and contemporary seismicity, has
evidence of fault slip based on displaced rocks
or soil units of known age and displaced
landforms; an active fault is defined as a fault
which has moved within the last 10,000 years.
 Most Common Earthquake-Related
Hazards:
• Ground shaking- disruptive up-down and sideways
movement or motion experienced during an earthquake.
• Strong ground shaking can cause objects to fall, break
windows among others.
• Strong ground shaking can also result to minor damages to
buildings and worse, cause collapse of a structure. (e.g.
collapse of Hyatt Hotel, Baguio City after the 16 July 1990
Luzon Earthquake).
• Most part of the Philippines will experience shaking at
different degrees depending on magnitude of earthquake,
distance of one’s location from the fault that moved, local
below surface conditions, etc)
• Ground rupture- displacement on the ground
due to movement of fault .
• This will be experienced by areas where fault
passes through (note not all cracks on the ground
that people see after a strong earthquake are
faults, some may just be surficial cracks because
of ground failure)
• The movement may have vertical and horizontal
component and may be as small as less than 0.5
meters (Masbate 1994 earthquake) to as big as 6
meters (16 July 1990 Earthquake).
 Tsunami
• sea waves resulting from the disturbance of
ocean floor by an earthquake
• This is a series of giant sea waves commonly
generated by under-the-sea earthquakes and
whose heights could be greater than 5 meters. B
• Examples of recent tsunami events in the
Philippines are the August 1976 Moro Gulf
Earthquake and Tsunami and the November 1994
Oriental Mindoro Earthquake and Tsunami,
December 2004 Banda Aceh Earthquake
(Indonesia), and March 2011 Eastern
 Liquefaction-
is a process that transforms the behavior of a
body of sediments from that of a solid to that
of a liquid when subjected to extremely
intense shaking.
As a result, any heavy load on top of the
sediment body will either sink or tilt as the
sediment could no longer hold the load, such
as what happened in Dagupan City during the
16 July 1990 earthquake.
 Earthquake-induced landslide-
failures in steep or hilly slopes triggered by an
earthquake
Loose thin soil covering on the slopes of steep
mountains are prone to mass movement,
especially when shaken during an earthquake.
Many landslides occur as a result of strong ground
shaking such as those observed on the
mountainsides along the National Highway in
Nueva Ecija and the road leading up to Baguio
City during the 16 July 1990 earthquake
What Should I Do Before, During, And
After An Earthquake?
Before:
• make sure you have a fire extinguisher, first
aid kit, a battery-powered radio, a flashlight,
and extra batteries at home.
• Learn first aid.
• Learn how to turn off the gas, water, and
electricity. Make up a plan of where to meet
your family after an earthquake.
• Don't leave heavy objects on shelves (they'll
fall during a quake).
• Anchor heavy furniture, cupboards, and
appliances to the walls or floor.
• Learn the earthquake plan at your school or
workplace.
 During
• Stay calm! If you're indoors, stay inside. If
you're outside, stay outside.
• f you're indoors, stand against a wall near the
center of the building, stand in a doorway, or
crawl under heavy furniture (a desk or table).
• Stay away from windows and outside doors.
if you're outdoors, stay in the open away from
power lines or anything that might fall
 AFTER
• Check yourself and others for injuries. Provide
first aid for anyone who needs it.
• Check water, gas, and electric lines for damage.
If any are damaged, shut off the valves.
• Check for the smell of gas. If you smell it, open
all the windows and doors, leave immediately,
and report it to the authorities (use someone
else's phone).
• Turn on the radio. Don't use the phone unless
it's an emergency.
• If you're at school or work, follow the
emergency plan or the instructions of the
person in charge. Expect aftershocks.
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