Unlike wind, earthquake is a different phenomenon which generates a ground motion. The intensity or acceleration of the earthquake depends upon the magnitude and location of its epicenter. The seismic waves caused by the earthquake cause inertial forces in the building. The inertial forces are created when an outside force tries to move a body in rest which happens in this case as seismic waves tries the move the building in rest. We all know that when a building is subjected to inertial forces it should obey the newton’s second law of motion.
F=M.a -------------------- (3)
Where ‘F’ is inertial force and ‘M’ denotes mass of building and ‘a’ is the acceleration with which the building is moved due to seismic activity.
Duration, velocity and displacement:
From the newton’s second law, it is evident that acceleration is a key factor in determining the forces on a building. But there is one more criteria that we have to look into is the duration of the earthquake. Earthquake that has moderate acceleration, sustained over time, can cause much more damage to buildings than a single much larger peak. It weakens the building structure and reduces its durability. The strong-motion duration is often termed as “bracketed duration” (Arnold 2013). This is the shaking duration above a certain threshold acceleration value, which is 0.05g, and is defined as the time between the first and last peaks of motion that exceeds this threshold value (Arnold 2013). The strong motion
Seismologists have recorded that most Oklahoma earthquakes generally strike within the 2.5 – 3.0 magnitude on average. While some have been recorded to spike up much higher which could potentially cause structural damage to homes. Earthquakes of large magnitude have the potential to create large-scale destruction to homes, which do not meet building code requirements for earthquakes of this magnitude. “It has implications for calculated risks of seismic hazard, and it will have an economic impact on the state if people have to start building to more stringent design standards (Brus).”
The San Francisco Earthquake written by Jack London is journal of his events throughout the devastating acts of God that hit San Francisco in 1906. (461-466)
On April 18, 1906, an earthquake occurred in San Francisco with a magnitude of 7.9. The earthquake was caused by the San Andreas Fault since the San Andreas Fault slip over a segment. The earthquake could be felt from Oregon to southern California. Buildings in San Francisco was destroyed by earthquake and fires. Fires started after the earthquake occurred and firefighters were not able to stop the fire because the water mains were broken and because of this, firestorms started to develop around San Francisco. Then, the San Francisco Mayor E.E. Schmitz called the U.S. Army troops to shoot anyone that is found looting. While the army was doing that, firefighters and U.S. troops tried to fight the fire by dynamiting the city to create firewalls.
I left for work but had to walk, as no streetcars were running. I was
What would you do in a situation of a natural disaster with no resources, alone with no hope? A lot of people are scared from all of this commotions, fearing of no hope, losing lives even loved ones. There was a deadly magnitude earthquake of 7.2 that struck the central philippines on a national holiday. An estimated 43,000 people experienced severe shaking. Another earth quake hit with a magnitude of 6 in the fault of 1990 caused $154 in damage.The temblor is the strongest too come in 23 years. (Background essay)
The 2002 Afghanistan earthquake measured 5.9 on the Richter scale and killed 1,800 people. The 2001 western Washington earthquake measured 6.8 on the Richter scale and killed only one person. Can you imagine why the huge difference in the numbers of deaths? Hint: It has to do with construction materials.
An earthquake also causes the ground to shake. Which some buildings can’t take the intensity
Professor H.F. Reid introduced observations provided the basis for the landmark "theory of elastic rebound .This theory describes how the earth's crust gradually and elastically distorts with accumulating plate motion until it is suddenly returned to its undistorted state by rapid slip along a fault, releasing the years of accumulated strain and, in the process, generating seismic waves that produce shaking. Before 1906 and Reid's theory, this basic mechanical concept of earthquakes -- that the faulting causes the earthquake and that the earthquake does not cause the faulting -- was not well recognized as a universal principle applicable to the San Andreas
An earthquake would be classified as a sudden ferocious shaking of the ground, typically causing great obliteration because of manoeuvre within the earth’s crust or volcanic action.
Earthquakes are common environmental catastrophes which occur as a result of overwhelming stress being released within the earth. The location of the San Francisco Bay Area is extremely vulnerable to megathrust earthquakes
Earthquakes are sudden trembling or shaking vibrations. Earthquakes are large spinning spiral winds, that comes together by rocks underground breaks along the fault. There are two types of earthquakes, there is the body waves and the surface waves. Body waves travel at 7/8 km. The body wave is the fastest of the two waves. The surface waves act as a gravity waves that are between two fluids with different density. Unlike hurricanes,
Earthquake Hazards occur when there are adverse effects on human activities. This can include surface faulting, ground shaking and liquefaction. In this essay I will be discussing the factors that affect earthquakes, whether human such as population density, urbanisation and earthquake mitigation or physical such as liquefaction, magnitude, landslides and proximity to the focus.
An Earthquake is the shaking of the earth's surface caused by rapid movement of the earth's rocky outer layer. The sudden shaking of the ground that occurs when masses of rock change position below the Earth's surface is called an earthquake. The shifting masses send out shock waves that may be powerful enough to alter the surface of the Earth, thrusting up cliffs and opening great cracks in the ground.
An earthquake is the shaking of the surface of the earth due to the sudden release of energy, causing seismic waves that make the ground shake. This occurs when two tectonic plates push against each other until the force of friction is overcome releasing the built-up energy and allowing a small amount of movement of the plates. This movement of the tectonic plates produces the 4 types of seismic waves we feel in earthquakes, P waves, S waves, Love waves and Rayleigh waves.
In the U.S. alone, the average annual cost to repair damage caused by earthquakes is $4.4 billion USD. The worldwide figure is much larger than this but unquantifiable due to poorer countries unable to accurately determine the amount of damage that occurred. Year after year the cost of damages barely fluctuates from these ridiculously high figures and money must be pumped into repairing the damage done. Although a lot is being learnt about earthquakes and the fact that humans are now normally able to be alerted in time to evacuate the area the earthquake will affect, there have been no breakthroughs into reducing the amount of damage earthquakes cause to buildings and infrastructures.