Causes and remedies of
Earthquakes
An Earthquake is a sudden movement of the ground that releases the elastic
energy stored within the rocks, creating destructive seismic waves. The word
“seismic†comes from the Greek word “seismos†meaning an earthquake.
These quakes are not isolated events. They come with smaller shocks, called
aftershocks, with smaller effects. An earthquake is caused when two sides of a
large fracture in the rocks within the earth slide past each other. This
fracture is called a fault, which may be microscopic or thousands of kilometers
in length, while their width is usually a few millimeters or a few meters in
size.The size of an earthquake depends on the area of the fault that ruptured,
and the distance through which the rocks on the two sides of the fault slide
past one another.Small earth quakes are caused by small faults or small parts of
big faults. These last only for a fraction of a second and usually unnoticed, as
the rocks on either side of the faults are not displaced much. The larger ones
are caused due to faults which are tens to thousands of kilometers long, taking
minutes and the displacement of the rocks is around tens of meters. Earthquakes
are caused because the earth is regularly cooling since it was born, the seismic
wave being one of its ways to release the elastic energy. Earthquakes are
generally categorized into three types: Tectonic, Volcanic and Artificial.
Tectonic earth quakes are the most devastating, and unfortunately the most
unpredictable. The volcanic quakes are seldom important or devastative, but they
help predict the eruption of volcanoes. The artificial ones are caused due to
human activities, like pumping fuels deep into the earth or due to explosives,
and several other reasons. MEASUREMENT OF EARTHQUAKES: The most popular scale
used to measure earthquakes is the Richter scale, named after Charles Francis
Richter (US).This scale measures the energy released at the focus of the quake,
read through a seismograph which gives the direction and force of the quakes. An
earthquake of size 8 is 10 times more devastative than size 7, 100 times more
destructive than 6, and so on. the frequency of earthquakes decreases as the
magnitude increases, as the earth experiences about 800 earth quakes of size 5-6
, but only one or two quakes of size 8-9. EARTHQUAKE EFFECTS: Earthquakes cause
great loss of life by causing damage to buildings, bridges, dams, etc. they can
trigger devastating landslides. Fires can begin due to leaks in Gas plants and
electrical lines. Earth quakes can also generate tidal waves, or the tsunamis,
capable of destroying entire townships. These quakes also cause liquefaction of
soils, which makes soil lose almost all its strength, which makes it function
like quicksand. This material is capable of swallowing an entire building within
itself. Earthquakes around the world cost around 15,000 lives per year. Several
countries like the United States of America, China, Japan and Russia are most
actively participating in seismological research, trying to predict future
earthquakes.
Source:
energy stored within the rocks, creating destructive seismic waves. The word
“seismic†comes from the Greek word “seismos†meaning an earthquake.
These quakes are not isolated events. They come with smaller shocks, called
aftershocks, with smaller effects. An earthquake is caused when two sides of a
large fracture in the rocks within the earth slide past each other. This
fracture is called a fault, which may be microscopic or thousands of kilometers
in length, while their width is usually a few millimeters or a few meters in
size.The size of an earthquake depends on the area of the fault that ruptured,
and the distance through which the rocks on the two sides of the fault slide
past one another.Small earth quakes are caused by small faults or small parts of
big faults. These last only for a fraction of a second and usually unnoticed, as
the rocks on either side of the faults are not displaced much. The larger ones
are caused due to faults which are tens to thousands of kilometers long, taking
minutes and the displacement of the rocks is around tens of meters. Earthquakes
are caused because the earth is regularly cooling since it was born, the seismic
wave being one of its ways to release the elastic energy. Earthquakes are
generally categorized into three types: Tectonic, Volcanic and Artificial.
Tectonic earth quakes are the most devastating, and unfortunately the most
unpredictable. The volcanic quakes are seldom important or devastative, but they
help predict the eruption of volcanoes. The artificial ones are caused due to
human activities, like pumping fuels deep into the earth or due to explosives,
and several other reasons. MEASUREMENT OF EARTHQUAKES: The most popular scale
used to measure earthquakes is the Richter scale, named after Charles Francis
Richter (US).This scale measures the energy released at the focus of the quake,
read through a seismograph which gives the direction and force of the quakes. An
earthquake of size 8 is 10 times more devastative than size 7, 100 times more
destructive than 6, and so on. the frequency of earthquakes decreases as the
magnitude increases, as the earth experiences about 800 earth quakes of size 5-6
, but only one or two quakes of size 8-9. EARTHQUAKE EFFECTS: Earthquakes cause
great loss of life by causing damage to buildings, bridges, dams, etc. they can
trigger devastating landslides. Fires can begin due to leaks in Gas plants and
electrical lines. Earth quakes can also generate tidal waves, or the tsunamis,
capable of destroying entire townships. These quakes also cause liquefaction of
soils, which makes soil lose almost all its strength, which makes it function
like quicksand. This material is capable of swallowing an entire building within
itself. Earthquakes around the world cost around 15,000 lives per year. Several
countries like the United States of America, China, Japan and Russia are most
actively participating in seismological research, trying to predict future
earthquakes.
Source:
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