DIRECT EFFECTS

CAUSED BY
EARTHQUAKES
GERARD JUDE S. VELICARIA

CE 226
GROUND SHAKING
• Is the most familiar effect, and by far, the most important hazard resulting from earthquakes

• Is a result of the passage of seismic waves through the ground, and ranges from the quite gentle in
small earthquakes to incredibly violent in large earthquakes. They may vary over an area as a result of
factors such as topography, bedrock type, and the location and orientation of the fault rupture
TERMS ASSOCIATED WITH GROUND SHAKING
◦ Ground Displacement – how far the surface moves during the earthquake. It can cause the ground to
change position in both horizontal and vertical directions, and move relative objects or move other
areas of land nearby

◦ Ground Velocity – is a measure of how quickly the ground was displaced – the speed and direction that
the ground moved to get from its original location to its new location.

◦ Ground Acceleration – a measure of how quickly the ground changes velocity during the earthquake.
Ground acceleration is responsible for the classic earthquake shaking effect where the ground rapidly
changes direction in a violent back and forward and up and down motion
Ground Shaking: Structural Stress
Ground Shaking is also the primary way an earthquake affects buildings. The rapid acceleration
of the ground beneath the building creates inertial forces in the structure
Structural Stress
Earthquake shaking causes movement on all three principal axes (up and down, left and right,
forward and back). Lateral movement in the horizontal plane (left and right, forward and back)
can place additional stress on structural elements normally intended to only carry vertical loads,
such as walls, columns and beams.
In buildings, these elements are usually designed to withstand an appropriate degree of lateral
movement, such as that caused by wind or seismic loading. However, if the earthquake shaking
force exceeds the downward force, in beams, for example, due to a combination of gravity and
vertical earthquake acceleration, it may place the element under excessive stress.
The degree of movement and stress a structure can withstand during an earthquake depends on
several factors, including:

◦ the age and state of repair of the structure

◦ the inherent strength, rigidity and stability of the structure’s design
◦ design characteristics intended to reduce the damaging effects of shaking
◦ the properties of the materials used to build the structure
◦ the quality of building construction
◦ any seismic resilience devices that have been added to isolate, dampen or transfer damaging effects
◦ the size of earthquake that the building was originally designed to withstand.
FAULT RUPTURE
◦ Is an important effect of earthquakes which occurs when the earthquake movement along a fault
actually breaks the earth’s surface. Any structure built across the fault is at risk of being torn apart as
the two sides of the fault slip past each other

◦ can be caused by vertical or horizontal displacement on either side of a ruptured fault

◦ Surface fault ruptures have been known to deviate around more substantial structures due to the
strength of the foundation and localized compression of the soil. However this is not always the case. A
surface rupture that intersects with a lightweight structure almost always causes severe damage, often
tearing smaller buildings apart.
The Fault Rupture cause by the 1999 Chi Chi Earthquake in Taiwan
HUMAN AND FINANCIAL LOSSES
GROUND SETTLEMENT
• lowering of the ground surface, known as subsidence or settling, often occurs during an earthquake.
Common causes of ground subsidence during an earthquake include consolidation or failure of the
ground under a foundation, densification of sand and gravel layers due to the ground shaking and
liquefaction.

Settlement caused by ground failure can cause buildings to displace, tilt, stretch, twist, buckle or a
combination of all five. How badly the building is damaged depends on:

◦ the severity of the settlement (related to ground performance and behaviour)

◦ the type and strength of the building’s foundations and structure
◦ the geometry and complexity of the overall design.
DIFFERENTIAL SETTLEMENT
In cases where only part of the foundation is affected by ground failure, or when part of the
foundation is affected to a greater extent than other parts. This kind of effect is called differential
settlement and can cause much more severe damage to a building than uniform or tilt
settlement.
Preventing Differential Settlement
Ways to prevent differential settlement is to :

◦ Analyze the soil you are planning to build on, as well as the surrounding environment
◦ Have an engineer determine the load bearing capacity of the soil and estimate the settlement of the
planned structure
◦ If it is required to build on disturbed soil or fill, the foundation can be built on piles which extend down
to good load bearing soil.
LIQUEFACTION
Liquefaction is a phenomenon in which the strength and stiffness of a soil is reduced by
earthquake shaking or other rapid loading.
The soil can loose its ability to support structures, flow down even very gentle slopes, and erupt
to the ground surface to form sand boils.

(Tilting of apartment buildings at Kawagishi-Cho, Niigata, produced by liquefaction of the soil during the 1964 Niigata Earthquake )
IDENTIFYING LIQUEFIABLE SOIL
Although there are no standardised criteria to identify liquefiable soil, typically, the process that
causes liquefaction begins when four key elements are present:
•Soil particles are loose and cohesionless and will move closer together when shaken
•Soil particles are sized between coarse silt to fine sand approximately 0.01–1.00 mm in
diameter.
•Ground is saturated (particularly material that is below the water table).
•Sufficient shaking occurs
When all four conditions are present, the loose material begins to compress under the force of
gravity, closing the spaces between the grains. However, the water already occupying the spaces
resists the change, and pressure begins to build in the material. Eventually, the pressure rises
enough that the grains become buoyant and float in the water. At this point, the soil has
completely lost its strength. Soil that was solid begins to act like a liquid.
Landslides
Defined as the movement of rock, debris, or earth down a slope.
Landslides are usually triggered when the acceleration due to ground shaking can destabilize
cliffs and steep slopes. Landslides are prone to happen on any incline where relatively large
masses of material are supported by soil that is likely to soften under strain
 EARTHQUAKES ARE NOT EVIL!
Now, with all these types of major damage, people often ascribe malevolence to earthquakes.
Please keep in mind: not a single person has ever been killed directly by an earthquake. It is the
fact that we humans persist in building things which are prone to failure in earthquakes, and
then living in and around these buildings, that results in deaths during earthquakes. Earthquakes
are mindless natural phenomena; we aren't.