DELHI PUBLIC SCHOOL NAVI MUMBAI OPEN TEXTBOOK MATERIAL ‘Class: VII ‘Subject: Social Science EARTHQUAKES Earthquakes are one of the most dangerous and destructive natural hazards. It is not yet possible to forecast or predict the occurrence of an earthquake. Earthquakes usually occur without a warning. It is a natural phenomenon which takes place due to the movement of the earth’s crust. An earthquake is a sudden shaking or vibration in the earth’s crust. The point of ofan earthquake inside the earth is called FOCUS and the point on the surface vertically above the focus is the EPICENTRE. The energy released from the focus due to elastic rebound of rocks is transmitted in all directions towards the earth’s crust, thus leading to earthquakes. The worst affected area on the surface of the earth is the area between the radius of epicentre to the focus. MAGNITUDE, ‘The magnitude of an earthquake defines the energy released by the event and the intensity of the earthquake depends on the particular place where it is measured. The intensity decreases as the distance from the epicentre increases. The energy or the magnitude of the earthquake is ‘measured on an open ended RICHTER SCALE from 1 to 9 while the seismic energy is recorded on an instrument called SEISMOGRAPH. CAUSES. ‘The upper layer ofthe earth is made up of blocks of rocks. These blocks of rocks are on a layer of semi rock called MANTLE. Earthquakes occur when the blocks of rocks touch or move against each other in the semi-liquid layer. This causes sudden slipping of the portion of the earth's crust or tectonic plates relative to each other along the fault lines. This movement causes vibrations. At the time of the Assam earthquake in 1897, the Chedrang fault shifted along a dozen kilometres of its length. Volcanic activity is another cause of earthquakes. An explosive eruption often causes tremors in its vicinity. Sudden landslides and collapse of tavern roofs are other minor causes of earthquakes.EFFECTS. Earthquakes may cause changes in the earth’s crust or surface. Tremors often set landslides in the mountainous regions. These landslides often block the rivers in this region causing floods in the nearby areas. The rivers may change their courses. The collapse of buildings is the major effect of earthquakes which often take a heavy toll of life. Dams on rivers may crack or collapse. Railway lines often twist due to the high magnitude of earthquakes. Roads are often broken, The pipeline supply of water in the urban areas is also severely affected during an earthquake. An earthquake which originates under the sea causes great disturbance to it. The hhuge waves caused as a result of earthquake known as Tsunamis, cause great loss to life in the coastal regions. Tsunamis are common along the coast of Japan. EARTHQUAKES IN INDIA. Several carthquakes of high magnitude have occurred in India in the recent past. In 1905, the Kangra earthquake took a toll of 20,000 people. In the North Bihar earthquake in 1934, nearly 11,000 people were dead. In the Assam earthquake during 1950, 1500 people lost their i lives, More recently, in the Uttarkashi earthquake in 1931, 768 people lost their lives. The 1993 latur earthquake in Maharashtra took a toll of 10,000 lives. In the most recent earthquake in Gujarat in January 2001, more than 13,000 people were dead and about 8 lakh houses destroyed. Many roads and bridges were damaged. The cause of the Gujarat carthquake was the shift of the Indian plate towards the Eurasian plate. EARTHQUAKE PRONE AREAS Certain parts of India are very vulnerable to earthquakes. The Himalayas are young fold mountains. The entire jlayan region and the subterranean areas of the Himalayas are geologically active and hence more prone to earthquakes. This makes it ‘a high risk zone. ‘The region of Maharashtra from Latur’ ‘through Koyna, Ahmedabad and Delhi to Uttarkashi is also another earthquake prone region. Although the peninsular block of India is stable, yet certain parts of the plateau are vulnerable to earthquakes. PREPARING FOR EARTHQUAKES “The people living in the earthquake risk zones should be educated and made aware so that they can take precautionary measures before and after the earthquakes. The quality of ‘construction is very important to ensure that a building is safe. Building designs must be such as to ensure that a building unit has adequate strength and will remain as one unit when subjected to vibrations, otherwise it will suffer damages. To make buildings earthquake resistant, the building bye-laws are to be religiously adhered to during new constructions. The river banks in the earthquake prone areas need to be strengthened by building dykes. In the hilly areas lighter materials should be used for building houses. Most of the houses should be made of wood or thatched materialDURING TREMORS In case there are tremors when students are in the school building, then they should crouch: under their desks, should not move about or create chaos and remain away from heavy ‘objects and maintain their cool. In rural areas, people should come out of their houses and stay in the open till the tremors subside. If the person feels the tremors while driving, he hould then stop driving and park the vehicle on the roadside and wait till the vibration stops. ‘Those who are already out of the houses should stay away from the trees, buildings, electric poles and any tall object which has chances of falling down. AETER TREMORS ‘After the tremor subsides, itis our social obligation to help those who have suffered injuries. We should immediately inform the police control room, the fire control office, the nearby Red Cross office or the NGOs in the area. It is also our duty to look for those unfortunate people who are trapped inside the buildings, rescue and provide first aid to them and if the injuries are of serious nature they may be shifted to the nearby hospital. For people whose houses and property have been damaged or have suffered injuries, relief camps may Be arranged either by the government agencies or other social groups. You, as students, should also approach such camps and offer your serviees. As students you should also find out wheter the area where you live is inthe high risk zone or not. You should also make efforts to inform the people around you and educate them to gain confidence to cope with this natural calamity. ‘Answer the questions based on the text given above. 1. You have been assigned the responsibilty of creating awareness in an earthquake prone area, How will you tell them to react if they suddenly feel ‘tremors? 5 2, Asa responsible citizen, how will you help in relief and rehabilitation if you survive ‘with minor injuries after an earthquake rocks your city? 5 Marking Scheme 1. Come out of their houses. Stay away from heavy objects, trees, electric poles. Stop driving, get out ofthe car and wait tll the tremors subside Do not create chaos, stay calm If in school, take shelter under the table or desk. 2, Inform the police, fire control room, NGOs, Red Cross Help rescue people from the rubble Provide first aid Shift seriously injured to hospitals Offer our services at relief camps