Damaging Effects

of Earthquakes
Ground Shaking
 Is the most familiar effect of earthquakes. It is a result of the

passage of seismic waves through the ground, and ranges

from quite gentlein small earthquakes to incredibly violent in
large earthquakes. In the 27 March 1964 Alaskan
earthquake, for example, strong ground shaking lasted for as
much as 7 minutes! Buildings can be damaged or destroyed,
people and animals have trouble standing up or moving
around, and objects can be tossed around due to strong
ground shaking in earthquakes.
Ground Failure

Liquefaction 
 is not a type of ground failure; it is a physical process
that takes place during some earthquakes that may
lead to ground failure. As a consequence of
liquefaction, clay-free soil deposits, primarily sands
and silts, temporarily lose strength and behave as
viscous fluids rather than as solids. Liquefaction takes
place when seismic shear waves pass through a
saturated granular soil layer, distort its granular
structure, and cause some of the void spaces to
collapse.
Flow Failures
 Flow failures, consisting of liquefied soil or blocks
of intact material riding on a layer of liquefied soil,
are the most catastrophic type of ground failure
caused by liquefaction. These failures commonly
move several tens of feet and, if geometric
conditions permit, several tens of miles. Flows
travel at velocities as great as many tens of miles
per hour. Flow failures usually form in loose
saturated sands or silts on slopes greater than 3
degrees.
Landslides
are caused by earthquakes both by direct rupture
and by sustained shaking of unstable slopes. They
can easily destroy buildings in their path, or block
roads and railroad lines, or take hilltop homes with
them as they tumble.
Indirect effects

Fires
 Fires are a major source of damage after
earthquakes. Ground rupture and
liquefaction can easily rupture natural gas
mains and water mains, both contributing
to the ignition of fires and hindering the
efforts to control them.
Tsunamis
 Tsunamis, which are popularly -- and incorrectly -- known as
``tidal waves,'' are a grave hazard to many parts of the world,
particularly around the Pacific Ocean basin. Tsunamis are a series
of water waves caused when the seafloor moves vertically in an
earthquake and which can travel vast distances in a short period
of time. Tsunami speeds in the deep ocean have been measured
at more than 700 km/hr, comparable to some jet planes, and
when tsunamis reach shallow water near the coast, they can
reach heights of more than 27 meters (90 feet)! Remember that
tsunamis are a series of waves, and may start with a gentle
withdrawal of water, followed by a very abrupt arriving wave,
followed by another withdrawal, etc. The safest thing to do if you
hear a tsunami is coming is to move to higher ground away from
the beach as quickly as possible.
Earthquake Forces
are the result of a back and forth, and up and
down motion of the ground that supports a
structure. These can be exceptionally larger
in magnitude, can change rapidly and
erratically during the duration of the
earthquake, and may be radically different
from earthquake to earthquake, from one
site to another, from one type of foundation
soil to another, and even from one structure
to another.