PREDICTION AND PREVENTION OF

EARTHQUAKES AND ITS DAMAGES

Presented by:
YUSRA HUSSAIN
UNIV. ROLL NO.-10903114021
CLASS ROLL NO.-22
BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING
4th SEMESTER
NETAJI SUBHASH ENGINEERING COLLEGE
KOLKATA

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 CONTENTS
 What is Earthquake?
 What causes Earthquakes?
 Damages caused by Earthquakes
 Earthquake prediction
 Anti-Earthquake technologies
 Conclusion
 References

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 What is EARTHQUAKE?
• An earthquake (also
known as
a quake, tremor) is the
perceptible shaking of the
surface of the Earth,
resulting from the sudden
release of energy in
the Earth's crust that
creates seismic waves.
Earthquakes can be
violent enough to toss
people around and destroy
whole cities.
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 What causes
EARTHQUAKES?
 Tectonic movements
 Dislocation of earth’s crust
 Adjustments in inner rock beds
 Faulting and folding in the rock beds
 Volcanic eruptions
 Pressure of gases due to expansion and contraction in the
interior of the earth

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 Damages caused by
EARTHQUAKES
 Collapse of houses and buildings causing great loss of life and
property
 Changes in river course
 Extensive landslides in hilly regions
 Tsunamis

contd….

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Earthquake Prediction
Scientists can predict where major earthquakes
are likely to occur based on the movement of the
plates in the Earth and the location of fault
zones however these predictions may not turn out
to be reliable because, when strain is released
along one part of a fault system, it may actually
increase strain on another part. As a result, most
earthquake predictions are vague at best.
Scientists have had more success predicting
aftershocks that is additional quakes following an
initial earthquake.

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 Methods to predict earthquakes

 Unusual Animal Behaviour

 Hydrochemical Precursors
 Changes in water level
 Radon Gas
 Foreshocks
 Changes in Seismic Wave Velocity

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 Unusual animal behavior

The unusual behaviour of animals

prior to earthquakes received wide
publicity after the Haichang
earthquake in Liaoning province of
China, in February 4, 1975 was
successfully predicted.

Hydrochemical Precursors
According to India Meteorological
Department report, significant pre-
disaster and post disaster hydro
geological changes rendering the
ground water turbid were observed
during the Jabalpur earthquake in
Madhya Pradesh (1997).
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Changes in water level
There are drastic changes in water level in several wells
just before a major earthquake. Rise of water level by 3 and
15 cm was reported before China and Russia earthquakes.

Radon Gas
Radon is a radioactive gas discharged from rock masses
before earthquakes. It is dissolved in the well water thereby
increasing its concentration. Such an increase was reported
in Tashkent in 1972 where increase in concentration
varying from 15 to 200 per cent was noticed about 3 to 13
days prior to an earthquake.

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Foreshocks

Generally major earthquakes are

preceded by minor shocks known
as foreshocks. These foreshocks
provide valuable dues to the
occurrence of a strong
earthquake. Foreshocks have been
detected in Himachal Pradesh for
several earthquakes like Anantnag
(1967), Dharmasala (1968),
Kashmir (1973), Kinnaur (1975)
etc.

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Changes in Seismic Wave Velocity

Experiments showed abnormal

change of ratio of velocities of P
waves and S waves before the
earthquake. This ratio is
expressed as Vp/Vs. The duration
of Vp/Vs anomaly depends upon
the fault or dimensions of the
aftershock area.

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 Anti-Earthquake Technologies

Protecting cities from earthquakes is still a grand challenge that

needs addressing, as recent disasters in Nepal, Japan, Haiti,
and Chile confirm. Although significant progress has been made in
understanding seismic activity and developing building technology,
we still don’t have a satisfactory way of protecting buildings on a
large scale.
For new buildings, anti-seismic technology is today considered quite
advanced and it is possible to build individual structures that can
withstand the vast majority of recorded earthquakes. Devices such as
isolation systems and dampers, which are designed to reduce the
vibrations (and as a consequence the damage) of structures induced
by earthquakes, are successfully employed in the design of new
buildings.
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Few of them are mentioned below:

 Base Isolation
 The Levitating Foundation
 Shock absorbers/ Dampers
 Shape Memory Alloys
 Vibrating Barrier

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 Base Isolation (Seismic Isolation)

 This concept relies on

separating the substructure of a
building from its
superstructure.
 Steel plates attach the bearings
to the building and its
foundation and then, when an
earthquake hits, allow the
foundation to move without
moving the structure above it.

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 The Levitating Foundation
 A kind of base isolation tech,
where the system actually
levitates a building on a cushion
of air.
 When the sensors on the building
detect seismic activity of an
earthquake, it communicates with
an air compressor, which, within a
half second of being alerted,
forces air between the building
and its foundation. The cushion of
air lifts the structure up to 3 cms
off the ground, isolating it from
the forces that could tear it apart.
 When the earthquake subsides, the
compressor turns off, and the
building settles back down to its
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foundation.
 Shock Absorbers(Dampers)
 Shock absorber ,a device that
controls unwanted spring motion
reduce the magnitude of vibratory
motions by turning the kinetic
energy of the quake to heat energy
that can be dissipated.
 Skyscrapers involves suspending
pendulums near the top of the
structure which are supported by
steel cables while viscous fluid
dampers lie between the mass and
the building it's trying to protect.
When seismic activity causes the
building to sway, the pendulum
moves in the opposite direction,
dissipating the energy. These are
called Tuned Mass Dampers.
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Tuned Mass Damper in Taipei 101

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 Shape Memory Alloys

 The plasticity of materials

presents a major challenge to
engineers trying to build
earthquake-resistant structures.
 Shape memory alloys can
endure heavy strains and still
return to its original shape.
Engineers are experimenting
with these so-called smart
materials as replacements for
traditional steel-and-concrete
construction.

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 Vibrating Barrier

• The University of Brighton has

designed a vibrating barrier
(ViBa) to reduce the vibrations
caused by the seismic waves.
ViBa would be buried in the
soil, meaning no building
alterations, and is expected to
absorb a significant amount of
the vibrations.

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 Conclusion
Earthquakes are one of the most disastrous natural calamities that has
been occurring ever since the planet Earth came into existence. But it is
a known fact that earthquakes don’t kill people but it’s the damage
caused by them that do. Hence, it depends on the people and how they
take care of the destruction that accompanies with it. Things are not
going to change overnight. Its very easy for a developed country to
implement all the new technologies to build a earthquake proof
building, but for a country like India, we still have a long way to go.
Only if , we follow and learn from countries like Japan where
earthquakes are a now and then occurrences and still they stand as one
of the most powerful economies in the world, only then we can tackle
this situation and save hundreds of lives and prevent destruction.

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 References
 https://www.asme.org/engineering-topics/articles/construction-and-
building/made-in-japan-earthquake-proof-homes
 http://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/science-questions/10-
technologies-that-help-buildings-resist-earthquakes4.htm
 http://clapway.com/2015/07/06/3-types-of-earthquake-resistant-technology-
used-today/
 http://theconversation.com/our-new-anti-earthquake-technology-could-
protect-cities-from-destruction-44028
 http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/earthquake/earthquakes-prediction-9-
methods-to-predict-earthquake/13915/
 http://science.howstuffworks.com/nature/natural-disasters/earthquake7.htm

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