"" Occupational Safety And Health For Engineers: Japan: Kumamoto Earthquake

Friday 15 April 2016

Japan: Kumamoto Earthquake

By Holly Yan, Yoko Wakatsuki and Paul Armstrong CNN
Updated 0619 GMT (1319 HKT) April 16, 2016
Tokyo (CNN): At least nine people died when an earthquake shook southwestern Japan's Kyushu island late Thursday, the Kumamoto Prefecture disaster management office said. Search crews scrambled to dig through rubble looking for people trapped under collapsed buildings. The magnitude-6.2 quake struck near Ueki, the U.S. Geological Survey said. Dozens of smaller aftershocks followed…
By EMILY WANG  / Apr. 15, 2016 12:23 AM EDT
MASHIKI, Japan (AP) — At least nine people have been killed and more than 800 injured by a magnitude 6.5 earthquake that toppled houses and buckled roads in southern Japan. With daybreak, the extent of the damage became apparent: collapsed buildings, streets warped by manholes pushed higher by the earth's movement, an expressway crunched and buckled. The damage was severe in the hardest-hit town of Mashiki, about 15 kilometers (9 miles) from Kumamoto city. Entire buildings fallen to the ground, roofs that slid off, and windows and walls that crumbled, scattering glass and debris. Huge boulder-like rocks tumbled from the walls of historic Kumamoto castle, which was closed to the public Friday…
 A magnitude-7.3 earthquake struck Kumamoto Prefecture early Saturday, killing at least 19 more people and bringing the total number of deaths since Thursday evening to 28. Scores have been injured and many buildings have been damaged or totally destroyed…
By Julia Glum / 04.16.2016 At 9:26 am
At least nine people were dead and more than 1,000 injured Friday as Japan began to recover from a devastating earthquake that hit the island of Kyushu the day before. Several towns were still without water and power after the Thursday temblor, which the United States Geological Survey measured at magnitude-6.2 but the Japanese Meteorological Agency put at 6.5. Rescue efforts were further complicated by the more than 120 aftershocks had rocked the area as of Friday morning, the Japan Times reported
By David Sim / April 15, 2016 09:45 BST
Aftershocks continue to rattle south-western Japan after a strong earthquake killed at least nine people and injured more than 1,000. The area around the city of Kumamoto was hardest hit by the initial 6.4 magnitude quake. The quake struck at 9.26pm on Thursday 14 April at a depth of 11km (7miles) near Kumamoto city on the island of Kyushu, the southern-most of Japan's four main islands…
The earthquake-damaged Kyushu Expressway in Mashiki, 
Kumamoto prefecture (Kyodo/Reuters)

(1) a sudden and violent shaking of the ground, sometimes causing great destruction, as a result of movements within the earth's crust or volcanic action.
Synonym s: earth tremor, tremorshockforeshockaftershockconvulsion, seismic activity; Informal quake. "assessing the damage from the earthquake" (or) a great upheaval. “a political earthquake”
(2) An earthquake is a shaking of the ground caused by the sudden breaking and movement of large sections (tectonic plates) of the earth's rocky outermost crust. The edges of the tectonic plates are marked by faults (or fractures). Most earthquakes occur along the fault lines when the plates slide past each other or collide against each other.

Earthquake is a shaking of the ground caused by the sudden breaking and shifting of large sections of the earth’s rocky shell. Earthquakes are among the most powerful events on earth and their results can be terrifying. A severe earthquake may release energy 10,000 times as great as that of the atomic bomb. Rock movements during an earthquake can make rivers change their course. Earthquake can trigger landslides that cause great damage and loss of life. Large earthquakes beneath the ocean can CREATE A SERIES OF HUGE, DESTRUCTIVE WAVES CALLED TSUNAMIS THAT FLOOD COASTS.
Earthquakes almost never kill people directly, instead, many deaths and injuries in earthquakes result from falling objects and the collapse of buildings, bridges and other structures. Fire resulting from broken gas or power lines is another major danger during a quake. Spills of hazardous chemicals are also a concern during an earthquake. In most earthquake zones, land-use planners and engineers design now housing and other building projects, such as bridges and dams, to reduce property damage, injuries and loss of life during quakes.
The force of an earthquake depends on HOW MUCH ROCK BREAKS AND HOW FAR IT SHIFTS. Powerful earthquakes can shake firm ground violently for great distances. During minor earthquakes, the vibration may be no greater than the vibration caused by a passing truck.
On average, a powerful earthquake occurs less than once every two years. At least 40 moderate earthquakes cause damage somewhere in the world each year.  About 40,000 to 50,000 small earthquakes – large enough to be felt but not damaging – occur annually.
How earthquakes occur along a fault – a fracture in the earth’s rocky outer shell where sections of rock repeatedly slide past each other. Faults occur in weak areas of the earth’s rock. Most faults lie beneath the surface of the earth, but some, like the San Andreas Fault in California, U.S.A. are visible on the surface. Stresses in the earth cause large blocks of rock along a fault to strain, or bend. When the bending becomes too much, the rock breaks and snaps a new position, causing the shaking of an earthquake.
Earthquakes usually begin deep in the ground. The point in the earth where the rocks first break is called the focus, also known as the hypocenter of the quake. The focus of most earthquakes lies than 70 kilometres beneath the surface, through the deepest known focuses have been nearly 700 kilometres below the surface. The point on the surface of the earth directly above the focus is known as the epicenter of the quake. The strongest shaking is usually felt near the epicenter.
From the focus, the break travels like a spreading crack along the fault. The speed at which the fracture spreads depends on the type of rock. It may average  about 3 kilometres per second in granite or other strong rock. At that rate, a fracture may spread more than 560 kilometres in one direction in less than three minutes. As the fracture extends along the fault, blocks of the rock on one side of the fault may drop down below the rock on the other side, move up and over the other side or slide forward past the other.
When an earthquake occurs, the violent breaking of the rock releases energy that travels through the earth in the form of vibration called seismic waves. Seismic waves move out from the focus of an earthquakes in all directions. As the waves travel away from the focus, they grow gradually weaker. For this reason, the ground generally shakes less further away from the focus.
There are two chief kinds of seismic waves: (1) body waves and (2) surface waves. Body waves, the fastest seismic waves, move through the earth. Slower surface waves travel along the surface of the earth.
Body waves tend to cause the most earthquake damage. There are two kinds of body waves: (1) compressional waves and (2) shear wave. AS the waves pass through the earth, they cause particles of rock to move in different ways. Compressional waves push and pull the rock. They cause buildings and other structures to contact and expand. Shear waves make rocks bend or slide from side to side, and buildings shake. Compressional waves can travel through solids, liquids, or gases but shear waves can pass only through solids.
Compressional waves are the fastest seismic waves and they arrive first at a distant point. For this reason, compressioonal waves are also called primary (P) waves. Shear waves, which travel slower and arrive later, are called secondary (S) waves.
Body waves travel faster deep within the earth than near the surface. For example, at depths of less than 25 kilometres, compressional waves travel at about 6.8 kilometres per second. At a depth of 1,000 kilometres, the waves travel more than 1 ½ times that speed.
Surface waves are long, slow waves. They produce what people feel as slow rocking sensations and cause little or no damage to buildings.
There are two kinds of surface waves: (1) Love waves and (2) Rayleigh waves. Love waves travel through the earth’s surface horizontally and move the ground from side to side. Rayleigh waves make the surface of the earth roll like waves on the ocean. Typical Love waves travel at about 4.4 kilometres per second and Rayleigh waves, the slowest of the seismic waves, move at about 3.7 kilometres per second. The two of waves were named after two British physicists, Augustus E.H. Love and Lord Rayleigh, who mathematically predicted the existence of the waves in 1911 and 1885, respectively.

Damage by earthquakes
How earthquakes cause damage. Earthquakes can damage buildings, bridges, dams, and other structures, as well as many natural features. Near a fault, both the shifting and the shaking of the ground due to seismic waves cause destruction. Away from the fault, shaking produces most of the damage. Undersea earthquakes may cause huge tsunamis that swamp coastal areas. Other hazards during earthquakes include rockfalls, ground settling and falling trees or tree branches.
Fault slippage. The rock on either side of a fault may shift only slightly during an earthquake or may move several metres. In some cases, only the rock deep in the ground shift and no movement occurs at the earth’s surface. In an extremely large earthquake, the ground may suddenly heave six metres or more. Any structure that spans a fault may be wrenched apart. The shifting blocks of earth may also loosen the soil and rocks along a slope and trigger a landslide. In addition, fault slippage may break down the banks of rivers, lakes, and other bodies of waste, causing flooding.
Ground shaking causes structures to sway from side to side, bounce up and down and move in other violent ways. Buildings may slide off their foundations, collapse, or be shaken apart.
In areas with soft, wet soils, a process called liquefaction may intensify earthquake damage. Liquefaction occurs when strong ground shaking causes wet soils to behave temporarily like liquids rather than solids. Anything on top of liquefied soil may sink into the soft ground. The liquefied soil may also flow toward lower ground, burying anything in its path.
Tsunami. An earthquake on the ocean floor can give a tremendous push to surrounding seawater and create one or more large, destructive waves called tsunamis, also known as seismic sea waves. Some people call  tsunamis tidal waves, but scientists think the term is misleading because the waves are not caused by the tide. Tsunamis may build to heights of more than 30 metres  when they reach shallow water near shore. In the open ocean, tsunamis typically move at speeds of 800 to 970 kilometres per hour. They can travel great distances while diminishing little in size and can flood coastal areas thousands of kilometres from their source.
Structural hazards. Structures collapse during a quake when they are too weak or rigid to resist strong, rocking forces. In addition, tall building may vibrate wildly during an earthquake and knock into each other.
A major cause of death and property damage in earthquakes is fire. Fires may start if a quake ruptures gas or power lines. The 1906 San Francisco earthquake ranks as one of the worst disasters in United States history because of a fire that raged for three days after the quake. See the history of San Francisco.
Other hazards during an earthquake include spills of toxic chemicals and falling objects, such as tree limbs, bricks and glass. Sewage lines may break and sewage may seep into water supplies. Drinking of such impure water may cause cholera, typhoid, dysentery and other serious diseases.
Loss of power, communication and transportation after an earthquake may hamper rescue teams and ambulances, increasing deaths and injuries. In addition, businesses and government offices may lose records and supplies, slowing recovery from the disaster.
Reducing earthquake damage. In areas where earthquakes are likely, knowing where to build and how to build can help reduce injury, loss of life, and property damage during a quake. Knowing what to do when a quake strikes can also help prevent injuries and deaths.
 Where to build. Earth scientists try to identify areas that would likely suffer great damage during an earthquake. They develop maps that show fault zones, flood plains (areas that get flooded), areas subject to landslides or to soil liquefaction and the sites of past earthquakes. From these maps, land-use planners develop zoning restrictions that can help prevent construction of unsafe structures in earthquake-prone areas.
How to build. Engineers have developed a number of ways to build earthquake-resistant structures. Their techniques range from extremely simple to fairly complex. For small to medium-sized buildings, the simpler reinforcement techniques include bolting buildings to their foundations and providing support walls called shear walls. Shear walls, made of reinforced concrete (concrete with steel rods or bars embedded in it), help strengthen the structure and help resist rocking forces. Shear walls in the centre of a building, often around a lift shaft or stairwell, form what is called a shear core. Walls may also be reinforced with diagonal steel beams in a technique called cross-bracing.
Builders also protect medium-sized buildings with devices that act like shock adsorbers between the building and its foundation. These devices, called base isolators, are usually bearings made of alternate layers of steel and an elastic material, such as synthetic rubber. Base isolators absorb some of the sideways motion that would otherwise damage a building.
Skyscrapers  need special construction to make them earthquake-resistant. They must be anchored deeply and securely into the ground. They need a reinforced framework with stronger joints than an ordinary skyscraper has. Such a framework makes the skyscraper strong enough and yet flexible enough to withstand an earthquake.
Earthquake-resistant homes, schools and workplaces have heavy appliances, furniture and other structures fastened down to prevent them from toppling when the building shakes. Gas and water lines must be specially reinforced with flexible joints to prevent breaking.
Safety precaution s are vital during an earthquake. People can protect themselves by standing under a doorframe or crouching under a table or chair until the shaking has stopped completely. Even then, people should use extreme caution. A large earthquake may be followed by many smaller quakes, called aftershocks . People should stay clear of walls, windows and damaged structures which could crash in an aftershocks.
People who are outdoors when an earthquake hits should quickly move away from tall trees, steep slopes, buildings and power lines. If they are near a large body of water, they should move to higher ground.

Where and why earthquake occur?
Scientists have developed a theory, called plate tectonics, that explains why most earthquakes occur. According to this theory, the earth’s outer shell consists of about 10 large, rigid plates and about 20 smaller ones. Each plate consists of a section of the earth’s crush and a portion of the mantle, the thick layer of hot rock below the crust. Scientists call this layer of crush and upper mantle the lithosphere. The plates move slowly and continuously on the asthenosphere, a layer of hot, soft rock in the mantle.. as the plates move, they collide, move apart or slide past one another.
The movement of the plates strains the rock at and near plate boundaries and produces zones of faults around, the rock becomes locked in place and cannot slide as the plates move. Stress builds up in the rock on both sides of the fault and causes the rock to break and shift in an earthquake.
 There are three types of faults: (1) normal faults, (2) reverse faults, and (3) strike-slip faults. In normal and reverse faults, the fracture in the rock slopes downward, and the rock moves up down along the fracture. In a normal fault, the block of rock on the upper side of the sloping fracture slides down. In a reverse fault, the rock on both sides of the fault is greatly compressed. The compression forces the upper block to slide upward and the lower block to thrust downward. In a strike-slip fault, the fracture extends straight down into the rock and the blocks of rock along the fault slide past each other horizontally.
Most earthquake occur in the fault zones at plate boundaries. Such earthquakes occur in the fault zones at plate boundaries. Such earthquakes are known as interpolate earthquakes. Some earthquakes take place within the interior of a plate and are called intraplate earthquake.
Interpolate earthquakes occur along the three types of plate boundaries: (1) ocean spreading ridges, (2) subduction zones, and (3) transform faults.
Ocean spreading ridges are places in the deep ocean basins where the plates move apart. As the plates separate, hot lava from the earth’s mantle rises between them. The lava gradually cools, contracts and cracks, creating faults. Most of these faults are normal faults. Along the faults, blocks of rock break and slide down away from the ridge, producing earthquakes.
Near the spreading ridges, the plates are thin and weak. The rock has not cooled completely, so it is still somewhat flexible. For these reasons, large strains cannot build and most earthquakes near spreading ridges are shallow and mild or moderate in severity.
Subduction zones are places where two plates collide and the edge of one plate pushes beneath the edge of the other in a process called subduction. Because of the compression in these zones, many of the faults there are reverse fault. About 80 percent of major earthquakes occur in subduction zones encircling the Pacific Ocean. In these areas, the plates under the Pacific Ocean are plunging  beneath  the plates carrying the continents.
The grinding of the colder, brittle ocean plates beneath the continental plates creates huge strains that are released in the world’s largest earthquakes.
The world’s deepest earthquakes occur in subduction zones down to a depth of about 700 kilometres. Below zones depth, the rock is too warm and soft to break suddenly and cause earthquakes.
Transform faults are places where plates slide past each other horizontally. Strike-slip faults occur there. Earthquakes along transform faults may be large, but not large to deep as those in subduction zones.
One of the most famous transform faults is the San Andreas Fault. The slippage there is caused by the Pacific Plate moving past the North American Plate. The San Andreas Fault and its associated faults account for most of California’s earthquakes. See San Andreas Fault.
Interplate earthquakes are not as frequent or as large as those along plate boundaries. The largest intraplate earthquakes are about 100 times smaller than the largest interpolate earthquakes.
Intraplate earthquakes tend to occur in soft, weak areas of plate interiors. Scientists believe intraplate quakes may be caused by strains put on plate interiors by changes of temperature or pressure in the rock. Or the source of the strain may be a long distance away, at a plate boundary. These strains may produce quakes along normal, reverse or strike-slip faults.
Recording, measuring and locating earthquakes. To determine the strength and location of earthquakes, scientists use a recording instrument known as a seismograph. A seismograph is equipped with sensors called seismometers that can detect ground motions caused by seismic waves from both near and distant earthquakes. Some seismometers are capable of detecting ground motion as small as 1 hundred-millionth of a centimeter. See seismograph.
Scientists called seismologists measure seismic ground movements in three directions: (1) up-down, (2) north-south, and (3) east-west. The scientists use a separate sensor to record each direction of movement.
A seismograph produces wavy lines that reflect the size of seismic waves passing beneath it. The record of the wave, called a seismogram, is imprinted on paper, film or recording tape or is stored and displayed by computers.
Probably the best-known gauge of earthquake intensity is the local Richer magnitude scale, developed in 1935 by United States seismologist Charles R. Richter. This scala, commonly known as the Richter scale, measures the ground motion caused byan earthquakes. Every increase of one number in magnitude means the energy release  of the quake is 32 times greater. For example, an earthquake of magnitude 7.0 releases 32 times as much energy as an earthquake measuring 6.0. An earthquake with a magnitude of less than 2.0 is so slight that usually only a seismometer can detect it. A quake greater than 7.0 may destroy many buildings. There are about 10 times as many earthquakes with magnitude 6.0 as there are with magnitude 7.0. See Richter magnitude.
Although large earthquakes are customarily reported on the Richter scale, scientists prefer to describe earthquakes greater than 7.0 on the moment magnitude scale. The moment magnitude scale measures the total energy released in an earthquake, and it describes  large earthquakes more accurately than does the Richter scale.
The largest earthquake ever recorded on the moment magnitude scale measured 9.5. It was an interpolate earthquake that occurred along the Pacific coast of Chile in South America in 1960. The largest intraplate earthquakes known struck in central Asia and in the Indian Ocean in 1905, 1920 and 1957. These earthquakes had moment magnitudes between about 8.0 and 8.3.
Scientists locate earthquakes by measuring the time it takes body waves to arrives at seismographs in a minimum of three locations. From these wave arrival times, seismologists can calculate the distance of an earthquake from each seismograph. Once they know an earthquake’s distance from three locations, they can find the quake’s focus at the centre of those three locations.
Predicting earthquakes. Scientists can make fairly accurate long-term predictions of where earthquakes will occur. They know, for example, that  about 80 percent of the world’s major earthquakes happen along a belt encircling the Pacific Ocean. This belt is sometimes called the Ring of Fire because it has many volcanoes, earthquakes, and other geologic activity. Scientists are working to make accurate forecasts on when earthquakes will strike.
Related articles: Continental drift, Earth, Japan (Land), Mediterranean Sea, Plate   tectonics, Richter magnitude, San Andreas Fault, Seismograph, Seismology and Tidal wave.

Outline:
How an earthquake begins.
How an earthquake spreads: Body waves, and Surface waves.
Damage by earthquakes: How earthquakes cause damage, and Reducing earthquakes damage.
Where and why earthquakes: Interplate earthquake, and Intraplate earthquake.
Studying earthquakes: Recording, measuring and locating earthquakes, and Predicting earthquakes.

Questions
Why do buildings collapse during an earthquake?
Where do the world’s largest and deepest earthquakes occurs?
What is a seismograph?
What should people do to be safe during an earthquake?
What type of seismic waves tend to cause the most damage?
Most earthquakes occur near and along the boundaries of the rocky plates that cover the earth’s surface.

How  an earthquake happen
First of all, what is an earthquake and how does it occur?
An earthquake is a sudden, rapid shaking of the Earth caused by the breaking and shifting of rocks beneath the Earth’s surface. For hundreds of millions of years, the forces of plate tectonics  have  shaped the Earth. The huge plates that form the Earth’s surface move slowly over, under and past each other. Sometimes the movement is gradual.  At other times, the plates are locked together, and are  unable to release the accumulating energy. When the accumulated energy grows strong enough, the plates break free causing the ground to shake. Most earthquakes occur at the boundaries where the plates meet.
Ground shaking from earthquakes can cause buildings and bridges to collapse; disrupt gas. electricity and phone services; and sometimes trigger landslides, avalanches, flash floods,  fires or huge, destructive ocean waves (tsunamis). Buildings with foundations resting on unconsolidared landfill and other unstable soil, and trailers and homes not tied to their foundations area at risk because they can be shaken off their mountings during an earthquake. When an earthquake occurs in a populated area, it may cause deaths, injuries and extensive property damage.
Earthquakes can strike suddenly, without warning. They can occur at any time of the year and at any time of the day or night. On a yearly basis, 70 to 75 damaging earthquakes occur throughout the world. Estimates of losses from a future earthquake in the United States approach $200 billion.
During an earthquake, the greatest danger exists directly outside buildings, at exits, and alongside   exterior walls. Many of the 120 fatalities from the 1933 Long Beach earthquake occurred when people  ran outside of buildings only to be killed by falling debris from collapsing walls.
During an earthquake always remember to drop, cover and hold on! Move only a few steps  to nearby safe place. It is very dangerous to try to leave a building during an earthquake because obi eats can fall on you and injure or even kill you.
If you are in bed, hold on and stay there, protecting your head with a pillow. You are less likely to be injured staying where you are. Broken glass on the floor has caused injury to those who have rolled to the floor or tried to get to doorways. If you are outdoors, find a clear spot away from buildings trees, streetlights and power lines. Drop to the ground and stay there until the shaking stops. Injuries can occur from falling trees, streetlights, power lines or building debris.
If you are in a vehicle, pull over to a clear location, stop and stay there with your seatbelt faster ea until the shaking has stopped. Trees, power lines, poles, street signs and other overhead items mav  fall during earthquakes. Stopping will help reduce your risk, and a hard-topped vehicle will help protect you from flying or falling objects. Once the shaking has stopped, proceed with caution.
In conclusion, ground movement during an earthquake is seldom the direct cause of death or injury. Most earthquake-related injuries result from collapsing walls, flying glass and falling objects Thus, much of the damage in earthquakes is predictable and preventable. These few simple tips mentioned can help save your life during an earthquake.

Latest/Updated News
Indonesia/June 2, 2016

A 6.5 magnitude earthquake off the coast off the Indonesian island of Sumatra early Thursday sent tremors as far as the neighboring country of Singapore. The U.S. Geological Survey, which reported the earthquake at 6:56 p.m. ET, calculated that the quake occurred 56.5 miles west of Sungaipenuh on Sumatra, and 329.9 miles southwest of Singapore…
Ecuador / April 18, 2016
Rescue crews searched desperately through rubble for survivors of a magnitude-7.8 earthquake that struck coastal Ecuador. The death toll has soared to 272, Ecuador's President Rafael Correa said Sunday evening. That number is expected to rise as rescue teams dig through the rubble, he said. Earlier that day, Vice President Jorge Glas had estimated that at least 2,527 people were injured…

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