ACOSTA, DHARRYL C.
BSCE-5
EARTHQUAKE
An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the perceptible shaking of the
surface of the Earth, which can be violent enough to destroy major buildings and kill thousands of people.
The severity of the shaking can range from barely felt to violent enough to toss people around.
Earthquakes have destroyed whole cities. They result from the sudden release of energy in
the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismismor seismic activity of an area refers
to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time.
WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF EARTHQUAKES?
Earthquakes are usually caused when rock underground suddenly breaks along a fault. This
sudden release of energy causes the seismicwaves that make the ground shake. When two blocks of rock
or two plates are rubbing against each other, they stick a little.
WHAT ARE THE SAFETY MEASURES TO BE DONE DURING EARTHQUAKE?
Stay calm! If you're indoors, stay inside. If you're outside, stay outside.
If you're indoors, stand against a wall near the center of the building, stand in a doorway, or crawl
under heavy furniture (a desk or table). Stay away from windows and outside doors.
If you're outdoors, stay in the open away from power lines or anything that might fall. Stay away
from buildings (stuff might fall off the building or the building could fall on you).
Don't use matches, candles, or any flame. Broken gas lines and fire don't mix.
If you're in a car, stop the car and stay inside the car until the earthquake stops.
Don't use elevators (they'll probably get stuck anyway).
BEING A STRUCTURAL CIVIL ENGINEER, WHAT WOULD YOU SUGGEST TO DESIGN A
GOOD STRUCTURE?
To be earthquake proof, buildings, structures and their foundations need to be built to be resistant
to sideways loads. The lighter the building is, the less the loads. This is particularly so when the weight is
higher up. Where possible the roof should be of light-weight material. If there are floors and walls and
partitions, the lighter these are the better, too. If the sideways resistance is to be obtained from walls,
these walls must go equally in both directions. They must be strong enough to take the loads. They must
be tied in to any framing, and reinforced to take load in their weakest direction. They must not fall apart
and must remain in place after the worst shock waves so as to retain strength for the aftershocks
WHAT CONTRIBUTIONS YOU MAY DO IN ORDER TO PREVENT FAILURES OR COLLAPES OF
INFRASTRUCTURE?
If the building or structure is a normal single storey, then any normal portal frame or other steel
framed building, if the design and construction is competently done, will be resistant to Earthquake loads.
If it is to have 2 or more stories, more needs to be done to ensure its survival in an earthquake. The floors
should be made as light as possible. The first way to do this is to use traditional timber joists and timber
or chipboard or plywood flooring. If this is done it is vital that the timber joists are firmly through bolted
on the frames to avoid them slipping or being torn off. The frame needs them for stability and the floor
must never fall down. A better alternative is to substitute light gauge steel Zeds for the timber joists.
These can span further and are easier to bolt firmly to the framework. Then, floor-boards or tongue-andgroove chipboard can easily be screwed to the Zeds. However in Hotels, Apartment buildings, Offices and
the like, concrete floors may be needed. In such cases we should reduce the spans to the spanning
capacity of composite decking flooring, and pour reinforced concrete slabs onto our decking. The decking
is fixed to the joists, the joists into the main beams, the main beams into the columns and the concrete is
poured around all the columns. There is simply no way that such floors can fall off the frame.
EXPLAIN ELASTIC REBOUND METHOD
The elastic rebound theory is an explanation for how energy is spread during earthquakes. As
rocks on opposite sides of a fault are subjected to force and shift, they accumulate energy and slowly
deform until their internal strength is exceeded. At that time, a sudden movement occurs along the fault,
releasing the accumulated energy, and the rocks snap back to their original undeformed shape.