Effects of earthquake - Landslides
An earthquake in El Salvador on 13th January 2001, set off this landslide which went on to hit a built up area. Landslides as a natural hazard are particularly devasating as they cause total destruction.
Effects of earthquake - Avalanches
The earthquakes in Nepal in 2015 caused wide spread devastation throughout Nepal. In mountainous areas, avalanches were triggered as can be seen in this picture taken by climbers on Mount Everest.
Effects of earthquake - liquefaction
Here we can see what happens to cars parked where liquefaction occurs. During liquefaction, the water in the soil rises to the surface and the soil loses its rigidity for a short time. After the earthquake has passed, the soil becomes solid again, only now, in this case, the car is buried in the ground.
An earthquake vocabulary
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Effects of earthquake - tsunami
In this photo of a tsunami hitting the coast of Japan, a strong tsunami wall was built to protect the town. Unfortunately, the tsunami proved too big for the town's defences and poured over the wall.
Effects of earthquakes - ground ruptures
These images of earthquakes depict some of the larger cracks in the ground which can occur after an earthquake.
Effects of earthquakes - fires
The earthquake that hit San Francisco in 1906 caused widespread devastation. Although most of the devastation happened in the three days after the quake. Collapsed chimneys and burst gas pipes led to fires. Broken water mains led to no water available to put fires out. The city of San Francisco burned for three days and the fires consumed four square kilometres of the city.
Earthquake damage - road networks
Road and bridge damage costs money to repair but it also slows down the delivery of aid and it slows down the recovery of the economy after the earthquake.
Earthquake damage - damage to transport links
Earthquakes can make roads impassable. They can take months to repair. They make the transporting of people and goods difficult so the earthquake can have an affect on people long after the earthquake has past.
In this earthquake picture, you can see that the earthquake has contorted the land so much that the railway lines have been pulled out of shape. After a large earthquake, railway companies have to physically check all their track before resuming services.
Earthquake damage - loss of property & homelessness
This earthquake in Taiwan killed thousands and destroyed many homes. After an earthquake, many people can need a new place to stay and it takes time to rebuild lives.
Where possible, some people move to earthquake evacuation centres like this one for example in Japan. Japan's school's are built to an extremely strong standard and they double up as earthquake evacuation centres in times of need.
Earthquake damage - damage to shops
Some natural hazards like floods and hurricanes can be seen coming and there is time to prepare for them. Earthquakes come with no warning and there is no time to prepare.
Straight after an earthquake, some popular items that quickly sell out are bottled water, batteries, tinned food and toilet paper. Damage to roads mean that the shop cannot resupply as quickly as before.
Recent well known earthquakes
2011 Tohoku
2004 Indian Ocean
Quick fact
Earthquakes on land - shake buildings. Earthquakes at sea - create tsunamis. Powerful earthquakes - do both.
EARTHQUAKE PICTURES
