Impacts

Impacts of earthquakes can be classified into various classes-

Ground rupture- It is the main result of an earthquake strike. Shaking of ground causes severe damage to the buildings or other structures on the ground including houses etc. Shaking of ground at a particular place depends upon the distance of that place from the epicenter. Severe shaking of ground causes destruction of all the buildings of a city and many people die by burring into the building materials.

It can’t be avoided because earthquakes strike a place all of a sudden. So this shaking of ground compels construction engineering to develop buildings which are resistive to the strikes of earthquakes. The branch of engineering deals which deals with anti-earthquake construction is called Earthquake construction. 

Landslides- Earthquakes causes instability of land results into landslides; this claims many lives at the effected zone.
 
Fire- Earthquake causes breaking of electrical power lines or gas supply lines which causes incidents of fires. Water lines also got ruptured and decreased pressure makes it impossible to control the spread of fire.  

Soil liquefaction- When severe shaking occur then soil or sand loses their strength for a temporary period and gets converted from solid to liquid. This liquefaction causes sinking of buildings, bridges etc.
 

Tsunami and floods- when epicenter of an earthquake is located near sea, then the traveling of seismic waves below the sea causes generation of Tsunami waves, which can travel at a speed of 600-800 kilometers per hour. For creation of Tsunami earthquakes are needed to be highly intensified. In general earthquakes having reading of less then 7.5 on the Richter scale are not able to generate Tsunami waves. But stronger earthquakes can are comfortable enough to create Tsunamis. Sometimes when earthquake triggered landslides fall into sea, it leads to the creation of Tsunami waves.

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