Earthquake Disaster Research Articles

Multi-Scale Earthquake Damaged Building Feature Set

Earthquake disasters are marked by their unpredictability and potential for extreme destructiveness. Accurate information on building damage, captured in post-earthquake remote sensing images, is critical for an effective post-disaster emergency response. The foundational features within these images are essential for the accurate extraction of building damage data following seismic events. Presently, the availability of publicly accessible datasets tailored specifically to earthquake-damaged buildings is limited, and existing collections of post-earthquake building damage characteristics are insufficient. To address this gap and foster research advancement in this domain, this paper introduces a new, large-scale, publicly available dataset named the Major Earthquake Damage Building Feature Set (MEDBFS). This dataset comprises image data sourced from five significant global earthquakes and captured by various optical remote sensing satellites, featuring diverse scale characteristics and multiple spatial resolutions. It includes over 7000 images of buildings pre- and post-disaster, each subjected to stringent quality control and expert validation. The images are categorized into three primary groups: intact/slightly damaged, severely damaged, and completely collapsed. This paper develops a comprehensive feature set encompassing five dimensions: spectral, texture, edge detection, building index, and temporal sequencing, resulting in 16 distinct classes of feature images. This dataset is poised to significantly enhance the capabilities for data-driven identification and analysis of earthquake-induced building damage, thereby supporting the advancement of scientific and technological efforts for emergency earthquake response.

Determining acceptable risk levels in earthquake disasters: insights from Chinese Mainland

Determining acceptable risk levels in earthquake disasters: insights from Chinese Mainland

Seismic hazard prediction of the Hunhe Fault in the Shen-Fu New District

Earthquake prevention and disaster mitigation are crucial aspects of social welfare that significantly impact national public security. This paper presents a seismic risk assessment and hazard prediction of the Hunhe Fault in the Shengyang-Fushun (Shen-Fu) New District. The target area is at risk of seismic damage due to two major branch ruptures, namely, F9 and F1; these ruptures have the potential to generate maximum earthquakes with a magnitude of 6.0 in the next 50 to 100 years. A three-dimensional underground velocity structure and asperity source model were established for the target faults. Subsequently, a hybrid technique combining deterministic and empirical approaches was employed to simulate the broadband strong ground motion of the target region in anticipation of the occurrence of expected scenario earthquakes. The distributions of peak ground acceleration (PGA), peak ground velocity (PGV) and peak ground displacement (PGD) for the area are provided, and the results indicate that densely populated urban areas could experience PGA values close to 280 cm/s2 along the fault traces. This study provides a reliable basis for engineering construction and urban planning in the Shen-Fu New District.

Innovation in Disaster Mitigation Communication Model, Coordination, and Digital Literacy after the Cianjur Earthquake Disaster

Indonesia is vulnerable to natural disasters, including earthquake. Earthquake has an impact on the community including environmental, property, and psychological damage as well as loss of life. Such an impact also happened to earthquake-stricken Cianjur in West Java, which required disaster mitigation and digital literacy to deal with it. The aim of this research is to determine innovations in disaster mitigation communication models, coordination and digital literacy after the Cianjur earthquake. This is a form of handling the impact of a natural disaster before and after it occurs. The theory used in this research is Haddow Disaster Communication focusing on customer focus, leadership commitment, situational awareness, and media partnership. The method used in this research is descriptive qualitative conducted by collecting data through field observations, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. The results of this research are innovations in disaster mitigation communication models to become disaster mitigation models in Cianjur in the future, know the coordination paths between the parties and the community in case of a disaster, and provide digital literacy for the people of Cianjur through emergency response call centers and WA groups to disseminate information to the public. The efforts of the parties involved in disaster mitigation aim to help the community reduce the risk of disaster affecting physical development, increase the ability of the community in disaster risk mitigation and get an understanding of the community’s access to disaster information.

GIS-based multi-criteria decision making for delineation of potential groundwater recharge zones for sustainable resource management in the Eastern Mediterranean: a case study

In light of population growth and climate change, groundwater is one of the most important water resources globally. Groundwater is crucial for sustaining many vital sectors in Syria, including industrial and agricultural sectors. However, groundwater exploitation has significantly escalated to meet different water needs especially in the post-war period and the earthquake disaster. Therefore, the goal was this study delineation of the groundwater potential zones (GPZs) by integrating the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method in a geographic information systems (GIS) within the AlAlqerdaha river basin in western Syria. In this study, ten criteria were used to map the spatial distribution of GPZs, including slope, geomorphology, drainage density, land use/land cover (LU/LC), lineament density, lithology, rainfall, soil, curvature and topographic wetness index (TWI). GPZs map was validated by using the location of 74 wells and the Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve (ROC). The findings suggest that the study area is divided into five GPZs: very low, 21.39 km2 (10.87%); low, 52.45 km2 (26.65%); moderate, 65.64 km2 (33.35%); high, 40.45 km2 (20.55%) and very high, 16.90 km2 (8.58%). High and very high zones mainly corresponded to the western regions of the study area. The conducted spatial modeling indicated that the AHP-based GPZs map showed a remarkably acceptable correlation with wells locations (AUC = 87.7%, n = 74), demonstrating the precision of the AHP–GIS as a rating method. The results of this study provide objective and constructive outputs that can help decision-makers to optimally manage groundwater resources in the post-war phase in Syria.

Ecosystem service trade‐offs and synergies and their drivers in severely affected areas of the Wenchuan earthquake, China

AbstractThe suddenness and destructive power of earthquake disasters pose significant threats to ecosystems. Understanding the changes in post‐earthquake ecosystem services and the complex relationships of their trade‐offs and synergistic effects is crucial for post‐disaster recovery and achieving a holistic and sustainable balance of human well‐being. However, quantifying post‐disaster ecosystem services and these intricate relationships, as well as probing the mechanisms behind their formation from a spatial perspective, remain challenging. This study presents a comprehensive framework that integrates spatial statistical methods, the InVEST model, geodetectors, and the Multiscale Geographically Weighted Regression model (MGWR) to quantify trade‐offs and synergistic effects among ecosystem services before and after earthquakes, and to investigate the spatial heterogeneity of these relationship effects with various driving factors. Results indicate (1) Typical ecosystem services, that is, water yield, soil conservation, carbon storage, and habitat quality, have more weak trade‐off effects and fewer synergistic effects. These relationship intensities vary considerably spatially, demonstrating some agglomerative distribution, suggesting that the ecosystem has not yet recovered to a good state after the quake; (2) The impact of different factors on the trade‐offs and synergies between ecosystem services varies. Interaction effects of driving factors are stronger than singular effects. Relationships between soil conservation and other ecosystem services are primarily influenced by topography and climate. Relationships involving carbon storage are mainly affected by vegetation and climate, while those concerning habitat quality are attributed mostly to human and climatic factors; (3) In the modeling process, considering the different spatial scales of driving factors, MGWR outperforms the Geographically Weighted Regression in explaining the relationship between ecosystem services and driving factors. Moreover, several spatially feasible and targeted ecological measures are proposed to enhance the synergy among ecosystem services. By focusing on the changes in ecosystem services, this study reveals the intrinsic mechanisms of trade‐offs and synergies between ecosystem services, offering insights for related studies in other regions.

Earthquake And Landslide Disaster Risk Assessment At The University Of Defense: A Preliminary Study

The geographical location of the University of Defense in Bogor Regency, Citereup Sub-district, Bogor, West Java, is a sloping terrain that can potentially cause landslides. The InaRISK map released by BNPB, shows that the Defense University is located in an area of Bogor Regency that is prone to disasters, especially landslides. Disaster risk assessment is an approach to show the potential negative impacts that may arise due to a potential disaster. The potential negative impacts are calculated based on the level of vulnerability and capacity of the area. This potential negative impact is seen from the potential number of people exposed, property loss, and environmental damage (PERKA BNPB, 2012). Researchers conducted an analysis of landslide and earthquake disaster vulnerability at the University of Defense. A study of building and population vulnerability to potential earthquakes and landslides was conducted at the University of Defense. The components of social vulnerability at the University of Defense in the event of an earthquake and landslide were obtained. Researchers obtained data on population capacity and building conditions at the University of Defense. Landslide and earthquake disaster risks have the potential to occur at the University of Defense. The University of Defense has the potential threat of landslides because the buildings of the University of Defense are located on hilly slopes. The vulnerability of the University of Defense buildings, the University of Defense buildings have not been designed to be entirely earthquake resistant. This can be seen in some buildings that have visible cracks. It is necessary to retrofit or strengthen the foundations of buildings in the Defense University area that have experienced a decrease in performance such as cracking, shifting, displacement. An important component where the University community and students need self-protection and rescue skills through training.

Integrated study on buried pipelines, co-seismic landslides, and magnitude conversion for 2023 Türkiye earthquake

Türkiye is known for its intricate tectonic structure and high seismic activity, which makes in-depth research on earthquakes necessary. This research paper presents a multifaceted examination of earthquake impact in Türkiye, encompassing critical elements of seismic vulnerability with a special focus on the latest twin earthquake of February 6, 2023. Firstly, a three-dimensional finite element (FE) analysis has been conducted to explore the buried pipeline behavior under left-lateral strike-slip faults. Secondly, making use of the earthquake data from 1976 to 2023, a new Newmark displacement-based model has been proposed which predicts co-seismic landslide displacement. Finally, new magnitude conversion relations are developed in the generalized moment magnitude scale (Mwg) for Türkiye using three statistical regression techniques. The maximum tensile strain was found to be around 2.0% based on the findings of the 3D numerical study of an underground pipe that was subjected to left-lateral strike-slip fault movement. The proposed co-seismic landslide displacement model was developed based on moment magnitude, yield acceleration, and peak ground acceleration, which yields an R-squared value of 0.93. Outcomes of the magnitude conversion study depicted that the improved general orthogonal regression (IGOR) relationships developed in this study performed better than the other conventional methods of regression. Also, the proposed regional relations based on Mwg scale perform better than global relations as they provide closer values to the observed ones. By offering a comprehensive perspective on seismic impact, the research lays the groundwork for upgraded predictive methods and refined seismic design considerations. The proposed models and conversion relations contribute to the strengthening of critical infrastructures, providing a forward-looking approach to enhance preparedness and resilience against earthquake disasters in Türkiye.

Employing Machine Learning for Seismic Intensity Estimation Using a Single Station for Earthquake Early Warning

An earthquake early-warning system (EEWS) is an indispensable tool for mitigating loss of life caused by earthquakes. The ability to rapidly assess the severity of an earthquake is crucial for effectively managing earthquake disasters and implementing successful risk-reduction strategies. In this regard, the utilization of an Internet of Things (IoT) network enables the real-time transmission of on-site intensity measurements. This paper introduces a novel approach based on machine-learning (ML) techniques to accurately and promptly determine earthquake intensity by analyzing the seismic activity 2 s after the onset of the p-wave. The proposed model, referred to as 2S1C1S, leverages data from a single station and a single component to evaluate earthquake intensity. The dataset employed in this study, named “INSTANCE,” comprises data from the Italian National Seismic Network (INSN) via hundreds of stations. The model has been trained on a substantial dataset of 50,000 instances, which corresponds to 150,000 seismic windows of 2 s each, encompassing 3C. By effectively capturing key features from the waveform traces, the proposed model provides a reliable estimation of earthquake intensity, achieving an impressive accuracy rate of 99.05% in forecasting based on any single component from the 3C. The 2S1C1S model can be seamlessly integrated into a centralized IoT system, enabling the swift transmission of alerts to the relevant authorities for prompt response and action. Additionally, a comprehensive comparison is conducted between the results obtained from the 2S1C1S method and those derived from the conventional manual solution method, which is considered the benchmark. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed 2S1C1S model, employing extreme gradient boosting (XGB), surpasses several ML benchmarks in accurately determining earthquake intensity, thus highlighting the effectiveness of this methodology for earthquake early-warning systems (EEWSs).

EFFICIENCY MEASUREMENT IN CONSTRUCTION SECTOR USING DATA ENVELOPMENT ANALYSIS METHOD

In addition to physiological needs such as hunger and thirst, people also have shelter needs. As a result of natural disasters such as fire, flood, earthquake, epidemics and wars, people settle in different regions. The world's increasing population, epidemics and disasters show how priority and vital the construction industry is. The earthquake disaster in Turkey and the increasing migration due to wars in the border regions once again reveal how important and priority the construction sector is for Turkey. As in many other sectors, labor and financial resources must be used efficiently in the construction industry. Measuring the efficiency of construction companies operating in Turkey is very important for the current situation of the construction industry. This study aims to evaluate the efficiency of ten companies on the Fortune 500 list operating in the field of construction and contracting in Turkey. The Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method is generally widely used in efficiency measurement. In the study, input-oriented CCR model and Super Efficiency (SE)-CCR model were used for efficiency analysis. For DEA analysis, "total assets" and "number of employees" were used as input variables, and "net sales" were used as output variables. According to the DEA analysis results, three of the ten companies considered as decision-making units (DMU) were efficient. Efficient companies are ranked among themselves according to the results of the SE CCR model.

Value Realization of Intelligent Emergency Management: Research Framework from Technology Enabling to Value Creation

This paper studies the application and the application value of intelligent emergency for emergency management in the big data environment, to fill the research gap that neglected the application value (performance) measurement of intelligent emergency, further improving the effectiveness of intelligent emergency management. Firstly, bibliometric analyses of approximately 3900 documents in intelligent emergency field are imported, and the future research trend of intelligent emergency management is cleared. Theory of STT (Socio-Technical Theory), concerning technical system and social system, is introduced. The concept of emergency management system ‘technology enabling’ and ‘enabling value creation’ are defined in accordance with the bibliometric analyses and STT. Secondly, a research framework including ‘technology enabling’ and ‘enabling value creation’ for decision-making paradigm in emergency management according to the big data environment is constructed. Furthermore, detail analyses approach from intelligent emergency ‘technology enabling’ to ‘enabling value creation’ in emergency management are proposed. Finally, earthquake disasters are taken as an example and specific analyses of the intelligent emergency enabling and enabling value creation are explored, specifically, the enabling value creation are discussed from the view of measurable indicators. The clear concept of emergency management system ‘technology enabling’ and ‘enabling value creation’ as well as the detail analyses approach from intelligent emergency ‘technology enabling’ to ‘enabling value creation’ provide theoretical basis for scholars and practitioners to evaluating the value (performance) of intelligent emergency for the first time.

Earthquake Risk Analysis as a Disaster Mitigation-Based Spatial Planning Strategy in the National Tourism Strategic Area of Kolorai Village, Morotai Island

Kolorai Village is a National Strategic Tourism Area (KSPN) influenced by complex tectonic activity. The low community resilience to earthquake disasters in Kolorai Village means that the government must refrain from using disaster risk factors as a reference in developing disaster mitigation-based tourism areas. This research aims to analyse the risk of earthquake disasters in the tourism area of Kolorai Village. Problem-solving in this research uses the survey method and descriptive analysis with a quantitative approach. Primary data or field data in the form of vulnerability and capacity data are obtained using the help of checklist instruments, questionnaires, and interviews. The earthquake disaster risk analysis results in Kolorai Village have a score of 3. They are included in the high category with a percentage of hazard factors of 43%, 28% vulnerability, and 29% capacity. The value of earthquake disaster risk is produced as a map that illustrates the elements of earthquake disaster risk in the Kolorai Village Tourism Area. So that it can be used for spatial planning, it needs to be integrated with disaster risk reduction.

Penguatan Pengetahuan Kesiapsiagaan Terhadap Bahaya Bencana Gempa Bumi dan Tsunami bagi Siswa SMAN I Lhoknga, Kabupaten Aceh Besar

Earthquakes and tsunamis are natural disasters that can occur anywhere and anytime. Knowledge about the dangers of natural disasters needs to be imparted to the community so that they can understand the types and levels of danger that may arise. This is necessary to enhance the community's capacity to deal with disasters. Reflecting on the occurrence of the 2004 Aceh Earthquake and Tsunami, which claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and caused hundreds of millions of US dollars in losses, increasing knowledge and understanding of disaster hazards needs to be continuously pursued. The repetition of these activities aligns the history of disaster events passed down through generations with the advancements in scientific knowledge and technological progress. Increasing knowledge of earthquake and tsunami hazards can be achieved, in part, through socialization efforts. One appropriate segment of society to receive reinforcement of knowledge through socialization activities is high school students, particularly the students of SMAN 1 Lhoknga, Aceh Besar Regency. Students are the younger generation whose roles can be agents of change within the wider community. Therefore, their role in the realm of disaster management needs to be supported by a good and competent capacity enhancement. Thus, students of SMAN 1 Lhoknga can understand the factors causing and the impacts arising from earthquake and tsunami disasters and actively participate in such events.

Increasing student knowledge with counseling on anticipating earthquakes

West Java experienced 522 earthquake events, of which 93 occurred in Tasikmalaya City and Regency. This has made a lot of noise in the community and created excessive concern, so the community needs to be educated, especially in terms of preparedness in dealing with earthquake disasters in order to prevent more severe impacts. Elementary school education is the first door to introduce students to disaster preparedness and mitigation. One of the elementary schools that does not have non-structural mitigation efforts is Cihideungbalong Islamic Elementary School. The location, which is in a densely populated area, is also vulnerable to the effects of earthquake disasters, so it is necessary to have an earthquake anticipation evacuation route and counseling in the Cihideungbalong Islamic Elementary School environment. The method used is socialization about earthquake anticipation and simulation assistance after an earthquake by following the evacuation route. Increasing students' knowledge of the earthquake, which consists of knowledge about the dangers of the earthquake, making support tools and evacuation routes for earthquake anticipation. The results of this activity have increased student preparedness, from an increase of 17 percent for student knowledge of how the earthquake occurs, 33 percent regarding student calmness in facing the earthquake, 56 percent for self-rescue during an earthquake, and 78 percent for accuracy/skill of students in simulating self-rescue through the earthquake evacuation route.

Research on an Index System for the Earthquake Disaster Resistance Capability of Highway Tunnels

To evaluate the earthquake disaster resistance capability of highway tunnels, it is necessary to study an index system for the earthquake disaster resistance capability of highway tunnels. This paper uses a literature research method. The damage of highway tunnels in 12 earthquake disasters recorded in detail in China and abroad was investigated. According to the types of hazard-beating bodies and damage forms, 17 seismic damage scenes of highway tunnels are classified. According to different damage scenes, the fault tree analysis model is used to identify the damage-causing factors. Combined with the industry standards, norms and research results related to the earthquake resistance of highway tunnels, the evaluation indices are analyzed from three perspectives: engineering geological factors, tunnel structural factors and operation management factors. According to the principle of index system construction, a four-level index system is constructed, which takes the earthquake disaster resistance capability of highway tunnels as the target layer; engineering geological factors, tunnel structural factors and operation management factors as the criterion layer indices; 12 indicators as the index layer and 35 specific indicators. The established index system for the earthquake disaster resistance capability of highway tunnels has strong scientific, rational and application value and can provide a reference for the evaluation of the earthquake disaster resistance capability of highway tunnels and can also provide important support for the safe operation and sustainable development of highway tunnels.

Earthquake Risk Assessment in Seismically Active Areas of Qinghai Province Based on Geographic Big Data

Earthquakes can cause serious damage to buildings, roads and other infrastructure. The large amount of dust and particulate matter generated when these structures collapse and are damaged can quickly enter the air, leading to a decline in air quality. At the same time, earthquakes may cause secondary disasters such as fires and landslides, which will also produce large amounts of soot and particulate matter, which will have a negative impact on air quality. Therefore, earthquake disaster risk assessment studies are carried out to identify potentially hazardous areas and facilities in advance in order to reduce the air pollution problems that may be caused by earthquakes. Existing research on earthquake disaster risk assessment mainly evaluates earthquake risk from the perspective of geology or seismology, but there are few studies based on multidisciplinary assessment that integrates geology, seismology, engineering and social sciences into socioeconomic factors. To this end, based on remote sensing and GIS technology, this paper takes Qinghai Province, a seismically active area, as the research area, and integrates land use data, natural environment data, social environment data and seismic parameter zoning data to construct a comprehensive assessment model for earthquake disaster vulnerability and risk. The results showed that there were 5 very high-risk areas, 7 high-risk areas, 10 medium-risk areas, 11 low-risk areas and 12 very low-risk areas in Qinghai Province. The high-risk areas are mainly distributed in the central and western parts of Qinghai Province, where the earthquake breeding environment is sufficient, the scale of active faults is huge and the adaptability of the carrier is low. The results of an earthquake disaster risk assessment can provide a reference for the government to formulate environmental protection policies. According to the assessment results, the government can formulate targeted measures to strengthen air pollution control and improve air quality.

Carbon Fiber and Its Composites: Synthesis, Properties, Applications

Carbon fiber is often preferred in composite production as it is a light and strong material. Traditionally, it can produce based on Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and Pitch. Today, biomass-based carbon fiber production has studied as an alternative to these petroleum-based initiators. For this purpose, cotton, wood, and cellulose are the most used biomass types. However, environment-friendly carbon fiber does not yet possess as good tensile strength as petroleum-based ones. So, researchers added PAN during the production of bio-based carbon fiber. Carbon fiber can be made as a composite with many materials like polymers, metals, ceramics, and cement. It has a wide range of uses. Nowadays, researchers have studied to heal the interface between epoxy and carbon fiber to increase the functional properties of the composite. By preparing carbon fiber-reinforced metal, it can be possible to use composite as a catalyst. Carbon fiber is used as filler in concrete production to avoid crack formation. It is a crucial property for a material to prevent earthquake disasters. In brief, one can enable comprehensive and contemporary information about the synthesis and applications of all types of carbon fibers (PAN, Pitch, bio-based) and their composites (polymer, metal, ceramic, concrete, carbon nanotube, and graphene).

Multi-objective Vehicle Routing Optimization Model for Emergency Logistics Considering Aftershock Effects

Earthquake is a kind of common and terrible sudden natural disaster. Frequent earthquake disasters bring inestimable loss of people and property to human society. Based on the earthquake background and considering the impact of aftershocks on emergency rescue activities, this paper constructs a multi-objective vehicle routing optimization model with the objectives of time, risk, fairness of material distribution and minimum cost. Through simulation examples, conclusions are drawn: Decision makers should first consider risk and time, when considering time, focus on considering the time window to meet the fairness of material distribution, and finally consider the cost.

Science Fun Learning for the Students Affected of Natural Disasters

Fun learning will attract students to classroom learning activities learning, especially for victims of natural disasters. Students who experience natural disasters fear doing various things at home and outside the home (school). This study aims to find out whether fun science learning carried out by planting plants can improve students' understanding of learning science. This quantitative descriptive research uses test instruments to measure students' knowledge of family medicinal plant material. The population in this study was elementary school students who were victims of the earthquake natural disaster earthquake in 2022, while the research sample was 15 elementary school students. This sampling is done randomly. The data obtained were analyzed descriptively to determine improved student understanding of learning science. The results of data analysis showed that science fun learning applied through outdoor learning activities by planting family medicinal plants can increase students' understanding related to science material. However, the improvement is categorized as low based on the N-gain score 0.2. The recommendation of this study is to improve student understanding of when fun science learning should be supplemented with other methods by referring to the local wisdom of participants. Thus, the feeling of trauma that saddens the survivors will be slightly forgotten with fun activities and education.

The damage and response of some underground structures by the 2023 February 6 Great Turkish Earthquakes and some considerations

Two successive disastrous earthquakes occurred on February 6, 2023 in the province of Kahramanmaraş of Türkiye. These earthquakes resulted in loss of more than 50.000 lives and several cases of serious damage to various engineering structures. Some roadways and railway and underpass tunnels were also damaged by the earthquakes as a result of heavy shaking as well as faulting. In addition, many rockfalls occurred at the portals of railway and roadway tunnels. The faulting caused quite severe damage at the railway tunnel near Ozan village. The concrete lining of the new Erkenek tunnels ruptured at several places. The damage in the new Erkenek twin tunnels may be related to mass movements caused by heavy ground shaking as well as an inclined geological structure together with low overburden next to a valley. Sinkholes of man-made and natural cavities occurred in several locations including urbanized areas. In this study, the authors describe the damage to underground structures by the doublet Kahramanmaraş earthquakes with some detailed analyses of Erkenek tunnels. Furthermore, the causes of the damages are described and their implications on the seismic design of underground structures are discussed. The observations indicated that underground openings crossing by faults and fracture zones may be enlarged to accommodate relative slips along faults and fracture zones. Furthermore, the ductility of support should be high in such zones in order to prevent brittle failure, which may have very disastrous effects. In addition to man-made underground structures, natural underground rock structures may be damaged or sinkholes may be caused by earthquakes as observed in the 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquakes. The computational results clearly explain why the valley-side of one of the tunnels was more damaged compared to that of the mountain-side tunnel. It is also noted that some of the sinkholes in the earthquake region can be explained using some techniques available in literature.