Massive Earthquake Research Articles

A surprisingly weak fault led to a massive earthquake

A surprisingly weak fault led to a massive earthquake

Human Security in Nepali Perspective

The conventional security paradigm was challenged and changed, especially after the end of the Cold War. It becomes more specific towards the human security when the UNDP published the Human Development Report in 1994. Thus scope of Human Security specifically focuses on different area which is related to the freedom and dignity of an individual thus it is people centric concept. Due to the globalization after the end of the cold war, the underdeveloped countries like Nepal, got globalized impact on human security. The Human security even more compromised due to the internal armed conflict and various kinds of natural disaster including the massive earthquake in 2015. There are regional organizations such as SAARC which mainly focus on the arms proliferation rather than promoting the Human Security. The 21st century became more dangerous due to terrorism, poverty, internal conflict, manmade and natural calamities which challenge to the Human Security globally. Nepal is ranked at 4th position by UNDP, Nepal to the vulnerability to climate change, and less coping capacity to disaster due to poor economic conditions which also leads to the insecurity in Human beings. Even there are global challenges to Human Security and threat from all direction, there are few efforts were taken by the International Organization for the promotion of the Human Security. Thus, Human Security can be promoted by putting the People in a center with coordinated efforts of state as well as non-governmental organization especially by the United Nations with the name of means of collective security.

Lessons learned from the Ezgeleh–Sarpol Zahab earthquake of November 2017: status of damage and disposal of disaster waste

A massive earthquake of magnitude Mw 7.3 shook Kermanshah Province in Western Iran along the Iraqi border on November 12, 2017. The epicenter of the earthquake was approximately 10 km southwest of Ezgeleh Town in Kermanshah Province. Field observations almost 4 months after the disaster indicated that the earthquake had caused tremendous damage to most structures in both urban and rural areas, and left an enormous amount of disaster waste. To investigate the status of the damage and disposal of the disaster waste, remote sensing was conducted using an unmanned aerial vehicle (drone). Through the capture of low-altitude images by drone and the generation of 3D models, the quantity of debris accumulated in a waste disposal facility near Sarpol Zahab was estimated at approximately 480,000 m3. A compositional analysis of the disaster waste was performed using an imaging technique. This revealed that the disaster waste was largely composed of concrete (39.6%), hollow brick (35.4%), and gypsum (21.2%) in the urban area, whereas soil was the dominant component (77.4%) in the rural area. The damage caused to most buildings was essentially due to their non-standard construction. The management of debris from the damaged buildings was a critical issue for the authorities, and the lack of preparedness was a serious drawback that consumed an enormous amount of time, budget, and workforce. A practical post-disaster preparedness plan would help the decision-makers and the public to manage the otherwise overwhelming nature of the post-disaster conditions in a more reasonable manner.

Probable intensity of Sylhet city from an event like 1918 Srimangal earthquake

An intensity map plays an important role and is required for construction, so in this study, we presented a map of intensity for every ward of the city of Sylhet. Another objective of this research is to create a methodology to develop the intensity map for Sylhet with the equation readily available. Sylhet is Bangladesh’s most seismically susceptible region owing to its location in the southeast portion of Dauki fault. In the last 101 years, almost 184 massive earthquakes in the Sylhet area have taken place between the magnitude of 4 and 7.2. Among these earthquakes, the 1918 earthquake of Srimangal was selected as it was the first one to be felt and recorded in Bangladesh as a destructive earthquake. The probable intensity map for the Sylhet city of Bangladesh using Geographic Information Technology has been made considering the 1918 Srimangal earthquake as a scenario case. For this purpose, 157 boreholes data were collected to calculate the shear wave velocity. The SPT-N value of most of the borehole data is as deep as 15 m. Then it was converted to the required amount at a depth of 30 m. In addition, Shear wave velocity was also converted to the Peak Ground Acceleration using McGuire equation. The highest Amplification Factor was used among the three equations for converting the Peak Ground Acceleration into the Surface Acceleration. Finally, the Surface Acceleration has been converted into the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale to make it simple to comprehend. The findings show that the minimum and maximum Peak Ground Acceleration are both 0.164 g and 0.175 g, and the Amplification Factors vary between minimum and maximum from 2.027 to 3.40. Also, surface acceleration ranges from 0.347 to 0.578 g. The intensity is estimated at 27 wards in the city of Sylhet. This demonstrates that 81.48% of the intensity IX areas are impacted and 18.52% of the intensity VIII areas as a scenario case for the Srimangals 1918’s earthquake. Since the town of Sylhet does not have an intensity map, this research aims to prepare a map for all Sylhet wards.

POST-EARTHQUAKE WATER QUALITY IN BHAKTAPUR DISTRICT, NEPAL

Drinking water quality of Bhaktapur district was analyzed after massive earthquake of 2015. Water samples were randomly collected from the groundwater and surface water sources across the study area. Samples were analyzed for physical (temperature, pH, electrical conductivity and turbidity), chemical (hardness, chloride, ammonia, and nitrate), and microbiological ( E. coli and total coliform bacteria) parameters using standard methods. The results demonstrated that the water samples were contaminated mostly with E. coli and total coliform (TC) bacteria. The bacterial population enumerated for E. coli (100 CFU/100 ml) and TC (300 CFU/100 ml) exceeded the National Drinking Water Quality Standard (NDWQS). Physical and chemical parameters analyzed for temperature, pH, conductivity, hardness, chloride, ammonia, and nitrate were within the acceptable limit of the NDWQS. However, the turbidity and ammonia was 34.6 NTU and 3.6 mg/l, were within the maximum values recommended by the NDWQS. This study exhibits that the groundwater and surface water quality of Bhaktapur district is contaminated with E. coli and TC bacteria hence, is vulnerable to drink. The water contaminated with bacteria ( E. coli and TC), presence of ammonia and turbidity more than the limit of NDWQS may pose health risks and cannot be accepted for drinking purpose without purification following appropriate scientific methods.

KAJIAN KESIAPSIAGAAN PENGGUNA BANGUNAN PUBLIK TERHADAP BENCANA ALAM GEMPA BUMI PADA KANTOR GUBERNUR PEMERINTAH ACEH

The province of Aceh was struck by a massive earthquake and tsunami on Sunday, December 26, 2004. The earthquake and tsunami disaster killed 173,741 people and 116,368 people were missing. The earthquake and tsunami in Aceh Province resulted in thousands of houses and public buildings being damaged and caused almost half a million people to be refugees. This study aims to determine the level of preparedness for earthquake disasters on users of public buildings Office of the Governor of Aceh Government. This research uses survey method by distributing questionnaires to users of public buildings and observing the building of the Governor’s office of Aceh Government. The selection of samples in the field is using probability sampling method with purposive sampling technique which is the technique in determining the sample with certain considerations. Secondary data was obtained from literature review and previous research. Data processing uses analysis of validity and reliability and descriptive analysis with index frequency analysis. This study begins with the pre-survey process, where testing is conducted on the questionnaire to determine the level of validity and reliability in each item of statement tested so that the validity value is 0.312 greater than 0.3 and the reliability value is 0.613 greater than 0.6. The results of field observations have not yet fully indicated the components of public buildings that are ready to deal with earthquake. From the results of the frequency analysis the index obtained is as follows; aspect of knowledge and attitude has a score of 62% (good), aspect of policy and guidelines has a score of 66% (good), aspect of emergency response plans has a score of 65% (good), aspect of disaster warning systems has a score of 65% (good) and aspect of mobilization of resources has a score of 62% (good)

Preparing children for an uncertain future: the role of the early childhood teacher

ABSTRACT This paper proposes that the future is uncertain for many children. Both natural and human-made disasters are adversely affecting the lives of millions of children and their families. An example of an environment-related disaster is cited from Sichuan Province, China, where a massive earthquake killed some 70,000 people in 2008. How the teachers responded to such a disaster is explained through drawings by the children illustrating their feelings. This paper discusses how early childhood teachers can prepare children before, during and after disasters. Various strategies are discussed including, facilitating children’s expressions of emotions, empathy, and resilience in the face of adversity. The use of dramatic play and storytelling are discussed with examples that can be a stimulus for curriculum development. The role of the teacher is viewed as critical in helping children readjust to life and regain some semblance of well-being.

Massive earthquake countermeasures by establish muster point and migration path using network analysis in Matraman District, Jakarta, Indonesia

The issue of earthquake with magnitude 8 SR that threatens Jakarta has recently become a major concern due to the chance of catastrophic. This is closely related to the existence of a seismic gap located in Southern Java, Sunda Strait Megathrust. The seismic gap is a segment of an active fault known to produce a significant earthquake that shows no earthquake activities for an unusually long time. This situation implies that the moving crust is reserving potential energy which going to be release and resulting massive earthquake. The potential earthquake source located around 200 km from Jakarta which has densely populated and frequent annual disasters such as floods and fires. Matraman district is one of the densely populated areas in Jakarta with a population density of 319,291 per km2. Through GIS, this research uses network analysis methods to create an evacuation route in the event of a disaster. This method works with a cluster system to obtain the most effective paths in pre-determined zones. The evacuation route resulted from this analysis used 21 zones located in Matraman sub-district. Each zone has various evacuation time. The fastest time range between 1 to 3 minutes and the longest about 4 to 12 minutes. This evacuation route is also usable for SAR team and firefighter to reach the area of disaster.

Critical Chinese government behavior for swift housing reconstruction programme - The case of Dujiangyan following Wenchuan Earthquake

After the massive Wenchuan earthquake, 15.1 million victims were forced to temporarily relocate and the post-disaster reconstruction was urgent and necessary. Subsequently, the Chinese government vigorously promoted a swift reconstruction, which drew worldwide attention from academia and politics. In response, this paper specifically focused on the critical Chinese government behaviors regarding its swift implementation of a housing reconstruction programme. The Dujiangyan case was employed. A field investigation was conducted, and the data from the source in this research, the newspaper “Dujiangyan Express” were collected. Content analysis was adopted to extract news related to housing reconstruction and “R” software was used for the keyword frequency statistics. Accordingly, the frequencies were obtained, and keywords with similar meanings were classified into one keyword cluster. Further, the keyword clusters’ frequencies were analyzed, and the corresponding time points considered. Finally, 14 critical Chinese government behaviors in 4 dimensions were identified: “post-disaster resettlement”, “housing reconstruction”, “disposal for the earthquake-impacted housing”, and “government field investigation”. The main findings supply a theoretical summary for the Chinese government behaviors in its swift implementation of a housing reconstruction programme and could be useful references for further behaviors that promote successful post-disaster reconstruction.

Shaking table test on seismic performances of newly designed joints for mountain tunnels crossing faults

The zones where tunnels pass through faults are considered to be severely damaged during earthquakes. Site investigation of tunnels crossing faults revealed that there were different types of damage patterns after earthquakes. This article proposed a new seismic design concept of “guiding” and “yielding.” Two types of joints, multilevel brittle-flexible joint and flexible joint, were based on this concept and were investigated in this study. A series of shaking table tests were conducted on reduced scale tunnel models under two steps of the loading process, fault movement and subsequent seismic excitation with increasing intensities. The results showed that both types of joints clearly reduced the seismic responses of the tunnel lining. The idealized behavior—step-like deformation—appeared along the longitudinal direction of the tunnel in the two tests. No shear failure of the tunnel linings was found, and the longitudinal cracks in the crown, arch springing, and invert were common in the tests. The multilevel brittle-flexible joint was verified to be more appropriate for tunnels subject to massive earthquakes.

Social-Fairness Perception in Natural Disaster, Learn from Lombok: A Phenomenological Report

Introduction: Disasters occur in all areas of the world and cause harm to populations, property, infrastructure, economies, and the environment.1Harm to populations includes death, injury, disease, malnutrition, and psychological stress.1Social-friction often isn’t recognized during disaster response and recovery. Objective: This report explored the existence of social-friction in disaster situation which able to make recovery more complex. Method: This was qualitative study with phenomenology report approach. The data collection was done by indepth interviewing five inhabitants when doing emergency disaster response two weeks after massive earthquake in North Lombok. Result and discussion: Two out of five inhabitants were Lombok native-people, the rest were immigrant. An inhabitant reported their feeling treated unfair by aid agencies because they received less aid than others. In another chance, when distributing clean-water, we were intercepted, they argue that they got more lack of water than another group who live far distally. Both claimed treated unfair making a dispute friction.Ethnic or social origin, language, religion, gender, age, physical or mental disability, and sexual orientation are just some of the deep-rooted causes of social-friction that can have such a devastating impact on their lives.Social-friction in everyday life rarely endangers lives, but in an emergency situation, it can be life-threatening. It affects not only people’s ability to survive the crisis, also their capacity to recover and regain their livelihoods. Conclusion: Risk reduction and preparedness are just as important a part of the process as any aspect of a disaster.Dialogue is fundamental in good programme design, monitoring and evaluation, and systematic efforts to listen to all groups affected by disaster can help pre-empt and remedy unfair-perception.Perhaps,most importantly, understanding and respecting the complex cultural context in which aid agencies are working and using the strategies and mechanismsto detectand minimize social-friction, will result great improvement in the effectiveness and equity of perceived support in humanitarian assistance.2

Study on winter indoor thermal environment of temporary shelters built in Nepal after massive earthquake 2015

After massive earthquake 2015, thousands of Nepalese who lost their permanent houses by the hardest hits were forced to live in makeshift temporary shelters. The people residing in these shelters are facing extreme coldness that causes various health-related problems in winter. The field measurement on indoor thermal environment was conducted in one of the district hit by massive earthquake, Lalitpur. The indoor and outdoor air temperatures of five shelters were measured by a set of thermometers with digital data loggers at the ten minute intervals in winter. The mean indoor and mean outdoor air temperatures during the measured night-time were found to be from 10.3°C and 7.6°C; they were lower than lower limit value of acceptable indoor temperature at 11°C found from our previous research. We analyzed the thermal characteristics of those shelters measured for seeking whether the improvement is possible or not and also how much of it is affordable. Thus, in this study, we evaluated the indoor thermal environment by estimating the heat-transmission characteristics of the used materials in these investigated shelters. The total heat loss coefficient estimated in five shelters per respective floor areas ranged from 11.2 to 15.4 W/(m2·K). These values obtained are very large due to low thermal insulation materials used. The paper ends with important lesson that reduce the total heat loss coefficient needs to reduce down to 2∼7 W/(m2·K) for realising the need to indoor air temperature above at 11°C could be 70% of nighttime hours. Such reduction of heat loss was found to be realized by adding affordable materials, i.e. cellular polyethylene foam and clothes for respective walls and roof.

Entrepreneurship and risk-taking in a post-disaster scenario

Family firms’ risk-taking behaviour is central to these firms’ ability to recover from major loses after a natural disaster. Natural disasters pose a threat to family firms’ continuity, a primary goal for this type of firm. Accordingly, it is necessary to understand how socioemotional wealth importance and entrepreneurial orientation interact to influence family firms’ ownership risk, performance hazard risk and control risk in a post-disaster scenario. Using a sample of family firms from the Bio-Bio region in Chile, which was devastated by a massive earthquake in 2010, we performed partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). The PLS-SEM results partially support our hypotheses. The fsQCA results provide three, six and seven causal configurations that explain 34%, 67% and 72% of ownership risk, performance hazard risk and control risk, respectively. This article shows that the interaction between socioemotional wealth importance and entrepreneurial orientation is important to explain risk-taking behaviour by family firms in a post-disaster scenario.

Psychological Distress Among Adolescent Students Following the April 25, 2015 Massive Earthquake in Nepal.

IntroductionA massive earthquake on April 25, 2015, resulted in physical and emotional devastation in Nepal. This study aims to determine the prevalence of psychological distress among adolescents in Kathmandu and Sindhupalchowk districts within Nepal one year after the earthquake.MethodsThe Brief Symptoms Inventory tool was used to measure the level of psychological distress. The participants were students of four randomly selected schools from both districts. Surveys were conducted involving 200 students aged 13 to 17 years. Participants had diverse socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds.ResultsThe prevalence of clinical threshold varied from 10% to 50% depending on each of the nine symptoms scales. Between the two districts, there was a statically significant difference in the prevalence of major psychological distresses. Sindhupalchowk had a higher percentage of students meeting the clinical threshold in each of the nine symptom scales than Kathmandu. Female students tended to have higher symptoms levels than male students.ConclusionThe prevalence of psychological distress among adolescents living in areas of large impact is greater compared to the prevalence of psychological distress in adolescents living in less impacted areas. Given the current literature with respect to adolescent psychology in Nepal, more studies must be done to assess the level of distress in other regions of the country.

The brain in the machine: MIT is building robots that use full-body teleoperation to move with greater agility

A SUDDEN, TRAGIC WAKE-UP CALL: That's how many roboticists view the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, caused by the massive earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan in 2011. Reports following the accident described how high levels of radiation foiled workers' attempts to carry out urgent measures, such as operating pressure valves. It was the perfect mission for a robot, but none in Japan or elsewhere had the capabilities to pull it off. Fukushima forced many of us in the robotics community to realize that we needed to get our technology out of the lab and into the world.

Proposal of wide-area supply chain restoration simulation method at the Nankai Trough massive earthquake; applying Deep Q network

Proposal of wide-area supply chain restoration simulation method at the Nankai Trough massive earthquake; applying Deep Q network

Review of Effectiveness of the Foreign Medical Team Deployment in Nepal Earthquake, 2015

Introduction:Nepal experienced a massive earthquake on 25th April, 2015 measuring 7.8 Richter scale followed by large aftershock on 12th May that further added to the destruction, especially in Sindhupalchowk and Dolakha. On request of Government of Nepal, international community extended financial and technical assistance to overcome the impact of the earthquake. Foreign Medical Teams (FMTs); now known as emergency medical team, from different countries and volunteers from within the country had helped in health service delivery.Aim:to get a clear picture of Strengths, Weaknesses/Gaps and Areas of Improvement that would be very important in making the response better in any future events of such scale when discussed and shared with all relevant stakeholders in Nepal.Methods:It was a multi-method study. Both quantitative and qualitative approaches were used to have an in-depth overview of the research question and the objectives set for the study. Records and reports relating Foreign Medical Team Coordination Committee (FMTCC) and meeting minutes of Health Emergency Operation Centre were reviewed.Results:Total of 8,962 deaths and 22,302 injuries occurred following earthquake of which 8,864 deaths and 21,156 injuries occurred in the most affected 14 districts of Nepal. In FGD and KIIs, most of the participants highlighted the earthquake had a huge impact on infrastructures. A large number of casualties were reported immediately after earthquake. Health facilities were overloaded with injured patients. One hundred and thirty-seven FMTs from 36 countries worked in Nepal to provide medical relief.Discussion:Timely preparation and readiness of the procedures to handle the FMTs including their registration process, medical licensing procedures, procedures of coordinating mechanisms with the district, case management and treatment guidelines to be followed by the FMTs are crucial to have a better health sector response including that of FMTs.

Effect of Pets on Human Behavior and Stress in Disaster.

Animal-related consequences were not anticipated in disaster preparedness planning in Japan at the time of its massive earthquakes in 2011. Evacuation failure was quite common due to pet ownership in this disaster. Public attention to the welfare of affected animals in this disaster triggered an awareness of the importance of caring for their needs. However, research on human behavior toward pets or effect of pets on human during disasters remains sparse. In this study, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) scores among pet-owners and non-pet owners in Japan's 2011 earthquake disaster were compared, and attitudes toward pets were evaluated. A questionnaire was distributed to attendees, and interviews were performed at an annual animal welfare event. The Japanese-language version of the revised Impact of Event Scale was used to evaluate PTSD from the disaster. PTSD scores were higher in pet-owners compared to non-pet owners immediately after the earthquakes, but were lower in pet-owners compared to non-pet owners 4.4 years following the disaster. Most people opined that pets should evacuate with people, although less than half of non-pet owners agreed with having animals co-located at evacuation centers. In order to enhance safety and security of both humans and animals at evacuation centers, it is important to proactively address animal issues in disaster preparedness planning. Although pets were regarded by some as adverse risk factors for human health and safety during a disaster; this study instead suggests that pets may play an important positive and protective role for disaster victims.

Vulnerability Analysis to Prioritize the Reconstruction of Earthquake Affected Drinking Water Systems

In 2015, two massive earthquakes occurred in the central region of Nepal, killing more than 8000 people. The disaster destroyed many houses and public infrastructures and severely affected 14 districts in the central region of Nepal. Most of the affected people were disconnected from basic services such as safe drinking water. Being a basic human need, essential to live a healthy life, drinking water scheme rehabilitation project was initiated by many non-governmental agencies in coordination with the Government of Nepal (GoN). However, due to the limitation of the funds and time, most of the implementing agencies faced problems to prioritize schemes and the communities, which at first needed to focus to reinstate. Therefore, a vulnerable ranking method was adopted to distinguish the priorities to reconstruct damaged and totally destroyed water schemes in Dhading, Gorkha, Nuwakot, and Rasuwa districts of Nepal, which are the districts in the most earthquake affected region. In the process of vulnerability ranking, three major community level parameters and indicators were considered for the ranking. 1) Number of households without safe drinking water after an earthquake, 2) Number of households without improved sanitation after an earthquake, and 3) Disadvantage Group (DAG) ranking of the Village Development Committees (VDCs) of the districts. This process of ranking using community level parameters technique is able to substantiate a justice scientifically in front of the communities, government, donor, and other stakeholders in the selection of VDCs to rehabilitate the drinking water schemes.

Impacts of Massive Earthquake 2015 AD on Coffee Production and Marketing in Western Hills of Nepal

This study was conducted in Gulmi and Palpa districts in western hills of Nepal in 2017 AD with the main objective to assess the impacts of earthquake in coffee production and marketing. One hundred and sixty coffee producers were selected by a three- stage sampling procedure. In this study only 6.9 % of coffee producers had said that they had experienced impacts of massive earthquake 2015 AD on coffee production and marketing. Among the coffee producers(6.9%) who said that they had experienced the impact of earthquake 2015 AD, majority (37%) of them said that they had suffered some minor (repairable) cracks in their houses and sheds while 27% of them had said that rate of drying of water sources is accelerated after earthquake leading to shortage water for drinking and irrrigating coffee fields. Since eathquake 2015AD had minor impacts on coffee production and marketing, pre earthquake preparedness like public awareness programs, quality construction practices, preparation of new codes and standards for infrastructure design and training coffee producers, entrepreneurs and other stakeholders should be done in the study area to cope with the unforeseen consequences of earthquake in future.
 Int. J. Appl. Sci. Biotechnol. Vol 7(1): 114-119