Primary Effects of an Earthquake

Property Damage

• Depending on the intensity of an earthquake, the shaking can cause small to large-scale damage on land. Buildings and homes that are poorly constructed collapse in earthquakes. Structures built on water-saturated sediment also suffer damage or collapse. Third-world countries are more susceptible to property damage because they cannot afford to build earthquake-resistant buildings. Mud-walled structures in these countries are extremely weak. Many concrete buildings also collapse because they lack flexibility to move with the earthquake.

Tsunami

• A tsunami is a seismic wave that develops from an earthquake that occurs under the ocean. The ocean floor becomes displaced and shifts during an earthquake, causing the large wave known as a tsunami. These seismic waves can be destructive when they reach land, causing flooding and property damage. A tsunami wave can reach heights of 200 feet, according to NASA research. A seismic wave warning system was established in 1946 for the Pacific basin after a tsunami killed 154 people in Hawaii.

Death

• Loss of life can be great in an earthquake. Deaths result from falling debris, entrapment under rubble, tsunami or electrical fire. In 1990, an estimated 40,000 to 50,000 people were killed in a 7.4-magnitude earthquake in western Iran. And in 2010, an estimated 222, 570 people died in Haiti from a 7.0-magnitude earthquake, according to the United States Geological Survey’s Earthquake Hazards Program.