{"id":31545,"date":"2025-03-29T01:23:27","date_gmt":"2025-03-28T19:53:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=31545"},"modified":"2025-04-16T12:49:03","modified_gmt":"2025-04-16T07:19:03","slug":"earthquakes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/earthquakes\/","title":{"rendered":"Earthquakes"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Earthquakes Latest News<\/h2>\n<p>A 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar on March 29, 2025, causing significant destruction in Mandalay and claiming at least 144 lives.<\/p>\n<h2>About Earthquakes<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Earthquake<\/strong>: Sudden <strong>shaking or trembling<\/strong> of the Earth&#8217;s surface due to the <strong>release of stored energy<\/strong> in the Earth&#8217;s crust or upper mantle.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Focus (Hypocentre)<\/strong>: The <strong>point within the Earth<\/strong> where the earthquake originates.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Epicentre<\/strong>: The <strong>point on the surface<\/strong> directly above the focus.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Seismograph<\/strong>: An <strong>instrument<\/strong> used to <strong>detect and measure<\/strong> earthquakes.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Isoseismic line<\/strong>: A line connecting points on the surface <strong>experiencing the same intensity<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Types of Seismic Waves<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"table\">\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><strong>Type<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p><strong>Description<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p><strong>Speed<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><strong>Primary (P) Waves<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p><strong>Fastest<\/strong>, travel through <strong>solids, liquids, and gases<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Fastest<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><strong>Secondary (S) Waves<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Travel through <strong>solids only<\/strong>, cause <strong>more damage<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Slower than P-waves<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><strong>Surface Waves<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p><strong>Slowest<\/strong>, cause <strong>maximum destruction<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Slowest<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/figure>\n<h2>Causes of Earthquakes<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Fault zones: Most earthquakes occur<\/strong> along <strong>fault lines<\/strong>, where <strong>stress builds up<\/strong> due to <strong>tectonic movements<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Major faults<\/strong>:\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Thrust faults<\/strong> (Convergent boundary) \u2192 <strong>Most powerful quakes<\/strong> (Magnitude <strong>8+<\/strong>).<\/li>\n<li><strong>Strike-slip faults<\/strong> (Transform boundary) \u2192 <strong>Horizontal movement<\/strong> (e.g., <strong>Sagaing Fault, San Andreas Fault<\/strong>).<\/li>\n<li><strong>Normal faults<\/strong> (Divergent boundary) \u2192 <strong>Less intense quakes<\/strong> (Magnitude <strong>&lt;7<\/strong>).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Plate Tectonics: Tectonic movement at plate boundaries<\/strong> can trigger earthquakes:\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Convergent Boundaries<\/strong> \u2192 <strong>Subduction zones<\/strong>, causing <strong>megathrust earthquakes<\/strong> (e.g., <strong>2004 Indian Ocean earthquake<\/strong>).<\/li>\n<li><strong>Divergent Boundaries<\/strong> \u2192 <strong>Spreading ridges<\/strong> generate <strong>mild earthquakes<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Transform Boundaries<\/strong> \u2192 <strong>Horizontal movement<\/strong> of plates leads to <strong>strike-slip earthquakes<\/strong> (e.g., <strong>Sagaing Fault, San Andreas Fault<\/strong>).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Volcanic activity: Magma movement<\/strong> inside volcanoes can cause <strong>volcanic earthquakes<\/strong>.\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Myanmar<\/strong> has <strong>active volcanoes<\/strong>, contributing to <strong>seismic activity<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Human-induced earthquakes: Mining, dam construction, and deep drilling<\/strong> can trigger <strong>artificial seismic activity<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Why Does Myanmar Experience Frequent Earthquakes?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Tectonic Setting: <\/strong>Myanmar lies at the <strong>junction of three major tectonic plates<\/strong>:\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Indian Plate<\/strong> (moving northward)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Eurasian Plate<\/strong> (moving southward)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Burma Microplate<\/strong> (moving eastward)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>The <strong>Sagaing Fault<\/strong>, a <strong>strike-slip fault<\/strong>, runs <strong>north-south<\/strong> through <strong>central Myanmar<\/strong>, making it <strong>highly prone to seismic activity<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Earthquakes FAQs<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Q1. <\/strong>What causes earthquakes?<br \/>\n<strong>Ans.<\/strong> Earthquakes are caused by the sudden release of energy due to the movement of tectonic plates along faults.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q2. <\/strong>What is the difference between the Richter scale and the Mercalli scale?<br \/>\n<strong>Ans.<\/strong> The Richter scale measures earthquake magnitude (energy released), while the Mercalli scale measures the intensity and impact on people and structures.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q3. <\/strong>What are the major earthquake-prone zones in India?<br \/>\n<strong>Ans.<\/strong> India has four seismic zones. Zone V (most active) includes regions like the Himalayas and the Northeast, while Zone II (least active) includes central and southern India.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q4. <\/strong>What is the significance of the Ring of Fire in earthquakes?<br \/>\n<strong>Ans.<\/strong> The Ring of Fire is a highly seismically active zone in the Pacific Ocean where most of the world&#8217;s earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur due to subduction zones.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q5. <\/strong>What are the mitigation strategies for earthquakes?<br \/>\n<strong>Ans.<\/strong> Earthquake mitigation includes retrofitting buildings, enforcing seismic-resistant construction codes, early warning systems, and public awareness programs.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/explained-sci-tech\/why-myanmar-is-frequently-rocked-by-earthquakes-9912160\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">IE<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sudden shaking or trembling of the Earth&#8217;s surface due to the release of stored energy in the Earth&#8217;s crust or upper mantle. Most earthquakes occur along fault lines.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":31546,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-31545","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-prelims-current-affairs","8":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31545","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31545"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31545\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31546"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}