Impact of Earthquakes

Earthquakes could devastate an entire city or a region of hundreds of square kilometres. A large earthquake provides rise to a series of violent motions within the ground that set in motion the structures (that is, buildings, roads, towers, bridges, transmission lines, etc.) on the earth's surface. Each kind of structure responds differently, depending on the type of materials it is made up of. Buildings collapse like packs of cards. They get decreased to piles of rubble in seconds, killing and injuring their inhabitants.

Because of the power distribution network spreads over the entire area along with conductors running on metallic structures, it is most prone to the effects of the earthquake. However, sensitive equipment gets activated while shaken through an earthquake and immediately interrupts power supply from the power grid. Fire is another concern immediately subsequent an earthquake because of severed electrical lines.