The affects of earthquakes are very destructive. Some impacts are physical, while others are psychological. The affects of earthquakes can include financial loss, property/structure loss, population loss/death, developed phobias, psychological damage, tsunamis, landslides/ rock slides, fire, falling electrical lines, floods as a result of dams collapsing, and ruptured gas lines.
An obvious effect of an earthquake is death. Death is common because during an earthquake there are countless ways one can get injured or killed. Some of these include buildings collapsing, earth splitting, dust and dirt inhalation, etc.
One of the most common and worse affects of earthquakes is financial loss, usually caused by structure/property damage. Since earthquakes cause so many vibrations and earth movements, buildings are like jello because their foundations are no longer stationary. As a result of this, the buildings fall and get destroyed. Therefore, this causes financial loss and often death.
One effect of an earthquake that is not considered very much by the average person is psychological damage, which usually includes phobias. One might develop a phobia of earthquakes by a personal experience. For example, if a 12-year-old experiences a 7.1 magnitude earthquake first hand and during the midst of this the child is badly injured and a close family member dies. It is this sort of occurrence that will haunt anyone for the rest of their lives.
Rock and land slides are a deadly affect of earthquakes. This is because of the massive damage they can cause. Landslides and rock slides will always affect those who live near a hillside or mountain, because that is where these slides originate. These slides are caused by ground shaking which causes loose items such as rocks, clay, dirt or wood. to start to tumble down the face of a hill or mountain.
Floods are also an affect of earthquakes. This is because earthquakes often rupture and collapse dams which then let out enormous amounts of water and cause massive floods that damage people as well as property and buildings. Floods can also cause agricultural damage because they can easily drown crops that can only survive with their usual water amount.
Ruptured gas lines are a very deadly affect of earthquakes. They occur by the ground moving in drastic ways. When this takes place the gas lines get twisted and break. When they break they emit deadly gases that are capable of killing any human and/or animal. This can lead to massive explosion and fire. Like in the San Francisco earthquake for example, where a lot of the damage to the buildings and people was caused by the fire, and not the quake itself.