The definition of an earthquake is…

vibrations that cause the breaking of

rocks.
Earthquakes can cause landslides, sudden eruptions as
in the case of a hot lava flow from a volcano or giant
waves called tsunamis. Sometimes new land mass are
also formed. Such earthquakes are attributed with the
creation of the greatest undersea mountain range and
the longest land mountain range.
• Surface causes
• Volcanic causes
• Tectonic causes
The earthquake that caused the most
destruction in history occurred in the Shansi
province of China on January 23,1556. An
estimated 830,000 people were killed.

The second most destructive earthquake also

occurred in China--in July, 1976--and killed
255,000 people.
…And that was
just a 7.2 on
the Richter
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Earthquakes are measured using the Richter
Scale. The strongest earthquake ever
measured was a 9.5 on the Richter Scale. This
is a measurement of the amount of energy
released from the earthquake.
9.5 Chile, May 22, 1960
9.2 Indian Ocean (Sumatra tsunami) Dec 26,2004
9.2 Prince William Sound, Alaska, March 28, 1964
9.1 Andreanof Islands, Aleutian Islands, Pacific,
March 9, 1957
9.0 Kamchatka, Russia, November 4, 1952
8.8 Off the Coast of Ecuador, January 31, 1906
8.7 Rat Islands, Aleutian Islands, Pacific,
February 4, 1965
8.6 India-China Border, August 15, 1950
8.5 Kamchatka, Russia, February 3, 1923
8.5 Banda Sea, Indonesia, February 1, 1938
8.5 Kuril Islands, Pacific, October 13, 1963
Intensity: The severity of earthquake shaking is
assessed using a descriptive scale – the Modified
Mercalli Intensity Scale.
Magnitude: Earthquake size is a quantitative measure
of the size of the earthquake at its source. The
Richter Magnitude Scale measures the amount of
seismic energy released by an earthquake.
In the lower 48 states, there is a tie
between the February 1812, New
Madrid, Missouri earthquake and the
January 1857, Fort Tejon, California
earthquake--both magnitude 7.9--for
the strongest earthquake recorded.
Generally, during an earthquake you first will
feel a swaying or small jerking motion, then a
slight pause, followed by a more intense rolling
or jerking motion. The duration of the shaking
you feel depends on the earthquake's
magnitude, your distance from the epicenter,
and the geology of the ground under your feet.
• For minor earthquakes, ground shaking usually lasts
only a few seconds.
• Strong shaking from a major earthquake usually lasts
less than one minute. For example, shaking in the 1989
magnitude 7.1 Loma Prieta (San Francisco) earthquake
lasted 15 seconds;
• For the 1906 magnitude 8.3 San Francisco
earthquake it lasted about 40 seconds.
• Shaking for the 1964 magnitude 9.2 Alaska
earthquake, however, lasted three minutes.
Aftershocks are smaller earthquakes which
occur in the same general area during the days
to years following a larger event or
"mainshock". As a general rule, aftershocks
represent minor readjustments along the
portion of a fault that slipped at the time of the
main shock. The frequency of these
aftershocks decreases with time.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and
Seismology (PHIVOLCS) is a service institute of the
Department of Science and Technology (DOST) that is
principally mandated to mitigate disasters that may arise
from volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tsunami and other
related geotectonic phenomena.