subject: Earthquakes today; shake, rattle and rock! [print this page] There are around 500,000 earthquakes each year. 100,000 of these can actually be felt. The USGS Earthquake Info Center locates about 20,000 earthquakes each year (about 50 per day). On average, about 60 earthquakes per year are classified as significant, with up to 19 classified as major. A significant earthquake is one of magnitude 6.5 or higher or one of lesser magnitude that causes casualties or considerable damage. Major earthquakes have a magnitude larger than 7.0.
The majority of earthquakes occur along the plate boundaries. The Pacific Plate is known as the Pacific Plate of Fire because it is one of the most active plate boundaries where earthquakes as well as eruptions are frequent. The most earthquake prone zone in the world is Alaska. It is one of the most seismically active zones in the world. Alaska experiences a magnitude eight or greater earthquake every fourteen years, and a magnitude seven earthquake almost every year.
The largest earthquake ever recorded was a magnitude 9.5 in Chile on May 22, 1960. The world's deadliest recorded earthquake occurred in 1556 in central China. It struck a region where most people lived in caves carved from soft rock. These dwellings collapsed during the earthquake, killing an estimated 830,000 people.
Some people say the number of earthquakes is increasing. However, this is not the case. Because of the media intensity we do hear more about earthquakes and because of the growing world population the effects of earthquakes are increasing.
So, where did the earthquakes struck today and how strong where they?
EarthquakesToday.info is a nice compact website where you can find the information about the latest earthquakes, the latest earthquake news headlines and videos about the latest significant earthquakes.
