0
What else can I help you with?
How big can an earthquake get?
According to several US news agencies (c.g. CBSNEWS), the USGS provided a comparison to help people gain perspective of Japan's recent earthquake.It was cited that"USGS compared Japan's earthquake with two well known quakes: last year's earthquake in Haiti and the historic 1906 San Francisco quake.The USGS calculated the magnitude 8.9 earthquake in Japan [on March 11, 2011] to be 700 times stronger than Haiti's recent magnitude 7.0 earthquake, which devastated Port-au-Prince and killed more than 300,000 people.When comparing to the San Francisco magnitude 7.9 earthquake in 1906, the USGS has figured that Japan's earthquake is equivalent to 30 times stronger."
How deep was the earthquake in Haiti?
The Earthquake in haiti was a magnitude 7.0 earthquake, following some very severe aftershocks including a magnitude 6.1 aftershock. This was the largest earthquake ever revocorded and had the largest aftershock also recorded
Have there been any earthquakes in Australia?
Yes. Most earthquakes in Australia occur deep underground and are not felt by the residents many kilometres above the hypocentre. Earthquakes are common around Melbourne in Victoria but to date none have caused much more than a few trembles on the surface.Times and places where significant earthquakes have occurred in Australia include:An earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale hit Meeberrie, Western Australia, on 29 April 1941. It left massive cracks in all the walls of Meeberrie homestead.On 14 October 1968, the town of Meckering, Western Australia, was hit by an earthquake which registered 6.9 on the Richter scale. No-one was killed, but an estimated $2.2 million worth of damage was caused, and 17 people injured.On 22 January 1988, three large earthquakes were felt in Tennant Creek, in the Northern Territory. The smallest occurred at 10:06am and registered 6.3 on the Richter Scale, whilst the largest occurred at 9:35pm, registering 6.7.Australia's worst earthquake disaster occurred on 28 December 1989 in Newcastle, NSW, when an earthquake measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale hit, causing massive damage and thirteen deaths.
Where was the worst earthquake?
Australia does not have many major earthquakes, but it has dozen of minor earthquakes every year which are not felt by the average person because they occur so far underground.Times and places where significant earthquakes have occurred in Australia are few, but they include:An earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale hit Meeberrie, Western Australia, on 29 April 1941. It left massive cracks in all the walls of Meeberrie homestead.On 14 October 1968, the town of Meckering, Western Australia, was hit by an earthquake which registered 6.9 on the Richter scale. No-one was killed, but an estimated $2.2 million worth of damage was caused, and 17 people injured.On 22 January 1988, three large earthquakes were felt in Tennant Creek, in the Northern Territory. The smallest occurred at 10:06am and registered 6.3 on the Richter Scale, whilst the largest occurred at 9:35pm, registering 6.7.Australia's worst earthquake disaster occurred on 28 December 1989 in Newcastle, NSW, when an earthquake measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale hit, causing massive damage and thirteen deaths.
Is 3 miles considered deep or shallow for a earthquake?
That is quite shallow for an earthquake.
How big can an earthquake get?
According to several US news agencies (c.g. CBSNEWS), the USGS provided a comparison to help people gain perspective of Japan's recent earthquake.It was cited that"USGS compared Japan's earthquake with two well known quakes: last year's earthquake in Haiti and the historic 1906 San Francisco quake.The USGS calculated the magnitude 8.9 earthquake in Japan [on March 11, 2011] to be 700 times stronger than Haiti's recent magnitude 7.0 earthquake, which devastated Port-au-Prince and killed more than 300,000 people.When comparing to the San Francisco magnitude 7.9 earthquake in 1906, the USGS has figured that Japan's earthquake is equivalent to 30 times stronger."
Was the Christchurch earthquake a deep earthquake or not?
The earthquake in Christchurch, NZ on the 22nd of February, 2011 was located just 4 or 5km underground. To put this in perspective, the quake in September, located near Christchurch was twice the depth, 10km below ground. So although the quake may have been 6.3 on the Richter Scale, it was a lot shallower than the one in September (7.3 on the Richter Scale), did a lot more damage and took many, many more lives. Hope this helps.
When did the Alasken Good Friday earthquake happen?
The Alaskan Good Friday Earthquake occurred March 27, 1964 at approximately 5:36pm. It was 14 miles deep and centered near Valdez, Alaska. Depending on which scale you use (old or new) it was a 7.9 to 9.2 on the Richter Scale. I say which scale you use because the scale has been updated since 1964. Hope this helps.
How many atomic bombs is the equivalent of 7.8 on the Richter scale?
It is not possible to directly equate the energy released by an earthquake to the explosive power of atomic bombs. The Richter scale measures the magnitude of an earthquake based on seismic waves, while atomic bombs release energy through nuclear fission or fusion. The destructive power of an earthquake cannot be accurately converted to the number of atomic bombs.
How deep was the earthquake in Haiti?
The Earthquake in haiti was a magnitude 7.0 earthquake, following some very severe aftershocks including a magnitude 6.1 aftershock. This was the largest earthquake ever revocorded and had the largest aftershock also recorded
Have there been any earthquakes in Australia?
Yes. Most earthquakes in Australia occur deep underground and are not felt by the residents many kilometres above the hypocentre. Earthquakes are common around Melbourne in Victoria but to date none have caused much more than a few trembles on the surface.Times and places where significant earthquakes have occurred in Australia include:An earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale hit Meeberrie, Western Australia, on 29 April 1941. It left massive cracks in all the walls of Meeberrie homestead.On 14 October 1968, the town of Meckering, Western Australia, was hit by an earthquake which registered 6.9 on the Richter scale. No-one was killed, but an estimated $2.2 million worth of damage was caused, and 17 people injured.On 22 January 1988, three large earthquakes were felt in Tennant Creek, in the Northern Territory. The smallest occurred at 10:06am and registered 6.3 on the Richter Scale, whilst the largest occurred at 9:35pm, registering 6.7.Australia's worst earthquake disaster occurred on 28 December 1989 in Newcastle, NSW, when an earthquake measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale hit, causing massive damage and thirteen deaths.
Where was the worst earthquake?
Australia does not have many major earthquakes, but it has dozen of minor earthquakes every year which are not felt by the average person because they occur so far underground.Times and places where significant earthquakes have occurred in Australia are few, but they include:An earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale hit Meeberrie, Western Australia, on 29 April 1941. It left massive cracks in all the walls of Meeberrie homestead.On 14 October 1968, the town of Meckering, Western Australia, was hit by an earthquake which registered 6.9 on the Richter scale. No-one was killed, but an estimated $2.2 million worth of damage was caused, and 17 people injured.On 22 January 1988, three large earthquakes were felt in Tennant Creek, in the Northern Territory. The smallest occurred at 10:06am and registered 6.3 on the Richter Scale, whilst the largest occurred at 9:35pm, registering 6.7.Australia's worst earthquake disaster occurred on 28 December 1989 in Newcastle, NSW, when an earthquake measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale hit, causing massive damage and thirteen deaths.
Classification of earthquakes?
Earthquakes are classified based on their magnitude and depth. The Richter scale is used to measure magnitude, with earthquakes categorized as minor (less than 3.0), light (3.0-3.9), moderate (4.0-4.9), strong (5.0-5.9), major (6.0-6.9), great (7.0-7.9), and massive (8.0 or higher). Depth classifications include shallow (0-70 km), intermediate (70-300 km), and deep (300-700 km).
Name a scale that scientists use to evaluate earthquakes?
There are a number of differing scales used to rate earthquakes depending on whether you are interested in their magnitude (the amount of energy released when they occur) or their intensity (a measurement of the amount of damage caused and severity of ground shaking in a given area).There are two primary magnitude scales currently in use, the Richter (or local) magnitude scale and the moment magnitude scale. The Richter magnitude scale estimates earthquake magnitude based on the amplitude of seismic waves as recorded by a seismometer. The Richter scale is logarithmic and each single increment relates to a ten times increase in detected seismic wave amplitude and a 31 times increase in energy.The Richter magnitude scale was originally developed for deriving the magnitude of small and medium sized earthquakes (those with magnitudes less than 7) at epicentral distances relatively close to a seismometer station (less than 600 km). As such it is poor at resolving large earthquakes as it relies on the detection of high frequency seismic waves that have wavelengths which are shorter than the rupture lengths of large earthquakes.To attempt to improve the Richter scale for use in larger earthquakes and at greater epicentral distances, Charles Richter and Beno Guttenberg developed the surface and body wave magnitude scales. The surface wave magnitude scale derives magnitudes from the measured amplitude of Rayleigh surface waves at long distances. The Body wave magnitude scale is intended to be used to derive the magnitude of deep-focus earthquakes. Both scales are designed so that they produce magnitude numbers that are consistent with those from the Richter Local magnitude scale, and these improvements extended it's validity to earthquakes with magnitudes up to 8, however to measure earthquakes with magnitudes beyond this a new magnitude scale was required.This new scale was developed in the 1970s and is known as the moment magnitude scale and derives the magnitude based on an earthquakes seismic moment. This is a calculation based on the length of the fault zone which ruptured, the amplitude of the fault movement when the rupture occurred (the length and amplitude giving a rupture cross sectional area) and the elastic modulus of the rock mass around the fault zone. It was decided that the familiar logarithmic scale produced by the Richter methodology be maintained to allow direct comparisons to be made and so the moment magnitude is also reported on the familiar scale.Although more accurate at treating larger earthquakes the seismic moment and hence moment magnitude of an earthquake is more difficult to derive than the Richter magnitude and so initial estimates are most commonly made using the Richter scale. The common range of magnitudes and their relative effects are described below:Less than 2.0: Micro - not felt.2.0-2.9: Minor - not felt, but recorded.3.0-3.9: Minor - felt, but rarely causes damage.4.0-4.9: Light - noticeable shaking of items, damage unlikely.5.0-5.9: Moderate - damage to poorly constructed buildings, unlikely damage to specially designed buildings.6.0-6.9: Strong - destructive for up to 100 miles across populated areas.7.0-7.9: Major - serious damage over large areas.8.0-8.9: Great - serious damage over areas of several hundred miles.9.0-9.9: Great - devastating damage in areas thousands of miles across.10.0+: Great - yet to be recorded.The intensity of an earthquake is currently most commonly measured using theModified Mercalli Intensity scale.The scale indicates the perceived intensity of ground shaking based on the damage caused by an earthquake to buildings and infrastructure and the opinions of witnesses as to the severity of the felt ground movement.In order to attempt to quantify the Mercalli scale and decrease it's reliance on the subjective opinion of witnesses, the USGS also include data of measured ground accelerations taken from seismometers in the formulation of the Mercalli value. In Europe earthquake intensity is derived using the Macroseismic scale which is essentially a further modification to the Modified Mercalli scale but essentially works the same way and in Japan and Taiwan, the Japan Meteorological Agency seismic intensity scale is used. This again is similar in concept to the Mercalli scale although the values and descriptions of damage used are somewhat different.For more information, please see the related questions and links.
Where deep earthquake occur?
in the core
Is 3 miles considered deep or shallow for a earthquake?
That is quite shallow for an earthquake.
What was the depth of the 1960 Chile earthquake?
The focus of the 9.5 (moment magnitud scale) eartquake of Valdivia 1960 was shallow, 33 km deep.
