The first days of January 1995 were calm and normal throughout most of Japan. The promise of a quiet year was shattered on January 17, when a devastating earthquake rocked the country. The power of the quake focused most of its destruction on the urban...

An earthquake is a geological event inside the earth that generates strong vibrations. When the vibrations reach the surface, the earth shakes, often causing damage to natural and manmade objects, and sometimes killing and injuring people and...

Earthquakes have been around for as long as the planet and have plagued humans throughout history. With no warning, major earthquakes strike populated areas of the world every year, killing hundreds, injuring thousands, and causing hundreds of...

any sudden shaking of the ground caused by the passage of seismic waves through the Earth's rocks. Seismic waves are produced when some form of energy stored in the Earth's crust is suddenly released, usually when masses of rock straining against one...

Earthquakes are the result of rocks breaking under stress. The constant movement of the tectonic plates that cover the earth's thin outer crust, or lithosphere, causes stress to build up in the rocks beneath the earth's surface. Rocks...

An earthquake is an unpredictable event in which masses of rock shift below the Earth's surface, releasing enormous amounts of energy and sending out shock waves which sometimes cause the ground to shake dramatically. Not all earthquakes cause...

Earthquakes occur in many parts of the world, sometimes with great regularity. The magnitude of an earthquake is measured by the Richter seismic scale, while the severity of a earthquake is measured in terms of damage and lives lost. The damage and...

Sudden shaking of the ground caused by a disturbance deeper within the crust of the Earth. Most earthquakes occur when masses of rock straining against one another along fault lines suddenly fracture and slip. The Earth's major earthquakes occur mainly...

Building designed to prevent total collapse, preserve life, and minimize damage in case of an earthquake or tremor. Earthquakes exert lateral as well as vertical forces, and a structure's response to their random, often sudden motions is a complex task...

An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes are recorded with a seismometer, also known as a seismograph. The moment magnitude of an earthquake is conventionally reported, or...