There are many terms related to an Earthquake, which can be
confusing to understand. Magnitude, shaking intensity and energy release, all
are related and proportional to each other in different ways. It is an Earthquake's
magnitude that is the main element and understood by almost everyone. Our
planet faces several Earthquakes per year, and some countries even consider
Earthquakes pretty usual.
The leading causes of earthquakes are breaking of rock
somewhere underground, rubbing or sliding of two plates with each other,
unexpected energy release that provokes seismic waves. Many Earthquakes are
accompanied by Tsunamis due to the movement of plates in Earth's crust that
activates the sea and brings massive destruction to the place.
We all are pretty familiar with the word 'Richter Scale'. It
is basically used to measure the magnitude of an Earthquake. The scale has
values from 0-10, higher the value, greater the magnitude. An increase by one
professes to be the increase of amplitude by tenfold. Humans usually feel the
ground shaking when an Earthquake hits the magnitude of 4.
Sometimes, the magnitude of an Earthquake is quite high, but
the city or particular area doesn't get a lot of damage and vice-versa. This is
due to the shaking intensity, which determines how severe the Earthquake was.
Shaking intensity is measured through a scale known as the 'Modified Mercalli
Intensity Scale’.
Energy release is the third factor which is used to measure
an Earthquake's size. The more significant the energy released during an
Earthquake, the higher the chances of damage to the place. Energy is released
at various frequencies while an earthquake occurs, and for the exact
measurement of total energy release, all shaking frequencies are included. Many
studies have advised that the energy radiated by Earthquakes can be used up for
power generation purposes.
Earthquakes bring unimaginable disaster to the place where
it occurs, depending on its magnitude.
Various construction companies all
around the globe also come up with projects that are Earthquake proof. Not only
this, many concrete and cement companies also claim that their cement can
resist the disaster that Earthquakes bring along. However, these are a few
tactics followed by the countries facing a high number of Earthquakes every
year.
Back in the early 1900s, when there was not enough equipment
invented to measure different qualities of an Earthquake, scientists only
measured the magnitudes. Some of the historical Earthquakes worldwide are
summed up in the infographic below.
Infographic by: Visualcapitalist.com
