2. The Richter Scale
Earthquakes are measured using a scale called the Richter Scale. This scale ranks
earthquakes from 1 to 12. If the earthquake is below 2.0 you usually can't feel it.
Earthquakes that rank below the 4.0 usually do not cause damage. Earthquakes over
5.0 can cause damage. If the earthquake is 7.0 or higher on the Richter Scale it is
considered a major earthquake. Below you will see a chart that explains the Richter
Scale in more detail.
Less than 4.3
No damage
4.4 - 4.8
Small unstable objects are moved. Dishes and glasses may
be broken.
4.9 - 5.4
Damage slight. Windows, dishes, and glasses may be
broken. Furniture moved. Weak masonry cracked.
5.5 - 6.1
Structural damage considerable
6.6 - 6.9
Structural damage severe. Underground pipes broken.
Cracks in ground.
7.0 - 7.3
Most masonry and frame structure foundations
destroyed. Some well built wooden structures and bridges
destroyed.
7.4 - 8.1
Few or no masonry structures remain standing. Bridges
destroyed. Underground pipelines completely destroyed.
Greater than 8.1 ---------------Damage nearly total!!
6. Deadliest Earthquakes on Record
Date
Location
Deaths
Magnitude
Comments
January 23, 1556
China, Shansi 830,000
~8
December 26,
2004
Sumatra
283,106
9.0
Deaths from earthquake and
tsunami.
July 27, 1976
China,
Tangshan
255,000
(official)
7.5
Estimated death toll as high as
655,000.
August 9, 1138
Syria, Aleppo 230,000
May 22, 1927
China, near
Xining
200,000
7.9
Large fractures.
December 22,
856+
Iran,
Damghan
200,000
December 16,
1920
China, Gansu 200,000
8.6
Major fractures, landslides.
March 23, 893+
Iran, Ardabil
September 1, 1923
Japan, Kanto
143,000
(Kwanto)
7.9
Great Tokyo fire.
150,000
7. ..More Deadly Quakes
October 5, 1948
USSR
(Turkmenistan,
Ashgabat)
110,000
7.3
December 28, 1908
Italy, Messina
70,000 to
100,000
(estimated)
7.2
Deaths from earthquake and tsunami.
September, 1290
China, Chihli
100,000
November, 1667
Caucasia,
Shemakha
80,000
November 18, 1727
Iran, Tabriz
77,000
November 1, 1755
Portugal, Lisbon 70,000
8.7
Great tsunami.
December 25, 1932
China, Gansu
70,000
7.6
May 31, 1970
Peru
66,000
7.9
$530,000,000 damage, great rock slide,
floods.
1268
Asia Minor,
Silicia
60,000
January 11, 1693
Italy, Sicily
60,000
May 30, 1935
Pakistan, Quetta
30,000 to
60,000
7.5
Quetta almost completely destroyed.
February 4, 1783
Italy, Calabria
50,000
June 20, 1990
Iran
50,000
7.7
Landslides.
8. Deadliest US Earthquakes
Rank
1.
Magnitude
9.2
2.
Location
Date
Prince William Sound,
March 27, 19641.
Alaska
Andreanof Islands, Alaska March 9, 1957
3.
Rat Islands, Alaska
8.7
4.
East of Shumagin Islands, Nov. 10, 1938
Alaska
8.3
Lituya Bay, Alaska
July 10, 1958
8.3
Yakutat Bay, Alaska
Sept. 10, 1899
8.2
Near Cape Yakataga,
Alaska
Sept. 4, 1899
8.2
8.
Andreanof Islands, Alaska May 7, 1986
8.0
9.
New Madrid, Missouri
Feb. 7, 1812
7.9
10.
Fort Tejon, California
Jan. 9, 1857
7.9
6.
Feb. 4, 1965
8.8
9. Famous U. S. Earthquakes
San Francisco Earthquake - 1906
*Time: 5:10 am
*8.2 on the
Richter scale
10. At 5:12 a.m. on April 18, 1906, a foreshock hit San Francisco. However, it offered just a quick
warning, for massive devastation was soon to follow. Approximately 20 to 25 seconds after
the foreshock, the large quake hit. With the epicenter near San Francisco, the entire city was
rocked. Chimneys fell, walls caved in, and gas lines broke. Asphalt that covered the streets
buckled and piled up. Many people didn't have time to even get out of bed before they
were killed by falling debris.
*3,000 killed by
quake and fire
23. *warm-up for the third game of the World Series
between the Oakland Athletics and the San Francisco
Giants
Because of the World Series game being held that evening, many people left work early
or gathered at restaurants to watch the game. This made the rush hour traffic lighter
than normal; otherwise, the death toll could have been much higher.
At Candlestick Park, only half of the fans had arrived when the earthquake hit. This
helped reduce the load and strain on the stadium structure. A seismic strengthening
project had recently been completed on the upper deck of the stadium. The stadium
was not damaged and the fans rode the wave and wanted the game to begin. It didn’t
happen; the game was postponed for 10 days.
24. New Madrid, Missouri Earthquakes 1811-1812
In December of 1811, a the
largest earthquake ever recorded
in American History started. This
earthquake, is called the New
Madrid Earthquake, because of its
location on the New Madrid Fault,
near New Madrid, Missouri.
December 16, 1811 – 8.1
January 23, 1822 – 7.8
February 7, 1812 – 8.8
25. Large areas sank into the earth, new
lakes were formed, waterfalls emerged,
and the Mississippi River changed its
course due to the earthquakes.
26. Survivors reported that the earthquakes caused cracks to open in the
earth's surface, the ground to roll in visible waves, and large areas of
land to sink or rise. The crew of the New Orleans (the first steamboat on
the Mississippi, which was on her maiden voyage) reported mooring to
an island only to awake in the morning and find that the island had
disappeared below the waters of the Mississippi River.
