Did You Know These 10 Shocking Facts About Earthquakes?

Shocking Facts About Earthquakes

According to a report on Telesurtv, Earthquakes kill around 8,000 people each year and change the relief and duration of the day on our planet. Earthquakes are usually due to geological flaws; however, they could also be triggered by landslides, nuclear testing, mine checks, as well as volcanic activity.

Here are the shocking facts about earthquakes, read on still.

#1. Each year there is regularly at least one earthquake with magnitude 8 out there. Earthquakes could trigger volcanoes, as was the situation in the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption as well as the Mount Etna eruption in 2002.

#2. The earthquake that Ecuador experienced recently adds to a deadly statistic that has plagued humanity for centuries.

#3. About 80% of earthquakes occur in the Pacific Ring of Fire, based on a study at nationalgeographic, where there are 452 volcanoes, 75% of the world’s dormant and active craters.

#4. Most earthquakes are caused by the movement of tectonic plates on our planet, although these phenomena, such as volcanic eruptions, meteoric impacts, and nuclear tests, can also cause earthquakes.

#5. Each year, 1.3 million earthquakes occur, the majority with magnitude 2.9 or less, because of this, around 8,000 people die each year. In the last 4,000 years, the death toll is around 13 million deaths.

#6. The energy of an earthquake can be hundreds of times greater than that released by the nuclear bomb that the US launched in the Japanese Hiroshima city in 1945.

#7. Some earthquakes that occur in one part of the Earth can be felt in another. For example, scientists who studied the strong earthquake that caused a tsunami in the Indian Ocean in 2004 discovered that it weakened an area of the San Andreas Fault (California, USA).

#8. The most devastating earthquakes included the one that took place in Shanxi (China) in 1556, which is estimated to have left about 830,000 dead, and another in the eastern Mediterranean, which killed more than one million people in 1201.

#9. Scientists believe that animals sense the weak tremors that precede earthquakes and even the electrical signals emitted by the movement of underground rocks.

#10. Japan’s earthquake in 2011 displaced the earth’s mass to the center, according to some researchers, so our planet went on to spin faster and reduced each day by 1.6 microseconds. For its part, the earthquake that struck Sumatra in 2004 reduced the day by 6.8 microseconds

Some Of The Tips To Protect Yourself During An Earthquake

Wherever you are at the time of an earthquake, shelter immediately, if necessary, go to a safe place nearby, and stay there until the tremors stop.
If you are indoors, shelter under heavy furniture, such as a table, desk or bed.
If there is no sturdy furniture under which you can hide or if you are in a hallway, squat down an inside wall and protect your head and neck with your arms.
If you are in a large area, stay away from windows and rays with heavy objects.
If you are outside, stay there. Move to an open space, away from structures or perhaps buildings. The most dangerous place is near the outer walls. In a busy public place, take refuge where you will not be trampled.
When driving, try to stop at a safe place where you will not block the road. Leave the way open for emergency vehicles.
In any case, remember to move away from doors, windows, bookcases, tall furniture, and lighting fixtures. Also, avoid elevators and keep at least 10 meters away from any fallen electrical wire.

Finally, did you know? Every year in Canada, nearly 5,000 earthquakes are recorded. Most are weak, though all Canada regions may be affected; British Columbia is most at risk of being shaken by a large-scale earthquake.

Other areas likely to be affected by earthquakes are the St. Lawrence Valley, the Ottawa River Valley, and parts of the three territories.