10 interesting facts about earthquakes.

Here are some of the interesting facts you never knew about earthquakes :

Fact 1-The earthquake that hit the Tohoku region of Japan on March 11, 2011, had a magnitude of 9.0 and killed over 15000 people.

Fact 2-An earthquake that hit Haiti in January 2010 with a magnitude of 7.0 killed over 200000 people

 Fact 3-There are about 500,000 earthquakes a year around the world, as detected by sensitive instruments.

Fact 4- Scientists assign a magnitude rating to earthquakes based on the strength and duration of their seismic waves.

 Fact 5-The largest recorded earthquake in the world was a magnitude 9.5 in Chile on May 22, 1960.

 Fact 6-Alaska is the most earthquake-prone state and one of the most seismically active regions in the world

 Fact 7-Oil extraction can cause minor earthquakes.

Fact 8- The deadliest earthquake ever struck January 23, 1556 in Shansi, China. Some 830,000 are estimated to have died.

 Fact 9-Loss of life can be avoided through emergency planning and education.

 Fact 10-The deepest earthquakes typically occur at plate boundaries where the Earth”s crust is being subducted into the Earth’s mantle.