Earthquakes and Tsunamis facts and figures

EARTHQUAKES AND TSUNAMIS infograph I Facts about earthquakes The largest recorded earthquake in the world was a magnitude 9.5 (Mw) in Chile on May 22, 1960. ши Earthquakes also occur in the Moon! They are caused due to to the tidal stresses associated with the varying distance between the Earth and Moon. An earthquake can trigger a tsunami or a volcano to erupt. There are about 500,000 earthquakes a year. About 100,000 of those can be felt, and 100 or so cause damage each year. Quakes on one side of Earth can shake the other side. The massive 2004 earthquake that triggered killer tsunamis throughout the Indian Ocean had weakened at least a portion of California's famed San Andreas Fault. Facts about tsunamis. Not counting the 2011 tsunami in Japan, there were 26 tsunamis that killed at least 200 people or more in the last century. A tsunami is caused by large-scale disturbances of the ocean, such as earthquakes, landslides, volcanic erup- tions, explosions or even meteorites. Tsunami waves can be very long (as much as 60 miles, or 100 kilometers) and be as far as one hour apart. They are able to cross entire oceans without great loss of energy. The Indian Ocean tsunami traveled as much as 3,000 miles (nearly 5,000 kilometers) to Africa, arriving with sufficient force to kill people and destroy property. When the ocean is deep, tsunamis may be less than a foot high on the ocean's surface, can travel at speeds up to 500 mph without being noticed and cross the entire ocean in less than a day. About 36,000 people died in the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa and the subsequent tsunami. In 1896, a tsunami with a run-up of about 100 feet swept the east coast of Japan; more than 27,000 people were killed. A 1908 earthquake and tsunami in Sicily caused an estimated 58,000 deaths. In 2004, the Indian Ocean tsunami was caused by an earthquake that is thought to have had the energy of 23,000 atomic bombs. By the end of the day, the final death toll was 283,000. Some of the largest tsunami waves have been generated by the volcanic eruption of Krakatoa in 1883. This tsunami reached a height of 37 m. In 1737. a tsunami was estimated to be 64 m high as it struck Cape Lopatka in northeast Russia. infograph design by design myTemplate.com