earthquake: Quick Facts

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Last updated

Nov. 8, 2026

News •

Strong earthquake shakes central Japan, shattering store windows and injuring at least 22 • Nov. 8, 2026, 2:23 AM ET (AP)

Rescuers search for survivors after deadly earthquake in China’s Tibet region • Oct. 23, 2026, 5:51 PM ET (AP)

Powerful earthquake in China’s Tibet region collapses hundreds of homes and kills at least 16 people • Oct. 23, 2026, 1:25 AM ET (AP)

Facts

Also Known As	earth tremor

Photos and Videos

Kōbe earthquake of 1995

earthquake-damaged neighbourhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti

World map displaying global seismic centers for earthquakes of magnitude 5.5 and greater from 1975 to 1999. Colored circles mark earthquake locations, with size indicating magnitude and color representing depth of focus, showing dense concentrations along the Pacific Ring of Fire, Mediterranean-Asian seismic belt, and mid-ocean ridges.

San Francisco earthquake of 1906

World map displaying global seismic centers for earthquakes of magnitude 5.5 and greater from 1975 to 1999. Colored circles mark earthquake locations, with size indicating magnitude and color representing depth of focus, showing dense concentrations along the Pacific Ring of Fire, Mediterranean-Asian seismic belt, and mid-ocean ridges.

Diagram showing three types of faulting related to earthquakes: normal faulting, reverse faulting, and strike-slip faulting, with labeled blocks, fault lines, and movement directions.

World map displaying the locations of volcanoes and thermal fields that have been active in the past 10,000 years, marked with red dots. Dense clusters are visible along the Pacific Ring of Fire, including the west coasts of the Americas, eastern Asia, and island arcs in the Pacific, as well as scattered sites in the Mediterranean, East Africa, and the Atlantic.

Diagram showing the stages of a tsunami, from its generation at the earthquake epicenter under the ocean, through wave propagation across open water, to cresting and inundation as the waves reach and flood coastal land.

Diagram showing four main types of seismic waves: P wave with alternating compressions and expansions, S wave with vertical undulations, Love wave with horizontal shearing, and Rayleigh wave with rolling elliptical motion.

A chart outlines physical parameters-seismic P velocity, ground uplift, radon emission, electrical resistivity, and number of seismic events-across five stages leading to and following an earthquake, showing how each parameter changes as an earthquake approaches and aftershocks occur.

The video thumbnail image shows a woman trying to break a bundle of pasta strands as part of a scientific demonstration.

Buildings collapse on a street in Myanmar, while onlookers stand by.

Understanding earthquakes: The role of Earth's crustal plates

A woman sits at a table with tools for a scientific demonstration.

Examine how earthquake shock waves can generate a tsunami like the one that crashed down on Hilo in 1946

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Topics

earthquake swarm moonquake focus seaquake seismic moment tectonic earthquake shallow earthquake deep-focus earthquake intermediate earthquake volcanic earthquake famine landslide avalanche Wildfire flood volcanism cryoseism drought Forest fire diastrophism

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Key People

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John Michell

British geologist and astronomer

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Boris Borisovich, Prince Golitsyn

Russian physicist

Richter, Charles F.

Charles F. Richter

American physicist

Day, Arthur L.

Arthur L. Day

American geophysicist

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