They come in all magnitudes from can't-be-felt to knock-down-everything standing for 500 miles. They can happen almost anywhere (swamps and sandbars seem safe), but most (85%) happen on plate boundaries.
A small earthquake that happens after a larger one is called an aftershock. Aftershocks happen because the crust in the area where the main earthquake happened is adjusting to the earthquake's...
The extent of damage of lives and properties due to an earthquake can be determined by the state of preparedness of the local authority. Multiple integrated earthquake prediction methods should be...
Assuming you're talking about the March 2011 Japanese earthquake, the main factor that caused the majority of damage was the 30-foot tsunami wave that rushed the coastline of the Miyagi Prefecture....
Shaking, things falling, buildings being damaged, foundations shifting, they can sometimes cause tsunamies if they are in a fairly large body of water, they can cause gas and water lines to break,...