Earthquake

Normal Information
Earthquakes occur when stress between two tectonic plates is built up and released in the form of energy, that energy is seismic waves, and those waves are what cause the shaking.

Facts
Earthquakes are rated on the moment magnitude scale, however, it used to be the Richter scale. However, the scale is still from 1 to 10. Magnitude 1 earthquakes cause no damage at all, but animals may act strangely and seismographs will detect this. The damage of a magnitude 10 earthquake is currently unknown as one has never been reported, but its estimated that its this: land will be completely altered, all structures will be damaged or destroyed, cars will flip over, and the death count will be massive. Earthquakes are not ALWAYS caused by stress buildup of tectonic plates, as they can be caused by nuclear detonations, heavy structures on land, as well as fracking.

Fun Facts

 * Earthquakes can cause tsunamis and landslides.
 * The strongest earthquake ever reported was a magnitude 9.5 in Valdivia, Chile.
 * A magnitude 13 earthquake happened 66 million years ago when the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs hit Earth.
 * An earthquake was responsible for the Great Kanto Fire Whirl, which killed around 12,000 people in as little as 15 minutes.
 * Earthquakes can also occur because of hurricanes!