Scientists used the Richter Scale for many years, but now they largely follow the "moment magnitude scale," which according to the United States Geological Survey ...
- Click to share on Facebook (Opens in a new window)
- Click to share on Twitter (Opens in a new window)
- Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in a new window)
- Click to email a friend (Opens in a new window)
1 of 10 | These have been the 10 deadliest earthquakes in the world: 70,000 people died - or were presumed dead - on May 31, 1970, when a 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck Chimbote in Peru.
2 of 10 | The 72,000 people who died during the 7.2 magnitude earthquake, which lived in Messina (Italy) on December 28, 1908, accounted for more than 40% of the city's population. The quake caused a tsunami and was felt throughout Sicily.
3 of 10 | 86,000 people died on October 8, 2005, when a 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck northern Pakistan. The greatest damage occurred in parts of Kashmir, where entire villages were destroyed.
4 of 10 | The 7.9 magnitude earthquake, which struck eastern Sichuan, China, on May 12, 2008, killed 87,587 people and was felt in parts of Bangladesh, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.
5 out of 10 | A statue of former Turkmen President Saparmurad Niyazov stands in front of the monument in Ashgabat due to the earthquake of October 5, 1948, which with a magnitude of 7.3 killed 110,000 people. Virtually every brick building in the city collapsed.
6 out of 10 | A 7.9 earthquake in the Tokyo-Yokohama area of Japan killed 142,800 people. The earthquake, which occurred on September 1, 1923, caused firestorms and a tsunami.
7 out of 10 | An estimated 200,000 people died when a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck the Haiyuan District, China, on December 16, 1920. In the image, Muslims pray outside a mosque in Haiyuan in 2007.
8 of 10 | 227,898 people died on December 26, 2004, when a 9.1 magnitude earthquake struck Sumatra. This was the third largest earthquake that has been measured since 1900. Almost two million people were displaced from the site by the earthquake and tsunami it caused.
9 of 10 | On July 27, 1976, a magnitude 7.5 earthquake killed some 242,769 people in Tangshan, China. Unofficial calculations consider a much higher figure, which was perhaps 655,000 deaths.
10 of 10 | An earthquake of magnitude 7.0 shook Haiti on January 12, 2010. Official estimates put the death toll at 316,000, but other figures suggest that there were fewer casualties: perhaps 230,000 or less. More than a million people were displaced.(CNN) - Earthquakes are measured using seismographs, which monitor seismic waves traveling through Earth after an earthquake.
Scientists used the Richter Scale for many years, but now largely follow the "moment magnitude scale," which according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS) is a more accurate measure of size. .
MIRA: 7.4 magnitude earthquake shakes Mexico, according to USGS
(Credit: FREDERICK FLORIN / AFP / Getty Images)
Here are the magnitude classes:
Micro earthquake:
- Magnitude: less than 3.0
- Damage: Little to nothing
Small earthquake:
- Magnitude: 3.0 - 3.9
- Damage: Little to nothing
Mild Earthquake:
- Magnitude: 4.0 - 4.9
- Damage: Moderate
Moderate earthquake:
- Magnitude: 5.0 - 5.9
- Damage: Considerable.
Strong earthquake:
- Magnitude: 6.0 - 6.9
- Damage: Severe
Major earthquake:
- Magnitude: 7.0 - 7.9
- Damage: widespread, heavy.
Great earthquake:
- Magnitude: 8.0 and above
- Damage: Tremendous
- What to do during an earthquake?
California earthquake
