Earthquake

Synonyms

Earth tremor; Temblor

Definition

Quake:

Vibration of a medium

Earthquake :

The intense shaking of the Earth’s surface caused by seismic waves resulting from the sudden release of the stored elastic strain energy in the Earth’s crust (or, sometimes, upper mantle), which are usually generated naturally but are sometimes induced by human activities.

Introduction

An earthquake is the shaking of the Earth’s surface caused by seismic waves from sudden energy release in the inner Earth’s crust. Generally, the shaking severity of the earthquake can range from barely felt to very violent. Due to past strong earthquakes, buildings have been extensively destroyed; nuclear waste has leaked from a nuclear power plant; co-seismic landslides have been triggered in mountain areas; and tsunamis have been triggered when the epicenter of a large earthquake is located offshore. These earthquake-induced disasters have caused a great number of casualties and loss of properties. To date, earthquakes...