Earthquake facts

As Earth's plates move, the rocks in the crust gets pushed and pulled, scraped and jostled. Over time, strain slowly builds up inside the rocks and friction will hold the rocks in place for years. When they can't take it anymore, the rocks suddenly crack and shift. Their movement releases waves of energy called an earthquake.

The ground shakes up and down and from side to side as energy waves, or vibrations, radiate in every direction. They move like ripples that form on the surface of a pond when you toss in a pebble. Earthquakes can tear through streets and destroy buildings that are not well built. These natural disasters cannot be prevented. We can only learn from past earthquakes to predict where they might strike next and take precaution.

Here are some quick earthquake facts

A typical earthquake lasts under 60 seconds.

An earthquake can trigger a tsunami or a volcano to erupt.

Alaska has the most earthquakes of any states in the US

The deadliest earthquake happend in Central China, killing over 800,000 in 1556. People during that time and region lived in caves and died from the caves collasping

About the only places that have never recorded a major earthquake in the US are southern parts of Florida, Alabama and Texas.