Wednesday, July 27, 2011

The Richter Scale Chart

Before we start, here's something that you may be interested to know:

Magnitude

Description

Earthquake effects

Frequency of occurrence

Less than 2.0

Micro

Micro earthquakes, not felt.[12]

About 8,000 per day

2.0–2.9

Minor

Generally not felt, but recorded.

About 1,000 per day

3.0–3.9

Often felt, but rarely causes damage.

49,000 per year (est.)

4.0–4.9

Light

Noticeable shaking of indoor items, rattling noises. Significant damage unlikely.

6,200 per year (est.)

5.0–5.9

Moderate

Can cause major damage to poorly constructed buildings over small regions. At most slight damage to well-designed buildings.

800 per year

6.0–6.9

Strong

Can be destructive in areas up to about 160 kilometres (100 mi) across in populated areas.

120 per year

7.0–7.9

Major

Can cause serious damage over larger areas.

18 per year

8.0–8.9

Great

Can cause serious damage in areas several hundred kilometres across.

1 per year

9.0–9.9

Devastating in areas several thousand kilometres across.

1 per 20 years

10.0+

Massive

Never recorded, widespread devastation across very large areas; see below for equivalent seismic energy yield.

Extremely rare (Unknown)

(Based on U.S. Geological Survey documents

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richter_magnitude_scale



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