(WHTM) – Earthquakes are giant seismic occasions that happen when tectonic plates handle to maneuver underneath, over or slide previous one another, sending vitality in waves throughout the Earth’s crust.
However how are earthquakes at present measured?
In line with the US Geological Survey (USGS), earthquakes are recorded by a seismographic community which measures the motion of the bottom at every perspective web site of a seismic station.
Magnitude is the most typical measure of an earthquake. The magnitude is a measure of the supply of the earthquake and its dimension. At the moment, USGS stories an earthquake’s magnitude utilizing the Second Magnitude Scale.
In line with Michigan Tech, the magnitude scale is as follows:
| Magnitude | Earthquake Results |
| 2.5 or much less | Earthquakes are often not felt however may be recorded by a seismograph. |
| 2.5 to five.4 | The occasion is usually felt however solely causes minor injury. |
| 5.5 to six.0 | There may be slight injury induced to buildings and different buildings. |
| 6.1 to six.9 | The earthquake could trigger lots of injury in very populated areas. |
| 7.0 to 7.9 | That is thought of a serious earthquake and can trigger collection injury |
| 8.0 or better | This can be a nice earthquake that may completely destroy communities close to an epicenter |
For years, a way referred to as the Richter scale, which measures the biggest ‘wiggle’ throughout an earthquake, was ceaselessly used because the measure of earthquake depth, however the USGS says that technique is outdated.
A 4.8-magnitude earthquake shook the New York Metropolis space on Friday morning, in accordance with the USGS, with rumblings felt throughout the Northeast.
The USGS reported that the quake, which happened at 10:23 a.m., recorded north of Whitehouse Station, New Jersey — round 45 miles west of New York Metropolis and 50 miles north of Philadelphia.
Folks in upstate New York, Baltimore, Connecticut and different areas of the East Coast unaccustomed to earthquakes additionally reported feeling the bottom shake. Tremors lasting for a number of seconds have been felt over 200 miles away close to the Massachusetts-New Hampshire border.
There have been no rapid stories of injury or life-threatening conditions reported instantly after the quake, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul stated.
Nonetheless, she urged these dwelling in New York — lots of whom aren’t accustomed to earthquakes — to take precautions within the occasion of aftershocks.
“It’s been an unsettling day to say the least,” she stated.
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