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Aftershocks can occur days or weeks after an earthquake, with larger earthquakes having more frequent and longer-lasting aftershocks. Some aftershocks have been reported years after an earthquake. Omori’s Law is a formula used to predict aftershocks.
Aftershocks are smaller follow-up earthquakes that are mostly thought to strike within two days after an initial quake. Some aftershocks can occur days or even weeks later. Aftershocks repeated over a long period of time are more likely after large destructive earthquakes. While uncommon, possible cases of aftershocks have been reported years after an earthquake. For example, some researchers argue that small earthquakes in China’s Tangshan region in 2012 may actually have been aftershocks from the 1976 Tangshan earthquake.
More Earthquake Facts:
Aftershocks tend to be less powerful than earthquakes, but have the ability to destroy bridges, buildings and roads.
China refused all international assistance after the 1976 Tangshan earthquake, thought to have contributed to the death toll of more than 240,000. By the time the suspected aftershocks of 2012 occurred, this policy had been reversed.
A frequently used formula for attempting to predict aftershocks is Omori’s Law, which states that the probability of an aftershock decreases by the reciprocal of the number of days after an earthquake. For example, the odds of an aftershock two days after an earthquake would be one in two, and by the tenth day the odds would decrease to a one in ten chance.
