Earthquakes release energy and seismic waves, relieving pressure on fault lines. The Richter scale measures earthquake magnitude, with a magnitude 7 or higher causing severe damage. Small earthquakes do not delay larger ones, but can precede them, helping seismologists predict when they might occur.
An earthquake is simply any sudden release of energy within the earth’s crust that creates a series of seismic waves and helps relieve pressure on fault lines. However, not all earthquakes are created equal. The magnitude of an earthquake’s motion is often reported using the Richter scale, a measurement device that assigns numerical values to each earthquake. An earthquake of a magnitude 3 or lower is largely imperceptible to the general public, while any earthquake greater than a magnitude 7 is expected to cause severe damage over large areas.
Small earthquakes occur all over the world all the time. In the United States, for example, people living in California can expect to experience several minor earthquakes a year. Portugal, Greece, Italy, New Zealand, Chile and Peru also have many areas where minor seismic activity occurs on a regular basis.
Although many people believe that smaller earthquakes serve to delay larger earthquakes by working to relieve pressure on fault lines, this assumption is believed to be incorrect. It is true that small earthquakes relieve some pressure, but it would take many small earthquakes to release the amount of energy that would be equivalent to a very large earthquake. In fact, every time an earthquake increases by one point on the magnitude scale, it releases 40 times more energy. Thus, a small magnitude 2 earthquake would need to occur 163,840,000,000 times to relieve the same amount of pressure as a large magnitude 9 earthquake. Since it is highly unlikely to have about a million earthquakes every day for nearly 500 years, it becomes clear that the purpose of small earthquakes is not to relieve pressure on fault lines to delay larger earthquakes.
While small earthquakes don’t prevent large earthquakes, they are useful because seismologists have often found that they precede large earthquakes. By monitoring the level of seismic activity in a particular area, seismologists can make an educated guess about when the next big earthquake might come. Since large earthquakes can cause fires and severe structural damage, as well as death and serious personal injury, any information that helps protect people living in seismically active areas can only be considered a force for good.
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