Weather Safety - Earthquakes

Safety Checklist | What To Do | Safety Quiz

	Do earthquakes happen only on the West Coast?
A.No Correct! From 1975-1995 there were only four states that did not have any earthquakes: Florida, Iowa, North Dakota, and Wisconsin. In the winter of 1811-12, the central Mississippi Valley was struck by three of the most powerful earthquakes in U.S. history. Today, this region has more earthquakes than any other part of the United States east of the Rocky Mountains B.Yes Incorrect! Keep Going^®
	How many earthquakes are there, on average, each year?
A.50 Incorrect! Keep Going^® B.3,500 Incorrect! Keep Going^® C.235,000 Incorrect! Keep Going^® D.500,000 Correct! About 500,000 detectable earthquakes shake the earth each year. 100,000 of those can be felt with significance, and 100 of them cause damage
	Can my pet or other animals predict an earthquake?
A.Yes Incorrect! Keep Going^® B.No Incorrect! Keep Going^® C.It is not proven Correct! Records tell us that as early as 373 BC, rats, weasels, snakes, and centipedes reportedly left their homes, heading for safety several days before a destructive earthquake. While there is plenty of anecdotal evidence telling of animals, fish, birds, reptiles and insects exhibiting strange behavior from weeks to seconds before an earthquake, it is not a proven phenomenon
	Will an earthquake cause California to fall into the Pacific one day?
A.Yes Incorrect! Keep Going^® B.No Correct! According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the San Andreas Fault System is the boundary between the Pacific Plate and North American Plate. The plates are moving horizontally past one another, so California is not going to fall into the ocean. However, Los Angeles and San Francisco may one day be adjacent to one another
	Can the ground actually "open up" during an earthquake?
A.Yes Incorrect! Keep Going^® B.No Correct! Shallow crevasses can form during earthquake-induced landslides or other types of ground failures. Faults, however, do not open up during an earthquake. Movement occurs along the plane of a fault, not perpendicular to it. If faults opened up, no earthquake would occur because there would be no friction to lock them together
	What does the Richter scale rating for earthquakes mean?
A.It measures the amount of energy released by an earthquake Correct! The Richter magnitude scale is based on a special formula called a logarithm that assigns a number rating to quantify the amount of seismic energy released. The Richter magnitude is measured on a scale of 1-10. For example, an earthquake with a magnitude of 3.9 might be felt, but rarely cause any damage, an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.9 can cause major damage and an earthquake with a magnitude of 9.9 can devastate areas thousands of miles away B.It measures how much heat is produced by an earthquake Incorrect! Keep Going^® C.It measures how long an earthquake lasts Incorrect! Keep Going^®

Weather Center

Today

Low:40°
High:60°
Current:43°

Tomorrow

Low:43°
High:53°

Weather alerts:

No current weather alerts.

Power Through It All

Send to a friend

Make sure your friends and family are ready.