2. Earthquakes happen where Earth's plates meet. Most earthquakes happen under the sea. Where the plates stick, pressure builds up and then the earth shakes. There are about 3000 earthquakes every day, so small that they are hardly noticed. Earthquakes injure lots of people.

3. But what causes it? The earth can be divided into four main layers: the solid inner core, the liquid outer core, the mantle, and the crust. An earthquake is caused by a sudden rupture the earth's surface) in a fault. A fault is the broken surface within the rocky pile inside the earth's crust. Stress in the earth's outer layer cause a pushing effect against the sides of the fault..Due to this motion, rocks slip or slide against each other releasing energy. This released energy travels in waves through the earth's crust and causes the shaking that we feel during an earthquake.

4. “Because of the recent earthquake tragedies in Haiti and Chile, I think it is important to build a city that earthquakes cannot damage or destroy. The high rise buildings should be strong enough to withstand any earthquakes, so that people can be safe and will not be threatened. Age:13 School: Kop chuck Middle school. City, State: Gig harbour, Washington

5. The largest earthquake recorded was in Chile 22 nd May 1960 9.5. It struck in the afternoon 7:11 local time 2:11. Scientists use instruments called seismographs (say size-mu-graphs) to measure the strength of movement and earthquakes. The most deadly earthquake was recorded in China in 1557. During this time many people lived in the mountains in artificial caves and the quake resulted in over 800,000 deaths Earthquake vibrations travel very fast, up to 14 kilometres per second. The fastest seismic waves take less than 20 minutes to reach the other side of the earth, a distance of almost 13,000 kilometres!

8. A tsunami is usually caused by a powerful earthquake under the ocean floor. This earthquake pushes a large amount of water to the surface, creating waves. These waves are the tsunami. In the deep ocean these waves are small. As they move towards the coast these waves get bigger and more dangerous. Tsunami waves can cause a lot of damage when they reach land. A tsunami can also be triggered by a volcanic eruption, landslide, or other movements of the Earth’s surface.

9. The 1960 Valdivia earthquake or Great Chilean Earthquake of 22 May 1960 is to date the most powerful earthquake ever recorded, rating 9.5 on the moment magnitude scale.[1] It occurred in the afternoon (19:11 GMT, 14:11 local time) and its resulting tsunami affected southern Chile, Hawaii, Japan, the Philippines, eastern New Zealand, southeast Australia, and the Aleutian Islands in Alaska.