What is it?

An earthquake is what happens when two blocks of the earth suddenly slip past one another.

This can be described a shaking of the ground caused by the sudden breaking and movement of large sections of the earth's rocky outermost crust.

• Where is it or where is it happening?

• Most earthquakes occur along the edge of the oceanic and continental plates.

• The plates under the oceans are called oceanic plates and the rest are continental plates.

• The plates are moved around by the motion of a deeper part of the earth called the mantle which lies underneath the crust.

• These plates are constantly bumping into each other, pulling away from each other, or sliding past each other.

• The plates usually move at about the same speed that your fingernails grow.

• How does it affect life on Earth?• On Jan. 23, 1556, an 8.0 magnitude earthquake struck Shaanxi, China killing

830,000 people. • This earthquake caused the most deaths.

• Earthquake and tsunami, Japan (2011) Cost: $235 billion so far, 8,649 people have been confirmed dead and another 13,262 are missing since the 9.0-magnitude quake struck off the coast near Sendai, Japan, on March 11, 2011. The degree of damage caused by the earthquake and resulting tsunami was enormous.

• January 17, 1994: $44 billion. The 6.7 quake that hit California's San Fernando Valley has come to be known as the Northridge quake. Only about $15 billion of the damage was covered by insurance policies. It killed 60 people and injured more than 7,000. the blind" thrust fault, close to the San Andreas caused it.

• Is there some problem or issue with your topic? • When they hit they have the potential to cause catastrophic damage within a

matter of minutes.• They hit with little warning.• They can take lots of lives.

•What are some solutions?•We try to predict earthquakes. •We build our buildings to withstand earthquakes. •We have earthquake kits with food and medical supplies.•We have drills to help prevent injuries during an earthquake.