In general, earthquakes are caused by the tectonic plates that make up the earth moving and rubbing together. The UK is situated within the Eurasian plate, more than 1,600km away from the nearest plate boundary, which is why it does not experience earthquakes as big as other parts of the world.

HUMBOLDT COUNTY, CA - the U.S. Geological Survey reported that a preliminary 2.2 magnitude quake occurred near Petrolia Monday afternoon.

Human activity can cause “healed” faults to release their stored strength, triggering unexpected quakes in tectonically stable regions.

Magma seeping into a reservoir under the island of Santorini set off thousands of quakes, some of which almost reached a 5.0 on the Richter scale.

A shake alert went out over the U.S. Geological Survey's early warning system on Dec. 4, warning that a 5.9 earthquake near Carson City in western Nevada could produce heavy shaking in the region. But moments later, the survey announced the alert, which was sent to people as far west as San Francisco, was a false alarm.

Some reports of shaking came in from as far away as 40 miles from the epicenter, according to the federal agency that tracks earthquakes.

Deadly and destructive, earthquakes remain unpredictable, but faster models that look beneath the ground, can help better assess the risks

Each year, approximately 20,000 earthquakes occur globally. Even though most of these earthquakes are weak or occur in unpopulated areas, their destructive potential is clear. While richer nations have been able to take measures to “earthquake-proof ...

A 1.6 magnitude earthquake was felt late last night, according to the U.S. Geological Survey website The minor earthquake took place around 7:16 p.m. about five miles from