How to Measure Earthquakes
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Wondering how earthquakes are measured? Seismologists have developed a new measurement of earthquake size, called the Moment Magnitude.
All earthquakes can now be compared on the same scale with the Moment Magnitude. Previously, the Richter scale was used, however, it is precise only for measuring earthquakes of a certain size and at a certain distance from a seismometer.
See the Moment Magnitude chart below.
| Magnitude |
Effect |
| Less than 3 |
Micro |
| 3–3.9 |
Minor |
| 4–4.9 |
Light |
| 5–5.9 |
Moderate |
| 6–6.9 |
Strong |
| 7–7.9 |
Major |
| 8 or more |
Great |
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