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At what magnitude does damage begin to occur in an earthquake?
Tagged: earthquakes  2008  Feb 
Published: 2/4/2008

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Transcript:

[music fades in]

Greetings all, I'm Steve Sobieszczyk. If you've listened to the USGS CoreCast, you know a little bit more about USGS science thanks, in part, to exclusive interviews with USGS scientists on a number of natural science topics. But for those of you who want more, say a daily dose of scientific knowledge to amaze your friends, then we've got just the thing for you. We're launching a new podcast, this podcast, called the USGS CoreFacts. This is, of course, the inaugural episode. Every weekday, excluding the Federal Holidays, for which we normally don't work, CoreFacts will offer a daily question and answer. And as an added bonus, you can help. That's right, we want your questions to answer, but more on that in just a moment.

First, here's today's question:

At what magnitude does damage begin to occur in an earthquake?

There is not one magnitude above which damage will occur. It depends on other variables, such as the distance from the earthquake and what type of soil you are on. That being said, damage does not usually occur until the earthquake magnitude reaches somewhere above 4 or 5.

If you want to learn more about earthquakes, check out the USGS Earthquake website at earthquake.usgs.gov. As always, you can also get other general information by visiting the USGS homepage at usgs.gov. And don't forget to visit the USGS CoreCast for more in-depth science coverage at usgs.gov/corecast.

Now, as I mentioned earlier, if you'd like to have your question featured in a future CoreFact episode, send it to corefacts@usgs.gov. [that's C-O-R-E-F-A-C-T-S at U-S-G-S dot G-O-V] Or leave a voicemail with us at 703-648-5600; however, remember this is a long distance charge, so long distance fees do apply. And join us again tomorrow for some more science trivia.

The USGS CoreFacts is a product of the U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior.

[music fades out]

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We've only just begun! Let us know how we're doing so far, or you can e-mail us directly at corefacts@usgs.gov.

What's a CoreFact?

A CoreFact is a weekly audio podcast from the USGS that asks and answers a natural science question. When you subscribe to CoreFacts, episodes will be automatically downloaded to your computer as soon as they're available.

Huh? What's a Podcast?

A podcast is an audio (e.g. mp3) or video file (e.g. mpeg) that can be played on a mobile media player (i.e. Apple iPod)1 or personal computer.2

So, How Do I Listen/Watch?

You can subscribe to CoreFacts via RSS feed1 (click for details), or you can listen to individual CoreFacts by selecting the play button next to the episode you’re interested in. When you subscribe to CoreFacts, each episode will automatically download to your computer as soon as they become available. Some specific instructions can be found on our Adding a Podcast page.

1 Make sure you have the right software to download CoreFacts from a computer to your mobile media player—this software usually comes with the player.
2 To play CoreFacts on your computer, you will need media player software such as: iTunes, Windows Media Player, or Real Media Player.

Most computers already have media player software installed—check with your computer administrator to see if you’re already set up for CoreFacts!

508 Compliance

Every episode is transcribed and can be viewed in the Show Details section. All links to Web sites or data referenced in the show are included.

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Page Last Modified: Thursday, April 17, 2008