Earthquake Facts and Statistics
Frequency of Occurrence of Earthquakes
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This table shows that a magnitude 7.2 earthquake produces 10 times more ground motion than a magnitude 6.2 earthquake, but it releases about 32 times more energy. The energy release best indicates the destructive power of an earthquake. See: How much bigger is a magnitude 8.7 earthquake than a magnitude 5.8 earthquake? |
The USGS estimates that several million earthquakes occur in the world each year. Many go undetected because they hit remote areas or have very small magnitudes. The NEIC now locates about 50 earthquakes each day, or about 20,000 a year.
As more and more seismographs are installed in the world, more earthquakes can be and have been located. However, the number of large earthquakes (magnitude 6.0 and greater) has stayed relatively constant. See: Are Earthquakes Really on the Increase?
Number of Earthquakes Worldwide for 2000 - 2009
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Magnitude | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
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8.0 to 9.9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
7.0 to 7.9 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 10 | 9 | 14 | 12 | 5 |
6.0 to 6.9 | 146 | 121 | 127 | 140 | 141 | 140 | 142 | 178 | 167 | 38 |
5.0 to 5.9 | 1344 | 1224 | 1201 | 1203 | 1515 | 1693 | 1712 | 2074 | 1700 | 560 |
4.0 to 4.9 | 8008 | 7991 | 8541 | 8462 | 10888 | 13917 | 12838 | 12078 | 12363 | 2473 |
3.0 to 3.9 | 4827 | 6266 | 7068 | 7624 | 7932 | 9191 | 9990 | 9889 | 11730 | 916 |
2.0 to 2.9 | 3765 | 4164 | 6419 | 7727 | 6316 | 4636 | 4027 | 3597 | 3861 | 840 |
1.0 to 1.9 | 1026 | 944 | 1137 | 2506 | 1344 | 26 | 18 | 42 | 22 | 6 |
0.1 to 0.9 | 5 | 1 | 10 | 134 | 103 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
No Magnitude | 3120 | 2807 | 2938 | 3608 | 2939 | 864 | 828 | 1807 | 1925 | 15 |
Total | 22256 | 23534 | 27454 | 31419 | 31194 | 30478 | 29568 | 29685 | * 31780 | * 4854 |
Estimated Deaths | 231 | 21357 | 1685 | 33819 | 228802 | 82364 | 6605 | 712 | 88011 | 361 |
Number of Earthquakes in the United States for 2000 - 2009
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Magnitude | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
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8.0 to 9.9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
7.0 to 7.9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
6.0 to 6.9 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 0 |
5.0 to 5.9 | 63 | 41 | 63 | 54 | 25 | 47 | 51 | 72 | 82 | 16 |
4.0 to 4.9 | 281 | 290 | 536 | 541 | 284 | 345 | 346 | 366 | 436 | 105 |
3.0 to 3.9 | 917 | 842 | 1535 | 1303 | 1362 | 1475 | 1213 | 1137 | 1484 | 417 |
2.0 to 2.9 | 660 | 646 | 1228 | 704 | 1336 | 1738 | 1145 | 1173 | 1574 | 633 |
1.0 to 1.9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 11 | 14 | 6 |
0.1 to 0.9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
No Magnitude | 415 | 434 | 507 | 333 | 540 | 73 | 13 | 22 | 20 | 12 |
Total | 2342 | 2261 | 3876 | 2946 | 3550 | 3685 | * 2783 | 2791 | * 3619 | * 1190 |
Estimated Deaths | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* As of 08 May 2009
Earthquake Information for the 1990s
Graphs of Earthquake Statistics
We detect, but generally do not locate, about 50 mine blasts (explosions) throughout the United States on any given business day. These blasts typically occur between noon and 6 PM local time Monday through Saturday. Of these, about one event every two days is large enough that we compute a location for the blast and post it to a separate explosions listing.