 Earthquakes involve the powerful movement of rocks in the Earth's crust. ...

 Scientists use the different speeds of seismic waves to locate the epicentre (the point
on the surface directly above where the earthquake originated) of earthquakes.
 Seismometers are used to measure the magnitude of earthquakes.
 The damage caused by earthquakes also depends on their depth and fault type.
 The earthquake that hit the Tohoku region of Japan on March 11, 2011, had a magnitude of 9.0
and killed over 15000 people.
 The destruction caused by the Tohoku earthquake was made much worse by powerful tsunamis
that were triggered due to the earthquake’s epicentre being located offshore. More tsunami facts.
 The 2004 earthquake that occurred in the Indian Ocean near Sumatra, Indonesia triggered a
series of tsunamis that killed over 200000 people in 14 countries.
 The February 2011 earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand followed nearly 6 months after a
magnitude 7.1 earthquake shook the region. The earthquake killed 181 people and significantly
damaged the central city. The economic damage caused by the earthquake and aftershocks is
estimated to be around $15 billion (NZ$).
 An earthquake that hit Haiti in January 2010 with a magnitude of 7.0 killed over 200000 people
according to Haitian sources.
 The most powerful earthquake ever recorded on Earth was in Valdivia, Chile. Occurring in 1960,
it had a magnitude of 9.5.
 It is important in earthquake prone countries such as Japan to build houses and buildings that
react well to earthquakes. Good engineering practises can help stop buildings collapsing under
the stress of large earthquakes.
 Hurricanes can be up to 600 miles wide. ...
 When they hit land, they can cause flooding and destroy buildings and cars.
 Hurricane winds can blow up to 200 miles per hour.
 In the center of a hurricane is the eye of the storm.
A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern
Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active
tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for almost one-third of the world's annual tropical
cyclones

Like tornadoes, typhoons and hurricanes happen when warm air mixes with cold
air, creating intense wind, rain and flooding. Typhoons and hurricanes are the
same type of storm, but they happen in different places. Typhoons occur in the
Pacific Ocean around Hawaii and Asia. Hurricanes occur on the eastern seaboard
along the United States and Central America.