UPSeis

Discover how we provide educational resources for journalists and media.
Engineers and scientists try to help during times of crisis, either through action or education. You are not alone if you have questions about the natural phenomena that can interrupt and impact our daily lives. UPSeis aims to be a steadfast source of information for those reporting on seismic events happening every day.

In the News

April 9, 2024

Yahoo! News, the Miami Herald and more than 25 other news outlets referenced Michigan Tech’s Earthquake Magnitude Scale in stories about the 4.8-magnitude earthquake centered under New Jersey on April 5.

January 4, 2024

USA Today and Yahoo! News referenced Michigan Tech’s Earthquake Magnitude Scale in stories about a 1.7-magnitude earthquake felt in the New York City borough of Queens early on Tuesday (Jan. 2). The BBC and Yahoo! News also referenced the scale in coverage of a second Tuesday quake with a 2.5 magnitude, which occurred north of the town of Buxton in the U.K.’s Peak District.

December 11, 2023

Outlook India referenced Michigan Tech’s Earthquake Magnitude Scale in a story about four low-intensity earthquakes recorded in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Meghalaya and Gujarat on December 8.

December 4, 2023

Government Technology referenced Michigan Tech’s Earthquake Magnitude Scale in a story about a flurry of earthquakes in South Carolina’s Columbia area over the past two weeks.

November 17, 2023

CBS News referenced Michigan Tech’s Earthquake Magnitude Scale in a story about the high likelihood of a volcanic eruption near Iceland’s town of Grindavik after more than 1,500 earthquakes were recorded nearby on November 14-15.

October 31, 2023

Reuters referenced Michigan Tech’s Earthquake Magnitude Scale in a story about a “seismic swarm” of thousands of small earthquakes detected in Iceland from Oct. 25-27. The story was picked up by over 100 news outlets worldwide.

April 21, 2023

Forbes referenced Michigan Tech’s Earthquake Magnitude Scale in a story about concerns that tectonic fluid leaking from a crack in the Pacific Ocean floor off the Oregon coast could herald a magnitude 9.0 earthquake. According to the scale, magnitude 8.0 and higher earthquakes "can totally destroy communities near the epicenter."

February 10, 2023

The Scotsman referenced Michigan Tech’s Earthquake Magnitude Scale in a story about the death count surpassing 21,500 after the magnitude 7.8 and 7.7 earthquakes in Turkey on Feb. 6.

February 7, 2023

Michigan Tech’s Earthquake Magnitude Scale and UPSeis information on why earthquakes happen (GMES) was referenced by Grunge in a story explaining various topics in seismology.

February 6, 2023

Michigan Tech’s Earthquake Magnitude Scale and UPSeis information on the Moment Magnitude Scale (GMES) were referenced by MSN News, inews.co.uk, and Bridge Michigan in stories about magnitude 7.8 and 7.7 earthquakes in Turkey and Syria on Monday (Feb. 6).

September 16, 2022

The Bangor Daily News mentioned Michigan Tech’s earthquake magnitude scale when reporting on a magnitude 2.3 earthquake in Oxford County, Maine.

June 14, 2022

Newsweek mentioned Michigan Tech’s earthquake magnitude scale in a story on a series of quakes that hit Yellowstone National Park on Sunday (June 12) ahead of unprecedented flooding.

May 10, 2022

Michigan Tech’s Earthquake Magnitude Scale was referenced by Newsweek to describe the impact of a magnitude 5 earthquake on Mars last week. The quake is the strongest recorded by NASA on another planet.

May 19, 2021

MTU's UPSeis earthquake magnitude scale was referenced by The Sacramento Bee in a story on two earthquakes felt in Lake Tahoe, Calif., on Monday. The article was picked up by regional news outlets.

May 4, 2021

Michigan Tech was mentioned in the article "Earthquake cluster reported off the Oregon coast — including a 5.4 magnitude shaker," in Yahoo News. The story also appeared in several newspapers, including The Olympian, The Fort Worth Star-Telegram and the Miami Herald.

April 21, 2021

Michigan Tech was mentioned in the story "Another Louisiana earthquake: 3.1 magnitude quake reported near Louisiana-Texas border," which appeared in several newspapers nationally, including The Advocate (Baton Rouge, Louisiana)

March 10, 2021

Michigan Tech was mentioned in the story "’Swarm’ of 20,000 earthquakes rattles Iceland," which was picked up by several media outlets, including KPLR TV (St. Louis, Missouri).

February 23, 2021

Michigan Tech was mentioned in the story "Swarm of earthquakes detected at Mount Rainier," which ran on several news outlets in the  Pacific Northwest, including KIRO TV (Seattle, Washington) and MSN.

February 19, 2021

Michigan Tech was mentioned in the story "Earthquake shook parts of South Carolina Saturday night," which ran in several news outlets including Yahoo News.

February 17, 2021

Michigan Tech was mentioned in the story "Earthquake shook parts of South Carolina Saturday night," in The State.

January 22, 2021

Michigan Tech was mentioned in the story "More than 100 earthquakes strike near Oregon volcano in a single day, geologists say," that appeared in several newspapers around the country including the Sun Herald, Gulfport Mississippi, and the Belleville News-Democrat, Belleville, Illinois.

January 11, 2021

Michigan Tech was cited in the story "6.5-Magnitude Earthquake May Hit Israel In Coming Years, Researchers Say," published in International Business Times.

January 7, 2021

Michigan Tech was mentioned in the story "Swarm of more than 30 earthquakes rattles Southern California, geologists say," that ran in several news outlets, including Yahoo News.

January 6, 2021

Michigan Tech was mentioned in the story "Three earthquakes rattle West Texas in two hours, including 4.0 magnitude quake," that appeared in several newspapers nationally including the Kansas City Star.

What We Can Learn

 

Earthquake Magnitude Scale

What Should I Do?

  • Some 900,000 earthquakes happen worldwide every year, but the majority happen along plate boundaries, not in the eastern and midwestern U.S.
  • Between the 5.5-6 range, there are about 350 earthquakes a year that can cause slight damage of buildings.
  • Earthquakes with a magnitude above 2.5 can often be felt by humans.
  • Earthquakes with a magnitude of 8.0 and up as “great” earthquakes that can “totally destroy” communities close to the epicenter.
  • Millions of earthquakes occur across the globe that people don't feel daily but still show up on the Richter scale.
  • When these plates collide with each other, they eventually lose loose rock and slide over one another, causing earthquakes on the way. The energy that is created by this sliding motion is what seismologists study.
  • When the underground rock suddenly breaks, it leads to rapid motion along the fault. This sudden release of energy causes the seismic waves that make the ground shake.
  • Today, the moment magnitude scale, abbreviated MW, is preferred because it works over a wider range of earthquake sizes and is applicable globally.
  • Earthquakes of a strength of 2.5 or less are usually not felt and tend to only be recorded by a seismograph.
  • On Earth, a magnitude 5 quake would be enough to be felt and possibly cause some minor damage.
  • Quakes between 2.5 and 5.4 magnitude are often felt but rarely cause much damage.
  • Earthquakes between 5.0 and 5.9 magnitude are considered to be in the moderate range, and may result in slight damage to buildings.
  • Magnitude 6.1 to 6.9 earthquakes can cause "a lot of damage in very populated areas."