Earthquake Magnitude Scale

The Earthquake Magnitude Scale measures the size or energy released by an earthquake. The most common scale is the Richter scale, where each whole number increase represents a tenfold increase in amplitude of the seismic waves and approximately 31.6 times more energy release. For example, a magnitude 5.0 quake is ten times larger than a magnitude 4.0. Another widely used scale is the Moment Magnitude Scale (Mw), which provides a more accurate measurement for large quakes. Understanding these scales helps gauge the potential impact and damage of earthquakes on communities and infrastructure.