Sichuan Earthquake

Jacobs Andrew."Superstitions About Quake Meet the Web, Irritating the Chinese Authorities" New York Times. 16 May . 1 Febuary 2009. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/16/world/asia/16rumors.html?fta=y

First off an Earthquake is when the earths surface is shaking due to a violent movement of the rocky outer layer of the earth. This happens if the energy inside the earth is released , then earthquake waves transfer the energy to the center of the earth causing an earthquake. To break it down further faults are made in the earth which are places in the crust of the earth where the rocks have been moved which also causes the tectonic plates to move. The tectonic plate moving is very slow and it can take over a hundred years for the pressure to build up and finally be stronger than the rocks causing all that stored energy to be released. And BAM you have an earthquake. Things that humans can do to speed up this process are injecting fluids into deep wells for waste disposal, and firing underground nuclear test blasts. I read an article about a deadly earthquake in Sichaun Province that left animals flying and ponds draining and not to mention at least 3,000 people dead and some 4,500 missing.