19th May 2016

The science of earthquakes

The earth is divided into three layers: the upper crust, the middle mantle and the innermost core. The upper crust is made of solid plates, called tectonic plates. Some plates are under the ocean too. The mantle is semi solid and the tectonic plates slide over the mantle, causing an earthquake. Every year over one million earthquakes shake the earth.

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18th March 2016

History’s most devastating earthquake

On 23 January 1556 in Shaanxi, China, a devastating earthquake took place. It was the era of the Ming Dynasty. Most of the people were living in artificial caves at that time. The epicentre of the earthquake was the Wei River Valley in Shaanxi Province. More than 8,30,000 people got killed as the artificial caves collapsed. Places as far as 500 kilometres from the epicentre were affected.

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