Earthquakes: Predicting the Inevitable

The recent earthquake on the East Coast has prompted many to question whether scientists are close to predicting when or where the next earthquake might occur. Before diving into that, let’s explore what earthquakes are. Earthquakes happen when tectonic plates—huge blocks of the Earth’s crust—shift abruptly due to accumulated pressure, releasing energy that causes the ground to shake. Historically, the Richter scale was used to measure earthquake magnitudes, but it has become outdated. The Momen