The scale is open-ended, with no upper limit, and allows for decimal values—so earthquakes can be rated as 4.6, 7.9, etc. Earthquake magnitude classification. Micro ( 3.0): Usually not felt by ...

5.0 - 5.9 magnitude: These tend to be VI - VII on the MM scale, meaning there could be slight damage depending on how the structure was built. 6.0 - 6.9 magnitude: These tend to be VII - IX on the ...

Earthquake Magnitude Scale; Magnitude Earthquake Effects Estimated Number Each Year; 2.5 or less: Usually not felt, but can be recorded by seismograph. Millions: 2.5 to 5.4: Often felt, but only ...

A major 7.7 magnitude earthquake has struck Myanmar, causing damage and casualties across the country and in neighbouring Thailand. The quake happened in central Myanmar at a depth of 6.2 miles ...

The strongest earthquake ever recorded, a 9.5-magnitude one that occurred in Chile in 1960, was 30,000 times more powerful than a 6.5-magnitude quake, which itself can be very destructive.

So just how big was last Friday’s earthquake? Depending on what source you read — and when you read it — the magnitude of the Sunshine Coast earthquake that rattled southwest B.C. shortly ...

To put the recent earthquakes in Greece and Turkey into context, the largest quake ever recorded was in Chile in 1960, which measured 9.5 on the Richter scale, and killed well over 1,000 people.

Though what is considered a big earthquake varies, significant damage to buildings starts at 6.1 to 6.9 magnitude earthquakes, according to Michigan Tech University's earthquake magnitude scale.