Earthquakes can be very dangerous, if you are in the wrong place. They can make buildings fall down and set off
landslides, as well as having many other deadly effects.
An earthquake which occurs on the seafloor can push water upwards and create massive waves called tsunamis.
These waves can reach speeds of up to 500 kilometres per hour and cause massive devastation to anything in their path.
Earthquakes are measured on the Richter Scale.
The higher the number on the scale, the more powerful the quake. The more powerful a quake is, the more damage it can cause.
Earthquakes have killed hundreds of thousands of people even though scientists are able to make buildings much safer than in the past.
Unfortunately many quakes happen in parts of the world where people can't afford to spend lots of money on safety measures.
译文:
地震到底有多危险?
如果你呆在错误的地方，那么地震是十分危险的.地震会造成建筑物坍塌,造成山体滑坡,以及其他的致命后果.
发生在海底的地震将水位抬高,并生成巨浪,我们称之为海啸.
这些巨浪时速可高达500千米,途径之处无疑遭受毁灭性的破坏.
地震是以里氏震级来计算的.
震级越高，地震越强烈，从而具有更强大的破坏力。
尽管科学家能够将建筑物造的比过去更安全,仍然有数以万记的人们在地震灾害中丧生.
不幸的是,在世界上许多地震发生的地区,那里的人们无法承受建造安全措施带来的经济负担.