The earthquake experiences of local residents help governments prepare for future quakes.
After a tremor, Earthquakes Canada creates a “Did you feel it?” questionnaire on its website.
The 18-question survey asks people to say where they were when the quake occurred, how long the shaking lasted, and asks a number of multiple choice questions such as: “Did pictures on walls move?” and “Did any furniture or appliances slide, tip over, or become displaced?”
A section of the questionnaire
According to seismologist John Cassidy, the information is useful for determining the intensity of an earthquake, which is different from the magnitude.
Magnitude tells the amount of energy released by an earthquake at its source, but it doesn’t …