Great Hanshin earthquake of northeastern Japan. The Great Hanshin earthquake belonged to a third type, called an "inland shallow earthquake". Earthquakes of this type occur along active faults. Even at lower magnitudes, they can be very destructive because they often occur near populated areas and because their hypocenters are located less than 20 km below the surface. The Great Hanshin earthquake began north of the island of Awaji, which lies just south of Kobe. It spread toward the southwest along the Nojima Fault on Awaji and toward the northeast along the Suma and Suwayama faults, which run through the center of Kobe. Observations
2011 Virginia earthquake 2011 Virginia earthquake On August 23, 2011, a magnitude 5.8 earthquake hit the Piedmont region of the U.S. state of Virginia at 1:51:04 p.m. local time. The epicenter, in Louisa County, was northwest of Richmond and south-southwest of the town of Mineral. It was an intraplate earthquake with a maximum perceived intensity of VII ("Very strong") on the Mercalli intensity scale. Several aftershocks, ranging up to 4.5 in magnitude, occurred after the main tremor. The quake was felt across more than a dozen U.S. states and in several Canadian provinces, and was felt by more people than any other quake