Magnitude and Intensity

People often confuse these two measurements. Magnitude measures the total energy released by an earthquake at its source. The modern moment magnitude scale replaced the famous Richter scale and is logarithmic: each whole number increase represents roughly 32 times more energy.

Intensity measures how strongly shaking is felt at a specific location, using the Modified Mercalli Scale (I to XII). A single earthquake has one magnitude but many intensities depending on distance, soil type, and building construction.