Seismology is the science that studies earthquakes and phenomena connected with them. Seismology is a branch of geophysics.

Seismology attempts to explain the origin of earthquakes, where, when, and why they occur, what accompanies them, and how to forecast them. Earthquakes were mentioned in written historical documents as early several thousands of years ago, but their serious study began only in the nineteenth century. As a rough guide, the earthquake is a vibration of the ground tangible in a definite place; the stronger these vibrations are, the more damage an earthquake can cause.

Two variables are usually used for describing the earthquake power: magnitude and intensity. Magnitude is an objective parameter, which is connected with the ground displacement at the point of its measurement; the bigger the displacement, the stronger is the earthquake. Earthquakes with magnitudes bigger than 5–6 are considered powerful ones. Intensity is a parameter that is...