Two major earthquakes struck two separate countries in the first two months of 2010.
Nearly 800 people are dead, and about 500 are still missing after the most recent quake rocked Chile this weekend.
"People may be wondering why so many earthquakes so quickly, but actually about every year the earth gets about a hundred magnitude 7 or greater earthquakes," said Dr. Ray Beiersdorfer, with Youngstown State University's Geological and Environmental Sciences Department.
That means every three or four days somewhere across the planet, seismic plates shift. But it most likely occurs in the middle of the ocean or remote areas. In January, though, a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck Haiti.
"Similar to what we have at the San Andreas fault in California," said Beiersdorfer.
Then an 8.8-magnitude earthquake hit Chile.
"This situation is similar to places in Oregon, Washington, or northern California, even up to British Columbia," said Beiersdorfer.
But here in Ohio, an earthquake of that magnitude is highly unlikely. In the last 225 years, Ohio experienced about 120 earthquakes, all registering around a 5 on the Richter scale.
"Over 100 to 1,000 less than what we've had in the Haiti earthquake," Beiersdorfer said. "So they've been minor."
They've been so minor that he does not fear for the safety of his brick home.
Beiersdorfer said earthquakes are still difficult to predict, so a strong building code and earthquake insurance may be the best defense for those living along fault lines.
