"There will be... Earthquakes in Various Places" - Part 1 - USGS Statistics

USGS.gov "Earthquake Facts and Statistics Graphs

In the same sentence where Jesus told us there would be famines in the End Times as we discussed in the previous post, he also said there would be "earthquakes in various places." (Tweet that!)

There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. (Matthew 24:7b, NIV)

The thing is, there have always been earthquakes. So how will we know if or when this prophecy is being fulfilled? (Tweet that!)

While I'm gathering information for this post, I'm finding so much information I want to share with you that it would be best to divide it into more than one post. So I've made an executive decision: we're going to spend all three posts this week talking about earthquakes.

Most prophecy buffs I've heard speak or have read think there will be an increase in earthquake activity in the End Times, which means an increase in both frequency and intensity. (Tweet that!) Jesus' words 'in various places' also seem to indicate earthquakes in locations where we don't normally see or expect them.

Of course when we want information on earthquakes, the authority we turn to is the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

INCREASE IN EARTHQUAKE ACTIVITY?

In the discussions I've listened to about prophecy and the increase of earthquakes, I've heard that the experts like those at the USGS deny there has been an increase of frequency and intensity of earthquakes in recent years or decades. I thought I'd go right to the source and see what the USGS is really saying. You'd think simple statistics could answer this question, right? Well, there's so much information to sift though I'm not finding it quite so simple.

In years past I've seen a chart that shows a dramatic increase in earthquakes in recent years, and when I searched the internet for that chart I saw it and it was linked to many sites -- everything from Bible prophecy sites to Mayan calendar 2012 sites. If you want to see that chart, do a search and you'll find it. But I'm not using it here because I'm skeptical about that chart. The source citation, which links to the USGS, doesn't bring up that chart. On my blog I'm endeavoring to post only information I can verify, and I can't verify that chart.

The link cited is this: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/world/historical.php

It takes you to an old page of the USGS site which says that page is being phased out and is no longer maintained as of 04/12 and that a replacement is under development.  Whatever replacement is being or has been developed, I'm not finding a new chart that makes the statistics on earthquake activity in recent decades easy to see at a glance.

I did find this page with graphics of earthquake activity by decade: "Earthquake Facts and Statistics Graphs" I grabbed an image off that page for the image on this post. There's a lot of great information there.

Are earthquakes increasing in intensity and frequency in various locations globally? It sure seems so. The statistics appear to say yes. (Tweet that!) As a matter of fact, as I'm preparing this post to go live, news is airing that there has been a 6.9 magnitude earthquake that has killed at least three people along the border between Mexico and Guatemala.

I hope you enjoy exploring all the links and information in this post. In the next post on Thursday we'll talk about the debate over man-made earthquakes and fracking.

Related Articles:

Coming this week:

• July 10, 2014 "There will be... Earthquakes in Various Places" - Part 2 - Fracking and Man-Made Earthquakes
• July 12, 2014 "There will be… Earthquakes in Various Places" - Part 3 - Recent Earthquakes and Resources