A sudden violent shaking of the ground is called an earthquake. Earthquakes can be mild and can be extremely dangerous as well. It can destroy lives and houses and a lot of property. The most powerful quake in the world is called the Great Chilean Earthquake. It took place on May 22, 1960. It is thought to have measured 9.5 on the moment magnitude scale (MMS). It left 2 million people homeless. This was the worst earthquake in history. So far we cannot predict earthquakes because there is no instrument invented to detect earthquakes in advance. Children and adults should be educated and are educated every now and then on earthquakes and what one should do during an earthquake.