9 The ground moved only for about 20 seconds during the 1995 earthquake in Kobe, Japan. Despite this, over 6,000 people were killed and 300,000 rendered homeless, with the destruction of more than 100,000 buildings.

Its registered magnitude was 6.3 on the Richter scale, and was one of the worst quakes to hit Japan since the Tokyo-Yokohama quake of 1923.(source)

10 Moving at a rate of about 2 inches a year – the same rate at which fingernails grow – the San Andreas Fault could lead to San Francisco and Los Angeles being next to each other in 15 million years.

As a result of this plate movement, Los Angeles City Hall is now 9 feet closer to San Fransisco than what it was originally when built in 1924. Give it 15 million years more, and they’ll be right next to each other!(source)

11 On March 11, 2011, Japan was struck with the worst earthquake in its entire history. The 9.0 quake also induced a tsunami with waves as high as 30 feet and caused severe damage to nuclear power plants. 

So severe was the earthquake that even Antarctica’s ice sheets felt the impact. Even today, debris from the earthquake continues to wash up on US shores. Following the earthquake, most of the country’s nuclear plants were closed; the 230,000 people who were rendered homeless still live in temporary housing arrangements. The damage, according to the Japanese government, is estimated to be about $300 billion.

The quake also moved the country closer to the U.S., and also shifted the planet’s axis by 6.5 inches.(source)

12 According to the United Nations, 8 million people were affected by the 2015 earthquake in Nepal.

The 7.8 magnitude quake is believed to have affected 8 million people across 39 districts, with 2 million of them in 11 severely affected areas.

The quake also resulted in Mt. Everest shrinking by an inch, while Kathmandu moved about 10 feet south.(source)