SCIENCE IN THE NEWS DAILY

Not More Quakes, Just More People in Quake Zones

from the San Diego Union-Tribune (Registration Required)

(Associated Press) -- First the ground shook in Haiti, then Chile and now Turkey. The earthquakes keep coming hard and fast this year, causing people to wonder if something sinister is happening underfoot.

It's not. While it may seem as if there are more earthquakes occurring, there really aren't. The problem is what's happening above ground, not underground, experts say.

More people are moving into megacities that happen to be built on fault lines, and they're rapidly putting up substandard buildings that can't withstand earthquakes, scientists say. And around-the-clock news coverage and better seismic monitoring make it seem as if earthquakes are ever-present.