Earthquakes, also called temblors, can be so tremendously destructive that it’s hard to imagine they occur by the thousands every day around the world, usually in the form of small tremors. Most are so small that humans can't feel them.

But every so often, a big quake will strike—most recently a 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck southern Turkey and Syria on February 6, 2023, which scientists tell Reuters is likely to be one of the deadliest of this decade. Here's what you need to know about where earthquakes typically occur, how earthquakes are measured, and the damage that the strongest earthquakes can cause.

Some 80 percent of all the planet's earthquakes occur along the rim of the