The year of the least large quakes was 1986 with 6. The year of the most large quakes was 1943 with 41. There have been 13 so far this year as of November 12,1999. About 1,200 Moderate quakes occur annually worldwide. Infoplease, National Earthquake Information Center, U.S. Geological Survey.
Deep quakes are harder to measure at close range.
Within about six miles of a fault, there is a huge pulse of movement rather than a long series of wiggles. Though it's brief, that pulse can be devastating. One of the first recordings taken close to a big quake was at Loma Prieta. Later, seismograms from the Northridge and Kobe earthquakes showed the ground near the fault moving at more than three feet per second. Quakes turn out to be more capricious than scientists had thought.