Most earthquakes in this region are subduction zone earthquakes. As the oceanic plate subducts beneath the continental plate, large compressive forces build up. Slip along the plate interface manifests as earthquakes. The animation on the left shows typical fault motion for this region.
Earthquakes generate seismic waves which travel through the earth.
The map shows the time at which p-waves generated by this earthquake arrived at a few cities world wide. In general, seismic wave amplitudes at any location on earth are dependent on the magnitude of the earthquake and the distance from the earthquake. If the seismic waves are large near an urban center, extensive loss of human life and damage to human property may result.