approximately how many earthquakes, worldwide, are strong enough to be felt each year?
Geologists estimate that about 500,000 earthquakes occur each year in the world. Of these, about 100,000 are strong enough to be felt by people, and about 100 earthquakes cause damage. Minor earthquakes occur nearly constantly around the world in places like California and Alaska in the U.S., as well as in the Middle East and Asia. Larger earthquakes occur less frequently, the relationship is exponential, and is known as the Gutenberg-Richter law.