Does the central plot in your novel revolve around an earthquake that has happened? In this post, you’ll learn about how to describe an earthquake in a story. We’ve included 10 words below to explain further.
1. Catastrophe
Definition
- Intense, devastating change to the environment.
- Moment of complete failure or tragedy.
Examples
“California’s 1906 earthquake is still one of greatest catastrophes ever recorded.”
“I could not believe how catastrophic the earthquake was to my neighborhood: not a single house went untouched.”
How it Adds Description
When you want to describe your earthquake as particularly devasting, use catastrophe to show its obliterating impact on the buildings or natural environment. Catastrophic can also help to describe characters’ feelings about how the earthquake has affected them, particularly if their belongings have been destroyed or families hurt.
2. Slow burn
Definition
Gradual build up of power or intensity until a final explosion or outburst.
Examples
“Luckily, that 7.8 earthquake last week was a slow burner; it built up so gradually that everybody had a chance to evacuate before it really hit.”
“Some of the worst earthquakes I’ve ever experienced were slow burns over a period of a few hours.”
How it Adds Description
By focusing on more than just the effects of an earthquake, describing one as a slow burn allows you to show the way people might prepare and set the atmosphere for the actual event. A slow burn earthquake also gives you a chance to build tension towards how powerful the earthquake may finally be.
3. Glass shattering
Definition
So loud or shaking so extremely hard that it does (or could) literally shatter glass into small pieces.
Examples
“Yesterday’s glass shattering earthquake was measured as a 6.3 on the Richter scale.”
“My first memory was hiding in our kitchen during a glass shattering earthquake.”
How it Adds Description
If an earthquake is powerful enough, it could cause windows, mirrors, or glass dishes inside of a house to crack and break from the violent movements. Using glass shattering also highlights what the characters are hearing during the earthquake and how intense the whole experience might be for them.
4. Ground splitting
Definition
A separation, crack, or fissure in the earth or rocks.
Examples
“We were completely unprepared for the ground splitting earthquake.”
“The ground splitting earthquake was so powerful that it caused a 6-foot fissure to open in the street.”
How it Adds Description
For an earthquake to actually cause a crack in the ground (like in the movies), the plates would have had to move quite dramatically, resulting in a pretty intense earthquake. Describing the earthquake as ground splitting immediately shows the reader that this event is pretty significant and should be followed closely.
5. Reverberating
Definition
Echoing, rippling, or bouncing back.
Examples
“The tremors of the reverberating earthquake could be felt two states over.”
“Her favorite part of studying earthquakes was tracking how far their effects reverberated outward.”
How it Adds Description
Want to focus on the far-reaching effects of an earthquake? You can use reverberating to highlight the way the vibrations in the earth slowly ripple out from the epicenter. Or, if you want to focus on the way things sound, you could use reverberating to highlight how everything goes silent in ripples then explodes back into sound in waves outward from the epicenter.
6. Underwater
Definition
Happening in or beneath the water’s surface.
Examples
“What was most disturbing about the underwater earthquake was that we never heard it coming.”
“The first I knew of an earthquake underwater was the large plume of water that shot straight up like a geyser, right outside my portside window.”
How it Adds Description
If you want to cause a tsunami or if your story’s events take place in the sea, put your earthquake underwater. Underwater earthquakes are often more powerful than land-based ones. Putting the earthquake in the sea also allows for you to include a reason for plot-relevant catastrophic effects like tidal waves or damage to boats and marine life.
7. Negligible
Definition
Of such little importance as to have little to no effect.
Examples
“The earthquake was so negligible that it barely rattled the front door.”
“The negligible earthquake barely registered on the Richter scale.”
How it Adds Description
Not all earthquakes are destructive. Sometimes you might want an earthquake as a plot device to bring two characters together or cause some minor damage to an object that needs replacing. By describing the earthquake as negligible, you show that the earthquake was barely noticeable and only as important as your plot needs it to be.
8. Rumbling
Definition
- A strong sound that slowly builds in intensity.
- A low, echoing sound travelling from a far distance.
Examples
“The earthquake’s rumbling started low at first and built to a body-rocking tremor by the time it finally hit.”
“We could hear the rumbling earthquake from deep within the earth long before we felt it.”
How it Adds Description
Sometimes, in order to create suspense, you need to describe how something sounds before you can describe how it feels. Using rumbling to describe the sound of the earthquake approaching builds tension as the characters (and readers) are preparing for what could be a pretty hefty earthquake as the rumbling gets closer.
9. Expansive
Definition
Wide-reaching, vast, large.
Examples
“Towns 350 miles from the epicenter of the expansive earthquake could feel the tremors.”
“We could not believe how expansive the earthquake’s aftershocks reached.”
How it Adds Description
If you want to show the size of the earthquake, use expansive to describe it as covering a large surface area and affecting a great number of people and buildings. In many cases, the stronger the earthquake, the larger it is, so the word expansive gives your reader a sense of just how wide-reaching the effects are.
10. Localized
Definition
Be focused on a smaller, more confined point.
Examples
“Yesterday’s earthquake seemed to be more localized than we first thought; only those in the nearest three towns were effected.”
“Sometimes I wonder what is worse: a powerful, localized earthquake that takes down all the buildings in one town or a weaker, more expansive one that just does a bit of surface damage but effects 20x as many people.”
How it Adds Description
Contrary to expansive, you could also describe your earthquake as localized if you want to emphasize how little it effected. Localized suggests that the earthquake only really affected the town or core area your characters or the plot is based in, rather than having any far-reaching or more worldly relevance.