A major earthquake can move the entire earth's crust at eighty percent the speed of sound
During powerful seismic events, the earth's crust can rupture at staggering speeds of nearly three kilometers per second, reaching eighty percent of the speed of sound as tectonic plates slip.
A massive 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Myanmar provided a rare glimpse into the violent mechanics of the earth's crust, with CCTV capturing a 2.5-meter fault slip in mere seconds. When tectonic stress finally overcomes rock friction, energy is released along the rupture plane at velocities between two and three kilometers per second. This speed is comparable to eighty percent of the speed of sound within the crust.
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