Earthquakes Earthquakes are the result of sudden movement along faults within the Earth. The movement releases stored-up ‘elastic strain’ energy in the form of seismic waves, which propagate through the Earth and cause the ground surface to shake. Such movement on the faults is generally a response to long-term deformation and the buildup of stress. Earthquake Movies: S.O.S Tidal Wave (1939) Earthquake (1974) Tidal Wave (2009) San Andreas (2015) The Quake (2018) Underwater (2020)