Sichuan earthquake measured 7.8, and continues with repeated aftershocks over 5 magnitude. If you have friends or family in Sichuan, please contact them promptly, and may everyone be safe. For a long time, earthquakes have basically been something that can only be monitored but not predicted. Here are some online methods to monitor earthquakes (yesterday cnBeta also provided technical intelligence through them): 1. IRIS Monitoring Map This map lists the detected earthquakes http://www.iris.edu/seismon/bigmap/index.phtml 2. USGS Earthquake Records This webpage lists the records of earthquakes over 2.5 magnitude within a week http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/rec ... s_all.html 3. Opera Widget: EarthQuakes Map This Opera Widget shows the earthquakes occurred globally within a week, updated in real-time (to be used with Opera) http://widgets.opera.com/widget/5178/