While most earthquakes are caused by movement of the Earth 's tectonic plates , human activity can also produce earthquakes . Four main activities contribute to this phenomenon : storing large amounts of water behind a dam ( and possibly building an extremely heavy building ) , drilling and injecting liquid into wells , and by coal mining and oil drilling . Perhaps the best known example is the 2008 Sichuan earthquake in China 's Sichuan Province in May ; this tremor resulted in 69,227 fatalities and is the 19th deadliest earthquake of all time . The Zipingpu Dam is believed to have fluctuated the pressure of the fault away ; this pressure probably increased the power of the earthquake and accelerated the rate of movement for the fault
2008 Sichuan earthquake
2008 Sichuan earthquake
Earthquake