Prediction, rather than measurement, is of paramount importance to people who live in earthquakeprone areas, but as yet, seismologists have not found a means to predict accurately the intensity, location, or time of quakes.
「所謂預測，是要能說出地震發生的時間、地點和規模大小。到目前，地震預測還無法達到這種地步」，中央研究院地球科學研究所所長葉永田說。古人集千百年經驗，曾經流傳許多預測地震的說法。尤其我國是世界地震最頻繁的地區之一，有關地震的記載史不絕書。