Baby joy for Queen as she welcomes first great-grandchild

Dec 30 2010

THE Queen has said she is "delighted" following the birth of her first great-grandchild.

Buckingham Palace announced that the wife of the Queen's grandson Peter Phillips gave birth to a daughter yesterday.

Autumn and Peter Phillips' first child, whose name is yet to be confirmed, weighed 8lbs 8oz when she was born at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital.

A statement from Buckingham Palace read: "The Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, the Princess Royal, Captain Mark Phillips and Autumn's family have been informed and are delighted with the news."

The baby is the first child for Mr and Mrs Phillips, the first grandchild for the Princess Royal and the first great-grandchild for the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh. She is 12th in line to the throne.

Mr Phillips was present at the birth.

How often do they happen?

Did you know there are over a million earthquakes each year in all parts of the world?

But we don't notice most of them because they are so small.

Britain doesn't have a history of devastating earthquakes, but there are 200 to 250 on average a year, and about 30 of those can be felt.

Why is it dangerous after a quake?

Earthquakes are often followed by aftershocks, causing even more damage to already weakened buildings and roads.

Land, especially hills, can also be damaged by earthquakes and result in devastating landslides and mudslides.

What is an aftershock?

• It's basically a smaller earthquake that happens after the main quake, in the same area.

• If it registers higher on the Richter scale than the first quake, it's renamed as the main earthquake and the original main quake becomes known as a foreshock.

• Aftershocks can happen for up to two years after the original earthquake, losing power over time.

Have there been serious ones recently?

A memorial to the China earthquake, which happened on 12 May 2008

In recent years, there have been some really big earthquakes.

January 2010: A strong earthquake hit Haiti in the Caribbean. It devastated the country, and it's thought between 100,000 and 200,000 people died. Hundreds of buildings were demolished and 1.5 million people were made homeless.

Troops and aid are being sent in from all around the world to help the people there.

April 2009: Around 150 people are killed in central Italy when an earthquake struck in a city called L'Aquila. More than 50,000 people were left homeless by the quake.

May 2008: Around 87,000 people are thought to have been killed in China by an earthquake in the Sichuan region of the country. As many as five million homes were destroyed in the quake which measured 7.5 on the Richter scale, and was the biggest to strike the country for 30 years.

August 2007: More than 450 people are killed in Peru by a quake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale.

May 2006: More than 3,000 people are killed by an earthquake that struck the Indonesian island of Java. More than 200,000 people were left without shelter quake, which measured 6.2 on the Richter scale.

December 2004: Some 300,000 people are killed when an earthquake in the Indian Ocean measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale sends huge waves called tsunamis crashing into several Asian countries. The worst countries affected were Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand.

December 2003: Over 50,000 people are killed in a quake in Iran, which measured 6.3 on the Richter scale.

May 2003: Over 1,000 people are killed and nearly 7,000 hurt in a quake in Algeria, which measured 6.7 on the Richter scale.

March 2002: Thousands die in a remote area of Afghanistan after an earthquake measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale.

January 2001: 30,000 people die and more than 50,000 are injured by an earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale in Gujarat, India.

January 2001: 1,000 people die in a 7.2 earthquake in El Salvador.

Are they dangerous?

Earthquakes can be very dangerous, if you are in the wrong place. They can make buildings fall down and set off landslides, as well as having many other deadly effects.

An earthquake which occurs on the seafloor can push water upwards and create massive waves called tsunamis.

These waves can reach speeds of up to 500 kilometres per hour and cause massive devastation to anything in their path.

Earthquakes are measured on the Richter Scale.

The higher the number on the scale, the more powerful the quake. The more powerful a quake is, the more damage it can cause.

Earthquakes have killed hundreds of thousands of people even though scientists are able to make buildings much safer than in the past.

Unfortunately many quakes happen in parts of the world where people can't afford to spend lots of money on safety measures.

Why do they happen?

Although the ground we walk on seems solid, the earth is actually made up of huge pieces of flat rock called tectonic plates.

These move very slowly, and where they meet is called a fault.

When the plates rub together, the movement forces waves of energy to come to the earth's surface.

This causes tremors and shakes - and this is what causes earthquakes.