Is it right to say that there must be a big earthquake after a small earthquake?

Frequent minor earthquakes may not necessarily lead to major earthquakes, but there will be frequent minor earthquakes after major earthquakes. Because earthquakes are the release of stress and pressure in the crust, the release of plate movement stress and pressure after frequent small earthquakes may not necessarily lead to large earthquakes, but frequent small earthquakes after large earthquakes are aftershocks.

Earthquakes are the result of tectonic activities, so the occurrence of earthquakes must be related to a certain tectonic environment. At the same time, the earthquake didn't happen in isolation, it was just an event in the whole process of tectonic activity, and other events would happen before this event. If we can confirm the event before the earthquake, we can use it as a precursor to predict the earthquake.

Extended data:

Earthquake prediction can be divided into the following time scales:

1. Long-term prediction refers to the prediction of areas where destructive earthquakes may occur in the next 10 year.

2. Medium-term prediction refers to the prediction of the region and intensity where destructive earthquakes may occur in the next 1-2 years.

3. Short-term prediction refers to the prediction of the time, place and magnitude of the earthquake that will occur within three months.

4. Impending earthquake prediction refers to the prediction of the time, place and magnitude of the earthquake that will occur in 10 days.

According to the understanding of earthquake law, predict the time, place and intensity of future earthquakes. The realization of earthquake prediction is based on the understanding of the physical process of earthquake preparation and the changes of physical properties and mechanical state of crustal rocks during the process.

References:

Baidu encyclopedia-earthquake prediction