The energy released by this earthquake which was measured  to be between 9.0 to 9.3 on the Richter Scale, or one of the worst earthquakes of all time; was estimated to be about 26.3 megatons of TNT (DYNAMITE), or about 550 times stronger then the bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima. All this energy was released, and then a huge aftershock of 7.1 followed closely behind and all that energy has to go somewhere.  Earthquakes of this size rarely occur more then once a year, but just a few days before this terrible earthquake ,off the west coast of Sumatra, there had been an 8.1 earthquake just west of New Zealand.  It makes you wonder whether global warming or naturally occurring conditions had been a factor in this tragic event.