Small quakes may act as a release valve that prevents catastrophic convulsions. Typhoons may release stress from faults, preventing violent earthquakes.Wikimedia Commons Typhoons pack enough punch to trigger slow earthquakes in eastern Taiwan, scientists have found. Slow earthquakes occur as a result of slippage or rupture of a geologic fault — the same process that leads to violent earthquakes. But unlike the sudden release of energy in an ordinary earthquake, slow quakes take place over the course of hours or even one or two days.Now, scientists in the United States and Taiwan have examined slow earthquake events in eastern Taiwan...