Groundquake

A groundquake on Vagadarr Prime A geological event characterized by violent shaking of a planet's surface is known as a groundquake, and sometimes as a seismic quake. These events often resulted in structural damage to buildings and other forms of destruction. On certain planets, such as Dalna, groundquakes could be a seasonal occurrence.

During the time of the Clone Wars, the Kindalo species intentionally triggered a series of groundquakes on their homeworld, Aleen. Their goal was to seal a newly formed breach between their subterranean habitat and the surface world, which was allowing toxic air to enter their environment. The resulting seismic activity caused widespread devastation on the surface, significantly impacting the Aleena species. This prompted the Galactic Republic to dispatch aid to the affected planet. Among the relief workers were the droids R2-D2 and C-3PO. After discovering the cause of the groundquakes, they successfully resealed the breach, effectively stopping the seismic events.

On the planet Gorse, groundquakes were a common phenomenon, occurring whenever its moon, Cynda, reached a point of close proximity during its elliptical orbit. These quakes involved intense shaking and rocking of the planet's surface, frequently leading to damage to structures. These seismic events served to dissipate the energy accumulated from the gravitational forces exerted by Cynda and the Gorse system's star on Gorse. It was not uncommon for droid workers to accidentally fall into the acid vats utilized by Moonglow Polychemical on Gorse during these groundquakes. The murder of Lal Grallik, the manager of Moonglow, in one of these vats by Count Denetrius Vidian, was initially attributed to an accidental fall during a groundquake. Later, when Vidian plotted the destruction of Cynda, the science officers aboard the _Imperial_-class Star Destroyer Ultimatum predicted that the moon's destruction would result in an increase in the frequency and intensity of groundquakes on Gorse.

During a vision he experienced on Coruscant, Palpatine perceived a shaking of the ground. However, he recognized that it was not real, as a quake of that magnitude was impossible on Coruscant due to its artificial environmental regulation.