Will there be more than 9 earthquakes of magnitude 5.5 or higher worldwide from May 18 - 24?

Analysis

The earth averages somewhere between ten and fifteen magnitude 5.5-plus quakes every single week. That's not a good week — that's a normal week. The Ring of Fire doesn't take holidays. Yes, mid-May has been quiet. Chile, Indonesia, the Philippines — isolated events, no swarms, no aftershock chains piling on. Two of our models read that as a sign to lean against the higher totals. Fair point, worth noting. But a quiet patch is not a structural shift. Tectonic strain doesn't pause because last Tuesday was boring. The week-to-week swing can cut either way, but the long-run machinery strongly favours clearing double digits. The resolution rules are a little messy — borderline magnitudes get revised, and a catalogue gap could shave a quake off the final tally. Real friction, but not enough to flip the call. The market looks like it's been spooked by a few dull days and forgotten what the default setting actually is. Ten-plus in a week is the norm, not the exception. I'd back Yes here — the planet's tectonic engine doesn't care about the current mood, and the odds look too generous for what is essentially the most likely outcome.