These natural phenomena occur when two pieces of the Earth's crust called tectonic plates slide past each other.
当称为构造板块的两块地壳相互滑过时，就会发生这些自然现象。
经济学人（汇总）
They could erupt at any time, and the same sliding plates unleashed earthquakes, landslides and tsunamis, adding up to more than 2,300 emergencies a year.
这些活火山随时都可以爆发，同样的滑动板块会引发地震、滑坡和海啸，每年总共有超过2300次紧急事件。
英语百科
Slide plate
A slide plate is linear bearing such as may be part of the expansion joints of bridges, high temperature horizontal ducts of water-tube boilers and other mechanical or structural engineering applications. In each case one plate is fixed and the other slides on top as expansion or contraction occurs.