Mercalli Scale vs. Richter Scale. While the Mercalli scale describes the intensity of an earthquake based on its observed effects, the Richter scale describes the earthquake’s magnitude by measuring the seismic waves that cause the earthquake. The two scales have different applications and measurement techniques.Click to see full answer. Similarly, you may ask, what is the Mercalli scale How is it different from the Richter scale?The Mercalli scale bases its measurement on the observed effects of the earthquake and describes its intensity. It is a linear measurement. On the other hand, the Richter scale measures the seismic waves, or the energy released, causing the earthquake and describes the quake’s magnitude. It is a logarithmic.Also, what are some advantages of the Mercalli scale in rating an earthquake? A scale like the Richter scale differs in that it measures and ranks the amplitude of earthquakes. The Mercalli scale has advantages in that if you want to know how an earthquake of a certain magnitude will effect a city for example, it’ll tell you how much destruction to expect. People also ask, what does the Mercalli scale measure? From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The Mercalli intensity scale (or more precisely the Modified Mercalli intensity scale) is a scale to measure the intensity of earthquakes. Unlike with the Richter scale, the Mercalli scale does not take into account energy of an earthquake directly.How useful is the Richter scale?The Richter scale is used to rate the magnitude of an earthquake — the amount of energy it released. This is calculated using information gathered by a seismograph. The Richter scale is logarithmic, meaning that whole-number jumps indicate a tenfold increase. In this case, the increase is in wave amplitude.