We stay outside for awful quakes destroy everything (3,5)
I believe the answer is:
lay waste
'we stay outside for awful quakes' is the definition.
I don't know anything about this answer so I cannot judge whether this works.
'destroy everything' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'destroy' could be 'waste' (wasting is a kind of destroying) and 'waste' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'lay' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for lay waste that I've seen before include "Raze, destroy buildings, crops etc" , "Destroy and ruin an area" , "Destroy, ravage" , "Completely destroy (something)" , "Devastate" .)