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 tell whether this works.
'destroy everything' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'destroy' could be 'waste' (wasting is a kind of destroying) and 'waste' is found within the answer.
The remaining letters 'lay' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
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" .)