'Megaquake' fears after planet shaken by 144 earthquakes in seven days
The Pacific Ring of Fire has been hit by a series of strong earthquakes with Venezuela being struck by a major 7.3 magnitude earthquake on Tuesday
There are fears of a so-called 'megaquake' after the planet was shaken by 144 earthquakes in the past seven days.
It comes after Venzuela was hit by a major 7.3 magnitude earthquake on Tuesday.
Around 70 earthquakes are said to have hit the Ring of Fire, which is a horseshoe shaped area of volcanic arcs, volcanic belts and tectonic plates.
It stretches along a 25,000-mile arc from South America to Australia via the western United States and East Asia and it's where most of the world's earthquakes happen as tectonic plates push against each other, causing tremors.
The latest quake in Venezuela was so powerful the effects were felt in the Caribbean islands of Trinidad and Tobago and Grenada.
Tremors were reported in Caribbean islands some distance away, including Grenada and Barbados, while one witness claimed he felt the tremors 300km away in Oistins, a resort near Barbados's capital.
No deaths or major damage has been reported by Venezuelan authorities and it appears the earthquake's depth - 76.5 miles (123 km) below the surface - appears to have mitigated the destruction.
Videos posted to social media show residents screaming and shouting as the terrifying tremors rocked buildings and streets.
After this, Vanuatu, which is the western Pacific, was hit by a 6.7 magnitude earthquake.
Officials at Vanuatu's National Disaster Management Office in Port Vila, roughly 120 miles south of the epicentre, had no initial reports of damage.
"We felt small shaking for 15 or 30 seconds but we're all good here," spokesman Presley Tari told Reuters by phone.
Oregon was then hit by a third earthquake which had a 6.3 magnitude.
No tsunami warning was issued after the quake which registered at a depth of roughly 10km (six miles) and was an estimated 188 miles west of Bandon, Oregon.
Another 5.9 aftershock then hit Venezuela on Thursday, sparking panic.
INCREDIBLE FOOTAGE SHOWS RESTAURANT SPLIT IN TWO BY EARTHQUAKE IN TRINIDAD & TOBAGO
It comes as around 70 earthquakes are believed to have struck in the Ring of Fire in the past three days.
There are fears a 'Big One' or megaquake could be on the way which would cause significant damage and loss of life to the west coast of the US.
A megaquake could also hit one of major cities along the Ring of Fire in Asia or South America.
There have also recently been a number earthquakes in Bali and Lombok in Indonesia.
READ MORE
Top Stories From Mirror Online
There have been fears that California could be overdue a massive and destructive earthquake - known in popular lore as 'The Big One'.
The state lies on the notorious San Andreas fault line which has been hit by several magnitude-7 quakes in the past, including the deadly 1906 San Francisco earthquake which claimed the lives of 3,000 people.
Richard Aster, a professor of geophysics at Colorado State University, recently wrote: “The earthquake situation in California is actually more dire than people who aren’t seismologists like myself may realize.”
“Although many Californians can recount experiencing an earthquake, most have never personally experienced a strong one. For major events, with magnitudes of seven or greater, California is actually in an earthquake drought.”
However, seismologists cannot predict when or where earthquakes will strike, or how strong in magnitude they will be.
No comments:
Post a Comment