The Vrancea zone is a unique seismically active zone on the European continent, located at the junction of the Southern (Romania) and Eastern (Ukrainian) Carpathians in Vrancea County, Romania.
Within its boundaries, earthquake foci are located in the consolidated crust, also in the upper mantle at depths of 80 - 160 km. The greatest danger is posed by those that arise at enormous depths. They cause earth tremors up to 8-9 points at the epicenter in Romania, Bulgaria, and Moldova.
Earthquakes. Since 1107 to this day, 90 earthquakes with an intensity of 7-8 points have been recorded here. In the 20th century in the Vrancea zone there were 30 earthquakes with a magnitude of 6.5 points and above. Magnitude 7 earthquakes in 1940 and 1977 had tragic consequences. So, in 1977, 15 thousand people died in Bucharest. Carpathian earthquakes spread over a large area. In 1940, vibrations were felt over an area of 2 million km.
The highest magnitude of earthquakes in this seismically active zone reaches 7.6 points. The sources of earthquakes are located in the consolidated crust and mantle at depths from 80 to 190 km. Due to its enormous depth and magnitude, earthquakes in the Vrancea zone occur over a wide area: from Greece in the south to Finland in the north.
A major earthquake may occur in Ukraine. The cause of the cataclysm will be seismic activity in the Vrancea zone (Romania) - this is the name of the extremely dangerous area at the junction of the Ukrainian and Romanian Carpathians.
The occurrence of very strong tremors with a magnitude of over 9 points is quite likely there. Because of them, there may be tragic consequences in Ukraine. The intensity of tremors in the southwestern part of the Odessa region (Reni, Izmail) is possible up to 9 points, in Odessa and Nikolaev - 7-8 points, in Kirovograd and Zaporozhye - 6 points, in the north of Ukraine - 5 points on the Richter scale. Taking into account soil characteristics, the strength of the earthquake can be even greater.
Strong earthquakes in Odessa due to activity in the Vrancea zone occurred in 1701, 1802 and 1903. The city is in a 7-point zone. This is a lot, but, in addition, soil features play a role, due to which the force of destruction can increase. The most powerful earthquake on the territory of Ukraine occurred in Yalta on September 11 - 12, 1927. The force of the tremors at the epicenter (at the bottom of the sea) reached 9 points.
Residents of Ukraine could feel the earthquake, the source of which was located in the seismically active zone of Vrancea (Romania)
According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the tremors were recorded at 23.11 UTC time, 7 kilometers west of the city of Nerezhu. The outbreak lay at a depth of 88.3 kilometers.
At the epicenter of the earthquake, the strength of the tremors was recorded at 5.7 points. At the same time, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Center reported that an earthquake of magnitude 6.1 occurred in Romania. The epicenter of the tremors was located 145 km north of Bucharest.
The residents of Moldova and unrecognized Transnistria were also clearly shaken. As Moldovan media write, the celebrations taking place that night in Chisinau were cancelled, and wedding guests and celebrants went home.
The tremors also reached Belarus. For example, they were felt in Belarus, at about the same time as in Kyiv. There was no destruction or casualties.
Vrancea County, near the North Carpathian ridge, remains the most earthquake-prone area in Romania. In 1977, an earthquake with a magnitude of 8 at the epicenter and about 7.5 in Bucharest occurred there, killing about 1.5 thousand people. The director of the Romanian Earth Institute, Mircea Radulian, says earthquakes of the magnitude of nighttime earthquakes occur in the region once every two to three years.
On April 25, it happened in Nepal. The epicenter of the earthquake was located 82 kilometers northwest of Kathmandu. The source of the earthquake lay at a depth of 15 kilometers. The earthquake killed 758 people in Kathmandu, as well as 7 people in India. On the same day, seismologists recorded 13 repeated earthquakes in Nepal. ranged from 4.6 to 6.6.
2015
On April 25, it happened in Nepal. The epicenter of the earthquake was located 82 kilometers northwest of Kathmandu. The source of the earthquake lay at a depth of 15 kilometers. The earthquake killed 758 people in Kathmandu, as well as 7 people in India. On the same day, seismologists recorded 13 repeated earthquakes in Nepal. ranged from 4.6 to 6.6.
On January 10, an earthquake of magnitude 5.0 in China injured more than 1.5 thousand people. . The epicenter was located near the city of Artush, the source lay at a depth of 10 kilometers.
2014
December 21 off the coast of the Indonesian island of Halmahera. The source of the earthquake lay at a depth of 54.6 kilometers.
December 8 off the coast of Panama, 8 kilometers southeast of the village of Punta de Burica. The source of the earthquake lay at a depth of 10 kilometers.
December 7 off the coast of Papua New Guinea. The epicenter of the earthquake was located 121 kilometers west of the city of Panguna, Bougainville Island. The source of the earthquake lay at a depth of 10 kilometers.
December 6 in southwest China in Yunnan province. As a result of the earthquake, one child died and 8 people received injuries of varying severity.
November 26 off the coast of Indonesia. The epicenter of the tremors was located 150 kilometers northeast of the island of Ternate, part of the Moluccas archipelago in eastern Indonesia. The source of the earthquake lay at a depth of 65 kilometers.
On November 22, a fire occurred in Nagano Prefecture in Japan. The outbreak lay at a depth of 10 kilometers. The heaviest blow fell on the villages of Hakuba, Ogawa and the city of Nagano. In just two days, about 100 aftershocks with a magnitude of up to 5 were recorded in the region. 95 houses were completely or partially destroyed, 46 people were injured.
On November 22, in southwest China in Sichuan province. The source of the earthquake lay at a depth of 18 kilometers in the city of Tagun. Following the earthquake, another 95 seismic tremors of lesser intensity occurred. In the city of Tagun, 60 people were injured, 42 of whom were elementary school students. 5 people died.
November 21 off the coast of Indonesia. An earthquake was recorded in the Molluc Islands area. The outbreak lay at a depth of 10 kilometers.
10 people were injured. As a result of the earthquake, train traffic on the main railway lines of the island and traffic on expressways was also suspended.
January 28 earthquake of magnitude 6.6. Its epicenter was located on the territory of Kazakhstan, 225 kilometers southeast of Almaty, the source lay at a depth of 10 kilometers. As a result, more than 200 houses were destroyed in the border region of China.
On January 5, the magnitude of which was 7.5, causing a local but potentially destructive tsunami.
The epicenter of the earthquake was located 106 kilometers west of the city of Craig. The source of the earthquake lay at a depth of 9.9 kilometers.
The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources
At least 28 serious earthquakes of magnitude 4 and above have occurred in the world over the past 24 hours. One of them is just 10 kilometers from Anapa. The shock did not cause any damage. But in Turkey, 40 people were injured in a similar incident. “360” asked seismologists and found out what such high seismic activity means.
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Series of earthquakes
As reported on the website of the European-Mediterranean Seismological Center, on April 24 and 25, moderate earthquakes of magnitude 4-5 occurred in northern Italy (4.5), in the state of Vanuatu (4.6), Trinidad and Tobago (4.1), in Anapa (4.2), Costa Rica (4.5), Argentina (4.1), the Boyen Islands in Japan (4.3), Afghanistan (4.9), Indonesia (4.5), the Philippines ( 4.3), in the Bering Sea (4.3), on the Solomon Islands (4.9), on the Indonesian island of Sumbawa (4.8), in Peru (4.6), off the east coast of Kamchatka (4.2) , in the south of Panama (4.7), on the Andaman Islands in India (4.5), in Chile (4.3) and off the coast of Ecuador (4.5).
Quite strong, magnitude above 5: in Myanmar (5.2) and Tongo (5), on the Norwegian island of Jan Mayen (5.3), off the island of Fiji (5.5), in the interisland Scotia Sea in the South Atlantic Ocean (5.3), on the island of Hokkaido (5.5), off the coast of Nicaragua (5.6), in eastern Turkey (5.2).
In Russia over the past two days there have been two tremors at once. The epicenter of one of the earthquakes with a magnitude of 4.2 was located 10 kilometers from Anapa at a depth of about 80 kilometers.
“On April 25 at 00:10, the ODS TsUKS of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia in the Krasnodar Territory received information that a seismic event had occurred in Novorossiysk. Residents felt minor tremors in Novorossiysk and Anapa,” explained the press service of the regional department of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, adding that the incident did not cause casualties or destruction.
The day before, a shock of magnitude 4.2 occurred in the Pacific Ocean, 215 kilometers from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The earthquake was imperceptible, the Ministry of Emergency Situations explained. Therefore, no evacuation of residents was carried out, and no tsunami threat was declared.
Almost 40 people were injured due to an earthquake that occurred on Tuesday night in the Adiyaman province in southeastern Turkey, the local Anadolu agency reported, citing the country's emergency management agency. The tremors occurred late at night, the source of the earthquake was located at a depth of only seven kilometers. After the main shock, seismologists recorded eight more impacts with a force of 1.4-2.7 points.
“There is material damage. A number of buildings were damaged. The authorities are working to determine the extent of the damage, eliminate the consequences, and provide assistance to the population,” explained Prime Minister Binali Yildirim.
Half of the wounded were due to panic, said provincial governor Naji Kalkanji. “19 citizens were injured due to panic during the earthquake. Someone twisted their leg, someone fell, injuring their hands,” he said.
The world won't end
The head of the laboratory of continental seismicity and seismic hazard forecasting at the Institute of Earth Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Alexey Zavyalov, told “360” that earthquakes with magnitudes 4 and 5 are ordinary events. This is the normal life of the planet, and there can be no talk of any “end of the world”.
Such seismic activity is quite common. Every day we receive from our urgent reporting service of the geophysical service of the Russian Academy of Sciences about 15-20 messages about serious seismic activity around the world
Alexey Zavyalov.
The most famous seismically active zone on Earth is the Pacific Seismological Ring. There, according to Zavyalov, 80-90% of all earthquakes on the planet occur. The second most active are the Alpine-Himalayan and Mediterranean-Trans-Asian seismic belts. There is also the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, and earthquakes also occur in the area where it passes. The next major earthquake will occur in one of these zones in the near future.
The head of the laboratory of experimental geophysics, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Alexey Nikolaev, confirmed to “360” that there is nothing extraordinary in such seismic activity and there is no need to worry.
An earthquake of magnitude 4 and 5 is nonsense. They can happen anywhere and happen more than once every day. Don't be afraid, the world won't end
Alexey Nikolaev.
What does seismic activity depend on?
Alexey Nikolaev explained that some scientific works describe the dependence of seismic activity on the time of year. According to the authors of such studies, this most often occurs in November–December and spring. But, the seismologist emphasized, these scientific works are almost never used in practice.
“When they say that seismic activity is increasing, they mean an increase in the number of small earthquakes. We are not talking about catastrophic incidents in which thousands of people die,” he added.
All processes occurring on Earth are cyclical in nature, Zavyalov recalled. And periodically the number of seismic activity events increases and then decreases. There are scientific works linking this phenomenon with periods of solar activity or with the positions of the Moon.
In different parts of the world, seismological activity may depend on certain factors, Nikolaev explained. For example, storm microseisms sometimes occur off the coast and there are fewer large earthquakes. But this dependence is very weak - rather, it only adds or decreases the probability.
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Earthquake in Nepal on April 25, 2015, latest news: a list of Russian citizens who have not yet been contacted has appeared, the death toll has reached 449 people, at least 400 have been injured.
The death toll has already exceeded 450 people. These figures are reported by Reuters, citing a statement by the Inspector General of the Nepal Police, General Kamal Singh Bam. The DPA agency reports 200 dead and 400 injured, based on data from the country's Ministry of Internal Affairs.
India was also hit by the earthquake: the death toll there is now at least 20.
Nepal, earthquake 04/25/15 - list of Russian citizens with whom there is no contact yet: it is known that the Russians went on a hike from the city of Lukla in Nepal and were last in contact on April 23. This:
Andrey Volkov (head of the Russian Mountaineering Association), Nikolay Kuteev, Angela Kuteeva, Anna Getmanskaya, Olga Nesterova, Ekaterina Kharitonova, Oleg Lyashko, Andrey Larionov, Maxim Sevastyanov, Valery Babanov, Andrey Mariev, Ekaterina Goryshina, Olga Kuznetsova. They all followed this route: North Face of Changbang - Nanga Parbat - Everest, north side. There is no cell phone service or internet in this area, so there is no information about the group yet.
According to the latest data, eight people died in an avalanche on Everest. Citizens of which country are still unknown.
One of the tourists reported information about the Russians. The Russian Embassy is currently checking information on whether Russian citizens may now be among the victims. It is known that the embassy building itself was damaged by the tremors (the utility part of the premises), but all the employees are alive and well.
Earthquake in Nepal 04/25/15, latest news: tremors with a magnitude of 7.9 began at 09.11 Moscow time (06.11 – Nepalese time). The epicenter of the earthquake was located 82 kilometers in the northwestern part of Kathmandu, the source is located 2 kilometers underground. Tremors were felt not only in Nepal, but also in northern India and its capital New Delhi.
According to reports USGSOn March 25, 2018, several earthquakes with a magnitude greater than 5.0 occurred. There was no information about destruction.
INDONESIA.
Earthquake magnitude 6.4 occurred near the Moluccas Islands at 20:14 p.m. UTC. The epicenter of the earth's crust fluctuations was located 214 kilometers from the city of Saumlaki. The hypocenter of the tremors lay at a depth of 171.51 km.
Earthquake magnitude 5.6 occurred off the coast of an Indonesian island that is part of the Barat Daya group
in the northeastern part of the Lesser Sunda Islands, at 08:58 p.m. UTC. The epicenter of the earth's crust was located 353 kilometers from the city of Dili, East Timor. The hypocenter of the tremors lay at a depth of 149.36 km.
JAPAN.
At 2:37 p.m. UTC An earthquake occurred in the Pacific Ocean near the Izu Islands magnitude 5.7. The epicenter of the earth's crust fluctuations was located 95 km from the island of Hachijojima. The hypocenter of the tremors lay at a depth of 51.11 km.
Repeated vibrations of the earth's crust occurred at 15:36 p.m. UTC in the Pacific Ocean, magnitude 5.0. The epicenter of the earth's crust fluctuations was located 101 km from the island of Hachijojima. The hypocenter of the tremors lay at a depth of 51.08 km.
ARGENTINA.
Earthquake magnitude 5.6 occurred in the province of Santiago Del Estro, at 14:28 p.m. UTC. The epicenter of the earth's crust was located 30 km from the city of El Hoyo. The hypocenter of the tremors lay at a depth of 555.31 km.
TONGA.
Earthquake magnitude 5.4 occurred in the South Pacific Ocean at 01:53 p.m. UTC. The epicenter of the earth's crust fluctuations was located 178 kilometers from the city of Ohonua. The hypocenter of the tremors lay at a depth of 5.01 km.
Papua New Guinea.
Earthquake magnitude 5.3 occurred on the northeastern tip of the island of New Britain, at 05:09 p.m. UTC. The epicenter of the earth's crust fluctuations was located 166 kilometers from the city of Kokopo. The hypocenter of the tremors lay at a depth of 35 km.
New Zealand.
Earthquake magnitude 5.1 occurred in the Kermadec island arc in the South Pacific Ocean at 07:57 p.m. UTC. The epicenter of the earth's crust fluctuations was located 204 kilometers from Raoul Island. The hypocenter of the tremors lay at a depth of 10 km.
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