The 5 strongest earthquakes that occurred in the entire history of seismic observations. How are earthquakes related to slowing down of the planet's rotation? And what could the consequences be? What do scientists say about the seismic activity?
More and more often, we hear the word “earthquake” from television and over radio. It appears on the pages of newspapers and magazines. Today, through mass media, we are being informed of the natural disasters that have occurred, including ongoing earthquakes on the planet..
The number and dynamics of natural disasters show that the process of global climate change has already entered the active phase. And this requires our timely response and actions aimed at uniting and overcoming all problems together.
It is important to understand the essence of what is happening and know how to act in order to avoid panic. Watch the unique program “Се грядёт. It is Coming” for more information.
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What are the 5 strongest earthquakes that occurred in the entire history of seismic observation?
- How are earthquakes related to slowing down of the planet's rotation?
- And what could the consequences be?
- What do scientists say about the seismic activity?
- And in general, what is happening outside the window today?
On May 3 in Hawaii, an earthquake of 5.0 magnitude took place. It was followed by a lava eruption of the Kilauea volcano. On May 4 at 11:32, there was an earthquake of 5.3 magnitude on the island again, and an hour later there was an earthquake of 6.9 magnitude. It became the strongest one on the island in the last 43 years. On May 4, local residents were evacuated. A crack appears on the island. 14 fissures, from which lava is flowing, were discovered to date. A recession in lava level in the crater has been registered, which increases the likelihood of potential eruptions. For See details watch in the Special episode of the Breaking News.
At the end of April and beginning of May, numerous climatic events were observed all around the planet. High temperatures in the Indian subcontinent and in Eastern Europe. Floods in Africa, in the Far and Middle East, in Latin America. There were shocks of 5.0 and greater magnitude in various parts of the planet.
More and more often, we hear the word “earthquake” from television and over radio. It appears on the pages of newspapers and magazines. Today, through mass media, we are being informed of the natural disasters that have occurred, including ongoing earthquakes on the planet.The number and dynamics of natural disasters show that the process of global climate change has already entered the active phase. And this requires our timely response and actions aimed at uniting and overcoming all problems together.It is important to understand the essence of what is happening and know how to act in order to avoid panic.
Reference: An earthquake is a strong shaking of the earth's surface. Usually they are classified according to the Richter scale in conditional units called magnitude. The magnitude is measured from the oscillations of the seismograph and shows the amount of energy that is released during an earthquake. This scale is often confused with the seismic intensity scale in degrees, which is based on the external effect of an earthquake: impact on people, objects, structures, and natural features.
When an earthquake occurs, it is exactly the magnitude that becomes known initially and the intensity is becomes clear only after some time based on the information about its consequences. The main causes of earthquakes are plate tectonic movement, volcanic activity, and technogenic reasons. On the seismic magnitude scale, each whole number increase in earthquake's magnitude represents a tenfold increase in measured amount of energy released than the previous one. According to statistics, there is an average of about 1 earthquake with a magnitude of 8.0 or greater occuring on Earth, 10 - with a magnitude of 7.0-7.9, 100 - with a magnitude of 6.0-6.9 and 1000 - with a magnitude of 5.0-5.9.
It is known that every earthquake represents a shock or a series of shocks that arise as a result of displacement of rock masses, faults. The size of the earthquake focus can vary greatly. In weak shocks that are barely perceptible by human, the size of the focus could be up to several meters horizontally and vertically. In earthquakes of medium strength, when cracks appear in stone buildings, the dimensions of the focus may reach several kilometers. While in the most severe, catastrophic earthquakes, the focus may have an extend of as much as 500-1000 km in length and up to 50 km in depth.
Reference: Each earthquake has two centers - an epicenter and a hypocentre. Hypocenter is the central point of the earthquake focus. It is the point at which the shifting of rocks begins. Epicenter - is a perpendicular projection of the hypocentre on the Earth's surface.
One of the basic factors of earthquakes’ increasing frequency is the inertia of the Earth’s upper layers of the Earth:, the tectonic plates. As a result, the planet rotation slows down. Scientists from the UK have determined that the duration of the earth's day increases by an average of 1.8 milliseconds every hundred years. The flattened shape of the Earth changes to a more spherical one during the slowing down of the planet's rotation. This leads to large deformations of tectonic plates in the equatorial zones, which results inleads to an increase in the number of earthquakes. The rotation speed of rotation of the planet Earth changes slightly every year, now increasing, now or decreasing. The scientists found out that seismic activity significantly increased 5 years after the Earth's rotation speed had reached a local minimum. It's been about 4.5 years since the minimum has been reached by now. Thus, according to the hypothesis, an increase in the number of powerful earthquakes is possible in 2018.
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Igor Vladimirovich Naymets: many researchers know this events for instance British scientist confirmed that for example the earth it started slowing down. And over the last 700 years, it has slowed down, as they have already measured, by 4 milliseconds. It doesn’t seem like much, but…
Igor Michailovich Danilov: - It is disastrous.
Igor Vladimirovich Naymets: Yes, but in actual fact, it does lead to a major disaster. The thing is that when the Earth revolves, it is slightly flattened, well as…
Igor Michailovich Danilov: Centrifugal forces...
Igor Vladimirovich Naymets: When it begins to slow down, it starts assuming a shape close to the shape of a sphere. Naturally, the area of the globe surface changes, and there are tectonic faults. At that, correspondingly, the plates can either part or on the contrary lap over. Hence, researchers predict that, for instance, this year volcanic activity on the Earth is to increase at least two times. That is, they have approximately estimated that 6 to 7 major earthquakes take place on average annually. This year they anticipate about 30 major earthquakes. And, again, this is only an expectation, while the reality might turn out to be completely different. And we see…
Igor Michailovich Danilov: A single serious one is enough.
Igor Vladimirovich Naymets: Yes, definitely, for entire humanity to perish.
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TOP 5 of the most powerful earthquakes in the entire history of seismic observations:
- Earthquake in the North-Kurilsk in 1952. The whole impact of the elements was assumed by the city of North Kurilsk, located on the island of Paramushir. On November 5 a powerful earthquake occurred in the Pacific Ocean, not far from the southern edge of the Kamchatka Peninsula, with 8,3 magnitude on the Richter scale. Its focus was in the sea 130 km away from Cape Shypunsky at a depth of 2-3 km. Kuril Islands, the peninsula of Kamchatka, Sakhalin Island, all of them belong to the Pacific Ring of Fire. This is the name of the region located along the periphery of the Pacific Ocean and characterised by increased seismic activity. The fact is that it is located on the border of lithospheric plates. Watch the 102 release of Climate Control for more details about the Pacific Fire Ring. The earthquake caused tsunami waves, up to 15-18 meters high, which destroyed the city of North-Kurilsk and caused damage to a number of other settlements. According to official figures, 2336 of the 6,000 people who inhabited the city were killed. Strong ocean level fluctuations were noted throughout the day on November 5 in the 700-kilometer coastline. In North-Kurilsk, a rescue operation was carried out using airplanes and all available vessels. Then a significant part of the population was evacuated to Sakhalin. Much of the city infrastructure was badly damaged and could not be restored. The city was rebuilt anew.There is a port in the place of former town of North-Kurilsk today. More than 60 years have passed since the catastrophe in North-Kurilsk. Today, about 2,500 people live here, mostly engaged in the fishing industry. It was this disaster after which the government decided to establish a tsunami warning system in the country.
- 4th place - earthquake in Japan, year 2011. An earthquake off the east coast of the island of Honshu or the great East Japan earthquake occurred on March 11, 2011 at 14:46 local time. Its magnitude was from 9 to 9.1. The epicenter of the earthquake was identified 130 km east of Sendai and 373 km north-east of Tokyo. The hypocenter of the most devastating earthquake was at a depth of 32 km below sea level, in the Pacific Ocean. This is the strongest earthquake in the known history of Japan and the 4th strongest for the entire history of seismic observations in the world. The initial calculation showed that it took tsunami waves 10 to 30 minutes to reach the coast. The height of the tsunami waves was 35-40 m. The tsunami covered a total area of 561 sq. km. The number of dead and missing people exceeded 20,000. About 93% of those who died were victims of a giant wave. Many houses and roads were destroyed. Tsunami literally washed away several settlements. An explosion occurred at the nuclear power plant in the prefecture of Fukushima. Japan did not know such a strong earthquake for the entire history, at least, since the observations are being made.
- 3rd place - earthquake in Alaska, 1964. The Great Alaskan earthquake is the strongest earthquake in US history. Its magnitude was 9.2 with an epicenter at College Fjord, in the northern part of the Alaska Gulf, 120 km from Anchorage. The earthquake focus was located at a depth of more than 20 km and was confined to the boundary of the Pacific Plate submerged under the North American one. The earthquake occurred on March 27, 1964 at 17:36 local time. Although the earthquake was rather powerful, the number of casualties was small, since Alaska is sparsely populated. Significant destruction occurred on an area of 50,000 square miles. A lot of trouble was brought by avalanches and collapses in the mountains. Railway and highway roads have become unusable. The railway in the state of Alaska has lost its port facilities, bridges and much more. Small houses located in the landslide area moved several meters in various directions. But due to the small mass and size, they were not significantly damaged, although their construction was designed without taking seismic loads into account. There was a significant change in the shoreline.
- 2nd place - earthquake in the Indian Ocean, 2004. The underwater earthquake in the Indian Ocean, which occurred on December 26, 2004 at 7:58 local time, triggered a tsunami. The magnitude of the earthquake was from 9.1 to 9.3. The epicenter of the earthquake was in the Indian Ocean to the north of the island of Simolue, located near the Northwest coast of the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. Tsunami reached the coasts of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, southern India, Thailand and other countries. The height of the waves exceeded 15 meters. The tsunami has led to huge destructions even in Port Elizabeth, South Africa at 6900 km from the epicenter. The earthquake was unusually large in a geographical sense. There was a rock shift of about 1200 km at a distance of 15 meters along the subduction zone. As a result, the Indian plate shifted under the Burmese plate. It was not a one-time shift, but it was divided into two phases within a few minutes. The total death toll was estimated at approximately 235,000 people. Tens of thousands were missing. More than 1 million people were left without a roof over their heads. Many countries have become more attentive to the monitoring of seismic activity after the earthquake in the Indian Ocean. They have also developed a public alert system and evacuation plan in case of danger. Work was carried out to inform the public. They taught the rules of behavior in earthquakes, tsunamis and other cataclysms. Now detailed instructions can be seen even on the hotel doors.
- 1st place - earthquake in Chile, 1960. The epicenter was located near the city of Valdivia, 435 km south of Santiago. Strong shocks have shaken the territory of 200,000 square km. About 20% of the industrial potential of Chile was destroyed. Continuous severe earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and a giant tsunami devastated more than 100,000 square km of the countryside in the Andes. Several cities were almost totally destroyed. Shortly after the main shock, the ebb began, followed by a tsunami which was moving at a speed of about 800 km / h. It struck the coastal line of Chile with waves of about 10 meters high. After surging back, the wave moved in the opposite direction. 15 hours after the earthquake, the tsunami reached the city of Hello in Hawaii, having traveled 10,000 km at a speed of about 700 km / h. Then the tsunami waves hit California, which was 9,000 km away from Chile. The remnants of the tsunami reached even the coasts of Japan and the Philippines. The number of victims was about 6,000 people. And the main amount of people died because of the tsunami. To understand how fast tsunami can spread, let’s compare it with an average speed of a modern passenger aircraft - 850 km / h. The waves of the tsunami passed through the entire Pacific Ocean at such a speed. It would take it a little more than 1 hour to pass the distance from Paris to Berlin.
- Elena, Evpatoria: Hello! I would really like to share with you information about the interaction of people in extreme situations. I was born in Tajikistan. It was a very multi-ethnic and rich country - rich in nationalities. On October 13, 1985 there was a powerful earthquake. It happened at about 10 pm. A roar was heard, a terrible roar of the Earth. Nobody could tell what it was. After the roar, the earth began rocking, everything was collapsing and falling down. We ran outside in whatever we had on. You no longer pay attention to anything. You just help those who are left behind to get out. But, thank God, it did not happen where I was. I mean, everybody survived, everyone remained alive. Officially, they said it was 8 in magnitude, but in fact it was 9.5. The city of Kairakkum was simply wiped off the face of the Earth in a moment. I would like to tell you what my Grandfather used to say when he was in military service. In the Ramit Gorge, there were two mountains, and there was a village right between those mountains. And during the earthquake, those mountains diverged, and the entire village went underground in a single instant. And the mountains converged again. And it's like there was a village and then there wasn't. Just an instant.
Human life is fleeting, that is true. But the
human being is much more than just a body.“AllatRa” book by A. Novykh
And when all this happened, people rallied. Nobody noticed who is of what nationality, who is of what religion. And there were a lot of nationalities. There were Russians, Tajiks, Uzbeks, Kazakhs, Kirghiz, Koreans, Germans, Poles, Belarusians, that is, they all united into a single whole. And at that moment, the concept of nationality was erased. Everyone was as a whole. Everyone worried, people did their best to help each other. Help arrived immediately. There was humanitarian assistance. Volunteers arrived. And the city of Kairakkum rose like a phoenix from the ashes. Thanks to the help of the entire population, tent cities and trailers were built where people lived. All conditions were created for people to live. Everyone helped as much as they could. But the most important thing is that everyone helped each other regardless of religion and nationality. Everyone was as whole. The world is fragile. And every second is valuable, we must live it with love in the Soul, to the fullest extent.
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Igor Mikhailovich Danilov: Love is the ultimate understanding, it is that... but the words end on how to describe it, what Love is. Love is when there’s happiness, inner happiness, it's real Life, it's freedom. We can associate: Love - it is happiness with internal freedom. Do you understand? An immense one. It is that which erases all boundaries and eliminates all fears. Then there can be neither fear of death of the body nor anything else, because the person gains an understanding that he cannot die. But it only comes when, again, when he gets freedom. And he gets freedom only when he… his main goal in his life is to find this aspiration, and when he is focused on Life. Well, so let's say, then he finds it, meaning, when most of the forces given for the acquisition of Life are spent on acquiring Life. And this inner unity, it is the inner content and the integrity, say, spiritually - it is precisely that love, that internal freedom - it is what gives this Life. But in order fo this to happen, you have to get there, you need to gain this freedom.