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Category Archives: Recent Global Seismic Events

2024-03-14, M5.4, Montenegro

On the 14th of March 2024 at 03:06:47 UTC, a M5.4 earthquake occurred in Montenegro, near the border with Bosnia-Herzegovina, at a depth of 7 km (see map below). Dozens of aftershocks have occurred in the hours since, with magnitudes ranging up to M3.4. No casualties have been reported at the time of writing. The earthquake located approximately 80 km northwest of the capital Podgorica, which in 1979 experienced a M6.9 earthquake that caused widespread damage and hundreds of casualties.

The event was recorded by seismic stations operated by DIAS in the Irish National Seismic Network (INSN), see figure below.

2024-01-22, M7.0, Western China

On the 22nd of January 2024 at 18:09:05 UTC, a M7.0 earthquake occurred in the western Chinese province of Xinjiang, near the borders with Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, at a depth of 9 km (see map below). A series of aftershocks up to magnitude M5.5 have also occurred. As many as 50 buildings have collapsed as a result of the earthquake, with dozens of injuries reported in the city of Almaty, Kazakhstan. No fatalities have been reported at the time of writing.

Large magnitude earthquakes (greater than M6.0) occur regularly in China, of which the largest in modern history occurred the central Chinese province of Sichaun in May 2008, causing 90,000 fatalities and several hundred thousand injuries.

The event was recorded by seismic stations operated by DIAS in the Irish National Seismic Network (INSN), see figure below.

2024-01-01, M7.5, Japan

On the 1st of January, 2024, a M7.5 earthquake occurred on the west coast of Japan, at a depth of 10 km (see map below). A series of aftershocks have also occurred. At the time of writing 48 deaths have been reported with major damage to roads and houses on the the west side of the island.

Japan experiences high seismic activity due to the subduction of the Pacific Plate beneath its eastern coast. However, the recent event occurred along the less seismically active western coast, where certain shallow faults accommodate broader plate movements. Shallow earthquakes, such as this one, typically lead to more pronounced surface ground shaking compared to deeper earthquakes, as the energy is released closer to the Earth’s surface.

The seismic stations of the Irish National Seismic Network (INSN), which is managed by the geophysics section in the School of Cosmic Physics at DIAS, detected the M7.5 earthquake, see figure below.

More information is available at the below resources:

https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us6000m0xl/executive?utm_medium=email&utm_source=ENS&utm_campaign=realtime

https://www.data.jma.go.jp/multi/quake/quake_detail.html?eventID=20240101162429&lang=en

2023-12-18, M5.9, China

On the 18th of December 2023 at 15:59:30 UTC a M5.9 earthquake occurred in north-central China at a depth of 10km. The map below shows the earthquake epicentre (marked with a red circle). Over 100 deaths have been reported with rescue efforts ongoing.

The earthquake struck in the Gansu-Qinghai border region which is in north-central China. The Gansu province is within an intraplate region, but situated on the north-eastern margin of the tectonically active Tibetan Plateau. Seismicity in the Tibetan Plateau largely results from the continental collision of the India and Eurasia plates. Within 250 km of the Gansu province event, there have been 23 M5.5 and larger earthquakes since 1900. The largest of these was a M7.7 earthquake that occurred in May 1927 which resulted in approximately 40,000 fatalities.

The seismic stations of the Irish National Seismic Network (INSN), which is managed by the geophysics section in the School of Cosmic Physics at DIAS, detected the M5.9 earthquake, see figure below.

Further information can be obtained at the following links:

https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us7000ljvg/executive

https://emsc-csem.org/Earthquake_information/earthquake.php?id=1594055

2023-10-07, M6.3, Afghanistan

On the 7th of October 2023 at 07:12:50 UTC an M6.3 earthquake occurred in Afghanistan at a depth of 10km (see map below for the earthquake epicentre, marked with a red circle). The earthquake struck in western Afghanistan near the city of Herat, close the Iranian border. Media reports estimate hundreds of deaths and thousands of causalities with rescue efforts still ongoing.

Afghanistan and the Middle East are prone to earthquakes due to the interaction of several large tectonic plates (Arabia, Eurasia, India and Africa). These interactions result the region experiencing several major geological processes such as subduction, faulting, mountain formation and stretching of the Earth’s crust.

The M6.3 earthquake was recorded by seismic stations operated by DIAS in the Irish National Seismic Network (INSN), see figure below.

Further information can be obtained at the following links:

https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us6000ldpm/executive?utm_medium=email&utm_source=ENS&utm_campaign=realtime

https://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake_information/earthquake.php?id=1563081

2023-09-08, M6.8, Morocco

On the 8th of September 2023 at 22:11:01 UTC a M6.8 earthquake occurred in southwest Morocco at a depth of 19km. See map below for the earthquake epicentre, marked with a red circle. The earthquake struck in Morocco’s High Atlas mountains, about 75 km southeast of Marrakech. At the time of writing media outlets report of at least 600 fatalities mainly in mountain areas that are hard to reach.

This earthquake occurred within the Africa Plate, approximately 550 km south of the plate boundary between the Africa and Eurasia plates. The USGS estimates the fault area over which slip occurred to be about 30 by 20 km (length x width).

The M6.8 earthquake was recorded by seismic stations operated by DIAS in the Irish National Seismic Network (INSN), see figure below.

The earthquake was also detected by Raspberry Shake seismometers operated in Ireland by citizens and schools. The diagram below shows the data recorded by the station operated at St. Columba’s College in Stranorlar, Co. Donegal.

Further information can be obtained at the following links:

https://emsc.eu/Earthquake_information/earthquake.php?id=1550978

https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us7000kufc/executive

2023-07-09, M5.2, Iceland

On the 9th of July at 22:22:57 UTC a M5.2 earthquake occurred in the Reykjanes peninsula in southwest Iceland, at a depth of 5km (see map below; the red circle denotes the earthquake epicentre). The Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO) reported that the earthquake was proceeded by a seismic sequence between Fagradalsfjall and Keilir caused by a magmatic intrusion just north-east of the location of the 2021 and 2022 Fagradalsfjall eruptions. According to IMO the intrusion than led to a volcanic fissure eruption that started Monday the 10th July at 16:40 local time.

An eruption in the same area in 2021 saw lava flows and fountaining for months, with hundreds of thousands of people heading to see the volcanic activity. Icelandic Civil Defence said it is dangerous to visit the current eruption area because of gas pollution and people should stay away. The eruption site is located about half way between the capital Reykjavik and the town Grindavik on the southern coast of the Reykjanes peninsula.

At time of writing the Icelandic airport authority Isavia reported that no ash has been detected in connection with the eruption and there is therefore no impact on air traffic.

The M5.2 earthquake was recorded by seismic stations operated by DIAS in the Irish National Seismic Network (INSN), see figure below.

For further information about the earthquake see:

https://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake_information/earthquake.php?id=1526848

https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us6000kr82/executive

Information about the volcanic eruption is available at:

https://en.vedur.is/about-imo/news/earthquake-activity-in-fagradalsfjall-area

https://www.ruv.is/english/2023-07-05-eruption-begins-387050

Map from www.ruv.is, the orange area depicts the extent of the new lava flow at time of writing.

2023-06-16, M5.7, France

On the 16th of June at 16:38:29 UTC (18:38:29 Local time), a M5.7 earthquake occurred in western France, at a depth of 14km (see map below; the red circle denotes the earthquake epicentre). The earthquake occurred approximately 20km east of the city of La Rochelle, situated along the western coast of France. At the time of writing, no fatalities had been reported, however the earthquake caused damage to several hundred buildings in the region. Although earthquakes are frequently recorded within France and its surrounding offshore regions, earthquakes of magnitude M5.0 or greater do not occur very often. The previous M5 event recorded in France occurred on the 20th of March 2019, approximately 60km north of Bordeaux in western France.

The event was recorded by seismic stations operated by DIAS in the Irish National Seismic Network (INSN), see figure below.

2023-03-21, M6.5, Afghanistan

On the 21st of March 2023 a M6.5 earthquake occurred in the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan (see map below). The earthquake occurred at 16:47:24 UTC (21:17:24 local time) an occurred at a depth of 193 km. At least 13 people died (at the time of writing), with reports of damaged buildings and landslides in northern Afghanistan and Pakistan as a result of the earthquake. Seismicity in this region is largely due to the continental collision of the India and Eurasia plates, with several major earthquakes (>M7) occurring regularly.

The event was recorded by seismic stations worldwide, including stations in the Irish National Seismic Network (INSN), see figure below.

More information is available at the following resources:

https://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/earthquake.php?id=1240146

https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us7000jln7/executive

2023-02-20, M6.4, Turkey

On the 20th of February 2023 at 17:04:29 (UTC) an M6.4 earthquake occurred in Southern Turkey near the border with Syria, about 15km southwest of Antakya and 5km from the Mediterranean Sea, see map below. The event struck in an area already affected by two strong earthquakes that hit two weeks earlier and caused more than 45,000 deaths and widespread destruction of infrastructure. The M6.4 event occurred at a relatively shallow depth of 10 to 15km and was felt as far as Egypt and Lebanon. Local sources report that several people have been killed and hundreds are injured due to collapsed buildings.

The event was recorded by seismic stations worldwide, including stations in the Irish National Seismic Network (INSN), see figure below.

More information about the earthquake is available at the following resources:

https://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/earthquake.php?id=1226422

https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us6000jqcn/

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