Doctor of Sciences: 17 earthquakes similar to the Turkish one occur in the world every year

Earthquakes of magnitude 7-7.9, as happened in Turkey, occur on Earth 17 times a year. Alexey Zavyalov, Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Head of the Seismic Hazard Laboratory of the Institute of Physics of the Earth, Russian Academy of Sciences, spoke about this in an interview with URA.RU.

“Earthquakes with a magnitude of 8 occur on average on our planet once a year. With a magnitude of 7-7.9 – 17. Such earthquakes occurred in Turkey. With a magnitude of 6-6.9 – about 130 events per year. Earthquakes with a magnitude of 5-5.9 – somewhere around 1300. This is a long-term, covering 123 years, instrumental seismic statistics. Divide 1300 earthquakes [с магнитудой 5-5,9] for 12 months and it turns out 100-110 events per month. We divide by 30 days, it turns out four a day, ”explained Alexei Zavyalov.

At the same time, the doctor of science emphasized that a magnitude of 5.6 could cause the destruction of an entire city. “If we talk about danger, then everything will depend on how deep the hearth is. The deeper, the less dangerous. The closer to the surface, the more dangerous. In 1966 there was an earthquake that destroyed Tashkent. It had a magnitude of about 5.6. But the hearth was very close. Right under the city, not deep. Therefore, the city was destroyed,” said Zavyalov.

Two powerful earthquakes with magnitudes of 7.7 and 7.6 occurred on February 6 in the Turkish province of Kahramanmarash. According to the latest data, 44,374 people died. An earthquake of magnitude 6.1 occurred on February 25 on the coast of Kamchatka. According to the Institute of Seismology, on February 27, tremors were felt in Kyrgyzstan. The epicenter was on the border with China, in the mountains of Kokshaltau. The magnitude of the earthquake was 5.1, the focal depth was 35 km.