Ring of Fire: World to be struck by ‘at least FIVE major earthquakes’ by end of year
THE Ring of Fire is likely to see several more earthquakes measuring in excess of 7.0 in magnitude before the end of 2018, a seismologist has warned as he stressed the awesome power of the “huge geological feature”.
Ring of Fire: Tectonic movements produce 90% earthquakes
The biggest of these, a 7.1 magnitude quake, occurred off the coast of New Caledonia in the South Pacific – and Mr van der Pluijm said it was unlikely to be the last large one this year.
He said: “We have a good sense about the number on earthquakes there are around the world and the seismic events actually behave in quite an organised manner.
“We generally expect between 10 and 20 above 7.0 magnitude each year.
We have had eight so far this year, most recently in New Caledonia, so we should see another five
“The Ring is a huge geological feature and the primary source of major earthquakes and volcanoes in the world.
“For example Japan is in the Ring of Fire and Japan is basically one giant volcano.
“That’s why they are so good at predicting when eruptions and earthquakes are going to happen.”
Mr van der Pluijm stressed there were other areas of high seismic activity in the world.
For example Bali, where the island of Lombok was rocked by a series of massive quakes recently which claimed the lives of almost 500 people, is located in what he called the “Horseshoe of Fire” which is affected by a different set of tectonic plates.
And he admitted he had been “surprised” by a cluster of tremors in northern Alaska this month centred on the North Slope region.
Mr van der Pluijm, who is also editor of the Earth’s Future scientific journal, said: “There are hundreds of minor earthquakes happening all the time but in big tremors are major hazards.
“In Lombok, the death toll was the major headline but the economic impact will be felt for a long time.
“The problem is, areas where there are lots of volcanoes and earthquakes tend to have very rich soil because volcanic activity feeds the soil, and they are also aesthetically very nice so that makes them attractive places to live.”
Following the New Caledonia quake, Civil Defence spokesman Olivier Ciry said waves measuring 16 inches were recorded on the main island of New Caledonia.
He explained that they only reached two inches high at the Loyalty Islands, which are about 60 miles closer to the epicentre.
He added: "We felt it and they felt it more strongly on the Loyalty Islands.”
In 2011, an earthquake measuring 9.1 off the coast of the Japanese island of Tohaku, the most powerful ever recorded in the country, resulted in the deaths of almost 16,000.
A tsunami with waves of up to 133 metres travelled up to six miles inland.
In addition, three reactors at the Fukushima Daichi Nuclear Power Plant went into meltdown, with hundreds of thousands of people evacuated.
The World Bank estimated the total cost to be more than £180billion, making it the most costly natural disaster in history.