950 earthquakes in two weeks: American territory is experiencing a seismic nightmare

After a series of earthquakes, the situation in Puerto Rico remains difficult: more than 2000 people are in shelters, almost 1 million - without electricity and hundreds of thousands - without water, writes USA Today.

Фото: Depositphotos

According to the US Geological Survey, since December 31, more than 950 earthquakes and tremors have been recorded in Puerto Rico, although many of them were weak and not felt. However, more than 500 were 2 points or more.

The strongest 6,4-magnitude earthquake that occurred on January 7 resulted in the death of at least one person, an injury of at least nine, and a blackout.

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So why have there been so many earthquakes in Puerto Rico in the last few days?

“Puerto Rico's land has been hit by what scientists call an 'earthquake swarm.' This is a series of earthquakes, rather than the usual pattern of one dominant earthquake followed by aftershocks,” said John Vidale, a seismologist at the University of Southern California.

Photo: Twitter screenshot

“We don’t fully understand why large earthquakes continue for some time. This may be due to slow slip on faults in the area of ​​their action. Or perhaps the hydrology of the fault system,” he added.

According to the US Geological Survey, tectonics in Puerto Rico are dominated by the convergence of tectonic plates of North America and the Caribbean with an island sandwiched between them.

North of Puerto Rico, the North American Plate goes under the Caribbean Plate along the Puerto Rico Trench. (Subduction occurs when an oceanic plate collides with a continental plate and glides under it.)

South of the island and south of a massive 6,4-magnitude earthquake, the upper crust of the Caribbean Plate passes beneath Puerto Rico at the Muertos Depression.

Strong 6.1 #earthquake #Terremoto #Temblor #Sismo near guanica #PuertoRicoEarthquakes #TemblorPR right now? pic.twitter.com/62HuxlxXiy

- Angel Elemiah (@MaximoSPQR) January 11, 2020

In Puerto Rico, “there is some risk of earthquakes, which is exacerbated by the fact that its infrastructure is vulnerable, as other recent natural disasters have shown, such as Hurricane Maria 2017,” Vidale said.

According to the study, the California fault, capable of causing an earthquake of 8 points, is moving for the first time. Unfortunately, new earthquakes and the risk of tsunamis are possible in Puerto Rico.

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“As always, the chances of additional, larger events are slim but real. Many regional faults are located on the shelf, including subduction zones, so tsunamis are also possible. However, it would take a larger earthquake (or caused by a landslide) to create a devastating tsunami,” he added.

The US Geological Survey said that over the next week with a probability of 3% repeated shocks (one or more) are possible, exceeding the amplitude of 6,4 points.

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