Updated

Updated · Fox Weather · Jun 26

3 Pacific Ring of Fire Quakes Hit Japan, Philippines and Nicaragua After Venezuela's 7.0-Plus Shocks

Updated

Updated · Fox Weather · Jun 26

3 Pacific Ring of Fire Quakes Hit Japan, Philippines and Nicaragua After Venezuela's 7.0-Plus Shocks

Q: Is this swarm of powerful earthquakes heralding a new, more dangerous seismic era for the Philippines?

No. The recent quakes point to an intense and dangerous period for Mindanao, but not clear evidence of a new seismic era for the Philippines. The strongest signal from the available evidence is that this is a major aftershock sequence in an already highly active country. The June 20 magnitude 6.5 quake struck in the same offshore Mindanao region as the June 8 magnitude 7.8 earthquake, which killed at least 61 people, triggered a small tsunami, and was followed by more than 6,000 aftershocks. In that context, another powerful tremor is serious but not unexpected. Experts and official information cited so far do not say the Philippines has entered a fundamentally more dangerous phase. What they do show is that the country remains exposed to persistent, severe earthquake risk because it sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire. PHIVOLCS has long warned of aftershocks after the June 8 event, and historical records show the Philippines has experienced multiple earthquakes in the roughly magnitude 5.7 to 8.0 range over the past century. What has changed is not necessarily the geology, but the immediate risk on the ground. The June 8 quake damaged homes, schools, bridges and airports, and caused landslides, liquefaction and subsidence. That leaves communities more vulnerable to additional shaking, especially with the typhoon season raising the threat of slope failures. So the practical takeaway is heightened local danger in Mindanao now, not proof of a new national seismic era.

3 articles · Updated · Fox Weather · Jun 26

A 6.5-magnitude quake struck off Mindanao on Friday, while Japan was hit by a 5.7 tremor near Oshino and Nicaragua by a 5.2 quake near Managua.
No major damage was immediately reported in Japan or Nicaragua, and Philippine authorities reported no tsunami after the Mindanao quake; the extent of any losses there was still unclear.
The Mindanao tremor hit the same region as a June 8 magnitude 7.8 earthquake that killed at least 61 people, raising fresh concern over aftershocks and regional vulnerability.
The cluster adds to a week of heightened seismic activity on the 25,000-mile Pacific Ring of Fire, where about 90% of the world's earthquakes occur, after back-to-back 7.0-plus quakes in Venezuela.