Yesterday (Wednesday) at 4.54 am, the world's sixth largest earthquake was recorded in Russia's eastern peninsula Kamchatka. According to the US Geological Survey, the magnitude of the earthquake was 8.8. Reuters says that five meter high tsunami waves have come in Kamchatka. Due to this, buildings have been damaged there. Due to this earthquake, tsunami warning was issued in countries like America, japan, New Zealand. At the same time, high sea waves have also come in japan and America.
After the earthquake in japan in 2011, this 8.8 magnitude earthquake is one of the biggest earthquakes till date. In the earthquake in japan, 50 feet high tsunami waves had come, which destroyed the Fukushima nuclear plant. But do you know that there is a city in russia which is also called the Ring of Fire. An earthquake here means that a tsunami will definitely come. Let's know which city it is.
Which city in russia is sensitive?
Kamchatka is a sensitive city of russia, where an earthquake occurred yesterday. Many major earthquakes have occurred in the area around the Kamchatka Peninsula, spread over 1250 km long North Pacific Ocean, located in the Far east of Russia. Major earthquakes were recorded in 2020, 2006, 1959, 1952 and 1923, almost all of which caused tsunamis. There are also records of earthquakes and tsunamis in 1841 and 1737, although there is not much detailed information about those incidents.
Why is Kamchatka called the Ring of Fire?
The southern part of the peninsula is located above the area where the Pacific Plate is sinking or sliding under the Okhotsk microplate to its north. The Kuril-Kamchatka Trench is located on the sea floor off the coast of Kamchatka, which was formed due to this subsidence. It is estimated that this trench is about 10 km deep at its deepest point. Due to these tectonic activities, this area is unstable in terms of earthquakes. As the Pacific Plate rotates under the Okhotsk Plate at a rate of about 86 mm per year, the fragmentation at the megathrust boundary triggers periodic earthquakes and tsunamis in the Pacific Ocean.
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