Environment

Concerns raised as Central Highlands province sees spike in earthquakes

The Central Highlands province of Kon Tum witnessed 33 earthquakes from 1903 to 2020 but has seen 169 just since last year, a massive growth from the previous century.
Phạm Huy Hiệp
Concerns raised as Central Highlands province sees spike in earthquakes ảnh 1A magnitude 4.8 earthquake recorded on April 18. (Photo from Google Search)
Hanoi (VNA) - The Central Highlands province of Kon Tum witnessed 33earthquakes from 1903 to 2020 but has seen 169 just since last year, a massivegrowth from the previous century.

Thiswas announced by Nguyen Xuan Anh, Director of the Institute of Geophysics(IGP), at an online conference on April 19 between the National SteeringCommittee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control and ministries, centralagencies and Kon Tum authorities in response to the string of earthquakeshere in recent days.

Anhsaid that from 1903 to 2020, Kon Plong district and the surrounding arearecorded 33 earthquakes with a magnitude from 2.5 on the Richter scale. Thelargest was recorded in 1937 and was 3.9 on the Richter scale, and thesmallest, in 2015, was 3 on the Richter scale.

But fromApril last year, earthquakes in Kon Plong district and surrounding areashave had a more regular frequency and tended to be stronger.

Fromlast year to now, this area has recorded 169 earthquakes with a magnitude of2.5 or higher.

Inthe past four days, earthquakes were recorded continuously, with 22 magnitudesfrom 2.5 to 4.5.

Anhsaid that if it were a tectonic earthquake, the causewas usually energy accumulation. In the case of stimulatedearthquakes, it was usually caused by something like a hydroelectric dam.

Althoughno damage to houses and people has been recorded in the area, theseismic vibrations caused by the earthquakes have impacted people’s lives.

TheIGP has deployed three monitoring stations in the area, which can betterobserve earthquakes and conduct research related to water storage in lakes.

Anhsaid: "Water storage in reservoirs is related to earthquakes, somonitoring, evaluating and comparing is needed to regulate the hydropowerreservoirs".

Tominimise the consequences, the IGP proposed that the National SteeringCommittee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control considers allowingin-depth studies on the magnitude of the earthquakes and earthquake risks inthe district.

Theyshould make a detailed study and evaluation of the issue and immediatelyestablish a network of five local earthquake observation stations in the area.Research on the causes of earthquakes in the area should be conducted,including response plans.

Asfor hydropower projects and important works in the area, the committee shouldreview and evaluate their design for anti-seismic resistance and raise local awarenessof the issue./.
Phạm Huy Hiệp
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