30 Jul, 04:30
Strong earthquake in Russia’s Kamchatka may be linked to solar activity surge — expert
At the same time, Yelena Kobeleva said, it is unlikely that the quake was driven by man-made factors
IRKUTSK, July 30. /TASS/. The major 8.7-magnitude earthquake that rocked Russia’s Kamchatka Region early on Wednesday may have been influenced by increased solar activity, a Russian expert told TASS.
"Earthquake activity has been increasing [in recent years] — in Turkey, Myanmar, and now in Kamchatka. <...> A magnitude-5 earthquake recently occurred in Kazakhstan, although such quakes rarely happen there. I agree with many of my colleagues who attribute this to a surge in solar activity. There are frequent announcements of geomagnetic storms and reports about solar flares," said Yelena Kobeleva, director of the Baikal branch of the Unified Geophysical Service of Russia’s Academy of Sciences.
The expert noted that tectonic processes that reshape the Earth's surface are influenced by solar activity. At the same time, she said, it is unlikely that the quake was driven by man-made factors. "We do not have any large-scale mining of deposits, such as in Kuzbass [stands for the Kuznetsk Coal Basin, one of the largest coalfields in Russia] and Yakutia, nor are there any reservoirs, such as those in the Bratsk or Ust-Ilimsk areas. Therefore, it becomes difficult to link it to man-made factors; it’s just nature," Kobeleva added.
The expert specified that Kamchatka can experience earthquakes of several types - tectonic, submarine, and volcanic - simultaneously due to its location and geological and geophysical characteristics. "According to the latest data, the [epicentral] distance is 17 km. The quake occurred in Avacha Bay, but it was shallow. The earthquake's focal mechanism is yet to be clarified," Kobeleva pointed out.
A strong earthquake occurred near the shores of Kamchatka early on Wednesday. The earthquake became the strongest since 1952, with its magnitude reaching 8.7 according to various estimates. Later, seismologists recorded strong subsequent earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.1-5.8.
The regional health ministry said that several people were injured and that the number of calls to ambulance teams increased. The quakes led to a wall collapse in a kindergarten in the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, with no casualties reported. A regional headquarters has been set up to coordinate the actions of departments and services.
A tsunami wave about 30 cm high triggered by the earthquake in Kamchatka reached the northern part of Japan. The port of Severo-Kurilsk in Russia’s Sakhalin Region and a fishing enterprise were flooded by a tsunami wave.
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