Strong earthquakes in the Globe and Russia in the first half of 2020 according to the GS RAS

Abstract

The data on the seismicity of the Earth in the first half of 2020 at the level of strong earthquakes with mb6 are presented according to the Earthquake Early Alert Service (EEAS) of the Geo-physical Survey RAS. The review also includes information on weaker but destructive earth-quakes in the world and tangible earthquakes in Russia. In total, 64 earthquakes with mb6 were registered in the first half of the year, including four events in Russia. For 18 strong earthquakes, the EEAS published Informational messages within one or two days after their occurrence, for 16 of them the information on focal mechanisms was given. A comparative analysis of the seismic energy released in the territory of the Globe showed that in the first half of 2020 its amount corresponds to the average values for the last three years. The strongest earthquakes with MS=7.7 occurred on January 28 in the Caribbean Sea and on June 23 in Mexico, accompanied by fore- and aftershocks. The largest human casualties and material damage during the study period were caused by the catastrophic earthquake with MS=6.6 that occurred on January 24 in Turkey. As a result of the earthquake, 41 people died, 1607 were injured. On the territory of Russia, the strongest earthquake with MS=7.5 occurred on March 25 east of the Kuril Islands and was felt in Severo-Kurilsk with an intensity Ii=5–6. A total of 47 tangible earthquakes with mb=3.6–7.2 were recorded in Russia.