There have been 59 earthquakes worldwide so far today as of this posting, contributing to a total of 3687 this month. This, according to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), which tracks seismic activity in real time.
12 of the September 2020 quakes ranged in magnitude of 6.0 (M6.0) or higher, 59 from 5.0 to 5.9, and 350 on the 4.0-4.9 scale.
The most powerful was an M6.5 that shook northern Chile on 11 September in Tarapacá, 83 kilometers northeast of Tocopilla, causing slight injury to one person and damage to a few homes, said the GFZ German Research Center for Geosciences. Footage shared on social media captured by security cameras and local residents showed intense shaking for at least a minute, but the Chilean navy’s Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service (SHOA) said the conditions had not been met to generate a tsunami. Incidentally, that same area was hit by an M3.8 at 06:47:24 this morning.
The GFZ also reported that an M6.2 earthquake struck Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula on 15 September at a 320 kilometer depth, and an M6.0 offshore Fiji, Macuata, 160 kilometers north of Labasa the same day.
A 6.1 occurred near the east coast of Honshu, Japan 57 kilometers southeast of Ōfunato at 02:44:12 on the 12th. That same area was hit by an M4.6 earlier today at 05:00:37.
Altogether, the EMSC has registered 1537 earthquakes of 3.0 magnitude or higher since TV7’s last report one week ago.
Narrowing the scope to Central Asia, Eastern Turkey was rocked by ten quakes since 11 September, when a 3.3 occurred at 22:06:07. Three hit on 14 September, including a 3.2 hit at 00:06:49, a 2.4 at 04:58:37 and a 2.0 at 05:20:39. There was a 2.3 at 01:43:50 the following day. The same area was hit again three times yesterday, by a 2.3 at 13:50:54, a 4.6 at 14:48:20, a 2.1 at 15:19:14 and a 2.6 at 15:22:20. So far today, an M2.1 occurred early this morning at 03:26:27.
Three earthquakes also rattled the Turkey-Iran border region: a 2.7 on 11 September at 17:43:48, a 2.4 at 04:17:01 on the 14th, and a 2.2 at 11:26:24 on the 15th. Additionally, an M3.5 occurred at 00:44:13 near the coast of northern Iran on the 13th; and that same day there was a 2.9 at 20:12:32 along Syria’s border with Iraq.
The other notable quakes in the area over the past week include a 3.3 at 00:21:43 in Russia’s Caucasus Region, a 2.1 at 03:57:06 in Armenia, and 2.9 at 22:23:46 in Georgia (Sak’art’velo) on 11 September. The Causcasus were also hit by two earthquakes on the 15th, both measuring 3.6, at 07:12:34 and again at 14:51:21.
There were four earthquakes in Israel this past week. According to the Seismology Division of The Geological Survey of Israel (GSI), an M3.6 was registered at 08:40:03 on September 10th, an M3.1 at 07:20:24 on the 12th, an M2.2 at 21:08:44 on the 14th and an M2.7 at 09:24:00 on the 15th.
All of the seismic activity in Israel was considered “minor,” and there were no resulting deaths or damage.
— By Erin Viner