(Adnkronos) – Within eight hours, three violent earthquakes struck geographically distant areas: northern California, where a 5.6 magnitude Richter scale tremor occurred on Wednesday, Japan, hit off the northern coast by a 7.2 magnitude quake, and Venezuela, with two subsequent tremors of 7.1 and 7.5 magnitude. The short succession of these three events within hours led to theories and speculations about a potential link between the three telluric movements.
The three earthquakes have one thing in common: the affected areas are located along tectonic plate margins well-known for being at high seismic risk, explains William Barnhart, assistant coordinator of the US Geological Survey’s seismic hazards program. The timing is a mere coincidence, he emphasizes to the Guardian.
“Earthquakes occur every day all over the world. Most of them happen far from inhabited areas,” he continues, explaining that this case was particular because “quite significant earthquakes were detected in areas where people felt them.” A strong earthquake can trigger tremors in other parts of the world. However, it is unusual for such a cascade effect to occur thousands and thousands of kilometers away, according to Martin Hudson, professor of civil and environmental engineering at UCLA, quoted by the British newspaper. The first tremor that struck Venezuela, however, probably triggered the subsequent 7.5 magnitude earthquake due to their proximity. “A fault can be ready to give way and then it passes the breaking point because an earthquake occurs nearby,” he added.
