WORLD'S LARGEST EARTHQUAKES IN 2007

Abstract

Every year the Earth is shaken by several hundred thousand earthquakes with magnitudes over 2.0 (Dolgoff, 1998), mostly originating at geotectonic plate boundaries. Two well-defined seismic belts, the circum-Pacific and the Mediterranean-Himalayan belts, are subject to the most frequent earthquake shocks. The latter also includes the region of Slovenia. Most earthquakes are weak and do not cause any material damage or claim human lives. In addition to these, there are several earthquakes which result in extreme destruction and even death. There were 76 earthquakes in 2007 that either reached a magnitude of 6.5 or more, caused minor or major material damage, or even claimed human lives. Thirty-four of them are mentioned. The most devastating earthquake in 2007 happened on 15 August near the coast of central Peru, where at least 514 were killed. The 12 September earthquake on Southern Sumatra, Indonesia, ranks first in terms of released energy, with a moment magnitude of 8.4, and it claimed 25 human lives. The deepest earthquake happened on 6 May near Fiji with a hypocentre 676 km below the surface and a moment magnitude of 6.5. In 2007 earthquakes claimed more than 704 human lives.