WORLD’S LARGEST EARTHQUAKE IN 2006

Abstract

Every year the Earth is shaken by several hundred thousand earthquakes with magnitudes over 2.0 (Dolgoff, 1998), mostly originating at the 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 and do not claim human lives, but there are also those that result in extreme destruction and even death. There were 66 earthquakes in 2006 that either reached a magnitude of 6.5 or more, caused minor or major material damage, or even claimed human lives. Thirty-one of them are mentioned. The most devastating earthquake in 2006 happened on 26 May near Java, Indonesia, in which at least 5749 were killed. The tsunami caused by an earthquake on 17 July near the same island also claimed many human lives (665). The 15 November earthquake near the Kuril Islands ranks first in terms of released energy, with a moment magnitude of 8.3 but it claimed no human lives. The deepest earthquake happened on 2 February near Fiji, with a hypocentre 598 km below the surface and a moment magnitude of 6.7. Another very deep earthquake (553 km below the surface) happened on 13 November near Santiago del Estero, Argentina (Mw=6.8). Earthquakes claimed more than 6539 human lives in 2006.