THE WORLD’S LARGEST EARTHQUAKES IN 2002

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, in addition to these, there are several earthquakes which result in extreme destruction and even death. There were 78 earthquakes in 2002 that reached a magnitude of 6.5 or more, caused minor or major material damage, or claimed human lives. 35 of them are mentioned. The most devastating earthquake in 2002 happened on 25 March in Afghanistan where at least 1000 people were killed. The earthquake that occurred on 22 June in western Iran claimed 216 human lives. The 3 November earthquake in central Alaska ranks first in terms of released energy with a magnitude of 7.9. The deepest earthquake happened on 19 August near the Fiji Islands; it had a hypocentre 675 km below the surface. In 2002, earthquakes claimed around 1,711 human lives.