THE WORLD‘S LARGEST EARTHQUAKES IN 2023
Abstract
In 2023, there were 55 earthquakes across the world which either reached or exceeded a moment magnitude (MW) of 6.5. None had a magnitude greater than or equal to 8.0; nineteen were between 7.0 and 7.9. At least 29 earthquakes claimed human lives; in total there were at least 64,343 victims, which is the highest since 2010. Most of the lives were claimed by two large earthquakes with the epicentre in SE Turkey, near the border with Syria, which occurred only a few hours apart on 6 February, on different segments of the Eastern Anatolian Fault System. The first of these also ranked the highest in terms of released energy, with a moment magnitude of 7.8. Many lives were also lost in September in Morocco and in October in Afghanistan. The strongest earthquake of this year in Europe (MW= 5.6) occurred in February (14th); the epicentre of the earthquake was in Romania, near Leleşti.
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