[Anchor]
The power of the earthquake that struck Venezuela is 360 times greater than the 2016 Gyeongju earthquake, which was the strongest ever recorded in South Korea. Notably, another earthquake occurred in Japan just 25 minutes after the one in Venezuela.
Reporter Jeong Gu-hui analyzes whether there is any connection between the two earthquakes and examines the characteristics of this latest event.
[Reporter]
The magnitude of the earthquake that struck Gyeongju in September 2016 was 5.8.
For every increase of 1 in magnitude, the energy released increases by 32 times, meaning a difference of 2 in magnitude results in a 1,024-fold increase in energy.
The second earthquake in Venezuela had a magnitude of 7.5, which means its power at the epicenter was 360 times stronger than that of the Gyeongju earthquake.
While the Gyeongju earthquake had a focal depth of around 15km, the second Venezuela earthquake occurred at a depth of 10km, closer to the surface, which may have amplified the impact.
Let's look at the population distribution map of Venezuela released by the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
The areas marked in gray are densely populated, and both earthquakes occurred directly in these regions.
This is one of the reasons why the USGS anticipated significant casualties.
The earthquake occurred due to the movement of tectonic plates.
The Caribbean Plate to the north is moving westward at a rate of 2cm per year, causing constant friction with the South American Plate where Venezuela is located.
Energy accumulates where the two plates meet, and when they suddenly slide horizontally, the ground fractures. This is called a "strike-slip fault," which is what manifested in today's (June 25) earthquake.
The length of the ruptured fault is estimated to be 150km, a distance as long as that between Seoul and Daejeon.
Shaking of intensity 8, which can cause buildings without seismic design to collapse, was detected even 30km away from the epicenter.
About 25 minutes after the Venezuela earthquake, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake also occurred in waters near Japan.
One might wonder if there is a connection between the two, but the academic consensus is that there is almost no link, as they occurred on entirely different tectonic plates.
Reported by Jeong Gu-hui | Video by Park Ji-in | Graphics by Seo Seung-hyun
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