Determine the cause of earthquakes in Sichuan

The collision between the two tectonic plates of India and Eurasia may be the cause of the earthquake in Sichuan Province, China, April 20.

The Sichuan earthquake happened at 8:47 am on April 20 in local time. The US Geological Survey (USGS) said that its epicenter was probably on Longmen milling road - the place of the great earthquake in Sichuan 5 years ago. The location of the epicenter 12.3 km from the ground - equivalent to the depth of the epicenter in 2008.

Soldiers participate in activities to search for missing people after the battle
land in Sichuan province, China on April 20. (Photo: China Daily)

Despite happening in the same area, the 2008 earthquake - with an intensity of 7.9 on the Richter scale and killing more than 87,000 people - unleashed 89 times the energy of the earthquake last weekend.

Long Mon milling road, with a length of more than 240km, stretches along the foot of Long Mon mountain range. It is the boundary between the Tibetan plateau and the Sichuan basin. After each earthquake, the Tibetan plateau again rushed towards the Sichuan basin, causing the distance between the two regions to decrease.

The altitude of the Long Mon Mountain Range changes dramatically, from 600m to
6,500m on an area with a length of about 50km. (Photo: blogspot.com)

"The Sichuan earthquake on April 20 may be the result of a collision between two tectonic plates of India and Asia-Europe. Because the Indian tectonic plate shifts toward Asia, it pushes the Tibetan plateau. toward China " , the American Geological Survey explained.

The geological structure of the Sichuan basin also increases the destructive power of the seismic. When the shockwaves propagate in deep sediment layers of the Sichuan basin, their speed decreases, making the upper region shake longer. In addition, the sediment layers also increase the intensity of the shock.

Chinese officials confirmed more than 200 people were killed and about 11,500 people were injured by the earthquake on April 20.