Earthquakes up to 6.8 on the Richter scale off Vietnam

Earthquakes are caused by faults of the subsoil, where there were many active volcanoes.

The magnitude 5.1 magnitude earthquake in the early morning of Phu Yen offshore caused scientists to pay attention to the possibility of increasing the activity of the fault system along the coast of our country.

Earthquakes up to 6.8 on the Richter scale off Vietnam
Earthquake epic map. (Photo: igp-vast.vn)

Talking to the PV this morning, August 26, Prof. Dr. Nguyen Dinh Xuyen, former Director of the Institute of Geophysics, the cause of the earthquake is due to the fracture of the geological layers beneath the sea.

It was this fault system that caused recent earthquakes in the sea. There was once active volcanoes but now 'sleeping'.

According to GS Xuyen, similar earthquakes will occur, even up to 6.8 offshore riches of Vietnam. However, when an earthquake occurs, scientists have not forecasted because we do not have modern facilities and the measuring and observation network is large enough.

Prof. Xuyen and his colleagues are proposing to develop an earthquake forecast project to submit for approval.

Earthquakes up to 6.8 on the Richter scale off Vietnam
Map of the speed of modern tectonic shift in the South China Sea and the surrounding area.
(Photo: Phan Trong Trinh, Result of the national key project KC09.11 / 06-10)

According to the earthquake and tsunami warning center, this is a relatively strong earthquake but due to the deep and concussive trauma of the distance, there is no possibility of causing tsunamis affecting the Vietnamese coast. Male and does not cause harm to people and construction works.

Earthquake occurred, 5 minutes after Vietnam discovered

According to Mr. Nguyen Hong Phuong, Center for Information on Earthquakes and Tsunamis, the Institute of Geophysics, on the sea, there are 9 areas with potential to cause earthquakes and tsunamis affecting Vietnam. In particular, Philippine waters have the highest risk of causing tsunamis to our country.

However, at present, our system and means of warning earthquakes and tsunamis can detect this after 5 minutes, on average. While Indonesia only found 1 minute earthquake and tsunami when it happened.