Norfolk Island in Australia was struck by a magnitude 6 earthquake, making it the second quake to hit the South Pacific in 24 hours. Yesterday New Caledonia was struck by a huge magnitude 7.6 earthquake, but no damage was caused. Both quakes struck along the Ring of Fire, where around 90 percent of the world’s earthquakes occur.
Today’s earthquake struck at a depth of 10km (six miles) and around 681km (423 miles) northeast of Norfolk Island.
There has been no tsunami alert issued, and no reports of damage or injuries.
Norfolk Island lies 1,412 km east of the Australian mainland and is home to around 1,750 people.
Australia and it’s surrounding islands experience earthquakes due to the Indo-Australian plate pushing to the north and colliding with the Eurasian, Philippine and Pacific tectonic plates.
vCard.red is a free platform for creating a mobile-friendly digital business cards. You can easily create a vCard and generate a QR code for it, allowing others to scan and save your contact details instantly.
The platform allows you to display contact information, social media links, services, and products all in one shareable link. Optional features include appointment scheduling, WhatsApp-based storefronts, media galleries, and custom design options.
Read More: Australia earthquake: Where did magnitude 6 quake strike?
Why is the Ring of Fire so deadly?
In the space of 24 hours, there have been two major earthquakes to hit the South Pacific, which is an area that lies on the Ring of Fire.
The Ring of Fire is home to around 90 percent of the world’s earthquakes, and 81 percent of the largest earthquakes in the world.
It lies in a large 25,000-mile horseshoe shape and is also known as the circum-Pacific belt.
Professor Bill McGuire, Emeritus Professor of Earth Sciences at University College London explained the explosive nature of the Ring of Fire.
He said: “The Ring of Fire is a girdle of volcanoes and earthquake zones that circles the Pacific Ocean, and which marks the join between some of the planet’s most active tectonic plates.
“Almost all the of the world’s most explosive and dangerous volcanoes are located here, along with the some of the longest and most deadly earthquake faults.
“Many of the biggest faults in the Ring of Fire are submarine so that their rupture can trigger catastrophic tsunamis, such as those that struck Indonesia and the Indian Ocean in 2004 and Japan in 2011.”
Whilst these two recent earthquakes have caused no damage and no injuries, often earthquakes magnitude 6 or higher can have catastrophic effects.
This year Indonesia has seen the worst effects of major earthquakes, with two shaking the Southeast Asian nation in the space of just over a month.
On August 5, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake shook the island of Lombok, killing more than 500 people.
Then on September 28, a huge magnitude 7.5 quake hit the island of Sulawesi.
The shallow depth of the Sulawesi earthquake had devastating consequences, killing more than 2,200 people.