Earthquakes rumbled below the surface of the globe today as 43 tremors struck. The vast majority of earthquakes hit along the notorious Ring of Fire, home to 90 percent of the world’s earthquakes. The seismically active line, also known as the Circum-Pacific belt, is a volatile zone composed of constantly shifting plate tectonics.
Measuring 25,000 miles wide, the Ring of Fire has been the place of major earthquakes over the last year including one in Indonesia in September killing at least 2,256 people.
Countries along the Ring of Fire include the United States, Costa Rica, the Philippines, Mexico, New Zealand, Chile and Japan.
Where were the earthquakes over the last 24 hours?
Earthquakes were recorded in the United States, Peru, Japan, Ecuador, Indonesia, Greece and New Zealand over the last 24 hours.
The largest earthquake measured 5.9 magnitude and struck 19km west of Rio Grande in Peru.
There were no reports of injuries or serious damage but people in Lima said they felt its movements in high-rises.
One person wrote on Earthquake Report website: “Felt in apartment building of eight stories. Light horizontal movements, very slow sounds.”
Another Lima resident said: “Felt very strong in cities around 100kms from epicenter. It shook my bed, and I could see the water in all of the water bottles in my bedroom agitate some.”
More than a quarter of the earthquakes struck Alaska – a whopping 12 quakes in total.
The biggest one was magnitude-4.0 and hit 40km west-southwest of Larsen Bay, Alaska.
Experts have previously said the northwest US territory is the country’s most active region for earthquakes.
Alaska Earthquake Center said: “The Earthquake Center detects an earthquake every fifteen minutes, on average.
“In 2014, we reported an all-time high of over 40,000 earthquakes in Alaska.
“We reported over 150,000 earthquakes in Alaska over the last five years. Thirty-one of those had magnitudes of 6 or greater, and four had a magnitude of at least 7.
“Seventy-five percent of all earthquakes in the United States with magnitudes larger than five happen in Alaska.”
Alaska’s largest city Anchorage was rocked by a powerful 5.1 earthquake on January 13.