Each day earthquakes can be felt at various locations around the world, especially in some of the world’s most seismically active areas along the Ring of Fire. On Monday, several earthquakes rattled across the globe, including high-magnitude quakes in Alaska, Russia, and Indonesia.
Alaska
A magnitude-5.2 quake struck 32.9 miles west of Amtignak Island, Alaska at 3.51pm GMT on Monday.
It was preceded by five quakes in the same area, the strongest of which was a magnitude-6.7.
The area also struck by two magnitude-2.8 quakes, a magnitude-4.6 and a magnitude-4.4.
A lot of seismic activity happens in Alaska, and 2019 was the runner-up for the most seismically active year.
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There were a total of 50,289 reported earthquakes, meaning 2019 finished as a runner up to the record-breaking 2018.
In 2018, more than 55,000 earthquakes were recorded in Alaska in 2018.
That year, a devastating magnitude-7.1 quake struck in Anchorage, Alaska injuring 117 people and damaging several buildings and roads.
The quake was followed by more than 80 recorded aftershocks with at least three having magnitudes greater than 5.0.
Indonesia lies on the explosive Ring of Fire and often large and damaging earthquakes strike.
In 2019, there were seven significant quakes to have struck Indonesia, ranging from magnitude-7.2 to magnitude 5.0.
The largest quake – magnitude 7.2 – struck on July 14 in North Maluku and killed 14 people, injuring 129.
However, in recent history, the most devastating earthquake to hit the archipelago was the September 28, 2018 quake hitting at magnitude 7.5.
This quake triggered a tsunami which reached up to seven metres high and killed 4,430 people, injuring 10,679.
Turkey
In Turkey, on Monday a magnitude-4.4 quake struck 6.8 miles from Doganyol.
This struck just three days after a magnitude-6.8 quake shook Elazig, causing significant damage.
Rescue teams pulled 45 survivors from rubble in the days that followed, with more than 1,600 injured in the quake.
At least 38 people died in the earthquake, and nearly 65 buildings were described as sustaining heavy damage.
So far around 400 aftershocks were recorded by Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority.
Clean up and rescue efforts continue in the area, with shocking photos showing five-story buildings collapsed into piles of rubble.
Turkey is another location which is very seismically active, despite not being a part of the Ring of Fire.
The country sits above one of the most active seismic fault lines in the world – the North Anatolian fault line.
This fault is a transform boundary with strike-slip fault and each year moves one inch east towards Greece.