The graphic above shows earthquake events for the seven days before and including Friday, January 15, 2010. In this period alone, 278 events were recorded. A significant number of them were magnitude 5 and greater, and the one in Haiti (right side of the chart) is magnitude 7 and greater. These data are from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) available here. Note that virtually no region of the world was spared in the last seven days. Note, further, that the incidents almost “paint” the major fault lines in the crust of the earth, and that these either “shadow” or hug continental edges.
The next graphic, from the same source, charts earthquake events year-by-year for earthquakes of magnitude 3 and higher. Magnitude 6, 7, and 8 quakes are indexed to the right margin because, otherwise, they would not be visible. These, however, cause the most damage and deaths.
If we included all earthquakes, the numbers would be very large. In this ten-year period, the earth averaged 27,187 quakes every year. The largest number took place in 2003 (31,419). If we only count magnitude 6 and greater, the total number drops off, averaging 159 quakes a year; the largest number took place in 2007 (196).
Deaths? The annual average for this period was 46,573 fatalities. The most deadly year was 2004: 228,802 people lost their lives that year. Most of those deaths were the result of a 9.1 point quake off the West Coast of Northern Sumatra that took place on December 26.
We live on a violent planet.
Filed under: Disasters Tagged: | Earthquakes, Haiti
Looking at some of the USGS data yesterday, for obvious reasons, I was much struck by the fact that there are so many earthquakes every year. Most are, of course, much smaller than this week’s quake in Haiti. Nonetheless, as you so nicely put it, wow, we do live on a violent planet.
I will never think in the same way about geologists… they’re not studying the past, they’re studying a lively, active thing.