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The great earthquake that Romanians have feared for years is not a question of “if,” but a question of “when,” says researcher Mircea Radulian of the National Institute of Earth Physics. “I hope it is not too soon, as the (seismic – no) activity so far shows no signs of a major earthquake, but we must be constantly prepared for such an event,” Mircea Radulian said Tuesday night on Digi24.
“This year was quite a moderate year, we can say even weakly as seismic activity in Romania. It was not a special activity. There was an earthquake of magnitude greater than 5 in January, but otherwise it was quite low activity for the area of Vrancea, which was very good, in the sense that I had no problems, ”says the seismologist.
“But on the other hand, it is known that the Vrancea area is an active zone and, in a certain time interval, it is very possible that new earthquakes will reach us, unfortunately. We can hope for it, but it is very difficult to say exactly when this earthquake will occur and we hope it is not too soon. But we can’t neglect this either it would be best to be prepared as if it could happen at any moment. That would be ideal, from the point of view of the measures we can take, to avoid disasters such as earthquakes ”, underlined Mircea Radulian.
What is the difference between shallow and deep earthquakes?
He explained that there is a big difference between surface earthquakes, like the one in Croatia (which occurred at a depth of only 10 km, no), and deep earthquakes, like those in Vrancea, which generally occur. tens of kilometers deep and in which the effects are much smaller in the case of a magnitude of 6.4, such as the earthquake on Tuesday in Croatia.
“Basically, at 6.4 o’clock we don’t have big problems. On the other hand, for surface earthquakes, especially in the area near the epicenter, there can be a very big damage. Even if the magnitude is not that big, being 4 or 5, If they are close to the surface, the released energy reaches the surface quickly and with a great amplitude and then the movement is much more intense.Surface earthquakes generate surface waves, which are quite strong and as they propagate at a distance, their period increases somehow, they become slower and slower in motion, ”said Mircea Radulian.
In our country, he says, the situation is a little easier to solve than in the case of superficial earthquakes, because in deep earthquakes, even if they are strong, their movement is quite well known and “if we take care of building buildings according to certain rules “. and infrastructure, then things would not be so serious, “said Mircea Radulian, principal investigator at the National Institute of Earth Physics.
Editor: Luana Pavaluca
