A light earthquake shook Southern California early Thursday, marking the latest in a burst of seismic and volcanic activity along the Ring of Fire.
The 4.0-magnitude quake took place just after 2 a.m. about 31 miles southeast of Anaheim, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It follows a 6.2-magnitude quake in Japan on Wednesday and a 7.9-magnitude quake in Alaska on Tuesday that prompted a quickly canceled tsunami warning for the West Coast. Significant earthquakes in Indonesia and Chile also have been reported this week.
In addition, volcanic eruptions in the Philippines, Indonesia, Bali and Japan continue to spew ash and lava, forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands of people. The eruption Tuesday of Mount Kusatsu-Shirane in Japan killed a soldier and injured more than a dozen people, including several at a nearby ski resort.
The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction on Tuesday tweeted a warning that the Ring of Fire was “active.”
Pacific Ring of Fire active today. #switch2sendai #earthquake #volcano
— UNISDR (@unisdr) January 23, 2018
- PH : Mayon Volcano erupted, 1,000s evacuees
- Japan: Volcano causes avalanche, one death
- Indonesia: 5.3 earthquake jolts Jakarta, buildings swayed
- Alaska: 7.9 Magnitude earthquake led to tsunami alert. pic.twitter.com/q1rz0Dbvxr
What is the Ring of Fire?
The Ring of Fire refers to a sprawling, horseshoe-shaped geological disaster zone in the Pacific, according to ABC News. The ring stretches 25,000 miles from New Zealand through Indonesia, the Philippines and Japan to Alaska, Canada and the West Coast down to South America. It contains 452 volcanoes and several tectonic plates in the earth’s crust.
Fitting together like a puzzle, the tectonic plates constantly shift and collide, producing earthquakes.
Scientists say the recent series of quakes and volcanic eruptions are merely business as usual for the Ring of Fire.
“It just so happens that these events are occurring at the same time in different parts of the region,” Chris Elders, a geology expert from Curtin University in Australia, told the BBC. “There’s not necessarily a relationship between them.”
Janine Krippner, a New Zealand volcanologist based in the United States, reminded people that “It’s not referred to as the ‘ring of fire’ because it sits there doing nothing.”
It's not referred to as the "ring of fire" because it sits there doing nothing. It is a constantly-moving, very active (and huge) area full of faults and active volcanoes. It is normal to have so much activity. https://t.co/GjY5wFBWZF
— Dr Janine Krippner (@janinekrippner) January 24, 2018
Krippner told the BBC that while satellite imagery and the internet have made people around the world more aware of eruptions and seismic activity, that doesn’t mean they’ve actually become more common.
