Near New Zealand – Medium strength earthquake April 24, 2023: these are the details of the 5.4 level earthquake
An earthquake measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale has struck New Zealand. Learn all the details about the marine earthquake here.
Iconic image: An undersea earthquake shakes a coastal town Photo: Photo Alliance/Yasar Antar/AFP/DBA | Left Antar
On Monday, April 24, 2023, at 3:05 am, an undersea earthquake measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale occurred. But what does this classification actually mean and what values can be used to classify an earthquake more accurately?
New Zealand: Undersea earthquake of moderate strength!
The earthquake spread into the sea, Kermadec Islands, New Zealand It happened. However, no city was directly affected by the undersea earthquake in the immediate vicinity of the epicenter. On the Richter scale, the earthquake is rated at 5.4. In addition to this scale, there are other details that can be useful when evaluating a natural event. The depth at which an earthquake begins to break is important for estimating the intensity of an earthquake. The depth of this event is currently assumed to be 39 kilometers. This value also influences marine earthquake intensity values, which vary from place to place due to various other factors, but can still be recorded as a maximum. A distinction is made between experience and estimated severity. While the former is captured by concretely reported values, the latter is the intensity estimated by measuring instruments. The same values are also based on the Richter scale. Unfortunately, no value was reported for this event, but a maximum of 3.932 was reported as an estimated intensity.
How reliable is this information about the New Zealand marine earthquake?
The number of measuring stations gives an indication of the accuracy of the measurements. The figure for this earthquake is relatively low, which means that current knowledge of the earthquake can tentatively be classified as inaccurate with respect to other measurements. The accuracy rating is supplemented by the distance between adjacent stations. In general, the smaller this is, the more reliable the calculated horizontal position of the earthquake. In the present case, this distance is average, which is why earthquake locating can be classified as moderately reliable.
Quick Check: A quick overview of the most important details
| Seaquake: New Zealand | |
|---|---|
| position: | Kermadec Islands, New Zealand |
| Coordinates: | Latitude = -29.677 degrees and Longitude = -177.62 degrees |
| Places within a radius of 100 km: | undefined |
| Magnitude: | 5.4 |
| Accuracy: | Not very accurate |
| reliability: | Reliable average |
| Depth: | 39 kilometers |
| Experienced intensity: | undefined |
| rated intensity: | 3932 |
| Notification time: | 04/24/2023 – 03:05 AM |
Maritime Richter Scale: What do the numbers mean?
The Richter scale, developed and introduced by American seismologist Charles Francis Richter in the 1930s, makes it possible to make statements about the strength of earthquakes and submarine earthquakes using magnitude, a term derived from the Latin word “magnitudo”. (size) arises. To determine the magnitude of an earthquake, the shaking is measured using a seismometer. To do this, it is necessary to know the distance between the measuring station and the source of the earthquake. The largest movement on Earth, the maximum deflection (amplitude), is read from the seismometer’s graphic representation – the seismogram. This amplitude plus distance gives the magnitude. To make it easier to read the deviations on a seismogram, Richter introduced a logarithmic scale. An earthquake of magnitude 7 is 10 times greater than a magnitude of 6 on the Richter scale, 100 times greater than a magnitude of 5, and 1000 times greater than a magnitude of 4 on the Richter scale.
These are earthquake levels on the Richter scale
| Richter magnitudes | Classification of earthquake strength | earthquake impact | Frequency of events around the world |
|---|---|---|---|
| <2.0 | microscopic | Small earthquakes, not felt | 8000 x per day (of scale 1.0) |
| 2.0 to 3.0 | Extremely light | Generally it is not observable, but it is measured | 1500 times a day |
| 3.0 to 4.0 | very easy | It is often noticed, and damage is rare | 135 times a day |
| 4.0 to 5.0 | a light | Objects in the room move clearly, vibration sounds, and mostly no damage | 35 times a day |
| 5.0 to 6.0 | Medium strength | Major damage to vulnerable buildings, no minor damage to strong buildings | 4.5 times a day, 1600 times a year |
| 6.0 to 7.0 | strong | Destruction within a radius of up to 70 km | 130 times annually |
| 7.0 to 8.0 | big | destroy large areas | 13 times a year |
| 8.0 to 9.0 | Very large | Devastation in areas of several hundred kilometers | 0.9x annually |
| 9.0 to 10.0 | extra large | Thousands of miles of destruction | 4 times in 122 years (1952/60/64, 2011) |
| more than 10 | global catastrophe | It was never recorded, and is believed to be an earthquake measuring 11 on the Richter scale 66 million years ago, caused by an asteroid impact in Yucatan. | 1 x 66 million years |
Before the introduction of the Richter scale, other scales were used to measure earthquakes, to which the Richter scale does not translate well, so earthquakes measured before their introduction could not be described. However, since measurements using this scale began, there have been at least five documented earthquakes of magnitude 9 or higher. These have occurred in Russia (1952), Chile (1960), Alaska (1964), Indonesia (2004) and Japan (2011). The earthquake that caused devastating damage in Turkey and Syria on February 6, 2023 had a value of 7.8 on the Richter scale. The earthquake caused a huge number of deaths, which cannot be definitively determined at the moment.
+++ Editorial note: This text was automatically generated based on current data from the USGS (US Geological Survey). The USGS last sent an event update on April 24, 2023-5:08 AM. Get more information about the event On the official USGS website here. We accept feedback and comments at [email protected]. +++
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ROJ / news.de
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