Italy has experienced frequent seismic activity in the last months of 2016.Such eventuality has its inhabitants in a permanent state of anguish, because gives them the impression that the earth is shaking incessantly .Three earthquakes, With a gap of three days, they felt strongly in several parts of the European country, cradle of the Roman civilization.The replicas have been continuous.
The last, for now, of magnitude 6.5 on the scale Richter, especially affection for the town of Norcia, but manifested himself with power in the center of Rome, reaching Florence and Naples , being its epicenter between Perugia and Macerata.Now, why Are there so many earthquakes in Italy lately? This is the reason.
Why are there so many earthquakes in Italy lately?
Since 1980, such a strong earthquake has not shaken the nation.Fortunately, there were no human losses, but if major destruction in buildings and homes, including historic buildings in the center of Italy, this was not the case of the earthquake of August 24, 2016, which left a balance of fatalities of 300 people.Since this event, The National Institute of Geology and Volcanology has registered more than 1,100 telluric movements throughout Italy.
The reason? All this seismic wave has its origin in the geological environment, like few others, where the Italian republic is located.That much activity is not surprising, being the country located on several networks of active faults, which arise from the clash between the plates tectonicas of Euroasia and Africa .The effect is important.
According to geologists, both plates collide so that the African fault pushes the Eurasia plate about two centimeters a year , increasing the pressure to a point where new failures occur.From this tectonic “battle” the Apennines were born, a mountain range that crosses the center-north of Italy and whose mountains-on the basis of their nature-have experienced most of the earthquakes registered in 2016, between August and October.
For another p art, there is an opening in the Tyrrhenian Sea that is separating the Apennine Mountains.This separation, which is what is called "extensional faults", is the same that produced the L'Aquila earthquake in 2009, which had a record of 309 fatalities.
Another aspect to consider about why there are so many earthquakes in Italy, has its focus on the Adriatic, where a fragment of the Adriatica or Apuliana microplate has been constantly moving in recent years and It is in contact with the Eurasian, African and Aegean plates.
The constant interaction between plates is what makes the region a focus of high seismicity.For the rest, experts explain that the earthquake in August may have loosened the faults of the region, making them much more likely to slide more easily than before, so they anticipate that earthquakes will continue to be felt often, during the minus several million years.
Have you been interested in knowing why there are so many earthquakes in Italy? We recommend you also read: The 4 most destructive earthquakes in history.
Images: BBC, Earthsky, Wikipedia.
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