‘Ring of Fire’ Quake-Cluster Prompts Scientists to Warn of “Large Rupture Sooner Than Later”

Earlier in the week we reported on scientists’ warnings over the “strained” magma chamber within Yellowstone’s supervolcano.

And now, perhaps even more concerning, The Daily Express reports that scientists in California have analyzed 101 major earthquakes around the Pacific Ring of Fire, a horseshoe-shaped geological disaster zone, between 1990 and 2016.

They believe a cluster of tremors around the area could indicate a “big one” is due to hit.

Earthquakes have already struck in Japan, Tawain, Guam and Indonesia in the past few weeks.

Thorne Lay, professor of Earth and planetary sciences at UC Santa Cruz, said: “Based on the clustering of earthquakes in space and time, the area that has just slipped is actually more likely to have another failure.“

He added that “the surrounding areas have been pushed towards failure in many cases, giving rise to aftershocks and the possibility of an adjacent large rupture sooner rather than later.“

The Express notes that the study comes after the Ring of Fire was hit by earthquakes in the first two weeks of February.

More than 180 people were injured and 17 killed when a 6.4 magnitude quake struck Taiwan’s coast on February 6.

A series of tremors on reaching magnitudes as high as 5.7 shook the US territory of Guam.

Three earthquakes have hit Japan since February 11, with the largest measuring at 4.8 on the Richter scale.

Additionally, numerous volcano eruptions, hit the Pacific Rim in January.

Scientists have. of course, reassured the public saying that the activity is normal for the Ring of Fire.

Toshiyasu Nagao, head of Tokyo-based Tokai University’s Earthquake Prediction Research Centre, told Japan Times:

“The Pacific Rim is in a period of activity. In terms of volcanic history, however the current activity is still regarded as normal.“

As we concluded previously, is this time to panic? Maybe, maybe not. But it’s interesting that the Ring of Fire is waking up and  coinciding with news that a pole reversal is near, Yellowstone is ‘strained’, and the sun is approaching its solar minimum which could cause a mini ice age.