Scientists warn of big earthquakes in 2018
- By Web Desk -
- Nov 23, 2017
Scientists have warned that there will be a significant increase in the occurrence of potentially deadliest earthquakes in 2018.
The assessment was made on the basis of the earth’s movement data that shows a significant uptick in earthquakes after a certain period of slowdown in the earth’s rotation.
Geophysicists are able to measure the rotational speed of Earth extremely precisely, calculating slight variations on the order of milliseconds. Now, scientists believe a slowdown of the Earth’s rotation is the link to an observed cyclical increase in earthquakes.
Countries where natural disasters are most likely to strike
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“The correlation between Earth’s rotation and earthquake activity is strong and suggests there is going to be an increase in numbers of intense earthquakes next year,” said Roger Bilham of the University of Colorado in the US.
To start, the research team of geologists analyzed every earthquake to occur since 1900 at a magnitude above 7.0. They were looking for trends in the occurrence of large earthquakes. What they found is that roughly every 32 years there was an uptick in the number of significant earthquakes worldwide.
Researchers found that roughly after every 32 years there was an uptick in the number of significant earthquakes worldwide. A team of researchers found this conclusion after analysing every earthquake which occurred since 1900 at a magnitude above 7.0.
The research concluded that after almost every 30 years, earth experiences a slowdown in its rotation. The slowdown lasts for five years, with the last year triggering an increase in earthquakes globally.
They found five periods when there had been significantly higher numbers of large earthquakes compared with other times.’
“In these periods, there were between 25 and 30 intense earthquakes a year,” said Bilham.
“The rotation of the Earth does change slightly – by a millisecond a day sometimes – and that can be measured very accurately by atomic clocks,” said Bilham.
The 20 safest countries, according to the report
Qatar – 0.1%
Malta – 0.61%
Barbados – 1.16%
Saudi Arabia – 1.32%
Grenada – 1.44%
Iceland – 1.55%
Kiribati – 1.78%
Bahrain – 1.81%
United Arab Emirates – 2.1%
Sweden – 2.26%
Finland – 2.28%
Egypt – 2.34%
Norway – 3.35%
Israel – 2.49%
Singapore – 2.49%
Estonia – 2.52%
Seychelles – 2.58%
Switzerland – 2.61%
Luxembourg – 2.68%
Oman – 2.74%
The 20 least safe countries
Vanuatu – 36.43%
Tonga – 28.23%
Philippines – 27.52%
Guatemala – 20.88%
Bangladesh – 19.81%
Solomon Islands – 18.11%
Costa Rica – 16.94%
Cambodia – 16.9%
El Salvador – 16.85%
Timor-Leste – 16.37%
Papua New Guinea – 15.9%
Brunei Darussalam – 15.58%
Mauritius – 15.18%
Nicaragua – 14.89%
Japan – 14.1%
Fiji – 13.56%
Guinea-Bissau – 13.09%
Vietnam – 12.81%
Chile – 12.28%
Jamaica – 12.15%