Washington, August 22: A strong earthquake occurred in the United States. A powerful earthquake occurred in the Drake Passage region on Friday. Its intensity was recorded as 7.5 on the Richter scale. Fear of a tsunami has gripped the country after the earthquake. According to the National Center for Seismology (NCS), the earthquake occurred at 07.46 Indian time. Its epicenter is in the Drake Passage.
The Drake Passage is located between South America and Antarctica. Initial reports from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) had said the earthquake's intensity was 8.0. The tremors have increased since the region is located at the junction of the South American and Antarctic tectonic plates.
A tsunami warning has been issued after the earthquake. However, no major damage has been reported yet. It connects the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west. The width of the Drake Passage is at least 800 km.
Why do earthquakes occur? There are 7 plates inside the Earth, which are constantly rotating. The area where these plates collide the most is called a fault line. Due to repeated collisions, the corners of the plates bend. Then the tremor occurs.
The epicenter of an earthquake is the place just below where the geological energy is released due to the movement of the plates. At this place, the shaking of the earthquake is the strongest. As the frequency of the vibration increases, its effect decreases. However, if an earthquake of magnitude 7 or more occurs on the Richter scale, the shaking will be strong in a radius of 40 km around.
Earthquakes are measured using the Richter scale. This is called the Richter Magnitude Test Scale. On the Richter scale, earthquakes are measured on a scale of 1 to 9. Earthquakes are measured from their center, i.e. the epicenter. This measures the intensity of the energy released from inside the Earth during an earthquake.