The 5.4 magnitude earthquake that occurred on Monday, September 16, 2024, was expected by specialists. At this intensity, no aftershocks are expected, says the INFP director.
INFP has provided the first data on the September 16 earthquake on its official page. PHOTO: INFP
UPDATE
According to the latest information, the earthquake was also felt outside Romania, in Bulgaria, Ukraine, as well as in the Republic of Moldova.
Gheorghe Mărmureanu, the expert in seismology, explained that there are no reasons for concern or panic in relation to the earthquake recorded today, but also that there is no causal link between it and the floods produced in Moldova.
“This earthquake is in the zone of normality, of small earthquakes, from 7 degrees to worry and cause problems, until then these are tremors that do not cause big problems, stay calm. All kinds of theories are made that these earthquakes are related to the war in Ukraine, but it is not true, they are simple speculations.
This earthquake today has nothing to do with the torrential rains. However, Turkey is a very strong seismic zone. Our luck is that it does not affect Romania, the seismic wave goes from them to the Mediterranean, to North Africa, not to us”explained Gheorghe Mărmureanu, exclusively for Click!.
“On 16.09.2024, 17:40:22 (Romania time), a significant earthquake occurred in the VRANCEA, BUZAU SEISMIC AREA with a magnitude of МЛХ 5.4, at a depth of 126.𝟖 𝗦.INTENSITATE V. The earthquake occurred 56km NW of Buzau, 58km SE of Sfantu-Gheorghe, 59km E of Brasov, 67km W of Focsani, 69km N of Ploiesti, 97km NE of Targoviste (later edit)”. states the National Research-Development Institute for Earth Physics, on its Facebook account.
The director of the INFP, Dr. Eng. Constantin Ionescu, stated for “Adevărul” that the specialists were expecting an earthquake of greater intensity in the Vrancea seismic zone.
“Basically, a bigger earthquake had to come in Vrancea, because the last bigger earthquake, over 5, was in 2018″explained the INFP director.
This earthquake has nothing to do with the floods in the south of Moldova, as already, after the floods, suspicions about the occurrence of an earthquake were raised on social networks.
“It’s not related. I’ve done new analysis after analysis, many years, and there’s no way it’s related to the floods”said Dr. Ionescu.
On the other hand, specialists do not expect aftershocks of this earthquake, considering the intensity. “So far there is no response. If there were replicas, it had to happen by now, usually there was a replica. From the experience we have, intermediate earthquakes, those with depths between 90-150 kilometers, do not produce immediate aftershocks. If the earthquake was much bigger, then there would have been aftershocks. If it had been 6, 6 or something, then it was possible, but from our experience or from previous earthquakes, there were few aftershocks to an earthquake like this, for the Vrancea area”, the specialist also specified.
