Seismicity:
Due to the location of Fiji, earthquakes happen to be often but never taken for granted. Earthquakes generally happen on the eastern Pacific plate the Fiji lies on. Though there have been noted earthquakes to happen along the Indo- Australian plate as well, since Fiji is in the middle of both plates. According to the USG website, this week alone there have been 10 earthquakes ranging from a 4.3 magnitude to a 7.9 which hit most recently (9/6/18). Earthquakes and their damage are prominent throughout the area as you may see in the picture below.
Preventative Measures:
With earthquakes frequently hitting the country, the threat for tsunami's is of seemingly greater importance. Fiji's National Disaster Management Office (FNDM) has set precautions throughout a few primarily and secondary schools. The schools targeted for the drills that the FNDM set up are those along the Suva Tsunami Hazard zone. It just so happens that the 7.9 magnitude quake on 9/6/18 rocked Suva as it was merely 63 mi from the epicenter.
Sources:
https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us2000h9e2#executive
https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/map/
index.phtml
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPlLnH83W18&feature=youtu.be
Hi Dan,
ReplyDeleteI thought you did a great job this week. Prior to this class, I had not known that Fiji was prone to earthquakes and tsunamis, but mentioning that it's between the Pacific and Indo-Australian plate explains a lot. Just looking at the map and seeing how there have been ten earthquakes this week alone makes me want to rethink any future vacation plans. Although, it does seem to be a place that has taken precautions and acted protectively to ensure when an earthquake does occur it won't cause mass casualties. Again great job this week, I look forward to reading your future posts.
Cheers, Tyler Deleon
Great research. If I was living here, I'd be more concerned about tsunamis coming form nearby areas...but I guess we'll discuss that next week...
ReplyDelete