Repeated Earthquakes

A 5.5-degree earthquake occurred at the weekend in Vrancea, in the east, Romanias most active volcanic area.

România Internațional, 07.10.2013, 13:36

The 5.5-degree earthquake in Vrancea has again brought to the limelight the issue of volcanic activity and the safety of hundreds of earthquake-prone buildings in Bucharest, as well as the slow pace of consolidation works on such buildings. This is not the first earthquake to be recorded in the area this year, but the 7th exceeding 4 degrees on the Richter scale since March. It is, however, the biggest in Romania in the last 4 years.

It was followed by a series of aftershocks that caused no casualties and material damage, but which did generate a lot of panic, especially in Galati County, which is very close to Vrancea, and where hundreds of minor tremors have been recorded over the last 2 weeks. Mircea Radulian, the director of the National Institute for Physics of the Earth:

Mircea Radulian: “There is striking coincidence between the tremors in Galati and the earthquake in Vrancea. As far as we know, there should be no connection between the two phenomena. The coincidence, however, is too big, and it remains to be studied and analysed.”

Meanwhile, the experts sent to the area say there is a lot of tension in the Earth’s crust, which has reactivated a fault line in the volcanic area. The phenomenon cannot be prevented, but there are signs that its intensity is decreasing. A week ago, the minister delegate for higher education and research Mihnea Costoiu was giving equally reassuring explanations:

Mihnea Costoiu: “Intense volcanic activity has been recorded in recent days in the Izvoarele, Negresti in Slobozia and Conachi area. Our expert colleagues from the National Institute for Physics of the Earth have been monitoring the situation for a few days. I asked a team last week to travel to Galati, where there are 3 stations monitoring earthquake activity. For the time being, nothing out of the ordinary has been reported and I hope there will be no problems. If any such problems occur, we will make them public in due course.”

Adrian Grigore, the head of the expert team sent to Galati, has a different summary of the situation:

Adrian Grigore: “A fault line near Izvoarele responsible for other earthquakes in the past has been reactivated. This reactivation is somewhat atypical, but unfortunately the phenomenon cannot be prevented. Seismic activity may continue.”

Panic-stricken and unhappy about the damages caused by the tremors, the locals blame the oil wells built in the area.