After a 6.1 magnitude earthquake hit New Zealand on Wednesday followed by temblors off the coasts of Japan (6.1), Vanuatu (6.4), and Indonesia (5.7) early Thursday morning, others along the Ring of Fire, including California, are wondering if they could be next. But, experts say offshore quakes happen in the region all the time, and go unnoticed
In the span of just 24 hours, a series of powerful earthquakes rocked several locations along the Pacific one by one this week, all in a seismic region known as the 'Ring of Fire' - and, others in its path, including
California, are now wondering if they could be next.
Roughly 90 percent of the world's earthquakes occur in this belt, which loops from
New Zealand to Chile, passing through the coasts of Asia and the Americas on the way.
Now, after a 6.1 magnitude earthquake hit New Zealand on Wednesday followed by temblors off the coasts of
Japan (6.1), Vanuatu (6.4), and
Indonesia (5.7) early Thursday morning, experts admit the Pacific is experiencing 'unusual' seismic activity, leaving the West Coast on edge.
After a 6.1 magnitude earthquake hit New Zealand on Wednesday followed by temblors off the coasts of Japan (6.1), Vanuatu (6.4), and Indonesia (5.7) early Thursday morning, others along the Ring of Fire - including California - are wondering if they could be next. But, experts say offshore quakes happen in the region all the time, and go unnoticed
But, this doesn't necessarily mean California or other areas of the West Coast will be affected by the events.
Comment: A few hours later a 5.4 magnitude quake struck off the coast of Iwaki, just 35 miles (56.5km) south of the now-disabled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.