So Many Earthquakes! The End Is Nigh!

Michael Reilly from DiscoveryNews writes about the unusually high number of earthquakes this year:

 

After the magnitude 6.9 earthquake in China early Wednesday morning, things are starting to look a little bleak on this planet of ours. This year is only three and a half months old, and yet there have been devastating earthquakes in Haiti, Chile, and China.

Add to that the recent magnitude 7.2 near the Mexico-California border, a 7.7 off Sumatra last week, a 6.9 that gave northern Californians a scare two days before the Haiti quake, not to mention a whole slew of other big rattles and close calls, and you'd be forgiven for asking "seriously, what is going on??"

You can read the entire article here.

The big take-away message is a quote from Dr. Michael Blanpied, USGS Associate Coordinator for Earthquake Hazards:

Scientists say 2010 is not showing signs of unusually high earthquake activity. Since 1900, an average of 16 magnitude 7 or greater earthquakes — the size that seismologists define as major — have occurred worldwide each year. Some years have had as few as 6, as in 1986 and 1989, while 1943 had 32, with considerable variability from year to year.

With six major earthquakes striking in the first four months of this year, 2010 is well within the normal range. Furthermore, from April 15, 2009, to April 14, 2010, there have been 18 major earthquakes, a number also well within the expected variation.

While the number of earthquakes is within the normal range, this does not diminish the fact that there has been extreme devastation and loss of life in heavily populated areas.

In other words, relax.