Earthquakes on our planet occur daily. If we take it in the context of the year, then every year there are about 100 thousand earthquakes of small magnitude, about 100 strong earthquakes, and only a few become known to the general public. One of the places that has been shaking especially often lately and continues to shake is Almaty.
Seismic situation in Almaty in 2018
The latest earthquakes in Almaty to date have been recorded in early February 2018. The epicenter of the latter was located almost 600 km from Almaty, at a depth of 5 km from the surface. Earthquake power - 4.2 points. Destruction and injuries were not found.
2 days earlier, on February 2, at a depth of about 10 km, an earthquake with a power of 2-3 points was recorded. The epicenter was located on the territory of the city, and tremors were clearly felt in the vicinity of the 125th school on Gagarin Street. There were no reports of injuries or destruction.
Last year, earthquakes in Almaty were also recorded throughout the year. And even on New Year's Day, December 30, 2017, an earthquake of magnitude 4.4 was recorded. None of them caused damage and casualties.
The most powerful earthquakes in Almaty and its environs
The outskirts of the city of Almaty and the city itself are located in the Almaty seismically active region of the 9-point zone of southeast Kazakhstan.
The strongest earthquakes were recorded in the 20th century, as well as one of the most powerful - at the end of the 19th century, which caused the most severe damage to the city of Verny (the former name of the city of Almaty), an earthquake of magnitude 7.3 on the Richter scale. Here are the most famous and most notable:
- Kemin earthquake - 1911 - as a result of this earthquake, Lake Kaindy was formed, which is considered by many tourists to be one of the most beautiful and picturesque places in Kazakhstan.
- Kemino-Chui earthquake - June 20, 1936.
- Chilean earthquake - November 30, 1967.
- Sary-Kamysh earthquake - June 5, 1970.
- Dzhambul earthquake - May 10, 1971.
All those earthquakes were quite powerful. Some of them exceeded magnitude 8 points. And although after the most devastating Vernensky earthquake of 1887, Almaty (previously the city of Verny) was relocated and rebuilt, new principles of urban planning were introduced taking into account the seismically unstable geographical position, if an earthquake of such a power had occurred in Almaty today, the victims would be estimated, according to various estimates , hundreds of thousands of dead, not to mention multibillion-dollar losses.
Will Almaty cope with earthquakes of magnitude 8+ points?
After the earthquakes of the 70s, the Institute of Seismology is engaged in the study and attempts to prevent earthquakes. And, despite the fact that today the architecture of many developed countries uses anti-seismic engineering technologies (USA, Japan, Turkey), especially in the construction of high-rise buildings, according to some experts, as well as from the experience of other countries (Japan, China), a conclusion suggests itself that modern Almaty will not withstand earthquakes with an epicenter in the city, exceeding a magnitude of 8 points.
In this regard, it is incredibly important to deal with both the study and prevention of earthquakes, in order to be able to timely evacuate the population from the epicenter of natural disasters, and it is important to improve engineering systems and the latest materials for the construction of more seismically reliable structures and buildings.