Explained: Ring Of Fire, Where The Strongest Earthquakes Occur

A powerful 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula early Wednesday, triggering tsunami warnings across several countries located along the Pacific Ocean's infamous 'Ring of Fire.'

What Is The 'Ring Of Fire'?

The 'Ring of Fire' is a 40,000-km horseshoe-shaped belt around the edges of the Pacific Ocean, known for its intense seismic and volcanic activity. It is home to about 75 per cent of the world's active volcanoes and experiences over 90 per cent of the world's earthquakes.

This volatile region owes its intensity to the presence of multiple tectonic plates, including the Pacific, Philippine Sea, and Nazca Plates. They constantly collide, shift, and grind against one another. These powerful interactions give rise to frequent earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and the formation of deep ocean trenches.

Countries along this belt include Russia, Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Chile, Peru, Mexico, the United States (especially Alaska and California), and Canada.

Expert Explains

Bhavesh Pandey, a seismology expert, explained to NDTV that although Russia hasn't witnessed such a large-scale earthquake in recent years, Kamchatka is no stranger to major seismic events because it lies along the 'Ring of Fire.'

Mr Pandey said that the Pacific's ocean floor is riddled with massive volcanic structures and these undersea volcanoes contribute significantly to the powerful earthquakes we witness in this region.

He added that countries like Japan, Chile, Mexico, and Colombia regularly experience large tremors due to their positioning along this fault belt.

Since the earthquake's epicentre was under the sea, the possibility of a tsunami was immediate. He also clarified that tsunami waves travel slower than seismic waves, which is why a tsunami usually arrives some time after the ground has stopped shaking. Coastal regions closer to the quake's origin, like eastern Russia and Japan, are the first to be impacted.

Not every undersea earthquake triggers a tsunami, he said.

When one does occur, the waves can radiate in all directions as seen during the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, which struck India's eastern coast after a quake in Indonesia.

That disaster led India to establish its own tsunami warning centre in Hyderabad, joining a select group of nations with early-warning capabilities.

Japan remains the global leader in seismic preparedness. Its advanced systems can issue public alerts up to 15-20 seconds before a quake strikes.

Earthquake And Tsunami Updates

Wednesday's tremors in Russia are now being described as the most powerful since the 2011 earthquake in Japan, which also triggered a tsunami and led to the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

According to the US Geological Survey, the quake struck beneath the sea at a depth of 20.7 km, about 136 km east of Petropavlovsk in Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula. The tremor was strong enough to trigger tsunami warnings in Japan, Alaska, Hawaii, and parts of southern New Zealand. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center confirmed that waves have already hit Alaska, while Hawaii braces for surges up to 10 feet. On Oahu's north shore, Haleiwa recorded 4-foot waves arriving every 12 minutes.