Earthquakes still terrify people, although modern science allows in most cases at least to predict them. Rambler found out in which tourist cities the threat of an earthquake is quite real.
Istanbul
To the south of the ancient capital of Turkey is the North Anatolian Fault. The Anatolian plate is moving west as it is under pressure from the Eurasian plate from the north and the Arabian and African plates from the south. Earthquakes with a magnitude of seven and above occurred repeatedly in the fault zone. And in August 2021, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu warned that the city was on the verge of a major earthquake, for which it was not ready, as many hotels were built without seismic stability.
Los Angeles
Los Angeles is in an active seismic zone and is a neighbor of the San Andreas Fault. In addition, the Pune Hills fault passes through the city itself. The last major earthquake of magnitude 6.7 occurred in 1994, its epicenter was the San Fernando Valley. Sixty people died then, and a total of seven thousand people were injured. And in October 2021 in the “city of angels” was recorded an earthquake of magnitude 3.6 and a half kilometers from the center of Los Angeles. According to scientists, seismic activity in the region will only increase over time.
Kathmandu
City earthquakes in the truest sense of the word. Nepal regularly faces this natural disaster. For example, in 2015 there was a powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.9, the epicenter of which was 82 kilometers from the capital of Nepal. The city was severely damaged, many houses were destroyed.
Jakarta
Almost all of Indonesia is located within the Pacific Ring of Fire – an area with many active volcanoes. Therefore, earthquakes with a magnitude of more than 4 have repeatedly occurred in different parts of the country. Jakarta is also located in the seismically active zone. Recently, on January 14, 2022, a magnitude 6.7 earthquake shook Jakarta, Depok, Bogor, Bandung, Lampung and other cities in the country. The epicenter was 132 kilometers from the province of Banten, with which Jakarta borders on the west.