The reason for frequent earthquakes in Indonesia has been attributed to the ‘Ring of Fire’. Know what is Ring of Fire, how far it extends and how it affects…
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The earthquake that occurred on Monday in the capital of Indonesia, Jakarta, caused havoc. The intensity of the earthquake on the Richter scale was 5.6. The National Disaster Mitigation Agency says, the death toll has reached 268. 1,083 people have been injured. 151 are still missing. If we look at the history of Indonesia, earthquakes have not been a new thing for the people here. Even before this, earthquakes have caused devastation here many times.
The biggest devastation was caused by the 2004 earthquake. The 9.1 magnitude earthquake that hit Sumatra Island in northern Indonesia had an impact on 14 nearby countries. Two lakh 26 thousand people died in this earthquake. More than half of these were Indonesians.
The reason for the earthquake in Indonesia has been told to the Ring of Fire. Know what is Ring of Fire, how far its scope is spread and why earthquakes occur here…
What is Ring of Fire?
CNN’s Report According to, Indonesia is in the earthquake affected area. The reason for this is the Ring of Fire. If understood in simple language, it is a bow-shaped line which is in that part of the Pacific Ocean which has the most active volcanoes. That’s why it is an active earthquake zone. It is also known as Circum Pacific Belt. The Ring of Fire in the shape of a bow extends up to 40 thousand kilometers. As far as it spreads, this is the part where maximum earthquakes occur. Indonesia also comes in this zone.
In the report of the Geological Survey of America, it has been said that more than 70 percent of the volcanoes coming on the earth are around this zone. Up to 90 percent of the world’s devastating earthquakes occur in the countries coming in this region.
Many times flights are also canceled due to this ring of fire. Actually, because of this, volcanoes erupt. The dust emanating from here reaches the atmosphere, which reaches the engines of the planes and chokes them. Flights are canceled to prevent this.
countries covered by
The area in which the Ring of Fire is located, comes from Indonesia to Japan. Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico, America, Canada, Russia, Japan, Philippines, Indonesia, New Zealand, Australia and Papua New Guinea are the countries that come under its purview.
Meteorologist Alison Chincher says, there is continuous movement under the earth. Things keep changing here. The most valid theory about earthquake is that there are many layers under the earth which slip from time to time. In the language of science, these are called tectonic plates, which cause earthquakes. In the part of the Ring of Fire, there are incidents of tectonic plate slipping, which becomes the reason for the devastation.
The US Geological Survey measured its intensity at 5.6 on the Richter scale. Such intensity usually does not cause much harm, but the situation in Jakarta is different. It has to be understood here that the damage caused by an earthquake is not only related to its intensity, but there are many other reasons as well. For example, one reason is the soil. What kind of soil is its center on, it can also make low intensity earthquake dangerous.
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