Kon Tum has a risk of earthquakes of 5-5.5 magnitudes on the Richter scale

Director General of the Department of Natural Disaster Prevention and Control Tran Quang Hoai chaired an emergency meeting on April 19 – Photo: HA QUAN

The forecast was made at the meeting to respond to earthquakes in Kon Tum province, chaired by the National Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, in order to proactively respond to many consecutive earthquakes in Kon Tum. past day.

At the meeting on April 19, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Anh – director of the Institute of Geophysics – said that according to statistics, there were 33 earthquakes in Kon Tum area from 1903 – 2020, the largest one in 1937 was powerful. degree 3.9 on the Richter scale.

In April 2021, the frequency of earthquakes in Kon Plong district increased. From 2021 to April 18, 2022, there were 169 earthquakes of 2.5 Richter magnitude or higher, in the past 4 days alone, there were two largest earthquakes of 4.1 and 4.5 magnitude in history since the beginning of the year. recorded in the above area.

Mr. Xuan Anh said that the usual stimulant earthquakes with agents such as hydroelectric dams will trigger earlier earthquakes. Therefore, according to preliminary predictions, Thuong Kon Tum hydropower plant has water storage, so there are consecutive earthquakes similar to the case of Song Tranh 2 hydropower plant.

To clarify the cause, the director of the Institute of Geophysics said that it is necessary to continue to observe, at the same time conduct research on the fault system, and evaluate the water accumulation of dams according to international experience.

Mr. Xuan Anh said that the intensity could be up to 5 – 5.5 degrees Richter, however, in order to have full conclusions, it is necessary to conduct detailed research and evaluation of monitoring data.

Earthquake information in Kon Plong district (Kon Tum) – Photo: Institute of Geophysics

According to the leader of Kon Plong district, the recent earthquakes did not have a great impact on the socio-economic situation in the area, but the 4.5-magnitude tremor on April 18 made people bewildered and worried. He himself also felt the house shake, after the earthquake there was a loud explosion in the ground.

The representative of the Ministry of Construction said that earthquake intensity can cause damage to people’s houses, construction works from light level such as wall cracking to severe damage to bearing structures and proposed to survey the damage to houses. people, offices of state agencies, bridges and roads, irrigation works, hydroelectric projects; issued instructions on how to escape in the event of an earthquake…

A representative of the Office of the National Committee for Disaster Incident Response and Search and Rescue said that the 3rd Army Corps, 15th Army Corps, and 5th Military Region are always ready to coordinate with localities in responding to emergencies.

Concluding the meeting, Mr. Tran Quang Hoai – director of the Department of Natural Disaster Prevention and Control (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) – requested relevant agencies to check earthquake signs in Kon Tum province, thereby determining determine the causes and risks of new situations.

In the immediate future, Mr. Hoai suggested that irrigation and hydroelectricity reservoirs, especially the Thuong Kon Tum hydropower reservoir, do not store more water because there may be unseasonal rains, increasing water levels, and possibly triggering more earthquakes.

Kon Tum province needs to notify relevant agencies and people to proactively respond in parallel with regular and complete information to avoid false information leading to anxiety and confusion in some households.