Thursday 7 January 2021

The third major quake of 2021 is a powerful (M6.1) which rocked Minahasa, Sulawesi, Indonesia last night: 2020 was the 2nd lowest year this century for major quakes recording just 121 major quakes, (mag 6 or higher).

USGS

A powerful (M6.1) rocked Minahasa, Sulawesi, Indonesia last night making it the 3rd major quake, (mag 6 or higher) to strike in the last 4 days after a powerful, magnitude 6.2 quake shook the Kermadec Islands region just north of New Zealand yesterday and magnitude 6.1 struck the Andreanof Islands, Aleutian Islands in Alaska 4 days ago. Last night's mag 6.1 was the 3rd major quake, (mag 6 or higher) of January 2021.

 After saying goodbye to the crappiest year in living memory, 2020 was anything but exciting concerning major quakes. A year that saw the Coronavirus devastate the lives of people across the planet, record heat, fires, floods, and hurricanes, 2020 was the 2nd lowest year this century for major quakes recording just 121 major quakes, (mag 6 or higher). Only 2017 recorded a lower number with 111.

As we stutter into the darkness of 2021 a total number of 3,213 major quakes, (mag 6 or higher) have shaken our planet since January the 1st 2000. The average annual total this century stands at 157 which happened consequently in 2003 and 2004.

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