The South Sandwich Islands are a group of tiny, deserted, and very far away islands in the Southern Ocean, about the same distance north of Antarctica as Antarctica.
The islands, which are the result of volcanic eruptions and are home to active volcanoes, are surrounded by ice that is also partially covering them.
Due to their location in the Scotia Subduction Zone, one of the tectonic plates that make up Earth’s outermost layer, the islands are also in an active earthquake zone.
According to the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), the South Sandwich Islands region was hit by an earthquake on Tuesday with a magnitude of 6.3.
According to EMSC, the earthquake was at a depth of 93 km (57.79 miles).
In the past 48 hours, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands have 2 quakes up to magnitude 6.3.
One day and six hours ago, on Monday, October 24, 2022, at 10:13 p.m., the South Atlantic Ocean, South Georgia, and the South Sandwich Islands were the scene of the strongest earthquake to have occurred in or around those locations in the previous 48 hours (GMT -2).
The tsunami that the earthquake also caused caused further casualties and damage.
An earthquake of 6.2 magnitude can cause a lot of damage in densely populated regions.
Cause of Earthquakes
Due to their location in the Scotia Subduction Zone, one of the tectonic plates that make up Earth’s outermost layer, the islands are also in an active earthquake zone.
The South Sandwich Islands had the strongest earthquake on the South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands on August 8, 2021, measuring 8.1 on the Richter scale. The South Sandwich Islands were shaken by a series of strong earthquakes on August 12, 2021.
The South Sandwich Islands were shaken by a series of strong earthquakes on August 12, 2021. The original earthquake had a 7.5 Mw magnitude.
After three minutes, an earthquake with a magnitude of 8.1 broke through the shallow subduction zone. The whole thing took 260 seconds, which is unusually long.
The 1929 earthquake in this area and the 8.1 Mw earthquake share the title of the biggest earthquake ever recorded in these parts of the entire Atlantic Ocean.
A magnitude 7.2 earthquake in the Caribbean nation of Haiti occurred on August 14, 2021, around 150 km west of the city of Port-au-Prince.
Over 1,000 landslides were started, and aftershocks with moment magnitudes of up to 5.7 followed. Over 2,000 people lost their lives, 15,000 were injured, and more than 137,000 structures failed as a result of these catastrophes. The impact on the economy is in the neighbourhood of US$1.6 billion.
On September 29, 2022, a powerful earthquake measuring M6.5 was felt east of the South Sandwich Islands. According to the agency, the depth is 10 km (6.2 miles). M6.7 is being reported by EMSC at a depth of 2 kilometres.
The USGS has issued a green alert for fatalities and financial damage associated with the shaking. There is little chance of death and property damage. There are probably no structures here that are impacted.
According to information of above earthquake, there is a small chance of property damage and death.
