Seismologist did not rule out the possibility of an earthquake on New Year's Eve in Moscow

The possibility of an earthquake on New Year's Eve in Moscow cannot be ruled out. This was reported to "Izvestia" on December 24 by Ruben Tatevosyan, deputy director for engineering seismology and seismic hazard assessment at the Schmidt Institute of Earth Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences. O.Y. Schmidt RAS Ruben Tatevosyan.

"Foci of earthquakes that are felt in Moscow are located at a great distance from Moscow, in the deep-focus zone of Vrancea (Carpathians). This is a zone of very high activity, but because of the great distance (more than 1 thousand kilometers) only the strongest earthquakes are felt in Moscow, usually with a magnitude greater than seven," the expert said.

He noted that such tremors have been known for a long time and added that the strongest of them occurred in 1802, 1838, 1940 and 1977.

"Such events are not frequent, but it is impossible to call them something absolutely exceptional," Tatevosyan pointed out.

The seismologist emphasized that the Vrancea zone earthquakes felt in Moscow are not an isolated case.

"For this reason it is impossible to exclude such an event. But there is no reliable method of forecasting such an event," the expert concluded, speaking about a possible earthquake on New Year holidays.

Earlier in the day, the media reported that earthquakes are possible in Moscow during the New Year holidays. It was noted that the capital has a lot of high-rise buildings, and under the city there is a large number of cavities, due to which the redistribution of stress and subsequent artificial earthquakes are likely.

Before that, on August 30, an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.1 occurred in Kamchatka. It was reported that the tremors were felt in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and Vilyuchinsky urban districts and Yelizovsky district up to five points. No tsunami threat was announced.