ON JANUARY 20TH, Brazil’s strongest earthquake ever on continental territory was recorded. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS)- the agency that monitors seismic activities in and out of the US, the tremor’s magnitude was 6.6 on the Richter scale. It took place at 4:31 pm local time (6:31 pm Brasília/DF time) in Ipixuna, a municipality in Amazonas state.

Two days later, the town’s administration issued a statement that it was monitoring the episode’s potential effects, but that until then, it had not yet identified any residents who felt the tremor. According to the USGS, the ground movement took place at a depth of 614.5 kilometers — which is equivalent to the distance between Porto Seguro (Bahia state) and Vitória (Espirito Santo state). Shocks at such depths are hardly felt by inhabitants.

WHAT ARE EARTHQUAKES AND WHAT IS THE RICHTER SCALE?

Earthquakes are earth tremors caused mainly by the movement of magma (a viscous mass of rocks at very high temperatures) and tectonic plates (huge pieces of rock that make up the Earth’s surface and lie beneath oceans and continents). One way to measure them is with the Richter magnitude scale. Check out the scale:

☞ Tremor that is below 3.5: usually imperceptible.

☞ Between 3.5 and 5.4: it is felt, but does not cause much damage.

☞ Between 5.5 and 6: might damage the structure of houses and buildings.

☞ From 7 to 7.9: could devastate areas up to one thousand kilometers from the epicenter.

☞ Above 8: destroys anything close to the epicenter (where it occurred).

5 largest seismic shocks on Brazilian ground*

☞ Amazonas, January 2024: 6.6 magnitude

☞ Acre, June 2022: 6.5 magnitude

☞ Acre, May 2019: 6.3 magnitude

☞ Acre, January 2024: 6.2 magnitude

☞ Acre, November 2015: 6.2 magnitude

*DATA FROM THE SEISMOLOGICAL CENTER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF SÃO PAULO (USP)

SOURCES: AGÊNCIA BRASIL, SEISMOLOGICAL CENTER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF SÃO PAULO, DNER/AP/DIV. PLANNING  SERV. COORD. AND MANAGEMENT OF HIGHWAY SYSTEMS, ESTADÃO, O GLOBO, AND USGS

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