13 ways Earth has shown its rage in 2020

In an already busy year, our planet has not stopped moving fate. The year 2020 brought a record of hurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean, numerous life-threatening wildfires and many earthquakes severe enough to remind humanity of the power of plate tectonics. Some of these disasters were part of the geological cycle; Others have been helped by human-induced climate change. Read on for a reminder of the ways the Earth has shown its rage in 2020.

Caribbean Sea earthquake 2020

(Image source: RICARDO ARDUENGO / AFP via Getty Images)

One of the largest earthquakes this year, a 7.7-magnitude earthquake, struck the Caribbean on January 28, 2020. The earthquake struck 76 miles (122 kilometers) northwest of Lucia, Jamaica, and southern Cuba. According to USA Today, no one died, but the shaking was felt as far away as Miami and parts of the Mexican Yucatan Peninsula.

The region where the earthquake struck is located on the boundary of the plate between the North American Plate and the Caribbean Plate. The period between late 2019 and early 2020 was an active time at the borders of the plate, with Puerto Rico experiencing a series of earthquakes more intense than anything seen since 1918, Previously Live Science reported.

Taal eruption

(Image credit: NOAA)

On January 12, Taal Volcano on the Philippine island of Luzon spread dramatically, sending clouds of ash into the sky. The eruption quickly intensified, creating plumes of steam and ash up to 9 miles (14 km) high. It was the first time the volcano had erupted in 40 years. When ash clouds washed more than 100 miles (62 km) north, residents living near the volcano were forced to evacuate. The Manila Bulletin reported that the eruption killed 39 people, most of them from heart attacks or other medical events inside evacuation centers, according to government officials.

Related: The Deadliest Earthquakes in History

Elazig earthquake

(Image source: Bulent Kilic / AFP via Getty Images)

The seismic unrest continued in January in Turkey on January 24, when a magnitude 6.7 earthquake jolted Elazig Province. Although this earthquake was smaller than the one in northern Jamaica, it was more damaging: 41 people were reported killed and more than 1,000 injured. CNN reported that many of the deaths were caused by the collapse of buildings that trapped dozens under the rubble as they struggled Rescue teams to reach them. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the epicenter was relatively shallow, only 6.2 miles (10 km) away. Shallow earthquakes cause greater shaking at the surface, which increases earthquake intensity and damage.

Greater Australia

(Photo credit: Brook Mitchell / Getty)

At the beginning of 2020, the world watched with horror the bushfires that swept through Australia, merging into huge fires in Victoria and New South Wales. According to Eos, the 2019-2020 fire season in Australia has burned more than 29.7 million acres (12 million hectares) and killed at least 33 people and more than 1 billion animals. Research published in Earth’s Future in November 2020 collected the climate dominoes that led to this fiery disaster: long-term droughts, surface soil moisture, wind speed, relative humidity, heat waves, and moisture content of dead and bio-fuels. Fires. The ground cover with native eucalyptus and grazing lands was particularly vulnerable.

The Oaxaca earthquake

(Image credit: USGS)

On June 23, a powerful earthquake struck Oaxaca, Mexico, causing buildings to sway as far away as Mexico City. The US Geological Survey said the 7.4-magnitude quake had its epicenter 5.6 miles (9 km) southeast of Santa Maria Zadani on the coast of Oaxacan. Ten people were killed in buildings that collapsed as a result of the earthquake.

The earthquake occurred in the subduction zone where the Cocos Plate descends under the North American Plate. The movement of these two plates creates what are called reverse faults, which occur as the earth’s crust is compressed. One of these faults was that it slipped, causing the Oaxaca earthquake. This subduction zone also serves to make the southern Mexican coast generally active. According to the United States Geological Survey, the region has experienced at least four earthquakes of magnitude 8 or more in the past century.

Shake-up in Alaska

(Image credit: USGS)

The strongest earthquake of 2020 was the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck the coast of Alaska on July 22. The earthquake struck a thrust fault where one part of the sea floor slid over the other. This region off Alaska is another subduction zone, as the Pacific Plate slides under the North American Plate.

Fortunately, the Alaska Peninsula is sparsely populated, and no one died in the earthquake. Although a tsunami warning had been issued, no tsunami had materialized – a relief to the evacuated locals.

August Compound Fire, California

Coals detonate a burning tree after a LNU Lightning Complex fire in the area on August 18, 2020, in Napa, California. (Image source: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)

Just as Australia experienced a dramatic fire season, North America saw its share of flames once summer arrived in the Northern Hemisphere. California was particularly affected, with more than 4.1 million acres (1.65 million hectares) burned, 10,488 buildings destroyed and 33 deaths, according to CalFire. Among the fires that engulfed the landscape was the largest in recorded California history, the August Compound Fire. This fire consumed more than 1 million acres (400,000 ha) in the counties of Mendocino, Humboldt, Trinity, Tehama, Glen, Lake, and Colosa. It took three months to fully contain the fire, which began with lightning strikes on August 16 and 17.

Cameron Peak Fire, Colorado

(Image credit: NOAA)

While California was teetering from the August Compound Fire and other fires across the state, the Colorado Wildfire was also setting new records. The Cameron Peak Fire, which began on August 13, burned 20913 acres (84,544 ha), making it the largest wildfire in Colorado’s history as well as the state’s first wildfire to burn more than 200,000 acres (80,000 ha). The fires broke the previous record, which was set just a month earlier, when the Pine Gulch Fire, near Grand Junction, ignited 139,007 acres (56,254 ha). The Pine Gulch Fire was later shattered in third place due to the annoying East Fire, which broke out on October 14th. This means that the first three fires in Colorado’s history all occurred in 2020. They were triggered by drought, heat, and abundance of fuel: the Mountain Pine Beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) has killed vast areas of the state’s pine forests, partly due to warming temperatures due to climate change .

Fatal earthquake in Turkey

(Image Source: Usame Ari / Getty Images)

At 2:51 pm local time on October 30, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Turkey, killing 117 people and injuring more than 1,000. Two more people died in Greece.

The epicenter of the earthquake was in the Aegean Sea, and it caused small tsunamis that flooded the streets in Sverihisar district of Izmir. At least one person drowned. However, most of the deaths were due to building collapses in the Turkish city.

Turkey is located in a seismically complex region, with interactions between Africa, the Eurasian Plate and the Anatolian Plate. There have been 29 earthquakes of magnitude 6 or more in the region in the past 100 years, according to the United States Geological Survey.

Hurricane and

(Photo credit: NHC / NOAA)

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the record-breaking hurricane season in 2020 saw 30 massive named storms, 13 of which have turned into tornadoes. The season continued in all the names set for this year, from Arthur to Wilfred, and it dived across the Greek alphabet all the way to Iota. Of all these storms, Hurricane Eta was the deadliest, a Category 4 storm with sustained winds that peaked at 150 mph (240 km / h). Nearly 150 people in Central America lost their lives after many of them were buried in mudslides in Guatemala. The storm also caused losses estimated at $ 7.2 billion.

ETA was one of four Category 4 storms in 2020. The other storms were Hurricane Laura, Hurricane Teddy and Hurricane Delta.

Hurricane Iota

(Photo credit: NOAA / NESDIS / STAR)

The 2020 hurricane season brought one storm that reached Category 5 strength: Hurricane Iota, which had winds of 160 mph (260 km / h). Iota formed on November 13, making it the latest hurricane to harden into a Category 5 storm. (Category 5 hurricanes have endured winds of more than 157 mph, or 252 km / h.) The storm affected the Caribbean and Central America, parts of which were still reeling from ETA just weeks before. At least 45 people were killed, and scores were reported missing in the wake of the storm, according to the Herald Mail.

Fury of Stromboli

(Image credit: Seismologist)

The Italian volcano, Stromboli, is one of the most active volcanoes on Earth. It has been erupting continuously for about 2,000 years, according to Oregon State University. Most of the activity is minor – gas eruptions and lava blowing up over the rim of the volcano. Occasionally, Stromboli releases an even bigger rumble. This happened in November, when a large eruption sent a plume of ash into the air and a collapse from the lava flow – hot ash and gas – swept across the slopes of the volcano.

Related: The 11 Largest Volcanic Eruptions in History

Explosives Etna

(Image credit: Wead / Shutterstock)

With the end of 2020, Italy’s Mount Etna blew up a stream of glowing lava in the sky on December 14th, temporarily disrupting air travel and creating an impressive display of geological force. According to Volcano Discovery, ash releases continued into the next day, sending a plume 13,000 feet (4,000 meters) toward the sky.

Historians and ancient historians note that the Etna disturbances date back to at least 1500 BC, according to the Smithsonian Institution’s World Volcanology Program, although the history of the eruption dates back much earlier. The volcano has likely been active for about 500,000 years. Most of Etna’s volcanic activity does not threaten the surrounding population, but there have been major exceptions. In 1928, for example, the city of Mascali was completely destroyed by pyroclastic flows. Earthquakes related to volcano activity also threaten the area at times. For example, in December 2018, a 4.8-magnitude earthquake jolted Catania, injuring around 30 people.

Originally published on Live Science.

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