A major earthquake has struck the world once again. This time, a\nmagnitude 7.4 earthquake shook western Colombia and caused severe damage\nin several cities.<\/p>\n
The earthquake occurred on Monday (10\/8\/2026) at 07.34 local time.\nAccording to data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the\nepicentre was near San Jos\u00e9 del Palmar, Choc\u00f3 Department, at a depth of\napproximately 107 kilometres.<\/p>\n
The earthquake was the strongest to hit Colombia in the past 34\nyears. The shaking damaged houses, multi-storey buildings, hospitals,\nschools, airports, roads and various public facilities.<\/p>\n
Pereira and Cali were the two cities that suffered the most severe\nimpact. A number of buildings collapsed, while thousands of residents\nwere forced to leave their homes for fear that already-cracked\nstructures would collapse due to aftershocks.<\/p>\n
As of Tuesday (11\/8\/2026), reports from several affected areas\nrecorded at least 254 deaths. A total of 101 victims were recorded in\nPereira and 95 in Cali. Search operations were still ongoing as\nresidents were believed to remain trapped beneath the rubble.<\/p>\n
More than 100 aftershocks had also been recorded by Tuesday\nafternoon. The Colombian government declared a national state of\nemergency and deployed soldiers, police, rescue workers and volunteers\nto the affected areas.<\/p>\n
The earthquake occurred in the South American subduction zone, where\nthe Nazca Plate is moving beneath the South American Plate. USGS\nanalysis indicates the earthquake was triggered by a strike-slip\nmechanism, namely the horizontal displacement of two sections of rock\nwithin the Nazca Plate that had subducted to a depth of more than 100\nkilometres.<\/p>\n
The Colombia earthquake adds to the long list of major earthquakes\nthat have shaken the world throughout 2026. Based on the USGS catalogue\nup to 10 August 2026, there have been 10 earthquakes with a magnitude of\nat least 7.1.<\/p>\n
The strongest earthquake occurred in the Philippines with a magnitude\nof 7.8. The next positions were occupied by magnitude 7.5 earthquakes in\nVenezuela and Tonga. Meanwhile, the Colombia earthquake was in fourth\nplace together with two earthquakes of the same magnitude in Japan and\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
The following is a list of the 10 largest earthquakes in the world\nthroughout 2026 up to 10 August.<\/p>\n
First place was occupied by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck\nthe southern Philippines on Monday (8\/6\/2026). The epicentre was\napproximately 25 kilometres southwest of Kablalan at a depth of 57\nkilometres.<\/p>\n
The shaking was felt strongly in General Santos and several other\nareas on the island of Mindanao. The tremors even reached Manado, which\nis approximately 420 kilometres from the epicentre.<\/p>\n
A number of buildings collapsed, while hospitals, schools, roads and\nhomes suffered damage. The earthquake also triggered landslides and cut\noff electricity and water supplies in several areas.<\/p>\n
A tsunami warning was briefly issued in the Philippines, Indonesia\nand Malaysia. A small tsunami wave was later detected before the warning\nwas lifted.<\/p>\n
The disaster caused dozens of deaths, more than 1,000 injuries and\ndamage to tens of thousands of homes.<\/p>\n
The second-largest earthquake occurred in Venezuela on Wednesday\n(24\/6\/2026). The epicentre was approximately 17 kilometres west of Catia\nLa Mar at a depth of only 10 kilometres.<\/p>\n
This earthquake occurred only about 39 seconds after a magnitude 7.2\nearthquake struck an area near San Felipe. The very short time interval\nled to the two events being described as a doublet earthquake.<\/p>\n
The shaking damaged Caracas, La Guaira, Catia La Mar and several\nother areas in northern Venezuela. Multi-storey buildings, hospitals,\nroads, bridges and public facilities suffered severe damage.<\/p>\n
Airports and transport services were temporarily halted, while\nelectricity and communication networks experienced disruption. The death\ntoll subsequently continued to rise until it reached thousands, making\nit one of the deadliest earthquake disasters of 2026.<\/p>\n
The shallow earthquake was triggered by strike-slip movement near the\nboundary between the Caribbean Plate and the South American Plate. The\nmovement caused two sections of the Earth\u2019s crust to shift\nhorizontally.<\/p>\n
A large magnitude is not always followed by major damage. This was\nevident when a magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck the waters of Tonga on\nTuesday (24\/3\/2026).<\/p>\n
The epicentre was approximately 158 kilometres west of Neiafu.\nHowever, the earthquake occurred deep within the Earth at a depth of\napproximately 234 kilometres.<\/p>\n
That depth helped reduce the strength of the shaking that reached the\nsurface. The USGS recorded that the earthquake was triggered by a normal\nfaulting mechanism at intermediate depth.<\/p>\n
Tongan authorities briefly asked residents in coastal and low-lying\nareas to move to higher ground. The warning was lifted about two hours\nlater after no tsunami threat was found.<\/p>\n
There were no reports of casualties or major damage from the\nearthquake.<\/p>\n
The latest earthquake in Colombia occupies fourth place in the list\nof the world\u2019s largest earthquakes in 2026, which has only been running\nfor eight months.<\/p>\n
With a magnitude of 7.4, the earthquake ranks below the Philippines\nM7.8 and the two M7.5 earthquakes in Venezuela and Tonga. Its strength\nis equivalent to the earthquakes that struck Japan and Indonesia in\nApril 2026.<\/p>\n
An earthquake of the same magnitude, 7.4, also struck the waters off\nthe northeast coast of Japan. The earthquake occurred on Monday\n(20\/4\/2026), with the epicentre approximately 102 kilometres northeast\nof Miyako at a depth of about 25 kilometres.<\/p>\n
The earthquake triggered a tsunami warning along the coasts of Iwate\nand Aomori Prefectures. Local authorities issued evacuation orders\ncovering more than 176,000 residents.<\/p>\n
A tsunami wave of about 80 centimetres was later detected along the\ncoast. The tsunami warning was downgraded to an advisory after the\nrecorded wave was lower than initial estimates.<\/p>\n
A number of high-speed train services were halted and several roads\nwere closed for inspection. There were no initial reports of casualties\nor major damage, while nuclear facilities in the surrounding area were\nreported to remain safe.<\/p>\n
Indonesia also made the list after a major earthquake struck the\nMaluku Sea on 2 April 2026.<\/p>\n
The earthquake also had a magnitude of 7.4. Its epicentre was\napproximately 129 kilometres southeast of Bitung at a depth of 35\nkilometres.<\/p>\n
Strong shaking was felt in Bitung, Manado, Ternate and several areas\nin North Sulawesi and North Maluku. Initial BMKG parameters showed a\ndifferent magnitude before being updated through further analysis.<\/p>\n
The earthquake triggered a tsunami early warning. Waves were later\ndetected in five areas with a maximum height of about 0.75 metres in\nNorth Minahasa.<\/p>\n
At least one person died and several others were injured. Hundreds of\nbuildings were also reported damaged, while coastal residents\ntemporarily evacuated to higher ground.<\/p>\n
The earthquake was triggered by rock deformation with a thrust\nfaulting mechanism in the Maluku Sea region, which has a highly complex\ntectonic structure.<\/p>\n
A magnitude 7.3 earthquake also struck the southern coast of Mexico\non 17 July 2026. The epicentre was approximately 52 kilometres west of\nPuerto Madero, Chiapas State, at a depth of about 22 kilometres.<\/p>\n
The shaking was felt as far as Guatemala and El Salvador. Residents\nin several cities rushed out of buildings, while the government\nactivated emergency procedures to inspect the condition of homes, roads,\nbridges and public facilities.<\/p>\n
A tsunami warning was issued for the southern coast of Mexico and\nGuatemala. Relevant authorities estimated sea level changes of about one\nmetre in several areas.<\/p>\n
Although the epicentre was relatively shallow, there were no reports\nof casualties or major damage. A number of aftershocks with magnitudes\nof 5 to 6 were recorded after the main earthquake.<\/p>\n
Residents of Espiritu Santo Island at the end of the first quarter of\nthis year also felt a major jolt when a magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck\nVanuatu on Monday (30\/3\/2026).<\/p>\n
The epicentre was approximately 51 kilometres northeast of\nLuganville, the second-largest city in the island nation. The earthquake\nwas recorded at a depth of about 120.6 kilometres.<\/p>\n
The USGS said the earthquake was triggered by an oblique-thrust\nfaulting mechanism. The depth of the epicentre meant its surface impact\nwas more limited.<\/p>\n
There were no reports of casualties or major damage. The United\nStates Tsunami Warning Center also confirmed that the earthquake did not\npose a tsunami threat.<\/p>\n
Before the magnitude 7.5 earthquake devastated several areas of\nVenezuela, a first earthquake with a magnitude of 7.2 occurred near San\nFelipe.<\/p>\n
The earthquake took place on 24 June 2026, with the epicentre about\n20 kilometres east of San Felipe. Its depth was only about 10\nkilometres.<\/p>\n
The first earthquake had already damaged and weakened the structure\nof a number of buildings. About 39 seconds later, the second, stronger\nearthquake magnified the damage and brought down buildings that had\npreviously cracked.<\/p>\n
Both earthquakes were triggered by strike-slip movement near the\nboundary between the Caribbean Plate and the South American Plate. The\nrelease of energy in two large earthquakes occurring almost\nsimultaneously made the disaster impact even more widespread.<\/p>\n
The death toll from the two earthquakes cannot be separated because\nthe timing and affected areas were very close.<\/p>\n
The Malaysia earthquake was the deepest event among the ten largest\nearthquakes of 2026. Its epicentre was approximately 629 kilometres\nbelow the Earth\u2019s surface.<\/p>\n
The magnitude 7.1 earthquake occurred beneath the Sabah region on\nMonday (23\/2\/2026) local time. Its location was approximately 57\nkilometres northwest of Kota Belud.<\/p>\n
Despite its large magnitude, the shaking that reached the surface was\nrelatively limited because the epicentre was very deep. The tremors were\nonly reported to be felt lightly in several areas of Sabah and the\nsurrounding region.<\/p>\n
There were no reports of major damage or casualties. The earthquake\nalso did not pose a tsunami threat.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/monster-earthquakes-increasingly-shaking-the-planet-this-year-where-are-they-occurring-1786514018", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }