Saturday 3 February 2018

Magnitude 4.4 Earthquake in the Dalmatia Region of Croatia.

The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 4.4 Earthquake at a depth of about 24.9 km, about 5 km to the southwest of the town of Donja Brela in the Dalmatia Region of Croatia slightly after 1.50 pm local time (slightly after 12.50 pm GMT) on Saturday 3 February 2018.There are no reports of any damage of or casualties associated with this event, but it was felt in the Dalmatia Region, and in neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The approximate location of the 3 February 2018 Dalmatian Earthquake. USGS.

The states of the western Balkan Peninsula form the eastern margin of the Adriatic Plate, a piece of the African Plate that has broken away and is now wedged into the southern part of the Eurasian Plate. This is being squeezed by the impact of Africa into Europe from the south, which is pushing western Italy, which sits on the Eurasian Plate, to the east, and Greece and Turkey, which sit on the Aegean and Anatolian Plates, to the west. This squeezing leads to uplift around the margins of the Adriatic Plate, in the Apennine Mountains of central Italy and the mountain ranges of the west Balkan Peninsula.
 
 Outline map showing the approximate positions of the Eurasian (EU), Adriatic (AD) and African (AF) Plates. Di Bucci & Mazzuli (2003).
 
Witness accounts of Earthquakes can help geologists to understand these events, and the structures that cause them. The international non-profit organisation Earthquake Report is interested in hearing from people who may have felt this event; if you felt this quake then you can report it to Earthquake Report here.
 
See also...
 
http://sciencythoughts.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/numerous-injuries-after-macedonian.htmlhttp://sciencythoughts.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/magnitude-39-earthquake-in-western.html
http://sciencythoughts.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/at-least-one-dead-following-landslide.htmlhttp://sciencythoughts.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/magnitude-50-earthquake-off-coast-of.html
http://sciencythoughts.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/five-dead-in-bosnian-mine-collapse.htmlhttp://sciencythoughts.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/magnitude-39-earthquake-in-western.html
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