People stand next to large cracks in the pavement after evacuating into a street in the city of Wajima, Ishikawa prefecture, Japan on January 1, 2024, after a major 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck the Noto region in Ishikawa prefecture in the afternoon. Photo: AFP

A total of 129 earthquakes with the magnitude of 6 or above were recorded in 2023, displaying a characteristic of the seismic activities with the magnitude of 7 or above shifting from weak to strong, according to the statistics released by the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC) on Tuesday. 

Among the 129 earthquakes, 19 were recorded at a magnitude of 7 or above, with the most powerful two earthquakes with the magnitude of 7.8 recorded in Turkiye on February 6, 2023. 

The devastating earthquake rocked the southeast of Turkiye near the Syrian border with aftershocks numbering in the thousands leading to more than 42,300 deaths and over 108,000 people injured. 

The number of earthquakes of magnitude of 7 or above in 2023 remained consistent with the annual average frequency of 18 times since 1900, but significantly higher than the activity level of seven earthquake jolts with magnitude 7 or above in 2022. There appears a distinct shift for seismic activities of earthquakes with a magnitude of 7 or above on the globe from weak to strong.

According to CENC, there were noearthquakes across the world recorded at magnitude of 8 or above in 2023. The most recent 8-magnitude earthquake happened in the sea waters south to Alaska, the US on July 29, 2021, with a magnitude of .8.1. 

In 2023, 95 percent of earthquakes at a magnitude of 7 or above occurred in the Eurasian seismic belt and the northeast boundary of the Australian Plate. Among them, the Eurasian seismic belt experienced seven earthquakes with a magnitude of 7 or above, and the northeast boundary of the Australian Plate experienced 11 earthquakes with a magnitude of 7 or above. 

Between January and June of 2023, 14 earthquakes with a magnitude of 7 or above occurred globally, accounting for 73.7 percent of the total earthquakes throughout the year, demonstrating a relatively concentrated spatial and temporal distribution of seismic activities. 

In China, a total of 18 earthquakes of magnitude 5 or above occurred in 2023. The seismic activity level on the Chinese mainland was significantly lower than that of 27 times in 2022 and the historical average of 20 times. 

The 6.2-magnitude earthquake hit Jishishan county, Northwest China’s Gansu Province with impacted areas in Gansu and the neighboring Qinghai Province was the most severe earthquake recorded on the Chinese mainland in 2023. The earthquake has claimed 151 lives in total as of January 4, 2024. 

Global Times