More earthquakes reported in Central Highlands region

More than 30 earthquakes have occurred in the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum over the past month with the strongest measuring 3.9 on the Richter Scale.

According to the Earthquake and Tsunami Warning Centre, the 3.9-Richter Scale earthquake was recorded in Kon Plong District, at around 6:10 on May 21 at a depth of 8.9 kilometres.

The district faced five consecutive earthquakes on Thursday, including one measuring at 3.5 on the Richter Scale.

Over the past month, most of the earthquakes have occurred near Thuong Kon Tum Hydropower Plant in Kon Plong District and some other districts such as Dak Ha, Ngoc Hoi and Kon Ray.

According to experts, the recent earthquakes in Kon Plong would be partially due to the water storage of Thuong Kon Tum Hydropower Plant that had become operational since March 24.

Associate Prof. Dr Cao Dinh Trieu, former deputy head of the Institute of Geophysics, said the areas where the earthquakes happened in Kon Tum are located on the fault system of Rao Quan-A Luoi. The system starts in Laos and stretches until the southern central province of Binh Dinh’s Quy Nhon City.

Earlier in 2011, a range of earthquakes were also recorded near Song Tranh 2 Hydropower Plant in the central province of Quang Nam with the biggest being 4.7 on the Richter Scale. This was blamed on the hydropower plant’s water storage. Apart from this, the earthquake areas are situated on the Rao Quan-A Luoi fault system.

Dr Nguyen Xuan Anh, Director of the Earthquake and Tsunami Warning Centre, said that the centre has installed more earthquake monitoring systems to help better assess the situation in the Central Highlands region.