Russia-Japan earthquake: What is Pacific Ring of Fire that caused strongest quake in region since 1952? WION Explains

Russia-Japan earthquake: Russia was hit by a massive earthquake on Wednesday (July 30). The magnitude of the quake was 8.8 - which made it the strongest quake in the region since 1952. As the Far Eastern Kamchatka Peninsula region was struck, a widespread evacuation was started by the authorities. Not only that, the quake also triggered tsunami waves up to 4 metres high. As a result, Japan issued a tsunami warning from Hokkaido in the north to Wakayama Prefecture in the south. The Fukushima nuclear plant of Japan, which was massively struck by a tsunami in 2011, was also evacuated after the alert was issued.

One question that arose after this was how an earthquake whose epicentre was in Russia led to a tsunami in Japan. The answer is the Pacific Ring of Fire. It is a zone known for frequent earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis.

What is the Pacific Ring of Fire?

The Pacific Ring of Fire is a huge tectonic belt that spans the Pacific Ocean, touching coastlines in East Asia, the western Americas, and several Pacific islands. The countries that fall under this belt are: Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, New Zealand and some parts of the Aleutian Islands near Alaska.

The belt spans approximately 40,000 kilometres and encompasses almost 75 per cent of the world's active volcanoes, over 450 in total. Around 90 per cent of global earthquakes occur here. As per the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the ring's activities occur due to the movement of the Earth's crust.

In the case of Japan, the Pacific Plate slips under the Eurasian Plate and which triggers frequent quakes in the region. This also triggers volcanoes like Mount Fuji. The reason that the ring is also associated with tsunamis is because of frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions under the sea. The USGS explains that tsunamis are the result of underwater quakes.