Is an earthquake possible in Novosibirsk?

On the morning of August 14, 2012, residents of the upper floors of high-rise buildings in Novosibirsk felt that the floor was shaking under their feet, and the window frames slammed. The first thing that occurred to the frightened people is that their city was hit by an earthquake. Novosibirsk has stirred up a wave of calls both to acquaintances and friends, and to the special service of the Civil Defense, which deals with emergencies in the local mayoralty. However, a preliminary inquiry to seismologists gave a discouraging answer: there were no underground tremors under the city, and in general in the region the devices were not recorded.

Then the military began to blame the occurred shocks: they say that they are using old ammunition at the Shilovo test site. The accusation was too heavy to ignore him, and by noon the official speaker of the Central District had issued a statement that no shells had been blown up on August 14 in the morning. True, the military acknowledged that the ammunition had been disposed of earlier, on the 13th. However, the "Destroyer P-40" system, through which the shells were eliminated, reduces the blast wave by 25 times. Therefore, as the service emphasized, only the residents of the villages nearest to the test site could hear muffled claps, possibly the rattling of glasses. But this could not be the trembling of the earth, which stirred distant Novosibirsk.

Earthquake on this day was indeed, but very far from Siberia. At seven in the morning the sensors recorded tremors all over Sakhalin. The epicenter was located at a depth of 500-600 kilometers in the Sea of Okhotsk, 170 kilometers from the coast of the island. Seismologists even managed to classify the strength of natural cataclysm on the Richter scale - seven points. No damage was caused by any destruction, human casualties and the threat of a tsunami. And those fluctuations of the soil, which the inhabitants of the largest city in Siberia described, fit into approximately 2-3 points. So was there an earthquake in Novosibirsk, or were there any echoes of a natural cataclysm in the Sea of Okhotsk?

For a long time it was believed that the South Siberia region is not dangerous in terms of tremors. But with the installation of seismological stations near the city, scientists revised their views. It turns out that between Novosibirsky and Berdskom quite often there are insignificant (1-2 points) tremors. And where it is thin, there and it is torn, as folk wisdom says. If there are small tremors, someday a major earthquake in Novosibirsk will certainly occur.

In the spirit of waiting for the End of the World, the inhabitants of the unofficial capital of Siberia began to anxiously await the onset of December 2012, especially on the 21st. However, "Day X" was not overshadowed by any natural disasters. But since January 2013, the Altai-Sayan Geophysical Service has regularly received notifications about the tremors that threaten the region. So, the earthquake in Novosibirsk occurred on January 24. Its epicenter with a power of 5 points was in the Altai Mountains, before the city came a wave of 2 points, lasting a couple of seconds. On February 10, a new surprise happened: again 1-2 points, but this time there are echoes from Khakassia, where the force of the cataclysm exceeded six points.

The last time the city was a little shaken on February 26, 2013. On this day, the seismological service recorded another earthquake in Novosibirsk. Like all the past, it was expressed in the rocking of chandeliers and the feeling that the floor is coming out from under your feet. The strongest tremors were recorded in 2003. Then the repeater tower - the tallest structure in the city - rocked for several minutes.