Mysterious earthquake swarm damages many villages in Galati, Eastern Romania: strange sounds like ‘boiling water’

Mysterious earthquake swarm damages many villages in Galati, Eastern Romania: strange sounds like ‘boiling water’

 

October 5, 2013 – ROMANIA — The Galati area experienced dozens of earthquakes up to a magnitude of 3.8 (last one just before writing this article). The quakes have an extremely shallow depth, have a relatively high shaking intensity and are causing a lot of damage in the villages near the epicenter areas (the epicenters have to be situated in an area of many kms and not in one location).

Some people are not waiting for more earthquakes and left their houses due to the damage, fearing a collapse if further quakes would strike. Galati is a region with relatively low seismic activity and earthquake swarms like the current events are only known from the newspapers in other regions/countries (ER could trace some unconfirmed reports that a number of earthquakes occurred in March 1894).

 

Residents and seismologists are very surprised and are trying to understand what is happening. Oil extraction and flooding where initially mentioned as  possible triggers but these reasons cannot explain why some other phenomenon like  a constant sound like “boiling water” (coming from the ground) and a strange water smell (like sulfur) is being noticed.Another reason the people are scared of are the big cracks appearing in the ground.

 

There is no question that the seismic activity is caused by flood or oil exploitation,” said Mihnea Costoiu, Minister for Higher Education, Scientific Research and Technological Development. Scientists  are saying that there was surely no big historic earthquake in the Galati area. Although scientists are absolutely not sure about what will happening in the near future, they are trying to prevent panic in the affected villages.