Double earthquakes hit Atlantic: 'Knock-on effect' from string of tremors could mean US is next

Two major earthquakes hit the Atlantic Ocean on October 13, which are possibly part of the chain reaction from previous earthquakes this year. A geophysicist has warned that the energy could now have been transferred to the American fault plate and a major incident could strike US.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) detected two earthquakes in the Atlantic Ocean on October 13, which are likely part of a chain reaction taking place this year. A magnitude 6.7 quake struck at 1.44 am along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between Africa and South America. This region is already witnessing a slow split at the bottom of the ocean. The second quake was recorded at 8.23 am ET and measured 6.9.

This year multiple earthquakes have struck, including in Japan, Venezuela, Colombia and Panama and Indonesia. Geophysicist Stefan Burns told the Daily Mail that the Atlantic tremors were part of this sequence and the fault lines in America could be next. If this happens, it would be a major incident for the country, he said.

The Panama, Colombia and Venezuela earthquakes were triggered by seismic activity that struck the Caribbean plate, Burns said. He believes that the Atlantic Ocean earthquakes show how the seismic stress along that plate was now affecting the South American and African plates. He says this is called the "knock-on effect" in which the energy is transferred to the connecting plates. This means that the North American plate could be next.

A 2012 study published in the journal Nature showed that a powerful earthquakes could trigger more seismic activity across the world. Researchers from UC Berkeley and the USGS found that a magnitude 8.6 earthquake in the Indian Ocean shook different parts of the world in the following days. This included a magnitude 7.0 event in Baja California.