U.S. Seismologist Says Venezuela, Japan, and California Quakes Were Unrelated

A U.S. seismologist said a series of strong earthquakes that struck Venezuela, Japan, and California on the same day were not connected. According to Jin10, after 06:00 (UTC+8) on June 25, Venezuela experienced multiple earthquakes above magnitude 7, and a magnitude 7.2 earthquake occurred shortly afterward off Japan’s northeastern coast. U.S. reports also said a magnitude 5.6 earthquake hit California on the same day. Asked whether the events were linked, senior Caltech seismologist Lucy Jones said they were not. She said the earthquakes occurred on different faults and at different plate boundaries, meaning one did not trigger another. Jones added that while timing can be coincidental, locations are not, and each quake occurred along well-known active plate boundaries where stress has built up for decades or even centuries. She said large earthquakes in such regions are an expected part of the natural cycle, although the exact timing cannot currently be predicted.