Luanda – Angola has modern equipment capable of detecting the occurrence of earthquakes in the country as a result of the investment made by the Government in recent years.
The Government made large investments to provide the country with a modern National Seismic Network and state-of-the-art equipment.
According to a press release from the National Institute of Meteorology and Geophysics (INAMET), sent today to ANGOP, as part of this institution's modernization project, seismic stations were installed in several locations across the national territory.
It states that, recently, a seismic station was installed in the municipality of Caala, Huambo province, which will come into operation this month.
It reveals that the process of installing more seismic stations is underway, which should take place later this year.
On the 5th of this month, a seismic shock of magnitude 5.4 on the Richter Scale occurred, recorded at the Seismic Stations of the National Network, with the epicenter approximately 142 kilometers from the city of Mocamedes, Namibe province.
On the subject, according to the note, some media outlets approached it as if the occurrence of the earthquake and its consequences were the responsibility and incompetence of INAMET, which does not correspond to the truth.
They claim that INAMET must predict the occurrence of earthquakes to alert the competent authorities and the general population in a timely manner, in order to allow people to evacuate before this type of phenomenon occurs.
In order to restore veracity, INAMET clarifies, in the document, that there is no equipment or models capable of predicting the occurrence of earthquakes on a given date and location.
It informs, however, that there are models that are used to calculate the chances of an earthquake occurring in a given place, and the accuracy of these models is greater in places with a history of high rates of seismic activity, which is not the case in Angola.
“Several researchers have studied a range of potential signals that may indicate the imminent occurrence of a seismic shock, such as the growth of radon gas concentration, changes in electromagnetic activity, precursor shocks that signal the arrival of a greater change or deformation of the land surface, geochemical changes in water and unusual animal activities in the moments before a large earthquake. However, although there is evidence that could mean the arrival of an earthquake, such signs also occur even without the arrival of an earthquake”, he explains. LIN/MCN/OHA/DOJ
