User:Bakhos2010/sandbox2

On 24 May 2024, at 09:46 IST (08:46 UTC), a 6.2 earthquake struck 5.3 km northwest of Charleville, County Cork, Ireland. It is the largest earthquake in Ireland's history, and the largest in Northwestern Europe since 1756 Düren earthquake. At least 426 people died and 1,400 others injured.

Tectonic setting
Ireland is located on the Eurasian Plate, far from the boundaries of major tectonic plates, which results in a relatively low level of seismic activity compared to regions near plate margins. The country is situated in a stable intraplate setting, characterized by infrequent and generally low-magnitude earthquakes. The primary source of seismicity in Ireland is the reactivation of ancient faults in response to tectonic stresses transmitted through the lithosphere.

Earthquake
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported a moment magnitude of 6.2 and a focal depth of 5.2 km for the earthquake. The shock had a focal mechanism corresponding to strike-slip faulting. It is one of the strongest ever recorded in Ireland, the strongest in Northwestern Europe since 1756 Düren earthquake (6.4) and the strongest in Europe since 2019 Albania earthquake (6.4). It is also one of the deadliest earthquake since 2023 Herat earthquakes.

Aftershocks
Over 80 aftershocks were recorded within 24 hours of the 6.2 earthquake and over 100 recorded by May 2024. An aftershock measuring 5.0 occurred about 49 minutes after the mainshock. There were 3 aftershocks 4.0 or greater recorded within six hours of the main tremor, according to the USGS. The 6.2 earthquake had aftershocks distributed along ~100 km of the EAF.

Impact
There were 426 deaths; 223 in County Cork, 200 in County Limerick and 3 in County Clare and 1,400 injuries; 692 in County Cork, 625 in County Limerick and 83 in County Clare. At least 1 million people and 700,000 were affected. More than 1 million residents in the affected provinces were also evacuated to nearby provinces including Munster and Leinster. At least 2,000 houses and over 1,256 apartments were destroyed. At least 12 university buildings were affected, of which 5 were heavily damaged.

In County Cork, 223 people died and 692 others injured. 1,024 buildings collapsed, 1,941 were badly damaged and 3,245 were moderately damaged. 322 apartments were among the buildings that collapsed in the county.

In County Limerick, 200 people died and 625 others injured. 700 buildings collapsed, 1,214 were badly damaged and 2,121 were moderately damaged.

In County Clare, 3 people died; a man in his 60s died after jumping out of a window to escape, a man in his 40s died from a large landslide and a man in his 20s collapsed and was taken to the hospital but died. 274 buildings were collapsed, 277 were badly damaged and 312 were moderately damaged.

In County Kerry, 2 buildings collapsed and 1 were moderately damaged.