A series of earthquakes struck Kon Tum on October 5th, beginning with a significant tremor of magnitude 4.1 in Kon Plong district, approximately 30 kilometers from the district center. This initial quake was followed by two smaller aftershocks within the next half-hour.

At precisely 5:06pm, the Earthquake and Tsunami Warning Center recorded the first earthquake at 14.895°N, 108.191°E with a depth of 8.1 km. A minute later, another shake of magnitude 3.5 occurred at a nearby location with the same depth.

The day continued with another 3.3 magnitude tremor at 5:32 PM at the same depth, marking the third seismic event of the afternoon.

The Institute’s spokesperson assured, "Despite the frequency, all three earthquakes were classified with a zero natural disaster risk."

The seismic activity is under continuous surveillance by the Earthquake and Tsunami Warning Center. This area had previously experienced the largest recorded earthquake of magnitude 5 on July 28th, which caused noticeable damage to infrastructure and was felt throughout the Central Highlands and Central Vietnam.

The Director of the Geophysical Institute attributed these tremors to the region's hydroelectric reservoir activities. Historically, from 1903 to 2020, Kon Plong had only recorded about 33 earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or greater. From 2021 to August 2022, the frequency escalated to nearly 200 events.

Dinh Hieu