Spatiotemporal analysis of fatal earthquakes between 1800 and 2015 at a global scale

Abstract

Earthquakes are catastrophic natural disasters and along with their aftereffects, they have caused significant fatalities, injuries and economic losses throughout history, and have changed the landscape physically. There is a need to understand the distribution and associated damage patterns of earthquakes to be better prepared and to ensure mitigation of damage in the future. This study analyses the spatial and spatiotemporal trends of earthquake occurrence and associated fatality at a global scale over the 215-year period between 1800 and 2015. Spatial and spatiotemporal analyses revealed that certain countries in Asia including Türkiye, China, India, Pakistan and Indonesia suffered the most both in terms of fatality and earthquake occurrence. There were significant spatiotemporal clusters of earthquake occurrence over this time period on the southern half of Asia, Türkiye and southwest Europe and northern Africa. The findings of the study provide a spatial and spatiotemporal characterization of fatal earthquakes and improve our understanding of these patterns at the global scale. Spatial analyses covering longer time intervals at regional and global scales should be undertaken in future studies to provide a more comprehensive understanding of earthquake occurrence and associated damage patterns