Colorado seismologist who predicted 4 earthquakes with magnitude higher than 8 warns of catastrophic mega tremors

Was the Saturday night magnitude 7.8 earthquake in Ecuador the big one or is it one of the four major tremors that would shake the Earth which a Colorado seismologist predicted? Following the powerful temblor that shook the Kumamoto Prefecture on Thursday night, University of Colorado seismologist Roger Bilham warned on Friday that current conditions could trigger at least four quakes with magnitudes greater than 8.

Bilham points out that if the four shakers are delayed, the strain it accumulates over the centuries could provoke more catastrophic mega earthquakes, reports Infowars. By Thursday, several temblors in Asia have been recorded before the Ecuador event.

Hours before the Japan quake, a magnitude 6.5 tremor hit Vanuatu and a 5.9 temblor rattled Mindanao, while a day before, the earth shook in Myanmar, registering magnitude 6.9. On April 10, a magnitude 6.6 earthquake hit Pakistan, preceded by a magnitude 4.2 in Nepal on April 8, a magnitude 5.5 also in Nepal on Feb 22, a magnitude 6.1 in China on Jan 20 and a magnitude 6.7 in India on Jan 4.

Part of the explanation, aside from the quake affected nations being in the Pacific Ring of Fire, is that there are 38 volcanoes around the world currently erupting, including Nyamuragira in Congo, Chirpoi in Russia and Dukono in Indonesia, reports Volcano Discovery.

Meanwhile, strong earthquakes sometimes come with powerful tsunamis. On Thursday, Renato Solidum, director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, says that a strong tremor in the Manila Trench could trigger tsunamis up to 11 feet tall which could hit Metro Manila after about an hour. Within minutes, the tall waves could hit Occidental Mindoro, Zambales, Batangas and Cavite.

On Sunday night, Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glas revealed that the magnitude 7.8 quake have killed 246 people and injured more than 2,500 people. The worst hit area was the coastal Manabi Province where the death toll reached 200, CNN reports.

Other areas devastated are in Manta, Puerto Viejo and Pedernales. A survivor from Guayaquil, 300 miles from the epicentre, describes that everyone in his neighbourhood was screaming, thinking it was the end of the world. Ecuador’s most populous city suffered from power outage, collapsed homes, buckled overpasses and the scent of death everywhere.

Glas declared a state of emergency across Ecuador. President Rafael Correa at that time was in Vatican and said he would return to the country on Sunday. The control tower at Manta Airport collapsed, forcing the closure of the gateway. The government closed oil pipelines and hydroelectric dams as precautionary measures, reports the New York Daily News.