History of earthquakes in Belarus. The elements destroyed temples. Mexico shook: can a strong earthquake happen in Belarus too? Was there an earthquake in Belarus

The territory of Belarus, in accordance with seismotectonic zoning, belongs to a weakly active zone. Within the study area, according to literary and archival data, as well as instrumental observations (bulletins of seismic stations Minsk, Naroch, Soligorsk, Brest, Gomel, Glushkevichi), seismic events with magnitude M< 4,5. В каталог сейсмических событий Беларуси с исторических времен по 2006 г. вошло 863 сейсмических события.

The first mention of an earthquake on May 10, 1230 is in the Laurentian and Nikon chronicles. The earthquake caused the destruction of stone churches. On December 22, 1887, an earthquake with a magnitude of up to 6-7 points occurred in the Borisov district, accompanied by a strong rumble and flying glasses. Data are also given on other earthquakes near Belarus in the vicinity of Bialystok on January 8, 1808, in the current Chernihiv region- July 23, 1905. According to the Nasha Niva magazine and the Lithuanian Courier newspaper, on December 15, 1909, an earthquake occurred on the territory of the current Ostrovets region, as a result of which a moat up to one verst long was formed on the surface of the earth.

The Carpathian earthquakes are noticeably felt in Belarus. An earthquake with an epicenter in the Vrancea region on March 4, 1977 with a magnitude of 7.1 caused an uneven shaking with an intensity of 4-5 points in Belarus, and in some areas (western and northwestern parts of the republic, northeast of the Pripyat trough) the earthquake was not felt. Apparently, this is due to the deep structure earth's crust, with the existence of waveguide channels that favor the propagation of seismic waves in certain directions, in which the waves are anomalously attenuated.

On May 10, 1978, an earthquake with an intensity of 5 points occurred in the Soligorsk region. It was registered by seismic stations "Minsk" and "Obninsk".

During 1983-1985. Seismic events (30-40 events per year) were registered by the short-period installation of the Soligorsk console, as well as by the Turtle installations.

During the entire observation period Six earthquakes occurred on the territory of Belarus, which had a tangible character. Their characteristics are given in table 9.1.

A map of the epicenters of seismic events is shown in Figure 9.24. It is based on the catalog of seismic events in Belarus for 1887-2006. The size of the circles on the map corresponds to earthquakes of energy classes from 7 to 12.

An analysis of the position of the epicenters shows a pronounced unevenness of their distribution over the area. Only single shocks were observed in the north of Belarus, which is connected, on the one hand, with the impossibility of determining the coordinates of many weak earthquakes (only two seismic stations operate in this territory), and on the other hand, with low seismic activity. At the same time, the tangible historical earthquakes of 1887 and 1908 occurred in the northern part of the region. A high concentration of epicenters is observed in the southern part of Belarus within the Pripyat trough. Plots advanced level seismicity are also located to the north of it.

A comparison of the distribution of earthquake epicenters with the fault tectonics of the region shows that the sources of shocks are located in the zone of faults of various types and directions, and, as will be shown below, tend mainly to modern active faults laid down in the pre-platform time.

In the second half of the 90s of the last century, work was carried out on the general seismic zoning of the Belarusian-Baltic region (R.E. Aizberg, A.G. Aronov, R.G. Garetsky). The general seismic zoning of a territory is understood as a complex of geological and geophysical, seismological, seismotectonic studies to identify zones of possible occurrence of earthquake sources (WHO), both local and remote, to determine the seismological characteristics of these zones and calculate the intensity of seismic impact in points (MSK-64 scales ) in the study area for average soil conditions (taking into account the frequency of shaking).

Comparison of the distribution of epicenters of historical and tangible instrumentally recorded earthquakes with tectonic faults in the region shows that seismic events are mainly manifested in fault zones, especially in areas of their intersection. Thus, the epicenter of the earthquake that occurred on July 8, 1980 (M = 2.5) is located 30 km east of the tangible historical earthquake of 1887 and gravitates towards the Chashnik pre-platform superregional fault. According to the seismotectonic

Table 9.1 Perceptible tremors of the earth's crust on the territory of Belarus (Aronov, 2007)

Figure 9 24 - Map of seismicity and main faults in the territory of Belarus for the period 1887-2008 (Aronov, 2007):

1 - magnitude of earthquakes; 2 epicenters of historical earthquakes; 3 - perceptible instrumentally recorded earthquakes; 4 - city; 5 - seismic station; 6- state border; 7-8 - faults penetrating the cover: 7 - super-regional, limiting the largest supra-order structures, 8 - regional and sub-regional; 9-10 - faults that do not penetrate into the cover: 9 - super-regional, delimiting largest areas different ages processing, 10 - regional and sub-regional; 11 - faults: 1 - Oshmyansky, 2 - Naliboksky, 3 - Svis-lochekiy, 4 - Divinsky, 5 - North-Ratnovsky, 6 - South-Ratnovsky, 7 - North-Pripyatsky, 8 - Surazhsky, 9 - Lyakhovichsky, 10 - Rechitsky, 11 - Chervonoslobodsko-Malodushinsky, 12 - Kopatkevichsky, 13 - Shestovichsky, 14 - Skolodinsky, 15 - Narovlyansky, 16 - Yelsky, 17 - South Pripyatsky, 18 - Loevsky, 19 - North Dneprovsky, 20 - South Dneprovsky, 21 - Polotsky, 22 - Losto-Kosky, 23 - Korelichsky, 24 - Vyzhevsko-Minsky, 25 - Borisovsky, 26 - Chashniksky, 27 - Beshenkovichi, 28 - Stokhodsko-Mogilevsky, 29 - Krichevsky, 30 - Chechersky, 31 - Perzhansko-Simonovichsky, 32 - Vitebsk.

On the map of the west of the Belarusian-Baltic region, the earthquake is confined to the Minsk seismogenic zone, its Borisov seismogenic subzone, within which earthquakes with a magnitude Mmax = 3.7 can occur. The epicenter of the earthquake that occurred on August 29, 1990 (M = 2.1) is located in the northern part of the territory near the intersection zone of the preplatform superregional faults - Polotsk (sublatitudinal strike) and Korelichi (submeridional strike), to the east of the Daugavpils seismogenic zone. Within its limits, earthquakes with a magnitude of 4.5 can occur. The epicenter of the perceptible earthquake that occurred on March 16, 1998 (M = 1.9) is confined to the intersection of the Lyakhovichi regional fault and the Stokhodsko-Mogilev superregional pre-platform fault. It is controlled by the North Pripyat seismogenic zone, its Luban seismogenic subzone, within which earthquakes with a magnitude of up to 4.0 can occur. The epicenter of the earthquake that occurred on May 16, 1999 (M = 2.5) is located at the western end of the Skolodinsk regional fault. It is confined to the Central Pripyat seismogenic zone, within which earthquakes with a magnitude of 3.5 can occur. The epicenter of the earthquake that occurred on May 13, 2005, was localized to the west of the junction zone of the Borisov and Stokhod-Mogilev super-regional pre-platform faults. It is confined to the Minsk seismogenic zone, which is part of the Svisloch potentially seismogenic subzone, within which earthquakes with a magnitude of up to 3.7 can occur.

Features of the spatial distribution of earthquakes in the junction zone of the northwestern part of the Pripyat trough and the Belarusian anteclise were studied on the basis of earthquake data for 1983-2006. Comparison of the space-time distribution of earthquake sources with the tectonic characteristics of the region shows that most of the faults here are highly active in seismic terms. The predominant number of weak seismic shocks is concentrated along faults of various generations and directions or their links, i.e. weak earthquakes in in general terms trace the fault. Earthquakes are observed to be associated with the following faults: pre-platform submeridional strike - Stokhodsko-Mogilev, Krichev, Vyzhev-Minsk and Hercynian synrift sublatitudinal strike - North Pripyat, Lyakhovichi, Rechitsa, Chervonoslobodsko-Malodushinsky, Kopatkevichsky, Shestovichsky, Skolodinsky. Individual earthquakes fall into the intersection zones of platform sublatitudinal and preplatform submeridional faults.

The question of the nature of the Soligorsk earthquakes is very relevant in scientific and practical terms. Taking into account the long-term changes in the stress state of the geological environment caused by the excavation and movement of rocks and their storage in salt dumps, it can be assumed that the Soligorsk earthquakes are associated with induced seismicity and are predominantly technogenic in nature. However, manifestations of seismicity outside the zone of industrial workings serve as a sign that from a certain time the seismic process begins to be controlled mainly by regional geodynamic factors and to a lesser extent depends on the work of mining enterprises. This statement is substantiated by at least three facts: firstly, by the "gravitation" of the main mass of epicenters to the areas of intersection of fault zones, including the deep pre-platform Stokhodsko-Mogilev zone. Secondly, the almost complete lack of connection between the intensity of underground mining and seismicity. Thirdly, the vast majority of events take place outside the mine fields. This is a characteristic phenomenon for induced mine seismicity, when, as a result of the evolution of the seismic process, the area of ​​epicenters expands over time. For example, the dynamics of spatiotemporal migration of the zone of grouping of earthquake epicenters manifests itself as follows. Grouping zone of earthquake epicenters in 1983 and 1988 is located in the western part of the epicentral region and is scattered along deep faults: Stokhodsko-Mogilev, Rechitsa, Lyakhovichi.

Based on the synthesis of new seismological and geological data, the following are currently identified: the Borisov seismogenic subzone with a magnitude M max = 3.7 (an earthquake that occurred on July 8, 1980, with M = 2.5); Oshmyany seismogenic zone with magnitude M max = 4.5 (earthquake that occurred on February 27, 1987, with M = 2.5); Luban seismogenic subzone with magnitude Мmax = 4.0 (perceptible earthquake that occurred on March 16, 1998, with М = 1.9); Central Pripyat seismogenic zone with magnitude M max = 3.5 (earthquake that occurred on May 16, 1999, with M = 2.5); Svisloch potential seismogenic subzone with magnitude M max = 3.7 (earthquake that occurred on May 13, 2005, with M = 2.8).

Earthquakes were registered in Soligorsk region on January 13, 16 and 17. Their epicenters were at a depth of 25.7 km, 17.4 km and 18.8 km. The maximum magnitude of the latter is 2.5 points.

This is reported in the operational weekly review. seismic environment Center for Geophysical Monitoring of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus.
Screenshot from the operational weekly survey of the seismic situation of the Center for Geophysical Monitoring of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus (cgm.org.by) That is, on the surface, the inhabitants of nearby villages and Soligorsk did not feel anything. Earthquake epicenter coordinates in Soligorsk region.

Why is this happening

Belarus is located in the western part of the East European Platform. And the platform is a rather stable and motionless place. That is, our country is located in a zone of weak seismic activity. There have never been destructive earthquakes on the territory of Belarus.

At the same time, for Sluchchina, such an earthquake cannot be called something out of the ordinary. And that's why.

On the territory of the Soligorsk region, there is a redistribution of stresses in the earth's crust in connection with the extraction of minerals, which provokes tectonic activity.

Those earthquakes that were registered by instruments in Belarus were observed in the Soligorsk mining region. They were in 1978, 1983, 1985 and two in 1998. The strength of these earthquakes is small - within magnitude 3. The last two were generally weak, but their depth was small, so people on the surface felt the swaying and movement of objects.

In 2013, "Kur" er "wrote that. This happened on an August night, when the anthem of Belarus was playing on the radio. But then the earthquake was artificial.

January 22, 2016, Slutsk district "" earthquake, which, however, almost no one noticed. The epicenter was located at a depth of 3.89 km near the village of Iserno, Slutsk region. Its magnitude was imperceptible - 0.3 points - and was recorded only by seismic instruments.

REFERENCE "KUR" ERA. Recall that in 1986 a wave of a strong earthquake in Romania reached our region. It was recorded not only by instruments, but also by the inhabitants of our region. Residents of Slutsk recall that chandeliers staggered in apartments and houses, crockery rattled.

Similar echoes of the earthquake in the Carpathians were in 1977. So-called deep-focus earthquakes happen there, the waves from which reach Belarus. A seismically unstable area is the Vrancea Mountains in the eastern Carpathians in northern Romania. There, seismic sources appear at a depth of up to 200 kilometers, and seismic waves propagate over long distances.

Earthquakes in our region:

• 1978, Soligorsk, 4-5 points on the MSK-64 scale.
• 1983, 40 km from Soligorsk, 4-5 points
• 1985, 10 km from the town of Glusk, Soligorsk district, 3-4 points
• 1998, Pogost village (10 km from Soligorsk), 4-5 points
• 1998, Iserno village (13 km from Soligorsk), 2-3 points.

That is, the strongest felt like this:

4 points. Intensive. It is recognized by the slight rattling and vibration of objects, dishes and window panes, the creaking of doors and walls. Inside the building, the shaking is felt by most people.

5 points. Pretty strong. In the open air it is felt by many, inside the houses - by everyone. General shaking of the building, furniture swaying. The pendulums of the clock stop. Cracks in window panes and plaster. The awakening of the sleepers. It is felt by people outside buildings, thin branches of trees sway. Doors slam.

REFERENCE. In the region, continuous round-the-clock observations of earthquakes are conducted by the seismic station Soligorsk. They started on February 20, 1983.

Geographic coordinates of the station: 52.84 N; 27.47 E, it is located 9 km northwest of Soligorsk. The seismic receivers are installed in salt mine of the second mining department of the association "Belaruskali". For this purpose, a drift was identified in the industrial zone of the third potash horizon at a depth of 600 meters from the earth's surface or -436 meters from sea level. Registration equipment is installed in the building of the mining department on the surface.

The earthquake in Japan on March 11 excited not only the Japanese, but the entire globe. Throughout history, scientists have recorded a couple of earthquakes of this magnitude - 12 points.

This year our planet has already been shaken by the strongest earthquakes with a magnitude above 7 on the coast of Central Chile on January 2, on the Loyalty Islands on January 13 and in southwestern Pakistan on January 18.

Is it safe in Belarus? This question was answered by the head of the department of the Center for Geophysical Monitoring of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, candidate of geological and mineralogical sciences Tatiana Aronova.

- Is Belarus in a seismically active zone?

Belarus is located in the western part of the East European platform. And the platform is a place quite stable and motionless. So our country is in a zone of weak seismic activity.

In Europe, the southern regions, the so-called Trans-Asian seismic belt, are most susceptible to seismic impact. A lot of earthquakes happen in Turkey, Greece, Italy - all over mediterranean.

For us, the most painful point is the earthquakes that occur in Romania. The centers originate in the Eastern Carpathians (Vrancea zone), where deep-focus earthquakes occur, the waves from which reach Belarus. There were such earthquakes in 1940, 1977, 1986. The waves of these earthquakes swept across Belarus and even reached Moscow.

Floods do not threaten us either, in the worst case, spring flooding. We are far enough from the coastal zone to be subject to such cataclysms.

- But we had earthquakes?

There were 9 earthquakes in total on the territory of Belarus. 4 of them are historical and 5 are instrumentally recorded. Historical earthquakes were recorded from the words of residents who felt the rocking of objects on the earth's surface, the clanging of dishes, the creaking of furniture and floors. Based on this information, calculations were carried out and the magnitude of earthquakes and maximum amount points. Those earthquakes that were registered by instruments in Belarus were observed in the Soligorsk mining region. These are earthquakes in 1978, 1983, 1985 and two in 1998. The strength of these earthquakes was small - within magnitude 3. The last two were generally weak, but their depth was small, so people on the surface felt the swaying and movement of objects. In Soligorsk, there is a redistribution of stresses in the earth's crust due to mining, which provokes tectonic activity

- We had an earthquake in which buildings collapsed?

No, there have never been destructive earthquakes on the territory of Belarus. In 2004, waves from the earthquake that occurred in the Kaliningrad region were felt in Belarus. In the central zone, it caused destruction and even there were breaks in the earth's crust, while we had only effects. Those who at that time were on high floors felt a strong rocking of the building, saw objects falling, but nothing more. The higher you are from the ground, the stronger the feeling of an earthquake will be, the stronger it will sway. On the territory of Belarus, neither in the historical period, nor now, strong destructive earthquakes were observed and, most likely, will not be, since we are on the platform territory, and, moreover, on the old continental plate.

- Are there zones of seismic activity in Belarus?

Based on the data that we receive from five seismic stations (Minsk, Naroch, Polotsk, Mogilev and Soligorsk), we have compiled a map of the seismotectonic activity of the territory of Belarus. We call seismically active zones those zones in the region of which earthquakes have already occurred or those in which they are theoretically possible. On this map, taking into account the fault tectonics and earthquakes that we happened to observe, active zones are highlighted where seismic activity can be. But whatever it is, there can be no earthquakes on our territory even with a magnitude higher than 4.5.

They will not reach us in sensations, but the instruments sense it. Surface the globe seismic waves run around several times after an earthquake. For two hours after the shocks in Japan, our instruments showed and recorded seismic waves, but we did not feel anything. Our devices record all the world's earthquakes with magnitude 5 and above, in Europe - with magnitude 4 and above. People can feel the effects of these earthquakes up to 500 kilometers from the epicenter, depending on the magnitude of the earthquake, but no more.

- With what accuracy do modern scientists predict earthquakes?

In the UK, France and Russia there are seismological centers that collect information from all seismic stations in the world, data from Belarusian stations are also presented there. Seismological bases and maps are compiled there. Countries with high seismic activity are engaged in earthquake forecasts. By indirect and calculated factors, they try to determine the place, strength and time of earthquakes. But, as practice has shown, these calculations are justified only in terms of area and strength. At present, no one can give such information for sure. There was an unfortunate false forecast in China in 1975. Scientists were waiting for an earthquake with a magnitude above 7, declared an alarm, evacuated people, but the earthquake did not happen. But a year later there was a very strong earthquake with destruction and casualties, the Chinese could not predict it.

Scientists of all countries in the seismological forecast pay great attention to foreshock activity (foreshocks are earthquakes before the main shock, and aftershocks are earthquakes after the main shock), but it is possible to predict an earthquake only for several days. What will happen in the source of the earthquake, and even more so the mechanism of movement - no one will know this until the earthquake itself occurs. Each earthquake has its own mechanism - thrust, fault or shift.

Recently, strong earthquakes have occurred quite often: last year - in Haiti, this year - in Chile, Pakistan, Japan. What is happening to the Earth?

The earth is an organism that is constantly in motion. Therefore, earthquakes are inevitable, they are directly related to the geological evolution of the planet.

One more moment. Everyone around says that the earth's axis has shifted greatly after the earthquake in Japan, but it is already in constant motion. Before this earthquake, there were two strong earthquakes in Chile. This is a country of another continent. That earthquake could have pushed the axle one way, but this earthquake pushed it the other way. It turns out that they balance each other.

Earthquakes in Belarus

Strength, MSK-64 scores

Borisov

Mogilev

Mogilev

Gudogai village,

Soligorsk

40 km from Soligorsk

10 km from the town of Glusk, Soligorsk district

Pogost village (10 km from Soligorsk)

Iserno village (13 km from Soligorsk)

Help "KP"

Points - the effect of an earthquake on the surface of the earth.

Magnitude is the strength at the location of an earthquake.

INTERESTING TO KNOW

The strongest earthquakes in the last two centuries

Magnitude Where and when

9.5 Chile 1960

9.2 Prince William Sound, Alaska 1964

9.1 North Sumatra, Indonesia 2004

9.0 East coast of Honshu, Japan 2011

9.0 Kamchatka, Russia 1952

8.8 Colombia - Ecuador 1906.

8.8 Coast of Chile 2010

8.7 Rat Islands, Aleuts 1965

8.6 Assam - Tibet 1950

8.6 Andreyanovsky Islands, Alaska 1957

8.6 North Sumatra, Indonesia 2005

HAVE A QUESTION

Is the Belarusian nuclear power plant being built in a seismically active zone?

The earthquake that occurred in the Ostrovets region in 1908 had a magnitude of 6-7. Protection at a nuclear power plant under construction is provided for above these values, - Vladimir Gorin, deputy chief engineer of the nuclear power plant construction directorate, comments to Komsomolskaya Pravda. - In general, there are still doubts whether there was an earthquake at all. At that time, there were almost no seismic stations, all descriptions were from the words of eyewitnesses. Some scientists are still arguing whether it was their own Gudogai earthquake or echoes of the Italian earthquake, which provoked powerful aftershocks throughout Europe.

During the construction of projects of this type, sensors and seismic protection systems are used that prevent damage to equipment during an earthquake of more than 8 magnitudes. In Japan, seismic protection has fulfilled its function completely, the reactors were shut down automatically. The problem arose not during, but after the earthquake, when a tsunami wave passed and destroyed the cooling water supply system. Our project has all degrees of protection against all earthquakes that may be in our seismic active zone. There is no need to make any adjustments.

But are there earthquakes in Belarus? Should the inhabitants of our country be afraid of such devastating consequences as in Japan?

In fact, earthquakes in Belarus occur every year. it's just that only devices notice them. Seismic vibrations in our country occur for two reasons: firstly, transit shocks due to earthquakes, the sources of which are outside our borders; secondly, earthquakes that originate directly in the bowels of Belarus.

The territory of our republic is located in the western part of the East European platform, - explains the head of the department of the Center for Geophysical Monitoring of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus Tatiana ARONOVA in an interview with Obozrevatel. - There are practically no mountain building processes in this geological region, and, as a result, there is no strong seismic activity in Belarus either. Therefore, we should not be afraid of strong earthquakes with foci in our territory. However, the echoes of various distant shocks reach us constantly. The seismically unstable region closest to the borders of our country is the Vrancea Mountains in the eastern Carpathians in northern Romania. There, seismic sources appear at a depth of up to 200 kilometers, and seismic waves propagate over long distances. The most palpable tremors on our territory were in 1977 and 1986, which were noted not only by instruments, but were also noticed by the population (chandeliers swayed, dishes rattled), just as a result of earthquakes in the mountains of Romania. In September 2004, a series of earthquakes occurred in the Kaliningrad region, very strong for this area (fluctuations in the epicenter reached 7 points). They have also reached our country.

An earthquake destroyed a temple in Belarus

However, earthquakes in Belarus were not always so harmless. One of the first mentions of this element on the territory of Belarus dates back to the 12th century. Turov Church of the XII century - one of the first Belarusian churches, erected during the time of Cyril of Turov - was destroyed by a strong earthquake on May 3, 1230.

Since the moment of scientific observations, nine “own” tangible earthquakes have occurred in the country. Four of them are historical. The first mention occurs of an earthquake in the Borisov region in 1887. Further seismic activity was observed in 1893 and 1896 near Mogilev. Tremors in subsequent years were already recorded instrumentally - “shaking” mainly the Soligorsk region in 1978, 1983, 1985 and twice in 1998. As you can see, the greatest seismic activity in modern Belarus is observed in the Soligorsk region. Since 1983, devices have managed to register up to a thousand microshocks in this area, but their power is extremely low and does not pose any threat to either people or National economy. The Gudogai earthquake, which occurred on December 28, 1908, is considered the strongest; it reached 7 points on the 12-point MSK-64 scale. For comparison, vibrations from the 1986 earthquake in the Vrancea mountains reached Belarus with a force of 2-3 points.

FEATURES OF THE MANIFESTATION OF SEISMO-TECTONIC
PROCESSES ON THE TERRITORY OF BELARUS

Center for Geophysical Monitoring of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus

A catalog of seismic events from historical times to 2005 was compiled based on literary and archival data, as well as instrumental observations. A map of the manifestation of seismotectonic processes on the territory of Belarus for 1887-2005 has been developed. Seismic events have occurred and are occurring in the zones of the newest faults, which have shown their activity in last years or earlier. For the first time, the epicenters of instrumentally recorded earthquakes on the territory of Belarus have been additionally determined, the location of which is confined to the previously identified seismogenic zones. An analysis of the dynamics of spatio-temporal migration of the annual position of the zones of grouping of earthquake epicenters has been carried out. It is determined by the nature of the directed change in the modern field of the dynamic stress of the earth's crust.

The territory of Belarus is located in the west of the ancient East European Platform (EEP), which consists of the Baltic and Ukrainian shields, the Russian and Volyn-Azov plates and, in accordance with seismotectonic zoning (Aizberg et al., 1997; Garetsky et al., 1997) , belongs to the weakly active zone. Based on literary and archival data, as well as instrumental observations (bulletins of the seismic stations Minsk, Naroch, Soligorsk, Brest, Gomel, Glushkevichi), sources of seismic events with magnitude (M )£4.5.

The seismicity of the territory of Belarus has been studied in the most detail in recent years. The results of continuous instrumental observations systematically presented in the bulletins of seismic stations for the period 1965-2005 were used to the full extent. Thanks to the work done, it was possible to obtain additional kinematic and dynamic parameters of the following earthquakes: July 8, 1980, February 27, 1987, August 29, 1990, which were included in the catalog of earthquakes for the first time. In total, 1140 seismic events were instrumentally recorded and processed in the study area, of which the epicenter coordinates were determined for 861 of them. A catalog of seismic events in Belarus has been compiled from historical times to 2005. The catalog includes 863 seismic events in the range of energy classes K = 4.6-12.0 (Aronov et al., 2003, 2004; Aronova, 2005). During the entire observation period, six earthquakes occurred, which had a tangible character, and their pleistoseist region was investigated. The characteristics of tangible shocks on the territory of Belarus from historical times to the present are given in the table.

Perceptible shaking on the territory of Belarus

Note. *b Allity is given on the MSK-64 scale.

A map of the epicenters of seismic events is shown in Fig. . 1, which is based on the catalog of seismic events in Belarus for 1887-2005. The size of the circles on the map corresponds to earthquakes of energy classes 7-12.