Recent land phenomena in Romanian county of Galati intrigue specialists: earthquakes or land slides?

A series of what are believed to be earthquakes were recently registered in the Romanian county of Galati. More than 11 small earthquakes took place in several villages in the Galati county, but specialists are yet unsure whether these were earthquakes or some other kind of phenomena. Specialists from the Institute of Earth Physics have installed measuring equipment in the Slobozia Conachi – Izvoarele area, where the earthquakes had the highest intensity. Data is expected to come in two weeks. Meanwhile, the local authorities are under alert but, for the time being, inhabitants will not be evacuated from the area. The mayor of Slobozia Conachi, Ion Neculau, is not convinced the phenomena were in fact earthquakes. He called them 'land movements', noting the landslides which have taken place in the past. These however ceased in 1997 after works which stopped the formation of underwater bubbles which triggered the landslides. The recent land movements have not caused any damage so far, apart from small cracks in several houses in the village of Izvoarele - Slobozia Conachi, according to the mayor. The village however has other problems, as around 200 houses are in danger of collapsing after the massive flooding in September. Inhabitants describe the phenomena as 'land moving up and down', accompanied by noise, something which happens several times a day. The village of Izvoarele is 30 kilometers away from Galati, the country residence, and 10 kilometers away from an oil exploitation at Schela. According to specialists, these recent phenomena could be connected to the recent floods, but also to the oil exploitation in the area. An earthquake of 3.6 degrees Richter was registered on Monday (September 30) in the Galati area, after eight other earthquakes registered in the same area during the month of September. The latest such earthquake, of 3 degrees Richter, was registered on Monday evening (September 30), at a depth of 7 kilometers, near the village of Negrea in Galati county. editor@romania-insider.com