In a letter sent on July 30 to concerned agencies and the Kon Plong District People's Committee, the chairman of the Kon Tum Provincial People's Committee, Le Ngoc Tuan, asked for close monitoring of all the tremors and instructed the owners of hydroelectric reservoirs in the area and local people to ensure safety.
The local Department of Natural Resources and Environment was asked to continue cooperating with the Institute of Geophysics to conduct in-depth research and evaluate earthquakes in the locality.
The move came after up to 46 quakes occurred in the Kon Plong District on July 28 and 29, and the Institute of Geophysics warned that more earthquakes might happen in the coming days.
The strongest quake, measuring five on the Richter Scale, occurred at 11:35 am on July 29. It caused shaking, cracks in walls, and objects to fall. The shaking could also be felt in neighbouring provinces and cities, including Dak Lak, Hue, Danang, Quang Nam, and Binh Dinh.
Aftershocks from this earthquake were also reported in some areas in Thailand and Cambodia.
Although this area has experienced frequent earthquakes recently, the institute noted that such a high frequency of tremors is rare.
Talking to local media on Sunday, the director of the Institute of Geophysics, Nguyen Xuan Anh, said that following studies and observations, the consecutive tremors in Kon Plong are considered induced earthquakes caused by the construction of reservoirs and hydropower dams.
Anh predicted that earthquakes would continue in the coming time and were unlikely to be greater than 5.5.
Statistics unveiled by the institute show there were only more than 30 earthquakes jolting Kon Tum Province between 1903 and 2020, with the largest measuring 3.9 on the Richter Scale.
However, hundreds of earthquakes have occurred in Kon Tum from April 2021 until now, including a 4.7 magnitude earthquake that shook the locality on August 22, 2022.
The institute said that over the past few days, prolonged heavy rain in the Central Highlands region has caused hydroelectric reservoirs to fill quickly, triggering earthquakes.
The Institute of Geophysics has deployed 11 monitoring stations in Kon Tum to conduct in-depth research and evaluate earthquakes in the locality.