Andrea's Blog

       Millions of years ago, the Maldives islands were formed by volcanic activity/eruptions due to these islands being located on the Chagos-Laccadive Ridge. This ridge was thought to have been created by subsequence volcanism on the Indian plate and once had a chain of volcanoes. Today these once active volcanoes are nonexistent considering they have sunk and/or are considered to be dormant.        As a result of these volcanoes sinking, the coral reefs and sand began to grow and surround the sinking land, forming the atolls (rings of coral that create protected lagoons) we now know. With the continued growth of these reefs, circles are formed around and have made lagoons inside/between islands. These reefs and marine life that have migrated there over millions of years are now one of the most attracting things about this country and are said to be quite unique. As of today, the Maldives has no new volcanic activity, nor have they had any for ...

        The Maldives are less prone to any seismic activity and are somewhat considered rare. On average, this country only experiences about one/two earthquakes per year. If there was to be more earthquake activity, it would most likely take place in the southern part of the country, as that part is closer to an area with more seismic activity. Since the 1970s, this country has only had 45 quakes with magnitudes higher than 4, which is considered rare as the earthquakes they do experience are quite small.           As the Maldives don't really have to worry about any serious earthquakes, they still have general precautions for hazards that may take place there. One safety measure is community emergency response teams (CERTs), which are supported by UNICEF and the NDMA and plan and respond to emergencies/hazards on each island. These organizations also work with the government to conduct disaster management planning workshops with the pu...

The Maldives are located in the western part of the Indian tectonic plate, which has a transform boundary with the Arabian plate and a divergent boundary with Africa. The Indian tectonic plate continues to shift northeast into the Eurasian plate, resulting in 2 mm of landmass lost per year. The Maldives are typically not prone to earthquakes, although southern parts of the country, like Seenu, Gaafu, Alifu, etc., have a higher likelihood. It would be more likely to feel the aftershocks of earthquakes potentially nearby. The Maldives were actually a result of two plated ramming into each other. India began to move up North and banged itself into Asia, which resulted in where India is located now and Africa was not too far behind. This Indian tectonic shift opened a rift in the Earth's crust, which allowed the formation of volcanic peaks to grow and rise out of the Indian Ocean. This mountain range of volcanoes (the Maldives Ridge) spans just about 1,300 miles and is what created the...