High Seismic Activity of Republic of North Macedonia in the Period 2015–2020

In the five-year period from 2015 to 2020, a total of 8783 earthquakes were located on the territory of North Macedonia and near the surrounding areas. Of these recorded events, 25 were mainshocks with a magnitude Image from 4.0 to 5.3, and the other was weak to moderate earthquakes of magnitude Image <4.0. Seismically the most active was the southwestern region, part of the Western Macedonian seismic zone, among which there were several strong events with a local Richter magnitude Image>4.0. The strongest earthquake in this time period is considered to be the earthquake with Richter magnitude Image5.3 and maximum intensity at the epicenter Io=VIII, whose epicenter is located in the northern part of our territory and belongs to the Vardar seismic zone. Focal mechanisms were obtained for all main earthquakes. The same earthquakes were also analyzed macroseismically. The uneven release of the accumulated seismic energy is due to the exposure of the geotectonic units to the long-term tectonic forces in the territory of Macedonia. The combination of tectonic data with seismological data indicates that the territory of North Macedonia is in a mode of increased seismic activity.