These scuba divers were left feeling both shaken and stirred after an earthquake erupted while they were below the surface.
We’re all well aware of what to expect on dry land when tectonic plates suddenly move along a fault line, but not a lot of us know what goes on underwater.
Some tremors are so powerful that they can cause the ocean floor can rise and fall, triggering a tsunami – which opens up a whole new world of problems.
Thankfully, this gang of diving fanatics managed to dodge one of those when this quake struck Indonesia back in November 2023.
However, they were still left startled when chaos started erupting while they explored the Banda Sea in Indonesia.
In the incredible video which was also shared on TikTok and YouTube, the divers can be seen surveying the coral in the ocean and swimming among the fishes.
But all of a sudden, there’s an almighty bit of rumbling – and within seconds, a cloud of sand is seen engulfing the underwater explorers.
It appeared as though the scuba divers were struggling to not become overwhelmed by the force of the huge current, which forced them to cling onto whatever they could.
The viral footage, which has racked up a whopping 4.7million views online, then concludes with some extremely interesting sounds, as the camera pans to the divers dodging debris once again.
Social media users were left stunned by the clip, with many saying it had ‘unlocked a new fear’ for them.
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One wrote: “Great, now I’ve added being in the ocean during an earthquake to my paranoia list.”
Another said: “You see the fish acting weird before it even hits. That would be scary,” while a third added: “Wow I’ve never even thought about what it would be like while underwater scuba diving during an earthquake! Do the currents change?!”
It was later confirmed by Reuters that the underwater footage was filmed on 8 November, 2023, when two powerful earthquakes hit the Banda Sand region.
The first – measuring at 6.9 magnitude – came just before midday, while a second 6.8 magnitude quake then struck later on in the evening.
Indonesia’s geophysics agency said at the time that neither of them had tsunami potential…which was obviously great news for the scuba divers out in the water that day.
Earthquakes are a common occurrence in the country, as Indonesia ‘straddles’ the Pacific Ring of Fire, which is a horseshoe-shaped belt around the rim of the Pacific Ocean where volcanic activity and earthquakes are frequent.
Undersea earthquakes, also referred to as submarine earthquakes, can cause ‘disruption to the seafloor and, in turn, the overlying water’, according to Better Planet Education.
It added: “Oceanic plates are denser/heavier than continental plates and so they slide under the continental plates. Where this happens it is called a subduction zone.
“There are subduction zones off Chile, Nicaragua, Mexico and Indonesia. These areas are prone to earthquakes, which happen when the plates suddenly move against each other.”
So, after watching that video…do you reckon you’d fare better on dry land or below the surface if an earthquake struck?
