Seismologist Frank Hoogerbeets at the Solar System Geometry Survey (SSGEOS) has issued a prediction of a major earthquake in the upcoming week.
"We cannot know for sure, but the first week of March will be extremely critical. We could see earthquakes of magnitude more than seven or eight," the researcher said in a new video breakdown.
The Dutch seismologist explains that "a convergence of critical planetary geometry" may lead to a very large seismic activity around March 3-4. According to the researcher, it could also result in a "mega-thrust earthquake" this weekend, with the power of the potential quake possibly reaching 8 magnitude on the Richter scale.
According to Hoogerbeets, the US West Coast is the first place in danger. Seismic activity of up to 7-8 on the Richter scale is possible there at the end of the first week of March. Earthquakes of a similar magnitude have killed around 45,000 people in Turkiye since February 6, with the death toll expected to go up.
Northern regions of Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Russia's Kamchatka and Kuril Islands are also said to be at risk.
"In the first week of March, there could be several seismic events of magnitude greater than six. There are two scenarios: either a major seismic event will occur around 3 or 4 March [...] or with some seismic amplification on 6 or 7 March, during the full moon," the seismologist said.
However, Danila Chebrov, the head of the Kamchatka branch of the Geophysical Survey of Russia’s Academy of Sciences, has cast doubt on Hoogerbeets’ predictions, calling him an “amateur.”
According to Chebrov, the connection between the movements of the planets in the solar system and seismic activity on Earth "is rather weak, and it’s problematic to use it as the main prognostic tool."