Are major Japan and Ecuador earthquakes related?

The devastating magnitude-7.8 earthquake in Ecuador came nearly a day after Japan's twin earthquakes last week, both measuring over 6.5 magnitudes.
 
A magnitude-6.9 quake hit Myanmar on Wednesday.
 
Hundreds of lives were lost in the disasters.
 
What feels like an ongoing series of quakes might make you ask why so many big quakes have been reported recently.
 
Generally, seismic experts said you should not be alarmed by the number of destructive quakes in the last few days.

%

%

They said the timing of the quakes is an unfortunate coincidence.

from the U.S. Geological Survey talked to CNN about whether the Ecuador and Japan quakes are related.

The distance between Japan and Ecuador is 15,445 kilometers, or about 9,590 miles.

"It's one day after the Ecuador earthquake and two days after the Japanese earthquake, so no real research has been done on these quakes as far as their being connected," he said Sunday.

"Usually we don't think earthquakes are connected across the ocean," Paul Caruso said, but there is continuing ongoing research into "remote triggering," the idea that a big quake can cause another quake a long distance away, CNN reported.

Safety leaders say the earthquakes still provide a compelling reason to review your earthquake readiness. Click here for tips.

Cox Media Group