Earthquakes
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Seismograph

Shallow 5.3 magnitude earthquake rattles Greek island of Crete


The Indian Express
Sun, 16 Jul 2017 05:44 UTC
Crete earthquake
© GOOGLE MAPS
Greece lies in an especially earthquake-prone zone and tremors of this magnitude are not considered exceptional. Three aftershocks, each of a magnitude of 3.5, have occurred within half an hour of the main quake.

Greece's Institute of Geodynamics says that a magnitude 5.3 earthquake has rattled the island of Crete. The earthquake occurred on Saturday at 11:30 pm local time off the southern coast of Crete, at a depth of 10 kilometres.

The Institute reported that the epicentre is near the coastal town of Ierapetra and about 60 kilometres southeast of the island's largest city, Heraklion.

Although the temblor was felt strongly in the eastern part of Crete, according to local media, no casualties or damages have been reported so far. Three aftershocks, each of a magnitude of 3.5, have occurred within half an hour of the main quake.

Greece lies in an especially earthquake-prone zone and tremors of this magnitude are not considered exceptional.
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Seismograph

5.9 Magnitude earthquake recorded off Gorontalo, Indonesia


Earthquake Track
Sat, 15 Jul 2017 12:59 UTC
CHART
5.9 magnitude earthquake 115 km from Gorontalo, Gorontalo, Indonesia

2017-07-15 12:12:21 UTC

USGS page: M 5.9 - 37km WSW of Tilamuta, Indonesia

USGS status: Reviewed by a seismologist
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Seismograph

Magnitude 4.2 earthquake in Oklahoma widely felt throughout Midwest

David Jacobson
Temblor
Fri, 14 Jul 2017 08:20 UTC
earthquake in Oklahoma
© TemblorMap shows the location of today’s M=4.2 earthquake in Oklahoma. This quake was widely felt throughout the state, and was also felt in 4 other surrounding states based on USGS felt reports.
At 8:47 a.m. local time this morning, a M=4.2 earthquake struck central Oklahoma in between the cities of Oklahoma City, Tulsa, and Stillwater. This was followed by five aftershocks, the largest of which was a M=3.8. At 10 a.m. local time, there have been over 1,500 felt reports from the mainshock on the USGS website, from all over the state of Oklahoma, and even in Wichita, Kansas, over 200 km away.

So far, there are no reports of damage, which is unlikely given this quake's moderate magnitude. Additionally, the USGS PAGER system estimates that economic losses should remain extremely minimal, and any fatalities are very unlikely.

According to the USGS, today's earthquake occurred at a depth of 9.3 km, and was right-lateral strike-slip in nature. This depth is relatively deep for Oklahoma, but still within the range frequently seen. Based on the fault map shown in the Temblor map above, and the strike-slip component of today's earthquake, it occurred on an unmapped fault in the region.
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Seismograph

Geologists: Slow earthquakes occur continuously in the Alaska-Aleutian subduction zone


PhysOrg
Wed, 12 Jul 2017 18:03 UTC
Earthquakes in the Alaska-Aleutian subduction zone
© Ghosh lab, UC RiversideImage shows tremor sources and low frequency earthquake distribution in the study region and historic large earthquakes in the Alaska-Aleutian subduction zone. Each red star represents the location of 1 min tremor signal determined by the beam back projection method, and the black stars show three visually detected low frequency earthquakes located using arrival times of body waves.
Seismologists at the University of California, Riverside studying earthquakes in the seismically and volcanically active Alaska-Aleutian subduction zone have found that "slow earthquakes" are occurring continuously, and could encourage damaging earthquakes.

Slow earthquakes are quiet, can be as large as magnitude 7, and last days to years. Taking place mainly at the boundary between tectonic plates, they happen so slowly that people don't feel them. A large slow earthquake is typically associated with abundant seismic tremor—a continuous weak seismic chatter—and low frequency (small and repeating) earthquakes.

"In the Alaska-Aleutian subduction zone, we found seismic tremor, and visually identified three low frequency earthquakes," said Abhijit Ghosh, an assistant professor of Earth sciences, who led the research published recently in Geophysical Research Letters. "Using them as templates, we detected nearly 1,300 additional low frequency earthquakes. Slow earthquakes may play an important role in the earthquake cycles in this subduction zone."
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Attention

Rare magnitude 5.8 earthquake hits off North Korea in the Sea of Japan


NEWS.com.au
Wed, 12 Jul 2017 22:57 UTC
North Korea quake
© earthquake-report
A RARE magnitude 5.8 earthquake has struck off North Korea in the Sea of Japan, but was unlikely to cause any damage, the US Geological Survey says.

An earthquake of that size is unusual for that area but not unprecedented, USGS seismologist Julie Dutton told Reuters following Thursday's quake.

She said the last large quake in that part of the Sea of Japan was in 1994.

North Korea causes seismic events when it conducts underground nuclear bomb tests, but Dutton said there was nothing to indicate this quake was a man-made event.

All of North Korea's underground nuclear tests have been conducted on land.

Major Jamie Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, said initial indications showed that the earthquake was not caused by a North Korean nuclear test because of the location and depth of the quake.

Davis added that the Pentagon would continue to study the seismic activity.
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Seismograph

Magnitude 6.7 earthquake strikes off Papua New Guinea


Radio New Zealand
Thu, 13 Jul 2017 04:17 UTC
PNG quake
© NOAA NWS/PTWC
A magnitude 6.7 earthquake has hit Papua New Guinea off the town of Rabaul, the United States Geological Survey says.

Reuters has reported there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties in the quake, which struck at a depth of 33 km about 128 km east of the island of New Britain.

The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no Pacific-wide tsunami threat from the quake.

Reuters
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Bizarro Earth

California's Mammoth Lakes area experienced more than 150 small earthquakes over past week

Gary Robbins
The San Diego Union-Tribune
Tue, 11 Jul 2017 02:40 UTC
earthquakes mammoth lakes california
© USGSMore than 150 tiny and small earthquakes have occurred near Mammoth Lakes since July 3.
The historically restless Mammoth Lakes area has experienced more than 150 tiny and small earthquakes over the past week, including a magnitude 3.0 temblor that hit at 7:13 p.m. on Monday, says the USGS.

The series — which included a 3. 9 quake on Sunday — may be tied to the movement of magma in the nearby Long Valley caldera, said Susan Hough, a USGS seismologist.

"Adjustments to the the crust occur all of the time in that area," said Hough, who is familiar with the many faults that intersect the caldera in California's Eastern Sierra.
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Seismograph

Strong and shallow M6.4 earthquake hits off Snare's Island, New Zealand

Joshua Nevett
Daily Star
Tue, 11 Jul 2017 09:11 UTC
Snare Island quake
© DSSHAKER: Around 3,000 people are reported to have felt the quake
A MASSIVE earthquake measuring magnitude 6.4 on the Richter scale has struck off the south coast of New Zealand.

The huge quake struck around 200km off the coast of Auckland, south-west of Snare's Island, at a depth of around 10km, according to the United States Geological Survey.

Initially it was registered as magnitude 6.8 but was downgraded by GeoNet because it "confused our system a bit".

Shaking and a "long lasting rumble" were reported to have affected around 3,000 people in the cities of Invercargill and Dunedin.

Civil Defence NZ said there no tsunami warnings in place, writing on Twitter: "There is no tsunami threat to New Zealand following the 6.8 magnitude earthquake in the Auckland Islands. #eqnz."

There are no immediate reports of deaths, injuries or damage to buildings.
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Seismograph

Fresh shallow 5.9-magnitude earthquake rocks Leyte, Philippines


Channel News Asia
Mon, 10 Jul 2017 13:44 UTC
CHART
A 5.9-magnitude quake on Monday (Jul 10) rocked a central Philippine island still reeling from a deadly tremor last week, though there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties, seismologists said.

The US Geological Survey said the moderately strong quake struck Leyte island near Ormoc, a city of about 200,000 people, at 9.41am at a relatively shallow depth of 12.7km.

A 6.5-magnitude quake stuck the region on Thursday last week, killing two people and leaving 72 others injured.

Large areas of Leyte, home to some 1.75 million people, and some parts of the central Philippines were still without electricity this week due to damage to a Leyte power plant.

The Philippines lies on the so-called Ring of Fire, a vast Pacific Ocean region where many earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

Source: AFP/mn

Comment: See also: At least two killed, scores injured as powerful shallow 6.5 earthquake strikes Leyte, Philippines

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Seismograph

At least two killed, scores injured as powerful shallow 6.5 earthquake strikes Leyte, Philippines

Mars Mosqueda and Francis Wakefield
Manila Bulletin
Fri, 07 Jul 2017 12:51 UTC
Building collapses – A low-rise commercial building in Kananga, Leyte, collapses following a 6.5-magnitude earthquake that hit the province on Thursday.
© Kawaii Queni ReforzadoBuilding collapses – A low-rise commercial building in Kananga, Leyte, collapses following a 6.5-magnitude earthquake that hit the province on Thursday.
A strong earthquake struck Leyte Thursday afternoon, and there were initial reports of collapsed infrastructure, cracked roads, and landslides that resulted in the death of at least two people - one in Ormoc City and another in Kananga town - and the injury of scores of others throughout the province.

Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) Deputy Director Bartolome Bautista said the quake hit at 4:03 p.m. and registered at magnitude 6.5 with its epicenter located eight kilometers southwest of Jaro, Leyte, and had a depth of two kilometers.

The tremor was felt at Intensity 5 in Tacloban City, Palo, Leyte, and Cebu City, Intensity 4 in Tolosa, Leyte, Sagay City, Negros Occidental, Burgos, Surigao del Norte, Intensity 3 in Bogo City, Cebu, Calatrava, Negros Occidental, Intensity 2 in Libjo, San Jose, Cagdianao, Dinagat Islands, and Intensity 1 in Roxas City, La Carlota City; Negros Occidental.

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