Earthquakes
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Bizarro Earth

Strange glowing in the sky during New Zealand's earthquake possibly 'earthquake lightning'

John Edens
Stuff.co.nz
Mon, 14 Nov 2016 02:46 UTC

What was that strange light in the sky? Many people overnight reported seeing strange lights in the sky, a phenomenon that has been reported for centuries before, during, and after earthquakes.

Seismologists aren't in agreement about the causes of the hotly-debated phenomenon - called earthquake lights or, sometimes, earthquake lightning.

Earthquake Damage Canterbury
© Iain McGregor/Fairfax NZMajor damage caused by the 7.5-magnitude earthquake in Canterbury.
And, of course, it's not clear whether the lights overnight in New Zealand were the phenomenon, or something else. One theory suggests dormant electrical charges in rocks are triggered by the stress of the Earth's crust and plate tectonics, transferring the charge to the surface where it appears as light.

Historical reports include globes, or orbs, of glowing light, floating just above the ground or in the sky.
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Seismograph

USGS: second magnitude 5.7 quake strikes Argentina


USGS
Sun, 13 Nov 2016 16:58 UTC
Magnitude 5.7 earthquake La rioja, Argentina
© USGSLa Rioja, Argentina

Comment: Other interesting events of note in the last 24 hours:

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Seismograph

Powerful magnitude 7.4 earthquake strikes near Christchurch, New Zealand


RT
Sun, 13 Nov 2016 11:20 UTC
Magnitude 7.4 6.6 earthquake strikes in Amberley near Christchurch, New Zealand
© USGSPowerful M6.6 earthquake strikes Amberley, New Zealand
A powerful earthquake has hit northeast of Christchurch, a city in New Zealand, according to the US Geological Survey.

Twitter reports from locals talk of "enormous" shaking felt in Wellington and Cheviot.

The quake was centered 46km from the town of Amberley with about 2,000 people, and 70km from the town of Kaiapoi with 10,000 residents, according to the USGS. The tremor had a shallow depth of 5 km.


Comment: Spaceweather.com reports:

Minor geomagnetic storms and Arctic auroras are likely on Nov. 13th as Earth moves through a stream of high-speed solar wind. Visibility of auroras will be muted somewhat by the glare of the waxing supermoon.

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Bizarro Earth

6.2 Magnitude earthquake strikes off the coast of Honshu, Japan


RT
Sat, 12 Nov 2016 00:05 UTC
Honshu Earthquake
© USGS
A 6.2 magnitude earthquake has struck off the coast of the Japanese island of Honshu, USGS reports. TEPCO said it is checking the integrity of its crippled nuclear plant, as the epicenter was located relatively close to Fukushima Prefecture.

The quake struck around 9:43pm GMT on Friday, some 65 km east-northeast of the city of Sendai. The Japan Meteorological Agency measured the quake at the lower magnitude of 5.8.

No tsunami warning was issued by the JMA. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center also said that "a destructive pacific-wide tsunami is not expected."
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Seismograph

Series of earthquakes rattles central and northern Oklahoma


Tulsa World
Fri, 11 Nov 2016 20:37 UTC
A Baby Benioff Seismograph at the Oklahoma Geological Station in Leonard, OK
© Stephen Pingry/Tulsa WorldA Baby Benioff Seismograph at the Oklahoma Geological Station in Leonard, OK
A series of earthquakes has rattled parts of Oklahoma just days after a magnitude 5.0 earthquake damaged homes and businesses in Cushing in north-central Oklahoma.

The U.S. Geological Survey says a magnitude 3.0 earthquake was recorded at 9:50 a.m. Friday seven miles east-northeast of Luther in Oklahoma County in central Oklahoma. It was preceded by another 3.0 magnitude quake at 5:12 a.m. about 10 miles northwest of Medford in northern Oklahoma and a 3.3 magnitude quake at 2:54 a.m. about 10 miles east-southeast of Geary in west-central Oklahoma.

No damage or injuries were immediately report. Geologists say damage is not likely in earthquakes below magnitude 4.0.

The 5.0 magnitude earthquake on Sunday damaged structures in Cushing, a key world oil hub. No damage was reported at the oil terminal.

Source: Associated Press
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Seismograph

Shallow magnitude 5 earthquake recorded in Quezon, Philippines

Rose Carmelle Lacuata
ABS-CBN News
Thu, 10 Nov 2016 21:39 UTC
Map earthquake
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) has upgraded the earthquake that hit General Nakar, Quezon to magnitude 5 from magnitude 4.4.

The quake's epicenter was located 24 kilometers northwest of General Nakar. The quake struck at 3:10 p.m.

The quake, which was tectonic in origin, struck at a depth of 13 kilometers.

Intensity V was felt in General Nakar and Infanta in Quezon, while intensity IV was felt in Antipolo City, Angono, Rizal and Real, Quezon.

Intensity III was felt in Quezon City, Marikina City, Manila, Makati City, Tarlac City, San Juan City, Pasay City, Calumpit Bulacan, Mandaluyong City, San Mateo, Teresa, Tanay and Binangonan, Rizal, and Pasig City while intensity II was felt in Taguig City, San Ildefonso, Bulacan, Bacoor, Cavite, Pateros, Parañaque City, Caloocan City and Valenzuela City.

The quake is not expected to cause serious damage to properties. Aftershocks were also recorded in General Nakar - a magnitude 2.6 quake at 3:15 p.m. and a magnitude 2.1 quake at 3:18 p.m.

Meanwhile, residents took to social media to express their thoughts about the earthquake. Hashtags "#earthquake" and "LUMINDOL BA" climbed the trends on Twitter, with netizens confirming if what they felt was an earthquake.
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Seismograph

Shallow earthquake of 4.8 on Richter scale hits Greece; felt in southern Bulgaria


The Sofia Globe
Thu, 10 Nov 2016 21:33 UTC
Graph
An earthquake of 4.8 on the Richter scale epicentred in northern Greece on November 10, was felt in south-western Bulgaria, local media reports said.

The earthquake was at 12.12pm UTC, or 2.17pm Sofia time, and had a depth of 10km, according to provisional data from the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) and US Geological Survey.

EMSC said that the epicentre was nine km west of the village of Kristóni, which put it about 190km south-west of Sofia and 160km south-east of Macedonian capital Skopje.

According to Bulgarian private broadcaster Darik Radio, the earthquake was felt in the town of Blagoevgrad, in south-western Bulgaria (about 120km away from the epicentre), and the top stories of higher buildings in Sofia and Plovdiv. There were no reports of any damages in Bulgaria.
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Seismograph

Shallow 5.9-magnitude earthquake strikes off Chile coast


Hindustan Times
Tue, 08 Nov 2016 13:35 UTC
Earthquake graph
A 5.9-magnitude quake struck in the Pacific off the coast of Chile early Tuesday, the US Geological Survey reported.

The quake hit at about 0500 GMT, about 60 kilometers (40 miles) northwest of the city of Concepcion and at a depth of 17 kilometers, the agency said.

There was no immediate word on damage or injuries.

Chile is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries.

It sits on the Pacific Ocean's "Ring of Fire," a seismically turbulent region where many of Earth's volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur.

In 2010, an 8.8-magnitude quake and subsequent tsunami killed more than 500 people.

Source: AFP
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Seismograph

Strong shallow 5.0 magnitude earthquake rocks Taranaki, New Zealand

TOM HUNT, MICHAEL DALY AND CATHERINE GROENESTEIN
Stuff.co.nz
Mon, 07 Nov 2016 20:03 UTC
Opunake earthquake, NZ
© GEONETMore than 2000 people had reported feeling the 5.0 quake in Opunake by 6.30am.
A seismologist says another quake of the same size can't be ruled out, after a strong 5.0 tremor struck the Taranaki town of Opunake this morning.

The quake, which hit at 5.59am on Tuesday, 10km north of the town at a depth of 14km had been felt widely throughout the lower North Island.

Geonet initially classified the quake as a "severe" 5.2 magnitude, before revising it down to 5.

Aftershocks could be expected in region after the quake, Geonet duty seismologist Dr Anna Kaiser said.

"The most likely scenario is smaller aftershocks over the coming days, but we can't rule out there will be another one the same size."

It was not unusual activity for the area, she said.

"We saw a similar size in 2015 and others in the high fours in 2013."

The earthquake is a good reminder for people, she said.

"Hopefully people will be prepared and have their emergency kits and plans in place."

More than 2000 people had reported feeling the quake by 6.30am.
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Attention

5.0 shallow quake shakes central Oklahoma, damages buildings


RT
Mon, 07 Nov 2016 03:13 UTC
Earthquake map of Oklahoma
© earthquake.usgs.gov
Citizens of Oklahoma and neighboring states felt a strong tremor on Sunday evening as a 5.0-magnitude earthquake struck some 50 miles (80 km) northeast of Oklahoma City. The nearby town of Cushing reportedly experienced structural damage and power cuts.

The quake struck some 2km west of Cushing at a depth of just 5km, US Geological Survey reported, revising the magnitude from 5.3 to 5.0.

Despite being a moderate tremor on the Richter scale, the shallow quake resulted in several buildings partly collapsing, also causing a power outage.
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