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USGS: Alaska hit by 5.2 magnitude earthquake


Sputnik International
Sun, 02 Oct 2016 02:40 UTC
Alaska
© Flickr/ Joseph

An earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale struck off the Alaskan coast on Sunday, the US Geological Survey (USGS) reported.

The quake occurred at 22:07 GMT on Saturday at a depth of 20.9 kilometers (about 13 miles), 236 kilometers (147 miles) south of False Pass, a city in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, according to the USGS. No information on casualties or damage from the quake has been provided yet.
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Seismograph

Shallow 5.2 magnitude earthquake recorded off the Azores


Earthquake Track
Sat, 01 Oct 2016 18:15 UTC
Graph
© Dimas Ardian, Getty Images
5.2 magnitude earthquake

about 5 hours ago

UTC time: Saturday, October 01, 2016 13:17 PM

Your time: Saturday, October 1 2016 2:17 PM

Magnitude Type: mb

USGS page: M 5.2 - 210km NE of Santa Cruz das Flores, Portugal

USGS status: Reviewed by a seismologist

Reports from the public: 0 people

about 5 hours ago 5.2 magnitude, 10 km depth

Azores Islands
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Seismograph

Magnitude 5.4 earthquake strikes Pakistan, tremors felt in Kashmir Valley


The Hindustan Times
Sat, 01 Oct 2016 15:43 UTC
earthquake with a magnitude of 5.4 struck Pakistan 1st October 2016
An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.4 struck Pakistan.
An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.4 struck Pakistan at 0804 GMT, 117 km east of the Swat Valley city of Mingaora, at a depth of 43.4 km, the US Geological Survey said.

Minor tremors were felt in Kashmir Valley too.

No loss to life or property has been reported so far.

The quake shook the capital Islamabad, parts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province in the north-west and some northern areas of Punjab.
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Seismograph

Katla volcano continues to tremble in Iceland with over 200 tremors in 24 hours

Vala Hafstad
Iceland Review
Fri, 30 Sep 2016 14:23 UTC
Katla volcano.
© Páll Stefánsson.Katla volcano.
Seismic activity in Katla volcano, South Iceland, continues. No less than 200 tremors have registered there in the past 24 hours, Vísir reports. Three quakes in excess of magnitude 3 hit the volcano overnight, the largest one at 4:41 am, of magnitude 3.7. It was preceded by another one of magnitude 3.1 a minute earlier. The third one measured 3.2 at 2:43 am. All three were shallow. Sigurdís Björg Jónasdóttir, natural hazard specialist at the Icelandic Met Office, reported that the seismic activity was constant all night long.

"It's been very lively in Katla overnight, but the tremors are all shallow, and there hasn't been any eruption activity or glacial outburst flood activity, so those of us who are on call are relatively calm, since the situation effectively hasn't changed since yesterday," Sigurdís stated.

Katla volcano is located under the icecap of Mýrdalsjökull glacier. It last erupted in 1918, but has, on average, erupted twice a century.
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Seismograph

USGS: 5.3 magnitude earthquake strikes off Tonga's coast


Sputnik International
Sat, 01 Oct 2016 05:34 UTC
Tonga
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake has occurred off the coast of Tonga in the South Pacific, the US Geological Survey (USGS) reports.

The quake occurred at 00:33 GMT on Saturday at a depth of 57.6 kilometers (about 36 miles), 246 kilometers (153 miles) south of Ohonua, the largest settlement on Tonga's 'Eua island, USGS said.

There appeared to be no tsunami threat following the earthquake and there were no immediate reports of any damages or casualties.
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Seismograph

Recent earthquake swarm under California's Salton Sea could lead to massive earthquake on San Andreas fault

Rong-Gong Lin II
LA Times
Fri, 30 Sep 2016 17:43 UTC
san andreas fault
© U.S. Geological SurveyA view of the San Andreas fault in the Carrizo Plain. A valley is deeply eroded along the fault
The rumbling started Monday morning deep under the Salton Sea. A rapid succession of small earthquakes — three measuring above magnitude 4.0 — began rupturing near Bombay Beach, continuing for more than 24 hours. Before the swarm started to fade, more than 200 earthquakes had been recorded.

The temblors were not felt over a very large area, but they have garnered intense interest — and concern — among seismologists. It marked only the third time since earthquake sensors were installed there in 1932 that the area had seen such a swarm, and this one had more earthquakes than the events of 2001 and 2009.

The quakes occurred in one of California's most seismically complex areas. They hit in a seismic zone just south of where the mighty San Andreas fault ends. It is composed of a web of faults that scientists fear could one day wake up the nearby San Andreas from its long slumber.
cali earthquake swarm
© Caltech seismologist Egill HaukssonAn image provided by Caltech seismologist Egill Hauksson shows the earthquake swarms of 2001, 2009 and 2016 in the Salton Sea. Scientists worry that earthquakes near the southern end of the San Andreas fault could trigger a large earthquake on California's longest fault
The San Andreas fault's southernmost stretch has not ruptured since about 1680 — more than 330 years ago, scientists estimate. And a big earthquake happens on average in this area once every 150 or 200 years, so experts think the region is long overdue for a major quake.

Comment: Many experts believe the San Andreas fault is long overdue for a potentially catastrophic earthquake:

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Seismograph

Shallow 5.4 earthquake jolts Nicaragua, one woman dead


The Malay Mail
Thu, 29 Sep 2016 17:51 UTC
The quake struck at 10:48am in the area between the El Hoyo and Momotombo volcanoes, at a shallow depth of 2.9km
© File picThe quake struck at 10:48am in the area between the El Hoyo and Momotombo volcanoes, at a shallow depth of 2.9km
A 5.4-magnitude earthquake jolted Nicaragua yesterday, killing a woman and damaging homes close the epicentre in the country's north, officials said.

The quake struck at 10:48am in the area between the El Hoyo and Momotombo volcanoes, at a shallow depth of 2.9km.

The woman, Higinia Margarita Cruz, suffered a heart attack from the shock of the shaking, said First Lady Rosario Murillo, who is also the government spokeswoman.

Cruz was 78.

Windows shattered in a building under construction in Puerto Momotombo and many homes sustained damage to roofs.

Startled locals ran outside their homes and stayed there, concerned that if they went inside, another quake might strike.

Source: AFP
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Seismograph

Magnitude 5 earthquake hits Kalamata on Greek coast

Philip Chrysopoulos
Greek Reporter
Wed, 28 Sep 2016 12:00 UTC
Earthquake Kalamata 29th September 2016
Kalamata, Greece
An earthquake measuring 5 points on the Richter scale shook Kalamata on Wednesday morning, bringing memories of the 1986 tremors that killed 22 people.

The tremors were felt in Kalamata at 10:17 am, while several towns and villages in southwestern Peloponnese felt the effect. According to seismologists, the epicenter of the earthquake was in the Messinian Gulf sea, 14 kilometers south of Kalamata and had a depth of 19 kilometers.

Meanwhile, just before midnight tremors measuring 5.4 points on the Richter shook the islands of Dodecanese, mostly felt in Rhodes. However, seismologists said on Skai radio that the two earthquakes are not related.

Comment: The U.S. Geological Survey also reported 2 other earthquakes in a 24 hour period measuring above magnitude 4 in the regions of Greece and Turkey.

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Seismograph

3.9 magnitude earthquake at Katla Volcano, Iceland

Vala Hafstad
Iceland Review
Mon, 26 Sep 2016 14:28 UTC
Katla volcano.
© Páll StefánssonKatla volcano.
An earthquake of magnitude 3.9 hit Mýrdalsjökull glacier at 1:30 pm today, mbl.is reports. A few aftershocks have registered, but there is no sign of volcanic activity in the area, according to the Icelandic Met Office.

The source of the quake was the south side of the Katla volcano caldera, which is under the ice cap of Mýrdalsjökull glacier. The area is being monitored day in and day out by the Icelandic Met Office.

There was less seismic activity in Mýrdalsjökull glacier last week than during the previous week. On August 29, two earthquakes of magnitude 4.5 registered in the northern part of the Kaltla volcano caldera. Those were the largest quakes to hit the area since 1977.
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Alarm Clock

Swarm of 100+ earthquakes hit Salton Sea, California

Shelby Grad
Los Angeles Times
Tue, 27 Sep 2016 04:00 UTC
Salton Sea earthquake swarm
© U.S. Geological Survey)A magnitude-4.3 earthquake hit in the Salton Sea area on Sept. 26, 2016.
More than 100 small earthquakes — including three of a magnitude greater than 4 — struck the Salton Sea area Monday.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the swarm of quakes started early Monday morning and continued into the evening. Quakes measuring 4.3 and 4.2 magnitude occurred Monday night.

Many of the quakes were centered near Bombay Beach. They were felt in a relatively small area around the Salton Sea, according to the USGS.

Swarms of small to moderate earthquakes are fairly common in the area. In 2009, the Salton Sea saw a swarm of more than 200 small quakes.

The sea sits atop a very thin crust that is being constantly stretched as the North American and Pacific plates grind against each other. The area is also veined by dozens of faults — most notably the San Andreas -- that run parallel to and crisscross one another.

Scientists believe that because of the thinness of the crust, hotter material can get closer to the surface and cause temblors.

Seismologist Lucy Jones said on Twitter on Monday night that magnitude 4 quakes near the San Andreas "increase the chance" of a big quake "a little bit. But we have swarms without big [earthquakes] — most likely nothing more will happen."
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