Earthquakes
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Attention

Barbados rocked by magnitude 6.9 earthquake


Jamaica Observer
Wed, 20 Apr 2016 18:42 UTC
earthquake
Barbados was jolted by an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.9 on Wednesday but there were no reports of injuries or damages.

The Trinidad-based Seismic Research centre (SRC) at the St Augustine campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI), said that the quake, which occurred at 6:52 am (local time) was at a depth of 155 km.

It said that the quake, east of Barbados, was located at 13.35 degrees north and 56.29 degrees west and was felt in St Vincent.

Over the last few days, several Caribbean countries have been rattled by earthquakes.
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Attention

Japan: Number of earthquakes over 600 in 5 days


Sputnik
Tue, 19 Apr 2016 08:42 UTC
japan road equake
© ryzproductionsfuture.blogspot.comIn a time of upheaval, how to get from here to there...
The total number of powerful and minor earthquakes on the Japanese island of Kyushu has exceeded 600 since Thursday's devastating quake, local media reported.

On April 14, a magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck to the east of Kumamoto city (the capital of Kumamoto Prefecture) on Japan's Kyushu Island, killing local residents and damaging infrastructure. It was followed by multiple aftershocks. The following day, the same area was hit by a 7.0-magnitude earthquake.

Most of the tremors were felt strongly in the Kumamoto and Oita prefectures, the national NHK broadcaster said. The death toll in the natural disaster has risen to 44 and over 1,000 people sustained injuries in Kumamoto alone, the news outlet stated.

About 125,000 people in Kumamoto and more than 3,500 in Oita have been provided with shelter at city offices, schools and parking lots, it added.

Japan is a seismically active region. In March 2011, a 9.0-magnitude offshore earthquake triggered a 46-foot tsunami that hit Japan's Fukushima nuclear power, leading to the leakage of radioactive materials and the shutdown of the plant. The accident is considered to be the world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.

Comment: See also:

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Attention

USGS: Magnitude 6.1 earthquake strikes off eastern Japan


The Star Online
Wed, 20 Apr 2016 12:47 UTC
Japan earthquake 6.1 magnitude
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake has struck off the coast of eastern Japan.
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off Japan's north-eastern coast on Wednesday (April 20), the US Geological Survey said. There was no immediate tsunami warning, or reports of damage or casualties.

A series of strong quakes struck the south of Japan late last week killed at least 58 people. On Wednesday, survivors struggled with shortages of food and water.

The USGS said Wednesday's quake was centred 104km east south-east of Sendai, Honshu, near where a devastating quake and tsunami struck in March 2011. It was 51km deep.

Reuters
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Attention

Fresh earthquake of magnitude 6.2 hits Ecuador coast


RTE News
Wed, 20 Apr 2016 09:50 UTC
More than 100 people are still missing from the weekend earthquake
More than 100 people are still missing from the weekend earthquake
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck off the coast of Ecuador this morning, just days after a major quake hit the country, killing nearly 500 people.

This morning's quake was centred 70km west-southwest of Esmeraldas at a shallow depth of 10km, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said, not far from the epicentre of Saturday's 7.8 magnitude quake.

Reuters witnesses in the zone said two strong tremors of about 30 seconds each were felt, waking people up and sending them racing them into the streets.

It was not felt in the highland capital of Quito.

There was no immediate word from authorities on the impact of this morning's quake.
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Bizarro Earth

Geologists concerned over unusual string of large earthquakes spanning a vast area in southern Japan


Asian Review
Mon, 18 Apr 2016 00:00 UTC
landslide minamiaso earthquake
© APRescuers and a search dog check the damage around a landslide area caused by earthquakes in Minamiaso, Kumamoto prefecture on April 17
Seismic activity in southern Japan is mystifying geologists and keeping the nation on edge.

The island of Kyushu has been struck by a series of significant earthquakes, with the epicenters moving progressively further inland. The cluster started with the deadly quakes that hit Kumamoto Prefecture last Thursday and Saturday. Temblors subsequently rocked the Mount Aso region and neighboring Oita Prefecture.

There is a known concentration of faults in the area. Still, experts say it is highly unusual to have a string of quakes measuring around magnitude 6 and stretching over such a vast area. The epicenter of the Oita jolt was about 100km away from the first Kumamoto quake.

"I don't quite understand what is happening with the recent earthquakes, because it's an unfamiliar phenomenon," said Yoshihisa Iio, a professor at Kyoto University's Research Center for Earthquake Prediction.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said it is unprecedented to have a group of large quakes in these three parts of Kyushu. Experts are divided over how far the shaking will spread and whether it could prompt more quakes centered elsewhere.

Comment:

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Bizarro Earth

Subduction process similar to one causing Ecuadorean quake could cause megathrust in India at any time


The Indian Express
Tue, 19 Apr 2016 00:00 UTC
earthquake in Imphal, Manipur
© xpress /Deepak Shijagurumayum.An under construction building that got damaged in the earthquake in Imphal, Manipur in January 2016
A subduction process similar to the one that caused the Ecuadorean quake is happening under the Himalayan region as well, where the Indian plate is getting inside the Chinese landmass.

This northward push has been creating a huge amount of tectonic strain in the region, making it particularly prone to earthquakes.

Scientists believe there is so much energy stored in the area that an earthquake of magnitude greater than 8, possibly even 9, would be needed to release it. This earthquake can come at any time.

The Nepal earthquake was a result of this same process, but it was relatively weak in magnitude.

Comment: Multiple recent powerful earthquakes reflect a planet in deep transition

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Map

Japan: Seismic activity from magnitude-7.3 earthquake stretched 100 kilometers

Shotaro Demizu and Takako Sasamoto
The Japan News
Sun, 17 Apr 2016 20:36 UTC
Rescue workers
© Yomiuri ShimbunSelf-Defense Forces personnel and other rescue workers search for missing people in a residential area of Minami-Aso, Kumamoto Prefecture, on Sunday.
The magnitude-7.3 earthquake that pounded Kumamoto Prefecture early Saturday was more powerful than a foreshock that struck two days earlier.

The seismic activity then moved northeast to reach areas in Oita Prefecture about 100 kilometers away from the focus of the magnitude-7.3 quake. Experts are concerned that quake activities could spread to a major active fault that lies further ahead in that direction.

On Saturday morning, Yomiuri Shimbun reporters entered the town of Mashiki, Kumamoto Prefecture, where aftershocks continue to rattle the area. Many houses in the town's Dozono district have collapsed. A large crack ran through a field, leaving a line of what looked like overturned earth. A road crossing the field was buckled out of alignment.

According to a calculation by Masashi Omata of the Japanese Society for Active Fault Studies, the ground here moved about 20 centimeters vertically, and about two meters horizontally. This measurement was taken in a northeastern section of the Futagawa fault zone, which extends for at least about 64 kilometers. "Part of the Futagawa fault zone shifted and caused the magnitude-7.3 temblor," Omata said.

Comment: Seismic activity increasing: Scientist warns up to 4 quakes over 8.0 possible under 'current conditions'

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Attention

Magnitude 5.9 earthquake rocks South Georgia

Ces Dimalanta
Manila Bulletin
Tue, 19 Apr 2016 13:27 UTC
earthquake
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake recently struck north of South Georgia on Tuesday (April 19, 2016), as reported by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) earthquake bulletin.

The earthquake's epicenter was recorded at 119 kilometers north of Visokoi Island, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands at 1:25 pm of Tuesday (Philippine time).

A slight tremor has also affected nearby areas such as areas of Argentina - Ushuaia, Rio Gallegos, Puerto Deseado - and Stanley in Falkland Islands.
No casualties were reported as of this posting.

A 5.9-magnitude quake struck Visokoi Island on Tuesday afternoon (Philippine time). The epicenter was located 119 km of South Georgia.
© USGSA 5.9-magnitude quake struck Visokoi Island on Tuesday afternoon (Philippine time). The epicenter was located 119 km of South Georgia.
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Bizarro Earth

Seismic activity increasing: Scientist warns up to 4 quakes over 8.0 possible under 'current conditions'


RT
Mon, 18 Apr 2016 15:31 UTC
earthquakes in Minamiaso town, Kumamoto prefecture
© Kyodo / Reuters Rescue workers conduct a search and rescue operation to a collapsed house at a landslide site caused by earthquakes in Minamiaso town, Kumamoto prefecture.
Sunday's devastating earthquake in Ecuador might just be the beginning, according to a seismologist who says that current conditions in the Pacific Rim could trigger at least four quakes with magnitudes greater than 8.0.

Roger Bilham, a University of Colorado seismologist, told the Express, "If (the quakes) delay, the strain accumulated during the centuries provokes more catastrophic mega earthquakes."

A total of 38 volcanoes are currently erupting around the world, making conditions ripe for seismic activity in the Pacific area.
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Attention

Multiple recent powerful earthquakes reflect a planet in deep transition

Joachim Hagopian
Sott.net
Mon, 18 Apr 2016 00:00 UTC
ring of fire
The 'Ring of Fire'
Five strong earthquakes have jolted Asia in the last several days. There have been 16 major earthquakes measuring 6.0 or higher in April alone and nine in the last seven days. The two biggest in this unprecedented wave of serious shakers just happened over the weekend in Ecuador with a mammoth 7.8 earthquake killing at least 77 people and a 7.0 in Kumamota on Kyusha Island in southern Japan where three large earthquakes in three days have struck killing at least 41 people. Within the last two weeks the tiny South Pacific island of Vanatu alone has been hit with five major quakes. Four days ago a powerful 6.9 quake hit Myanmar killing two. And now with seven major shakers just in the last 96 hours alone killing at least 120 people, both laypeople and scientists alike are growing more concerned about what may be coming next.

On April 25th it will be one year ago since that deadly 7.8 earthquake in Nepal resulted in over 9,000 fatalities. But so far 2016 appears to even be more disastrous with seven 7.0 or larger earthquakes and 40 6.0 and larger ones already striking the earth's surface. The epicenters of over half of the most serious earthquakes within the last 30 days have been relatively shallow (within 20 km or less than 12.4 miles from the earth's surface), causing even more violent upheaval and earthly destruction. And all but a couple of the 20 largest earthquakes 6.0 or higher observed within this last month have erupted along the Pacific Ring of Fire in South America, Alaska, but mostly in Asia at a rate not seen in centuries, indicating cataclysmic earth changes currently taking place inside the earth's core and crust that could be reacting to cataclysmic changes occurring within our solar system causing the Pacific tectonic plates to be simultaneously rupturing in multiple locations under intense built up pressures.
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