Earthquakes
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USGS: Magnitude 5.8 earthquake strikes southern Japan


Sputnik
Tue, 05 Jan 2016 07:36 UTC
Japan earthquake
© USGS
A 5.8 magnitude earthquake occurred on Tuesday southeast of the Japanese island of Kyushu, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.

According to the USGS, there is no tsunami threat.

The epicenter of the quake was located at sea at the depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles), according to the agency.

In turn, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) reported that the tremors were felt across ten prefectures, including Kochi, Miyazaki, Hiroshima, Kagoshima and Okayama.

No information about the damage or casualties was immediately available.

Japan is one of the world's most seismically active countries.

In March 2011, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake started a tsunami that killed about 16,000 people in northeastern Japan and caused nuclear meltdowns at the Fukushima Daichi nuclear power plant which resulted in the largest nuclear catastrophe in the world since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.
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5.1 magnitude earthquake shakes lower North Island, New Zealand


stuff.co.nz
Mon, 04 Jan 2016 12:11 UTC
new zealand
© Keith Lynch (CPL)The earthquake was felt throughout the North Island.
An "short, sharp shake" has been felt throughout the lower North Island, with a lighter earthquake coming two hours later.

Geonet received reports from 865 people that had felt the 5.1 magnitude quake with reports from people who have felt it, from as far as Ohakune and Hawera.

The quake was centred 25 kilometres east of Pongaroa, in the Tararua district, at a depth of 25km, hitting at 1.07pm.

Bit of a shudder here at Paekakariki - est 20 seconds duration #eqnz
— Jesse Easton (@jesterabi) January 4, 2016

Tararua District councillor Shirley Hull was at her Pahiatua home with family when she felt the quake hit.

She said Pongaroa's "short, sharp shake" left their light swaying.

"They seem to be getting a few these days... [we have] just got to make sure that everybody's OK."
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Bizarro Earth

Powerful 6.7 earthquake rocks India near Myanmar border


RT
Mon, 04 Jan 2016 00:18 UTC
India Map
© RT
A powerful earthquake measuring 6.7 in magnitude has hit northwest eastern India, close to the border with Myanmar, the US Geological Survey has reported.

The quake was 57 kilometers (35 miles) deep and centered 33 kilometers northwest of Imphal, the capital city of the Manipur state.

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X

Scientists discover two dangerous earthquake faults in California Bay Area appear to be linked together


CBS News - San Francisco Bay Area
Sun, 03 Jan 2016 19:29 UTC
Hayward and Rodgers Creek fault
© CBS News
Scientists have discovered an alarming connection underwater: Two of the most dangerous earthquake faults in the Bay Area.

Experts long debated whether the Hayward Fault and the Rodgers Creek Fault connected, but now there's strong evidence they do.

US Geological geophysicist Janet Watt made the discovery in an underwater survey using an acoustic instrument over the San Pablo Bay. She says the data is clearer than ever.

"We now have direct evidence that the faults come closer together in the bay and may be directly connected," says Watt. "It would be devastating for an earthquake to rupture at both those faults — it'd be a very strong earthquake."

Two Bay Area fault lines could potentially trigger a 7.3 magnitude earthquake if they ruptured together. That's stronger than the 1989 Loma Prieta quake.

"If these two faults are connected then that means it would be easier for an earthquake to rupture from the Hayward to Rodgers or vice versa," says Watt.


Comment: Four San Francisco fault lines have built up enough seismic strain to unleash destructive earthquakes

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6.4 magnitude earthquake hits China


Times of India
Sat, 02 Jan 2016 18:49 UTC
Earthquake graph
© Science Photo Library
A 6.4 magnitude earthquake hit China on Saturday, said the China Earthquake Networks Centre (CENC).

The quake hit Mudanjiang city of northeast China's Heilongjiang province at 12.22 a.m. (local time) on Saturday, Xinhua reported.

The epicentre was monitored at 44.81 degrees north latitude and 129.95 degrees east longitude, with a depth of 580 km, according to the CENC.

Source: Indo-Asian News Service
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Magnitude 4.5 earthquake hits off California coast

Peter Hockaday
San Francisco Chronicle
Sat, 02 Jan 2016 18:40 UTC
Earthquake graph
© Science Photo Library
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.3 struck off the California coast on Friday evening, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The quake struck about 44 miles southwest of Eureka, Calif., at 9:11 p.m., according to the USGS. The quake struck just off the Northern California coast in the Pacific Ocean.

There was no tsunami threat to Hawaii or the West Coast following the temblor, according to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration.

Later Friday, a smaller quake struck in the Bay Area. According to the USGS, a quake with magnitude 2.5 struck 6 miles north of Pittsburg at 10:38 p.m.
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5.8 magnitude earthquake strikes Afghanistan


The Indian Express
Sat, 02 Jan 2016 18:34 UTC
Epicentre 35 km SSE of Jarm, Afghanistan.
© USGSEpicentre 35 km SSE of Jarm, Afghanistan.
A medium intensity earthquake on Saturday hit Hindu Kush region in Afghanistan, ripples of which were felt across North India, including in Jammu & Kashmir and the national capital.

The earthquake, measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale, was 170 km deep, according to the National Seismology division of Ministry of Earth Sciences.

There was no report of any loss of life or damage to property till the last reports came in.

The tremor occurred at 2:07 PM and people in the national capital region rushed out of their homes.

People in Kashmir also felt the tremor.
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Radar

New Jersey hit by rare earthquake


4 New York
Sat, 02 Jan 2016 15:37 UTC
earthquake
© AFP/Getty Images
An unusual and mild earthquake struck in New Jersey on Saturday, officials said.

The 2.1-magnitude shake up hit Ringwood, New Jersey, at 12:58 a.m., according to the United States Geological Survey.
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Magnitude 5.8 earthquake hits near New Zealand's coast


Sputnik
Fri, 01 Jan 2016 22:39 UTC
Earthquake graph
© Science Photo Library
A 5.8-magnitude earthquake on Friday struck New Zealand's coast, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said.

Tremors were registered at 15:02 GMT.

The epicenter was located about 50 miles north-east of Raoul Island at the depth of approximately 61 miles.

No information about the damage or casualties was immediately available.

Parts of New Zealand lie on the so-called Ring of Fire, a horseshoe-shaped string of volcanoes around the Pacific Rim, where about 90 percent of the world's quakes occur.

Comment: Strong 6.4 magnitude earthquake strikes Indian Ocean south of Australia

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17,500 earthquakes recorded for Nevada in 2015


Reno Gazette-Journal
Thu, 31 Dec 2015 17:06 UTC
Earthquake
More than 17,500 earthquakes were recorded in 2015 by the University of Nevada, Reno's Nevada Seismological Laboratory.

That includes the 231 recent quakes in South Reno and the magnitude 4.8 in Caliente that shook Las Vegas in January 2015, according to a Thursday report from UNR.

The biggest source of shakes is the so-called Sheldon sequence in far northwest Nevada, according to the seismological lab.

In 2015 there were 4,511 earthquakes recorded in the remote Sheldon Wildlife Refuge near Vya, east of Cedarville, Calif.

Other quake-prone areas in 2015 were Caliente, Carson City and Virginia City.
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