Earth ChangesS


Bad Guys

Series of Earthquakes Hit India, Myanmar and Indonesia

A series of earthquakes ranging from 5.4 to 6.0 in magnitude rocked India, Myanmar and Indonesia on Saturday but fortunately no fatalities or injuries were reported.

According to India's meteorological department at about 5 in the morning a 5.6 magnitude earthquake shook Meghalaya Province causing frightened residents to run from their homes.

In Myanmar a 5.4 magnitude quake rattled Sagaing Province but not many felt the tremor as it is not a densely populated area.

And a 6.0 magnitude earthquake also struck the Indonesian province of West Papua before midday on Saturday making it just one in a series of jolts to hit the nation in recent weeks.

Bizarro Earth

US: Earthquake Magnitude 4.9 off Oregon coast

Image
© USGS
The National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colo., reports a magnitude 4.9 quake Friday night off the Oregon coast. There were no immediate reports of it being felt or causing damage.

Geophysicist Randy Baldwin says the quake was centered about 330 miles west-southwest of Portland at a depth of six miles - shallow in earthquake terms.

He says quakes of that magnitude are common in that area, part of the Juan de Fuca Plate, and there is no danger of it generating a tsunami.

The quake hit at 7:53 p.m. PST. The earthquake information center is part of the U.S. Geological Survey.

Bizarro Earth

Light Earthquake Registered in Southwestern Bulgaria

A light earthquake was registered in southwestern Bulgaria Saturday morning, the Seismology Institute at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences reports.

The epicenter is 220 km southwest of Sofia, not on Bulgaria territory. It happened at 3:30 am with a 3.5 magnitude on the Richter scale.

The quake was not felt in Bulgaria and there are no reports of fatalities and material damage, Bulgaria's Civil Defense says.

Bizarro Earth

Magnitude-6 quake strikes Indonesia's Papua

Jakarta - A magnitude-6 earthquake struck the eastern Indonesian province of West Papua before midday Saturday, but there were no immediate reports of injury or damage, geophysicists said. The quake took place at a depth of 30 kilometres and was centred about 342 kilometres north-west of the Manokwari district, the Indonesian Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG) said. It occurred at 11:53 am (0253 GMT).

It was the latest in a series of jolts to hit Indonesia in recent weeks, the agency said.

A magnitude-7.6 quake struck off the western coast of Sumatra in late September, killing more than 1,100 people and injuring hundreds of others.

A magnitude-9 earthquake off northern Sumatra and a subsequent tsunami that rolled across the Indian Ocean struck five years ago, killing 230,000 people, more than 170,000 of whom died in Indonesia's Aceh province alone.

Bizarro Earth

Moderate earthquake jolts West Sumatra

Padang, West Sumatra Province - An earthquake measuring 5.0 on the Richter scale jolted Padang, in the wee hours of Saturday, causing panic among local residents.

The temblor's epicenter was located at 0.86 degrees southern latitude, and 99.91 degrees eastern longitude, around 34 Km southwest of Pariaman, at a depth of 34 km below sea level, said Fajar, a staff member of the Padangpanjang meteorological and geophysics office, here on Saturday.

Since early March, West Sumatra has been shaken by four earthquakes, with magnitudes up to 6.5 on the Richter scale.

On September 30, 2009, West Sumatra was devastated by a 7.9-magnitude earthquake which killed over 1,000 people and destroyed thousands of buildings.

Bizarro Earth

Earthquake In Mynamar Causes No Serious Damage, Casualties

Yangon -- An earthquake, which struck Monywa, Myanmar's northwestern Sagaing division, early Saturday morning, caused no serious damage and casualties, local residents told Xinhua in a telephone interview.

The quake was not much felt in the area where population is not dense, said a Monywa resident.

An earthquake measuring a magnitude of 5.4 on the Richter scale jolted Monywa Saturday morning at 5:50 a.m. (Myanmar standard time), according to the Hydrology and Meteorology Department.

The quake's epicenter was about 112 kilometers of Monywa at latitude 23.06 degree north and Longitude 94.65 degree east.

The quake shook at a depth of about 100 kilometers as reported by foreign seismological observatory.

Official report about the quake is so far not available yet.

Bizarro Earth

Minor quake strikes near Northern California town

Almanor - The U.S. Geological Survey says a minor earthquake struck overnight near the Northern California town of Almanor.

The magnitude-3.6 quake struck at 2:23 a.m. Friday. It was centered about nine miles southwest of Almanor and 113 miles north of Sacramento.

A dispatcher with the Plumas County Sheriff's Office in Quincy, about 40 miles southeast of Almanor, said she felt nothing and had received no reports of damage or injuries.

Bizarro Earth

Moderate quake off Japan

Tokyo - A moderate 5.8-magnitude earthquake struck off the east coast of the Japanese island of Honshu early on Saturday, seismologists said, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

The tremor hit at 02.32 am (1732 GMT on Friday, 1.32am Singapore time) with an epicentre 192 kilometres (119 miles) east-southeast of Tokyo at a relatively shallow depth of 18 kilometres, the US Geological Survey said.

There was no immediate tsunami alert.

Around 20 per cent of the world's most powerful earthquakes strike Japan, which lies near the junction of two tectonic plates.

Geologists warn that Japan is overdue for a massive and potentially devastating earthquake.

Bizarro Earth

Australia: Quake shakes Port Stephens

A small earthquake shook Port Stephens residents out of bed early yesterday morning, but authorities say no damage was caused.

Geoscience Australia said the tremor, measuring 3.3 on the Richter scale, struck at 3.24am yesterday.

The epicentre was about a kilometre from shore at the northern end of Mungo Brush, north of Hawks Nest.

Herald readers reported hearing one or two loud booms, and windows shaking for about 10 seconds.

"Staying in a two-storey house at Hawks Nest and woke to two loud bangs and the bed and windows shaking," a reader told www.theherald.com.au.

"[I] thought someone had driven into the side of the house."

A Salamander Bay resident said he was awake when the quake struck.

"Heard a boom in the distance, followed by a few seconds later the bedroom windows shaking for about five to 10 seconds."

Bomb

Seismic Trends in South Iceland Still Monitored

Volcanic Glacier
© Páll StefánssonEyjafjallajökull.
There was more seismic activity underneath the volcano in Eyjafjallajökull glacier in south Iceland last night than the night before, although it is significantly lower than during last weekend. The Civic Protection Department keeps monitoring the area.

A sharp earthquake measuring three points on the Richter scale occurred underneath the glacier yesterday afternoon. It is among the largest earthquakes measured in the area this year, Fréttabladid reports.

According to Visir.is, the earthquakes that followed were all weaker. The smaller scale seismic activity remains steady and occurs at a depth of seven to 11 kilometers, the Icelandic Meteorological Office reports.