Earth ChangesS


Bizarro Earth

Aftershocks rattle quake ravaged Chile

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© Mario Vilches AlcainoThe death toll stands at 214, but seems certain to rise.
Chileans have spent a night camped outside, fearful of aftershocks as rescuers battle to find survivors of a huge earthquake that shattered roads and airports and triggered a tsunami across the Pacific.

A powerful new 6.1 magnitude aftershock struck just off the coast early on Sunday morning (local time) reinforcing those fears, rattling cities already devastated by Saturday's deadly quake.

The 8.8 magnitude quake, one of the world's most powerful in a century, hammered Chile, killing more than 300 people as it toppled buildings and mangled highways.

The clock is ticking on the search for survivors, with about 100 people feared trapped in just one collapsed apartment block in the city of Concepcion.

Bizarro Earth

Earthquake Alert for Mexico, California and Alaska

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With the effects of the recent 8.8 magnitude quake in Chile still unfolding, it is understandable that thoughts of how this will affect other areas are not high in people's minds.

Hundreds have lost their lives in Chile, and Tsunami alerts have been seen as far away as Japan and Russia. Aftershocks continue to hit Chile, hampering rescue efforts and placing the survivors in constant fear.

The Chile quake occurred in the centre of three tectonic plates (Nazca, South American and Antarctic plates) and almost the same location that produced the largest earthquake the world has ever seen (in 1960).

Tectonic plates move in different ways. Some slide against other plates, while others push or go over or under each other. In some cases, the movement of one plate can affect another, creating new earthquakes in different areas of the planet.

Bizarro Earth

Chile quake in 'elite class' like 2004 Asian quake

Los Angeles - The huge earthquake that struck off the coast of Chile belongs to an "elite class" of mega earthquakes, experts said, and is similar to the 2004 Indian Ocean temblor that triggered deadly tsunami waves.

The magnitude-8.8 quake was a type called a "megathrust," considered the most powerful earthquake on the planet. Megathrusts occur when one tectonic plate dives beneath another. Saturday's tremor unleashed about 50 gigatons of energy and broke about 250 miles of the fault zone, said U.S. Geological Survey geophysicist Paul Caruso.

The quake's epicenter was offshore and occurred about 140 miles north of the largest earthquake ever recorded - a magnitude-9.5 that killed about 1,600 people in Chile and scores of others in the Pacific in 1960.

Bizarro Earth

Parts of UK on flood alert with more downpours likely

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South-east England is expected to bear the brunt of the stormy weather
Large parts of the UK are on flood alert after heavy rain, with further torrential downpours and strong winds predicted for southern England.

The Met Office has issued a severe weather warning for south-east England and says up to 20mm (0.8in) of rain could fall on already saturated ground.

There is one severe flood warning and eight flood warnings in place for East Anglia and north-east England.

Some 103 flood watches are in force for much of the rest of England and Wales.

Two flood watches are currently in force in Scotland for the east coast from Peterhead to Berwick, and the Solway Firth from the Esk Estuary to Loch Ryan.

Bizarro Earth

Deadly storm lashes Spain, Portugal and France

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© AFPThe French village of Ver-sur-Mer feels the force of the gales
At least nine people have been killed in storms that have lashed parts of Spain, Portugal and France.

Winds of up to 140km/h (87mph) caused chaos as they moved from Portugal up through the Bay of Biscay.

Five people are reported to have been killed in France, three in Spain and a 10-year-old boy in Portugal.

The storm is expected to track north-eastwards during the course of Sunday, reaching Denmark by the evening, French meteorological authorities said.

Bizarro Earth

Argentina: Two people dead in an earthquake registered in Salta

Salta Earthquake
© momento24
Two people died in Salta, due to a quake of 6.1 in the Ritcher scale, which hit the Argentinean province.

The dead are an eight year old boy and an man of 70 years old, who were crushed by a wall that fell due to the quake.

The boy was playing with others, near California's farm in La Merced, where the a wall fell and hit them. The children were taken to a local hospital but one died because of the multiple injuries that he had suffered.

The child was identified as Mariano Martinez and was a native of Valle de Lema, located in the center of the province of Salta.

Bizarro Earth

Pakistan: 6.2 Quake Jolts Upper Parts of Country

Islamabad - A moderate earthquake with an intensity of 6.2 has rattled upper parts of country including federal capital Islamabad early on Sunday morning before dawn, Geo news reported.

According to met office, the areas received the shocks of tremor, included upper and lower Dir, Swat, Bunir, Hangu, Malakand, Shangla, Nowshera, Mansehra, Balakot, Attock, Peshawar and Momhand Agency.

The epic center of quake was somewhere in Afghanistan beneath Hindu Kush's mountainous region, met office told media.

No loss of life or property was reported, however, people in fear came out of their homes reciting verses from Holy Qura'an, witnesses told reporters.

Evil Rays

US: Small Earthquake that Sounded like a Train Derailing, a Plane Crash or a Sonic Boom, Woke Up Northern Illinois

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© The Daily Herald
"We definitely were jolted out of bed" recalls Bob Gehrke who's property sits adjacent to the epicenter of the quake. My daughter Carolyn said it felt as if the floor was moving.

To some, it sounded like a train derailing, a snowplow taking out a car, a plane crash, a sonic boom.

To dogs, it was clearly something to panic about.

But the U.S. Geological Survey said what woke people well before dawn Wednesday was a mild, 3.8-magnitude earthquake whose epicenter was about three miles beneath a farm field a short distance south of Pingree Grove, near Route 20 and Switzer Road in western Kane County.

Evil Rays

US: Small Earthquake and Sonic Boom Hit Part of Ohio

Northwestern Ohio was hit with a small earthquake Thursday afternoon. The Fostoria Police Department says the earthquake hit around 4:30 p.m., in the city which is about 35 miles south of Toledo.

"We received a couple of calls from citizens. Thought we had either a sonic boom or a small explosion of some type. We didn't have any report of damage or injury but after contacting Seneca County Emergency Management Association and talking with the Ohio Seismic Network, early reports have told us that they had a small earthquake somewhere here around Fostoria," said Chief John McGuire with the police department.

Bizarro Earth

Backgrounder: The World's most Devastating Earthquakes over last 20 years

An earthquake measuring 8.8 on the Richter scale shook Chile on early Saturday morning, killing at least 147 people and leaving a great destruction in the center and south of the country.

The earthquake occurred at 3:36 a.m. local time (0636 GMT), when most of people were asleep. This earthquake according to the experts was 50 times more powerful than the one that devastated Haiti on Jan. 12.

Following are some of the most devastating earthquakes over the last 20 years: