Earthquakes
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2 strong earthquakes of magnitude 6 and 6.6 hit the Pacific Ocean south of Fiji

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The epicenter of the earthquake
Two strong earthquakes, the largest a 6.6, and smaller aftershocks have hit the Pacific Ocean far south of Fiji and Tonga, seismologists say. There is no threat of a tsunami.

The first quake, which had a magnitude of 6.0, struck at 3:13 p.m. Fiji time on Friday and was centered about 785 kilometers (490 miles) south of Suva, the capital of Fiji, or 790 km (490 mi) southwest of Tonga.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake was followed by a stronger earthquake, a 6.6, just moments later.
Both struck nearly 600 kilometers (370 miles) below the seabed, making them very deep earthquakes.

The earthquakes were followed by two moderate aftershocks during the next hour, both of which measured 5.5, according to the USGS. The first one struck at 3:34 p.m., the other one at 3:51 p.m.

There is no threat of a tsunami from Friday's earthquakes.

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Shallow earthquake measuring 7.1 off Indonesia's Sumatra island briefly triggers tsunami warning - 2nd major quake within 24 hours

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A strong undersea earthquake has sent streams of people fleeing to higher ground in western Indonesia, after a tsunami warning was briefly triggered.

Footage released by the National Disaster Mitigation Agency showed how streams of people in a village on Mentawai Island fled to the highlands by foot and motorcycles under the rain in darkness early Tuesday, while some patients at the village's hospital were evacuated to its yard as cracks showed in the facility's floor.

The shocks were felt in districts and cities of West Sumatra and North Sumatra provinces, and some places ordered evacuations to higher ground.


Residents in parts of West Sumatra province, including the provincial capital of Padang, felt the earthquake strongly for about 30 seconds, disaster agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari said.

Comment: About 19 hours earlier: Earthquake of 7.1 magnitude strikes Kermadec Islands


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Earthquake of 7.1 magnitude strikes Kermadec Islands

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An earthquake of 7.1 magnitude hit the Kermadec Islands region near New Zealand on Monday, stated the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

The earthquake occurred at a depth of 10 km (6.21 miles). USGS initially reported the magnitude of the earthquake at 7.3 but later downgraded it to 7.1.

The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre stated that the tsunami threat which occurred from the earthquake that jolted the Kermadec Islands region has now passed.

As per the National Centre for Seismology, the earthquake's longitude was -178.02 and its latitude was -29.95.

The National Centre for Seismology tweeted that New Zealand's Kermadec Islands were rocked by an earthquake of 7.2 magnitude on Monday.

Comment: About 19 hours later: Shallow earthquake measuring 7.1 off Indonesia's Sumatra island briefly triggers tsunami warning


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Strong magnitude 6.3 earthquake shakes Papua New Guinea

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A strong earthquake shook Papua New Guinea on Wednesday but no serious damage or casualties were expected, officials said.

The magnitude 6.3 earthquake was centered in West New Britain province at a depth of 55.7 kilometers (35 miles), the U.S. Geological Survey said.

It said the quake caused strong shaking, but economic losses and casualties were expected to be small.

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6.6 magnitude earthquake shakes Fiji

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A strong earthquake jolted the South Pacific island nation of Fiji on Tuesday, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.

The USGS said 6.6 magnitude earthquake on Richter scale hit southern Fiji at around 4.31 p.m. (0431GMT) with a depth of 562.5 kilometers (349.5 miles).

There has been no registered damage, according to the latest reports.

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Warm liquid spewing from Oregon seafloor comes from Cascadia fault, could offer clues to earthquake hazards

Pythias Oasis
© Philip et al./Science AdvancesThis sonar image of the Pythias Oasis site shows bubbles rising from the seafloor about two-thirds of a mile deep and 50 miles off Newport, Oregon. These bubbles are a byproduct of a unique site where warm, chemically distinct fluid gushes from the seafloor. Researchers believe this fluid comes directly from the Cascadia megathrust zone, or plate boundary, and helps control stress buildup between the two plates.
The field of plate tectonics is not that old, and scientists continue to learn the details of earthquake-producing geologic faults. The Cascadia Subduction Zone — the eerily quiet offshore fault that threatens to unleash a magnitude-9 earthquake in the Pacific Northwest — still holds many mysteries.

A study led by the University of Washington discovered seeps of warm, chemically distinct liquid shooting up from the seafloor about 50 miles off Newport, Oregon. The paper, published Jan. 25 in Science Advances, describes the unique underwater spring the researchers named Pythia's Oasis. Observations suggest the spring is sourced from water 2.5 miles beneath the seafloor at the plate boundary, regulating stress on the offshore fault.

The team made the discovery during a weather-related delay for a cruise aboard the RV Thomas G. Thompson. The ship's sonar showed unexpected plumes of bubbles about three-quarters of a mile beneath the ocean's surface. Further exploration using an underwater robot revealed the bubbles were just a minor component of warm, chemically distinct fluid gushing from the seafloor sediment.

"They explored in that direction and what they saw was not just methane bubbles, but water coming out of the seafloor like a firehose. That's something that I've never seen, and to my knowledge has not been observed before," said co-author Evan Solomon, a UW associate professor of oceanography who studies seafloor geology.

The feature was discovered by first author Brendan Philip, who did the work as a UW graduate student and now works as a White House policy advisor.

Observations from later cruises show the fluid leaving the seafloor is 9 degrees Celsius (16 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than the surrounding seawater. Calculations suggest the fluid is coming straight from the Cascadia megathrust, where temperatures are an estimated 150 to 250 degrees Celsius (300 to 500 degrees Fahrenheit).

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Powerful 7.0-magnitude earthquake strikes off Indonesia

The quake was at a depth of 368 miles, EMSC said, and struck at 4:55 pm local time (0955 GMT), with Indonesia's geological agency ruling out a tsunami
The quake was at a depth of 368 miles, EMSC said, and struck at 4:55 pm local time (0955 GMT), with Indonesia's geological agency ruling out a tsunami
An earthquake of magnitude 7.0 struck Java, Indonesia on Friday, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said.

The quake was at a depth of 368 miles, EMSC said, and struck at 4:55 pm local time (0955 GMT), with Indonesia's geological agency ruling out a tsunami.

The quake was strongly felt in Surabaya, Tuban, Denpasar, and Semarang, Abdul Muhari, spokesperson for Indonesia's Disaster Agency, told Reuters news agency.

'There is no damage reported so far because the quake is very deep,' Muhari said. 'I don't think there will damages but we are still monitoring.'

Indonesia straddles the so-called 'Pacific Ring of Fire', a highly active seismic zone, where different plates on the Earth's crust meet and create a large number of earthquakes and volcanoes.

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Shallow earthquake off British Columbia coast measuring magnitude 6

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An earthquake measuring 6 has shaken the seabed a few hundred kilometres off Vancouver Island.

The National Tsunami Warning Center in Alaska says a dangerous wave is not expected from the quake.

The U.S. Geological Survey website shows the quake was only lightly felt in areas ranging from Port Hardy, just over 200 kilometres from the epicentre, to Kitimat, more than 500 kilometres away.

Earthquakes Canada estimated the quake that happened at about 8 a.m. local time was magnitude 5.8, while the tsunami warning centre said it reached 6.2.

Comment: The U.S. Geological Survey also reports the depth as just 7.3 kms.


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Shallow 6.0 magnitude earthquake strikes off Papua New Guinea

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An earthquake measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale struck Papua New Guinea on Monday.

The USGS said the epicenter was at a depth of 10 km, at 3.50 degrees south latitude and 149 degrees east longitude, 224.6 km southeast of Kavieng city.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or material losses due to the earthquake.

Papua New Guinea is located along the Pacific Ring of Fire, where many volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur. This region includes 90 percent of the active volcanoes in the world.

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Panama jolted by strong 6.3-magnitude quake off Pacific coast, no casualties reported

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A strong 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck Tuesday off Panama's Pacific coast near the town of Boca Chica.

The US Geological Survey said the quake hit at 5:18 local time (22:18 UTC) and its epicenter was about 44 miles (71 kilometres) south of Boca Chica. The earthquake occurred at a depth of eight miles (13 kilometres).

Panama's civil defense office said there were no immediate reports of damages. But the office said the quake was felt on nearby Coiba Island.

National Civil Defense Director Carlos Rumbo told local press that his office had not received reports of damage or injuries, but was continuing to check with people in the provinces along the Pacific coast.

Source: Associated Press