Earthquakes
S


Seismograph

Shallow magnitude 6.2 earthquake strikes off coast of Viga in Philippines

mmmmmm
A 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck in the ocean off the coast of the eastern Philippines on Tuesday, the US Geological Survey said, with local authorities warning of aftershocks and possible damage.

The shallow quake hit around 9:00 pm (1300 GMT) about 120 kilometers (74 miles) from Catanduanes Island, off the main island of Luzon, the USGS said.

Shallow quakes tend to cause more damage than deeper ones, but so far there have been no immediate reports of damage on Catanduanes.

Seismograph

6.1-magnitude quake strikes off Indonesia's Sumatra island: USGS

The epicentre of the earthquake off Indonesia on Apr 3, 2023.
The epicentre of the earthquake off Indonesia on Apr 3, 2023.
A 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck off Sumatra island in western Indonesia on Monday (Apr 3), shaking homes of panicked residents but causing no casualties or damage.

The quake's epicentre was at sea southwest of Padangsidempuan city in northern Sumatra at a depth of 84 kilometres, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported.

It occurred around 9.59pm.

The country's meteorology and geophysics agency said there was no tsunami warning after the tremor but told residents nearest the epicentre to beware of potential aftershocks.

Seismograph

Strong 6.5-magnitude earthquake strikes Russia's Far East

The epicenter of the earthquake
The epicenter of the earthquake.
A strong magnitude 6.5 earthquake has struck the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia's Far East, according to seismologists and residents. Strong shaking was felt near the epicenter but there is no threat of a tsunami.

The earthquake struck at 03:06 p.m. local time on Monday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), with the epicenter located about 10 kilometers from Vilyuchinsk or 28 kilometers from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, the capital of the Kamchatka region.

"Based on all available data, a destructive Pacific-wide tsunami is not expected," the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said in a statement.

Comment: About 9 hours earlier: Powerful 7.0-magnitude earthquake hits Papua New Guinea


Seismograph

Powerful 7.0-magnitude earthquake hits Papua New Guinea

The epicenter of the earthquake
The epicenter of the earthquake.
A powerful earthquake measuring 7.0 has struck Papua New Guinea, seismologists and residents say. Homes were destroyed near the epicenter but only few details were immediately available.

The earthquake, which struck at 3:04 a.m. local time on Monday, was centered in Chambri Lake, about 37 kilometers east of Ambunti or 96 kilometers southwest of Wewak, the capital of East Sepik province.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) put the earthquake's magnitude at 7.0, a significant downgrade from earlier estimates of 7.3 and 7.9. It struck about 62 kilometers below the surface, making it a fairly deep earthquake.

Comment: About 9 hours later: Strong 6.5-magnitude earthquake strikes Russia's Far East


Seismograph

Shallow magnitude 6.3 earthquake strikes offshore central Chile town

mmmmmm
An earthquake of magnitude 6.3 struck offshore central Chile town of Maule on Thursday.

A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck off the coast of Maule, Chile on Thursday, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said.

The quake was at a depth of 15 km (9.32 miles), EMSC said.

Source: Reuters

Seismograph

Shallow earthquake of magnitude 6.1 hits off Japan - no tsunami or injuries reported

mmmmmmm
A magnitude 6.1 quake struck off Aomori in northern Japan on Tuesday, the national weather agency said, but no tsunami warning was issued.

The quake hit at 6:18 pm (0918 GMT) at a depth of 20 kilometres (12 miles), according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

Major Japanese media outlets carried no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

The US Geological Survey put the magnitude of the quake at 6.2.

Earthquakes are common in Japan, which sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", an arc of intense seismic activity that stretches through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.

The country has strict construction regulations intended to ensure buildings can withstand strong earthquakes, and emergency drills are routinely held to prepare for a major jolt.

Source: AFP

Seismograph

6.1-magnitude earthquake hits off Solomon Islands

nnnn
An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.1 jolted 73 km W of Buala, Solomon Islands, at 22:19:15 GMT on Monday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The epicenter, with a depth of 85.976 km, was initially determined to be at 8.2105 degrees south latitude and 158.9268 degrees east longitude.

Seismograph

6.5 magnitude earthquake strikes Jujuy, Argentina

mmmmmmm
An earthquake measuring 6.5 magnitude struck Jujuy, Argentina on Wednesday, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre said.

The quake struck at a depth of 200 km (124.27 miles), EMSC said.

Source: Reuters

Seismograph

At least 13 deaths reported as powerful magnitude 6.5 earthquake rocks Afghanistan, Pakistan and India (UPDATE)

mmmmm
An magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck northern Afghanistan on Tuesday evening, killing at least one person in neighbouring Pakistan and causing strong shaking across the north in both countries.

The tremor was very deep, 194 km, and its epicentre was in the Hindu Kush mountain range, near the remote northern Afghan province of Badakhshan.

A 13-year old girl died when a wall in her home collapsed on her, and 34 people were injured in the northern Pakistani district of Swat, police officer Shafiullah Gandapur told Reuters.

Disaster authorities in Afghanistan said they did not have any immediate reports of casualties.


Comment: Update March 22

The Evening Standard reports:
At least 13 people were killed and more than 90 injured in Pakistan and Afghanistan after a magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck late on Tuesday.

Millions felt the tremors rattle the South Asian region late on Tuesday, sending terrified residents fleeing from homes and offices.

At least nine people died in Pakistan and four in Afghanistan.

The quake was felt over an area more than 1,000 kilometres (621 miles) wide by some 285 million people in Pakistan, India, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre said.

The epicentre was in the Hindu Kush mountains, in the sparsely populated northeastern Afghan province of Badakhshan, 40km southeast of Jurm village, at the considerable depth of 187km, the US Geological Survey said.

In Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province senior provincial official Abdul Basit said that in addition to the dead and injured, at least 19 houses were damaged.

Shafiullah Rahimi, a spokesperson for Afghanistan's disaster mitigation ministry, said late on Tuesday that two people had been killed in the eastern province of Laghman.

Large parts of South Asia are seismically active because a tectonic plate known as the Indian plate is pushing north into the Eurasian plate.

A 6.1 magnitude earthquake in eastern Afghanistan killed more than 1,000 people last year.

In 2005, at least 73,000 people were killed by a 7.6 magnitude quake that struck northern Pakistan.



Seismograph

At least 16 dead after magnitude 6.8 earthquake shakes Ecuador

Residents look at a building that collapsed after an earthquake struck Machala, Ecuador, on March 18, 2023.
© Jhonny Crespo/APResidents look at a building that collapsed after an earthquake struck Machala, Ecuador, on March 18, 2023.
At least 16 people died after a magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck southern Ecuador on Saturday afternoon, according to government officials.

The earthquake struck near the southern town of Baláo and was more than 65 km (nearly 41 miles) deep, according to the United States Geological Survey.

An estimated 381 people were injured in the quake, the General Secretariat of Communication of the Presidency of Ecuador tweeted on their official account.

In the province of El Oro, at least 11 people died. At least one other death was reported in the province of Azuay, according to the communications department for Ecuador's president. In an earlier statement, authorities said the person in Azuay was killed when a wall collapsed onto a car and that at least three of the victims in El Oro died when a security camera tower came down.