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Japan: Seismic activity from magnitude-7.3 earthquake stretched 100 kilometers

Shotaro Demizu and Takako Sasamoto
The Japan News
Sun, 17 Apr 2016 20:36 UTC
Rescue workers
© Yomiuri ShimbunSelf-Defense Forces personnel and other rescue workers search for missing people in a residential area of Minami-Aso, Kumamoto Prefecture, on Sunday.
The magnitude-7.3 earthquake that pounded Kumamoto Prefecture early Saturday was more powerful than a foreshock that struck two days earlier.

The seismic activity then moved northeast to reach areas in Oita Prefecture about 100 kilometers away from the focus of the magnitude-7.3 quake. Experts are concerned that quake activities could spread to a major active fault that lies further ahead in that direction.

On Saturday morning, Yomiuri Shimbun reporters entered the town of Mashiki, Kumamoto Prefecture, where aftershocks continue to rattle the area. Many houses in the town's Dozono district have collapsed. A large crack ran through a field, leaving a line of what looked like overturned earth. A road crossing the field was buckled out of alignment.

According to a calculation by Masashi Omata of the Japanese Society for Active Fault Studies, the ground here moved about 20 centimeters vertically, and about two meters horizontally. This measurement was taken in a northeastern section of the Futagawa fault zone, which extends for at least about 64 kilometers. "Part of the Futagawa fault zone shifted and caused the magnitude-7.3 temblor," Omata said.

Comment: Seismic activity increasing: Scientist warns up to 4 quakes over 8.0 possible under 'current conditions'

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Attention

Magnitude 5.9 earthquake rocks South Georgia

Ces Dimalanta
Manila Bulletin
Tue, 19 Apr 2016 13:27 UTC
earthquake
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake recently struck north of South Georgia on Tuesday (April 19, 2016), as reported by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) earthquake bulletin.

The earthquake's epicenter was recorded at 119 kilometers north of Visokoi Island, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands at 1:25 pm of Tuesday (Philippine time).

A slight tremor has also affected nearby areas such as areas of Argentina - Ushuaia, Rio Gallegos, Puerto Deseado - and Stanley in Falkland Islands.
No casualties were reported as of this posting.

A 5.9-magnitude quake struck Visokoi Island on Tuesday afternoon (Philippine time). The epicenter was located 119 km of South Georgia.
© USGSA 5.9-magnitude quake struck Visokoi Island on Tuesday afternoon (Philippine time). The epicenter was located 119 km of South Georgia.
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Bizarro Earth

Seismic activity increasing: Scientist warns up to 4 quakes over 8.0 possible under 'current conditions'


RT
Mon, 18 Apr 2016 15:31 UTC
earthquakes in Minamiaso town, Kumamoto prefecture
© Kyodo / Reuters Rescue workers conduct a search and rescue operation to a collapsed house at a landslide site caused by earthquakes in Minamiaso town, Kumamoto prefecture.
Sunday's devastating earthquake in Ecuador might just be the beginning, according to a seismologist who says that current conditions in the Pacific Rim could trigger at least four quakes with magnitudes greater than 8.0.

Roger Bilham, a University of Colorado seismologist, told the Express, "If (the quakes) delay, the strain accumulated during the centuries provokes more catastrophic mega earthquakes."

A total of 38 volcanoes are currently erupting around the world, making conditions ripe for seismic activity in the Pacific area.
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Attention

Multiple recent powerful earthquakes reflect a planet in deep transition

Joachim Hagopian
Sott.net
Mon, 18 Apr 2016 00:00 UTC
ring of fire
The 'Ring of Fire'
Five strong earthquakes have jolted Asia in the last several days. There have been 16 major earthquakes measuring 6.0 or higher in April alone and nine in the last seven days. The two biggest in this unprecedented wave of serious shakers just happened over the weekend in Ecuador with a mammoth 7.8 earthquake killing at least 77 people and a 7.0 in Kumamota on Kyusha Island in southern Japan where three large earthquakes in three days have struck killing at least 41 people. Within the last two weeks the tiny South Pacific island of Vanatu alone has been hit with five major quakes. Four days ago a powerful 6.9 quake hit Myanmar killing two. And now with seven major shakers just in the last 96 hours alone killing at least 120 people, both laypeople and scientists alike are growing more concerned about what may be coming next.

On April 25th it will be one year ago since that deadly 7.8 earthquake in Nepal resulted in over 9,000 fatalities. But so far 2016 appears to even be more disastrous with seven 7.0 or larger earthquakes and 40 6.0 and larger ones already striking the earth's surface. The epicenters of over half of the most serious earthquakes within the last 30 days have been relatively shallow (within 20 km or less than 12.4 miles from the earth's surface), causing even more violent upheaval and earthly destruction. And all but a couple of the 20 largest earthquakes 6.0 or higher observed within this last month have erupted along the Pacific Ring of Fire in South America, Alaska, but mostly in Asia at a rate not seen in centuries, indicating cataclysmic earth changes currently taking place inside the earth's core and crust that could be reacting to cataclysmic changes occurring within our solar system causing the Pacific tectonic plates to be simultaneously rupturing in multiple locations under intense built up pressures.
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Attention

Update: Ecuador earthquake of 7.8 magnitude kills at least 77 people

Justin Carissimo
The Independent (UK)
Sun, 17 Apr 2016 07:29 UTC
Ecuador earthquake damage
© REUTERS/PAUL OCHOA People stand in the rubble of a collapsed building after an earthquake struck Manta, Ecuador
At least 77 people have been killed after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit Ecuador's central coast.

Officials have declared a state of emergency in six of the country's 24 provinces and the National Guard. The tremor destroyed homes and collapsed one major overpass.

President Rafael Correa urged the country's 16 million people to remain calm during the crisis.

"Our infinite love to the families of the dead," he said on Twitter. He also announced that he would cut short his trip to Italy to return home.

Vice President Jorge Glas also announced that the number of injured people were not currently available but he admitted that the death toll is expected to rise.

"It's very important that Ecuadoreans remain calm during this emergency," Vice President Glas announced in a televised address.

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Bizarro Earth

USGS: Powerful 5.8-magnitude quake hits Tonga


RT
Sun, 17 Apr 2016 08:55 UTC
Tonga earthquake map
© earthquake.usgs.gov
A 5.8-magnitude has hit the coast of the Pacific island nation of Tonga, USGS reported. The tremor with a depth of 66km, struck 287km from the county's capital of Nuku'alofa.

The part of the South Pacific Ocean where Tonga lies is considered to be one of the most seismically active areas in the world due to convergence between the Australia and Pacific plates, the USGS said.

In March, a 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck off Tonga and the Samoa islands, Geoscience Australia and the US Geological Survey (USGS) reported. The quake occurred just 96km from the town of Hihifo in Tonga.
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Bizarro Earth

Researchers find cracks in ground near epicenter of Japanese earthquake


NHK World
Sat, 16 Apr 2016 14:48 UTC
Slip after Earthquake
© YouTube Screen Capture
Researchers have found a long tear in the earth near the epicenter of a strong earthquake that jolted the southern Japanese prefecture of Kumamoto early Saturday.

They believe the scattering of cracks, which start on a road and run into a rice paddy, trace the line of a fault that caused the tremor.

Hiroshima University Professor Emeritus Takashi Nakata and his team have been examining the area around Mashiki Town since the magnitude-7.3 earthquake.

They found the deviation that runs through a rice paddy is about 1.2 meters wide. The earth on one side of the line is elevated by 50 centimeters.
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Bizarro Earth

7.8 Magnitude earthquake hits Ecuador


Sputnik News
Sun, 17 Apr 2016 02:46 UTC
Ecuador Earthquake
© FlickrQuito
An earthquake measuring 7.8 occurred off the coast of Ecuador, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). The number of victims of the earthquake that shook coastal Ecuador earlier in the day has reached 28 people, local media reported, citing Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glas.

According to the El Telegrafo newspaper, 16 people were killed in the city of Portoviejo, 10 died in the city of Manta and two others became victims of the quake in the Guayas province.
ecuador earthquake 2016
© USGSLocation of epicenter.
Tremors were recorded at 11:58 p.m. UTC time (02:58 MSK). According to the USGS, the epicenter of the quake was 17 miles away from the coastal town of Muisne and just over 100 miles away from the capital Quito.

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Question

Japanese city of Fukuoka, covered in mysterious foam after earthquake (VIDEOS)

Katie Forster
The Independent, UK
Sat, 16 Apr 2016 13:17 UTC
Foam in Fukuoka City
© The Independent, UK
An unexplained carpet of foamy bubbles filled streets in the centre of the southern Japanese city of Fukuoka in the early hours of Saturday morning - shortly after tremors from a devastating earthquake of magnitude 7.3 shook the town.

Twitter users posted pictures of the mysterious foam, with one calling it "disgusting".

"I saw it just after the earthquake," said Kazuki Nabeta, who lives in the busy central district of Tenjin, where the bubbles were found.

Some have speculated that the earthquake may have caused an underground pipe to burst.

"People were posting pictures on Twitter and it was near my house, so I went out to have a look," said Mr Nabeta.
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Attention

Update: 32 killed, 70,000 evacuated as Japan hit by 2 powerful earthquakes & devastating landslides (photos & videos)


RT
Sat, 16 Apr 2016 10:42 UTC
Japan earthquake damage April 2016
© ReutersLocal residents look at cracks caused by an earthquake on a road in Mashiki town, Kumamoto prefecture, southern Japan, in this photo taken by Kyodo April 16, 2016.
Dozens of people are feared trapped under rubble in southern Japan, as the death toll from two earthquakes has climbed to 32. The search for survivors is in full swing, while 70,000 people have been evacuated from their homes to safer locations.

Over 200 aftershocks have hit Japan following the initial Thursday tremor of 6.5-magnitude, which hit the city of Kumamoto on the island of Kyushu. Officials have warned that the risk of further strong aftershocks will linger for about a week.

About 190 of the injured are in serious condition, the Japanese government said.

Only 24 hours later the same areas was struck by a violent 7.1-magnitude earthquake. The Japan Meteorological Agency briefly issued tsunami warnings for the areas that were still recovering from Thursday's devastating tremors.

At least nine people were killed and more than 850 injured in the first quake. The death toll in the second has risen to 29. All in all, 1,500 people have been injured in the quakes, 80 of them seriously, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said. He added that about 70,000 have left their homes.
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