Earthquakes
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Magnitude 6.5 earthquake strikes east of South Sandwich Islands region

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An earthquake of magnitude 6.5 struck east of the South Sandwich Islands region, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said on Thursday.

The quake was at a depth of 2 km (1.24 miles), EMSC added.

(Reporting by Jose Joseph in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)

Source: Reuters

Fire

This week in volcano news; Mauna Loa earthquake swarm, alert level raised at Taupo

Piton de la Fournaise Volcano (La Réunion):
Piton de la Fournaise Volcano (La Réunion)
This week, the alert level at the Taupo supervolcano in New Zealand was raised for the first time. Meanwhile at Mauna Loa in Hawaii, a new shallow earthquake swarm began during the volcano's continued yellow alert level. And, on Reunion Island, a new volcanic eruption began at the Piton de la Fournaise volcano, sending flows of molten rock down the volcano's edifice. This video will discuss these volcano related news stories, as told and analyzed by a volcanologist.


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Shallow earthquake of magnitude 6.1 hits in Pacific off southern Chile

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An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.1 struck in the Pacific off southern Chile on Friday, but there were no early reports of damage.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the epicenter was 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) below the surface, about 142 kilometers (88 miles) west of Ancud, a town 1,120 kilometers (696 miles) south of the Chilean capital, Santiago.

The National Emergency Office said in a tweet that authorities were checking for any "possible damage to people, alteration of basic services or infrastructure."

The Chilean navy's Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service ruled out the possibility of a tsunami.

Chile sits along the so-called "Ring of Fire" of the Pacific, and it has frequent earthquakes. In 2010, a quake of magnitude 8.8 set off a devastating tsunami that killed 526 people and collapsed more than 220,000 homes in the south-central part of the country.

Source: The Associated Press

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6.2-magnitude earthquake hits off Meulaboh, Indonesia: USGS

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An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.2 jolted 40 km SSW of Meulaboh, Indonesia, at 20:52:59 GMT on Friday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The epicenter, with a depth of 48.584 km, was initially determined to be at 3.8098 degrees north latitude and 95.9872 degrees east longitude.

Seismograph

6.8 magnitude earthquake shakes Michoacan, Mexico, 1 dead - 2nd major quake for the region in 3 days

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A powerful earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 struck Mexico early Thursday, causing buildings to sway and leaving at least one person dead in the nation's capital.

The earthquake struck shortly after 1 a.m., just three days after a 7.6-magnitude earthquake shook western and central Mexico, killing two.


The U.S. Geological Survey said Thursday's earthquake, like Monday's, was centered in the western state of Michoacan near the Pacific coast. The epicenter was about 29 miles (46 kilometers) south-southwest of Aguililla, Michoacan, at a depth of about 15 miles (24.1 kilometers).


Seismograph

Strong 6.0 magnitude earthquake hits off Kamchatka Krai, Russia

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An earthquake measuring 6.0 magnitude has hit near the region of Kamchatsk Staryy in Russia.

A strong earthquake measuring 6.0 magnitude on the Richter scale has been registered this evening in the Bering Sea, off the eastern coast of Russia. According to Asismet @Asismet_IF, the tremor occurred at 6:23pm local time. Its epicentre was placed 253km east of Ust'-Kamchatsk, at a depth of 10km.

The location of this quake is said to be along the Bering fault, and related to the Bering Kresla plate boundary shear zone.

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7.6 magnitude earthquake shakes Mexico on the anniversary of two previous quakes

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A magnitude 7.6 earthquake shook Mexico's central Pacific coast on Monday, killing at least one person and setting off a seismic alarm in the rattled capital on the anniversary of two earlier devastating quakes.

There were at least some early reports of damage to buildings from the quake, which hit at 1:05 p.m. local time, according to the U.S. Geologic Survey, which had initially put the magnitude at 7.5.

It said the quake was centered 37 kilometers (23 miles) southeast of Aquila near the boundary of Colima and Michoacan states and at a depth of 15.1 kilometers (9.4 miles).

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said via Twitter that the secretary of the navy told him one person was killed in the port city of Manzanillo, Colima when a wall at a mall collapsed.


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Shallow 6.9 magnitude earthquake hits Taiwan - 2nd major quake there within 19 hours

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A tsunami warning has been cancelled after an earthquake rocked the Taiwan's southeastern region today. The The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a warning for Taiwan after the earthquake but later rescinded the alert.

Today's earthquake struck Taiwan's rural Yujing district with a 6.9 magnitude, and a depth of 10 kilometres.

Photos showed buildings collapsed, and about 20 people were evacuated from a train derailed in the area.

Three people were trapped under the rubble of one building, while a fourth person was saved. There were, however, no casualties reported, the Taiwan Railway Administration said.


Comment: Details of the earlier shake: Shallow magnitude 6.4 earthquake rocks Taiwan


Seismograph

Shallow magnitude 6.4 earthquake rocks Taiwan

The side wall of an uninhabited 70-year-old home in Hualien's Fuli Township collapsed due to the earthquake Saturday evening.
The side wall of an uninhabited 70-year-old home in Hualien's Fuli Township collapsed due to the earthquake Saturday evening.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck Taiwan's southeastern Taitung County at 9:41 p.m. Saturday, according to data from the Central Weather Bureau (CWB).

There were reports of objects falling from store shelves in Taitung, Kaohsiung's metro system was temporarily suspended and there were at least five aftershocks.

The epicenter of the temblor was located about 35.8 kilometers north of Taitung County Hall, at a depth of 7.3 km, the bureau's Seismology Center said.


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Massive 7.6 earthquake rocks Papua New Guinea, at least 10 dead (UPDATE)

Debris lies strewn across a highway following a landslide near the town of Kainantu, following a 7.6-magnitude earthquake in northeastern Papua New Guinea on Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022.
© Renagi Ravu/APDebris lies strewn across a highway following a landslide near the town of Kainantu, following a 7.6-magnitude earthquake in northeastern Papua New Guinea on Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022.
A massive 7.6 earthquake struck Papua New Guinea on Sunday, causing landslides, cracking roads and damaging buildings.

While the extent of the damage remains unclear, photos showed debris strewn across highways and cracks opening up in roads.

The quake struck at a depth of 90 kilometers (roughly 56 miles) near Kainantu, a town with a population of roughly 8,500 people, the United States Geological Survey reported.


Comment: AFP reports:
Five dead in 'massive' Papua New Guinea quake

A 7.6-magnitude earthquake shook Papua New Guinea Sunday, damaging buildings, triggering landslides and killing at least five people, with several others severely injured.

Residents in northern towns near the epicentre reported intense shaking mid-morning that cracked roads and rattled the cladding off buildings.

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Local member of parliament Kessy Sawang said at least two people had died in remote mountain villages, with four others airlifted to hospital in critical condition.

"There has been widespread damage," she told AFP, adding that a landslide had buried homes and "split" one village where people had "lost their houses".

In nearby Wau, Koranga Alluvial Mining said three miners had been buried alive.

There are limited communications in the area, few government resources and very few paved roads, making assessment and rescue efforts difficult.

Small aviation companies and missionary groups were involved in airlifting some of the injured across the rugged jungle landscape.

"It's very difficult, the terrain, the weather. It's challenging," said Nellie Pumai of Manolos Aviation, which had transported one person out and was trying to return.

In the eastern highland town of Goroka, residents captured images of window awnings falling off the cracked walls of a local university.

It was "very strong", said Hivi Apokore, a worker at the Jais Aben Resort near the coastal town of Madang.

"Everything was like sitting on a sea -- just floating."

The quake was felt as far as the capital Port Moresby about 300 miles (480 kilometres) away.

The US Geological Survey initially issued a tsunami warning for nearby coastal areas, but subsequently said the threat had passed.

But fearful locals near the sea nevertheless fled for higher ground -- reporting that the water level had suddenly dropped.

'Massive'

The nation's leader, James Marape, said the quake was "massive" and told people to be cautious, but said he expected the damage to be less than that from a 2018 quake and series of aftershocks, which killed an estimated 150 people.

However, the scale of the damage and number of casualties from Sunday's quake was still unclear.

"National and provincial disaster agencies, as well as leaders, have been asked to assess the damage and injuries to people and attend to these as soon as possible," Marape said.

State-backed communications firm DataCo said it was experiencing "multiple service disruptions" to the operation of a domestic undersea communications cable as well as the PIPE Pacific Cable 1 that runs from Sydney to Guam.

It was not yet clear if there was any damage to regional airports.

The quake struck at a depth of 61 kilometres (38 miles), about 67 kilometres from the town of Kainantu, according to the US Geological Survey.

Papua New Guinea sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", causing it to experience frequent earthquakes.

Earlier Sunday, the US Geological Survey also reported two strong quakes in the remote Mentawai Islands off the western coast of Sumatra in neighbouring Indonesia.
Update September 14

The New Zealand Herald reports:
Reports say death toll has risen to 10 after Papua New Guinea quake

Media in Papua New Guinea are reporting as many as 10 people have now died following the weekend earthquake.

The 7.6 magnitude quake, which was followed by a 5.0 magnitude shake an hour later, affected much of the Highlands, as well as the coastal provinces of Madang and Morobe.

It said four people have now died in Nawaeb, and three in Wau-Waria.

The secretary general of the Papua New Guinea Red Cross, Valachi Quagliata, estimated that about 100 families were hurt by falling debris, either as their houses collapsed, or from landslides.

He doubts all the people injured in the earthquake have been airlifted to safety.

The Post-Courier is reporting that the latest confirmed death is of a man killed by falling rocks by a river in Nawaeb District.

The newspaper reports eight people in the area have been injured and admitted to hospital or health centres.

"I don't think everyone has been brought out because of the geographical location of the earthquake. There's still a few finding their way to where the choppers are airlifting the people out."

There has been an extensive airlift because of the lack of medical facilities in the remote areas but he is certain there are some people still to be reached.

Quagliata said many people in the Highlands now face a tough period ahead.

"It's severe at the moment because of the fallen houses and other damage. Following the earthquake, there are assessments going on with PNG Red Cross. We're still assessing the situation right now."