Earthquakes
S


Attention

4.8 magnitude earthquake recorded north of Opunake, New Zealand

Hannah Lee
stuff.co.nz
Thu, 22 Oct 2015 10:28 UTC
Image
© GeonetA Geonet map shows an earthquake centred in Taranaki was felt as far away as Nelson.
There was little time to drop, cover and hold when an earthquake hit in Taranaki this morning.

A strong 4.8 magnitude earthquake hit 20km north of Opunake at 9:05am, at a depth of only 18km, according to GeoNet.

The short, sharp jolt was almost over before it began, but sent hearts racing throughout the region.

Rocking and rolling over breakfast in Hawera! #eqnz

— Jayde Meech (@JaydeyMeechey) October 21, 2015

Ten minutes later, a 2.6 magnitude aftershock hit 15km north of Opunake at a depth of 17km.

The first quake was far felt as far north as Hamilton as far east as Hawkes Bay and far south as Blenheim.

GeoNet scientist Caroline Little said it was a moderately strong shake which was felt by many.
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Bizarro Earth

Chances of earthquake hitting Los Angeles soon: Guaranteed

Tia Ghose
Live Science
Wed, 21 Oct 2015 14:12 UTC
LA Faults
© JPLThe Los Angeles area is threaded with many buried faults, some of which have never been mapped. A new study suggests that a magnitude 5.0 or greater earthquake on at least one of these faults is virtually a sure thing in the next few years.
The chance of a moderate-size earthquake striking the Los Angeles area soon is almost guaranteed, if a new study is correct.

The Greater Los Angeles area has a 99.9 percent chance of having an earthquake of magnitude 5.0 or greater in the next two and a half years, thanks to several hidden faults that have built up considerable strain, according to a study published Sept. 30 in the journal Earth and Space Science.

But exactly where this next medium-size temblor could strike is less clear, because any one of the many faults that thread through the area could rupture.

"Identifying specific fault structures most likely to be responsible for future earthquakes for this system of many active faults is often very difficult," Andrea Donnellan, a geologist in the Science Division of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, said in a statement.
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Attention

Over 200 earthquakes swarm San Francisco Bay Area

Joseph Serna
Los Angeles Times
Tue, 20 Oct 2015 12:24 UTC
Image
© USGSA USGS map shows more than 200 temblors that have struck San Ramon in the past seven days.
A swarm of more than 200 earthquakes have rumbled through San Ramon in the Bay Area in recent days, including a 3.5 temblor Monday afternoon, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The biggest quake in the area in the past 24 hours was a magnitude 3.6 that struck about 4:20 p.m. Monday about one mile northeast of San Ramon. Shaking was felt as far as 14 miles away in Walnut Creek, the USGS reported.

Nearly 60 earthquakes, most of them so small they can't be felt, have rumbled beneath San Ramon since Monday morning. But looking further back, the town has seen 238 earthquakes since Oct. 13, some of them coming just minutes apart. Besides Monday afternoon's temblor, two others quakes were above magnitude 3.0.
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Alarm Clock

5.5 magnitude earthquake shakes Japan's Fukushima & Miyagi regions


RT
Wed, 21 Oct 2015 06:17 UTC
Japan 5.5 earthquake
© www.jma.go.jp
A 5.5-magnitude earthquake has hit near the Fukushima prefecture in Japan, with residents of some 10 other prefectures feeling the tremor.

The quake occurred off the northeast coast of Japan. No tsunami warning has been issued.

The epicenter was near the Fukushima coastline, at a depth of 30 kilometers.

People in affected areas of Japan took to Twitter to say they felt the tremor.

Comment: As Japanese authorities adopt new secrecy laws whilst urging citizens to move back to Fukushima, the legacy of the recent disaster reveals thousands have died since the evacuations, with suicide and cancer rates on the rise. See also:

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Bizarro Earth

Powerful 7.3-magnitude earthquake strikes north east of Vanuatu


BNO News
Tue, 20 Oct 2015 18:04 UTC
Vanuatu Quake
© Google Maps
A powerful earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.3 has struck the Pacific Ocean near the island nation of Vanuatu, seismologists say.

The earthquake, at 8:52 a.m. local time on Wednesday, was centered about 46 kilometers (29 miles) northeast of Port-Olry, or about 339 kilometers (211 miles) north-northwest of Port-Vila, according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. It struck about 117 kilometers (72 miles) deep, making it a fairly deep earthquake.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no threat of a destructive Pacific-wide tsunami.

"Based on all available data, there is no tsunami threat because the earthquake is located too deep inside the Earth," the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said in a bulletin.

There was no immediate word on damage or casualties.

UPDATE: The United States Geological Survey has downgraded the magnitude of the earthquake to 7.1.
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X

Second earthquake hits 33 miles southeast of Hihifo, Tonga; magnitude 5.1


USGS
Sun, 18 Oct 2015 16:23 UTC
Image
© USGS16.193°S 173.315°W depth=10.0 km (6.2 mi)
Time
  1. 2015-10-18 16:23:37 (UTC)
  2. 2015-10-18 12:23:37 (UTC-04:00) in your timezone
  3. Times in other timezones
Nearby Cities
  1. 53km (33mi) ESE of Hihifo, Tonga
  2. 309km (192mi) SSW of Apia, Samoa
  3. 346km (215mi) SW of Tafuna, American Samoa
  4. 351km (218mi) SW of Pago Pago, American Samoa
  5. 581km (361mi) NNE of Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Image

Comment: The first one occurred five minutes prior:

Magnitude 6.0 quake strikes 41 miles southeast of Hihifo,Tonga

Update: Two more have been reported since:
M4.8 - 47km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga
M5.1 - 38km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga

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Attention

Magnitude 6.0 quake strikes 41 miles southeast of Hihifo,Tonga


USGS
Sun, 18 Oct 2015 18:34 UTC
Image
© USGS16.244°S 173.207°W depth=10.0 km (6.2 mi)
Time
  1. 2015-10-18 16:18:34 (UTC)
  2. 2015-10-18 12:18:34 (UTC-04:00) in your timezone
  3. Times in other timezones
Nearby Cities
  1. 66km (41mi) ESE of Hihifo, Tonga
  2. 308km (191mi) SSW of Apia, Samoa
  3. 340km (211mi) SW of Tafuna, American Samoa
  4. 345km (214mi) SW of Pago Pago, American Samoa
  5. 580km (360mi) NNE of Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Image
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Hardhat

5.9 magnitude earthquake hits northwest Argentina

Maximiliano Rizzi
Reuters
Sat, 17 Oct 2015 18:56 UTC
Image
© USGS
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck northwest Argentina on Saturday, the U.S. Geological Survey reported, leaving at least one person dead, injuring several more and damaging homes, according to local media.

"Homes collapsed, families have been left with nothing, schools have been destroyed. We have one fatality, who was crushed," Hector Romero, mayor of El Galpon, some 160 km from the provincial capital of Salta, told a local radio station.

"Currently there is one woman dead and injured people are being treated at the local hospital," said Ernesto Flores, undersecretary with Salta's civil defense authority, according to state-run news agency Telam.

A doctor at a hospital in El Galpon told news agency DyN that five people were treated there for mild injuries.

Reuters could not independently confirm the number of injured with the civil defense authority.

Some 15 to 20 homes were destroyed in El Galpon, according to a photographer collaborating with Reuters.

The USGS, which originally measured the quake at 6.0, said the quake occurred 131 kms (81 miles) southeast of Salta.

Comment: Reported earthquakes in the past 30 days:



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Attention

5.4 magnitude earthquake hits 150km from Wellington, New Zealand


RT
Mon, 12 Oct 2015 09:12 UTC
Image
© USGS
A 5.4-magnitude earthquake has shaken the area near Castlepoint, North Island, New Zealand, US Geological Survey has reported. The epicenter is about 155 kilometers from the country's capital Wellington.

Conflicting reports by local sources put the magnitude at 5.8.

The depth of the tremor is estimated by the USGS and New Zealand's Geonet at 21.4 and 24.5 meters, respectively.

New Zealand is known to be prone to earthquakes: the latest big one rocked the country's city of Christchurch and its surroundings back in 2011. 185 people from 20 countries died in the deadly quake, and 6,500 people were injured.

The Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management has issued an earthquake advisory, but said there was no tsunami threat. The tremor was felt across the North Island and in the north of the South Island, with many residents taking to Twitter.

Local resident Andrew Reitemeyer, from Pongaroa, told the New Zealand Herald that it was the strongest earthquake he'd felt in the two years he's lived in the town.
Image
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Attention

4.5 magnitude earthquake strikes off the coast of Broome, Western Australia

Alyesha Anderson
Perth Now
Thu, 08 Oct 2015 18:42 UTC
Image
The 4.3 magnitude earthquake was recorded off the coast of Broome.
A Kimberley resident has told PerthNow an earthquake that struck early on Thursday morning 'felt like a huge truck had gone by.'

The epicentre of the 4.5 magnitude quake was located in the Indian Ocean about 70km north-west of Broome at 4.30am.

Originally reported as a 4.3 magnitude tremor, it was later revised up and Geoscience Australia said it may have been felt by people up to 102km away.

There has been no reports of damage.

Natasha Pacall, who works at Cygnet Bay Pearl farm and lives on the beach in Cygnet Bay, north-east of the epicentre, was woken by the earthquake.

"My whole shack wobbled and groaned," she said.
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