Earthquakes
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Bizarro Earth

Quakes Along Section of San Andreas More Frequent Than Thought

Fault Lines
© Modified from Fumal (2012), courtesy of USGS and California Geological SurveyPhoto-mosaic of the northwest wall of a trench across the San Andreas Fault in Mill Canyon near Watsonville, Calif. The photo shows contacts between layers of sediment (white lines) and fault traces (red lines). The dominant, dark gray colored feature is a very large fissure that formed as a result of faulting during an earthquake, most likely in 1838.
Contorted layers of clay and gravel show a segment of the San Andreas Fault that devastated San Francisco with a huge earthquake in 1906 may be more hazardous than previously thought.

The San Andreas Fault divides California for more than 800 miles (1,300 kilometers) from Cape Mendocino to the Salton Sea. The fault marks the boundary between two plates of the Earth's crust: the Pacific Plate on the west side of the fault is sliding slowly northwest past the North American plate on the east.

Geologists Thomas Fumal and Timothy Dawson dug trenches across the San Andreas Fault in the Santa Cruz Mountains, about 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Watsonville and discovered traces of four large past earthquakes. Broken sediment revealed quakes occur more often than prior estimates, and two historic earthquakes reached further south than found before.

Radar

71 confirmed dead in yet another Afghanistan earthquake

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A total of 71 people including women and children were killed in the earthquake that hit Burka town in northern Afghanistan on Monday, said Burka district police chief Habib Rahman on Wednesday, citing the latest counting.

"Our counting indicates that 71 people with majority of them women and children have lost their lives in the devastating earthquake that jolted Burka district on Monday," he told newsmen.

Rescue operations have been going on to search the bodies trapped under debris, he added.

A quake measuring 5.7 on the Richter scale shocked several parts of Afghanistan including Kabul and Burka in northern Baghlan province, 160 km north of the capital, on Monday morning.

According to locals, the male members of the affected families in Burka were out on their farmland at the time of the quake and that is why the casualties are mostly women and children.

The earthquake triggered landslides in mountainous Burka district, destroying 25 houses in a village.

Since Burka is a far-flanged area with poor communication facilities, authorities could not report the casualties in time. Meanwhile, some locals believe the casualties may go higher.

Bizarro Earth

4.1 Earthquake Shakes Southern California

LA Quake
© ANSS
A 4.1 earthquake rattled parts of Southern California on Wednesday evening.

The temblor was centered in the Yorba Linda area and occurred at 8:17 p.m. The quake was felt over a wide area of Los Angeles and Orange counties, but there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

The quake was centered about two miles north of Yorba Linda and about 28 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles.

[Updated at 8:35 p.m.: The Orange County Sheriff's Department said there were no immediate reports of damage. Also, a 2.4 magintude aftershock was reported a few minutes after the main quake.]

Bizarro Earth

Sri Lankan geologist says a new tectonic plate being created in the region

Sri Lanka New Tactonic
Colombo: A Sri Lankan geologist says that the new earthquake patterns indicate the creation of a new tectonic plate in the region.

Athula Senaratne, a professor of the Peradeniya University's Geological Research Department has said that the recent quake patterns showed the creation of a new tectonic plate.

He has said that investigations are currently underway to determine the reason for the quakes, felt in some parts of the country on May 26th, had not been recorded in the instruments in Sri Lanka and India.

Heart - Black

Update: Afghans Fear 80 Dead After Quake Triggers Landslide

Kunduz, Afghanistan - An earthquake in Afghanistan triggered a landslide which buried mud homes in a mountain village and rescuers feared at least 80 people had been killed, provincial officials said on Tuesday,


Two quakes with magnitudes of 5.4 and 5.7 struck mountainous northern Afghanistan on Monday, bringing a slide of mud and rocks down on the remote settlement.

The governor of Baghlan province said 22 homes were buried but the bodies of only two women had been recovered. Twenty people were in hospital with injuries.

"We don't think we will be able to take out the other bodies," Governor Abdul Majid said.

A rescue team only had one bulldozer to try to clear the rubble, he said.

"We will hold a prayer for the victims."

The United Nations said it was working with authorities in the area to determine what aid was needed.

Afghanistan's north is prone to earthquakes. A 2002 quake in the same province killed more than 2,000 people.

Bizarro Earth

Scores Feared Dead in Afghan Earthquakes and Resulting Landslide

Scores of people are feared dead in an earthquake and landslide that buried 20 houses in northern Afghanistan on Monday, officials said.

Details of the destruction were slow to emerge from the remote district.

Rescuers have so far pulled two women's bodies from the rubble of the landslide in Baghlan province and expect many others were buried, said provincial Gov. Abdul Majid. The U.N. confirmed one other death and said houses were destroyed across five districts.

An earthquake measuring a magnitude 5.4 struck the Hindu Kush region Monday morning, followed by a 5.7 quake, the U.S. Geological Survey said. Both were felt as far away as the Afghan capital, Kabul, where buildings shook.

[Editor's note: USGS data]

Bizarro Earth

USGS: Earthquake Magnitude 6.0 - Taiwan Region

Taiwan Quake_090612
© USGSEarthquake Location
Date-Time
Saturday, June 09, 2012 at 21:00:18 UTC

Sunday, June 10, 2012 at 05:00:18 AM at epicenterTime of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location

24.522°N, 122.337°E

Depth
70.9 km (44.1 miles)

Region
TAIWAN REGION

Distances
50 km (31 miles) E of Su'ao, Taiwan

95 km (59 miles) NE of Hualien, Taiwan

100 km (62 miles) SE of TAIPEI, Taiwan

1106 km (687 miles) N of MANILA, Philippines

Bizarro Earth

Double 4.2 magnitude earthquakes rattle towns in Australia's southeast

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© GoogleThe green dot indicates where the quake struck at a depth of 17 kilometres
Officials in the New England region of the Australian state of New South Wales are breathing a sigh of relief, with no major damage found from two earthquakes that hit on Friday night. Residents were shaken when two magnitude-4.2 quakes hit within a few minutes of each other.

More than 400 people have reported feeling tremors or hearing loud noises. Many called police because they thought they were being robbed. Gunnedah Shire Mayor Adam Marshall says he has never heard of a tremor in the region before.

"I guess no-one's really thought about checking their insurance policy for anything like earthquake damage," he said. But there have been no reports so far of damage beyond a few windows in need of replacement.

Resident Jeff Silvey says it sounded like a jumbo jet and it set off dogs barking all along his street. "I thought it was just a jumbo jet but then everyone else started texting saying no it's an earthquake," he said. "The whole house shook and all the windows and even the dogs got scared - we had to bring the dogs in."

Bizarro Earth

5.1 Earthquake Hits Western Turkey, Bulgaria Rattled Too

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© Unknown
A 5.1-magnitude earthquake has struck the western parts of Turkey, including Istanbul, shaking apartment buildings, rattling windows and causing residents to rush into the streets.

The tremor was also felt in neighboring Bulgaria, in the municipalities of Burgas, Nessebar, Plovdiv and Kardzhali.

According to the National Institute in Geophysics, Geodesy and Geography, at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, BAS, the quake occurred shortly before midnight.

The epicenter was registered in the Marmara Sea, a few kilometers from the town of Tekirdag and Marmara Ereglisi. It was at a depth of 10 km.

The quake was followed by two light aftershocks.

Bizarro Earth

Mainland Australia rattled by 10th tremor in less than 7 days

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© Unknown
An earthquake with a magnitude of 4.2 was recorded between Tamworth and Gunnedah tonight. [Editor's note: USGS data.]

Emergency services received phone calls from areas including Tamworth, Gunnedah and Maules Creek from about 9.30pm reporting that the ground moved and buildings rattled.

No one has been reported injured and there have been no reports of damage.

There has been reported of sirens in Armidale.

Geoscience Australia reported a quake of 4.2 magnitude at 9.31pm.

Geoscience Australia said the quake could have been felt up to 76kilometres away and caused damage up to 6 kilometres away.

It shows there were two distinct tremors.

Geoscience Australia data shows it was the 10th tremor recorded in mainland Australia this week.

It had a depth of 17 kilometres.

Police media said they had received a number of calls from Tamworth residents who reported their windows had shaken and thought someone was trying to break in.

The quake struck west of Manilla north of Lake Keepit.