Earthquakes

Southern California is rocked by a 4.5-magnitude earthquake - with tremors felt from Los Angeles to San Diego

Andrew Court
Daily Mail
Sat, 19 Sep 2020 12:46 UTC

A 4.5-magnitude earthquake rocked Southern California, with tremors felt from Los Angeles down to San Diego.

The quake hit 10 miles west of L.A. at 11.39 pm local time on Friday, according to the US Geological Survey.

It occurred at a depth of nearly 11 miles, and lasted for 30 seconds. It was reported to be one of the biggest earthquakes to hit the L.A. area in years.

There have been no reports of injuries or damage to property, but authorities warned locals to prepare for aftershocks.

The Los Angeles Fire Department posted a tweet shortly after the quake, which read: 'If Inside When Shaking Starts: DROP, COVER, HOLD ON! Protect Your Head & Neck While Taking Cover Under Sturdy Furniture or Near a Sturdy Interior Wall, Away From Windows and Doorways Until Shaking Stops.

6.9 magnitude earthquake hits Mid-Atlantic ridge

Allyson Rae
NBC2 News
Fri, 18 Sep 2020 23:18 UTC

A magnitude 6.9 earthquake occurred Friday evening on the central Mid-Atlantic Ridge between the west Coast of Africa and South America at 6:43 PM EDT.

The epicenter is over 4,000 miles away from the state of Florida and poses no tsunami threat to the U.S. mainland.

Shallow M6.1 earthquake strikes Fiji Islands Region

huaxia
Xinhua
Tue, 15 Sep 2020 05:54 UTC

An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.1 jolted 149 km NNE of Labasa, Fiji at 04:12:17 GMT on Tuesday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The epicenter, with a depth of 10.0 km, was initially determined to be at 15.145 degrees south latitude and 179.7934 degrees east longitude.

Deep 6.4 magnitude earthquake hits Russia's Kamchatka peninsula

Edward Browne
Daily Express
Tue, 15 Sep 2020 05:20 UTC

The large quake hit Russia's Kamchatka peninsula region on the country's far-east coast, over 6,200 km from Moscow. Specifically, the earthquake struck just 22km West North-West of Esso, Russia, which has a population of around 1,900, according to the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre.

The EMSC said the quake hit at a depth of 320km - nearly 200 miles - at around 03:41 UTC, or 04:41 UK time.

There are no reports of damage or injuries at the time of writing.

However, there have been at least 14 reports of people feeling the quake, according to EMSC.

Accounts vary widely, with some reporting stronger feelings of shaking than others, with the duration of the quake also reported differently amongst people.

SECOND earthquake in a week hits UK town

Danyal Hussain
Daily Mail
Mon, 14 Sep 2020 13:34 UTC

© EMSC
The latest Leighton Buzzard quake is thought to have been an aftershock from the magnitude 3.5 quake that was felt on September 8

A second earthquake in the space of a week has hit Leighton Buzzard, according to the British Geological Survey (BGS).

The tremor in Bedfordshire, which hit at 11.20pm on Sunday night, was measured by the BGS at magnitude 2.1.

It is thought to have been an aftershock from the magnitude 3.5 quake that was felt on September 8.

A BGS spokesman said: 'The most recent event was over 100 times smaller than the event on September 8 in the same area.

'The occurrence of smaller events from other previous UK earthquakes is not unknown.

'The small event that occurred in Bedfordshire last night could have occurred because all the stress in the rocks was not relieved by the event on September 8 in the same area or it caused a slight change to the stress regime in that location.

'There is constant ongoing research in the academic world on the issue of aftershock occurrence.'

Comment: 'Quite large' M3.3 earthquake felt across several towns in southern England

Shallow M6.1 earthquake jolts Japan's Miyagi Prefecture

The Japan Times
Sat, 12 Sep 2020 03:29 UTC

© JAPAN METEOROLOGICAL AGENCY
The epicenter of the earthquake that occurred on Sept. 12 at 11:44 a.m. is located in Miyagi Prefecture

A magnitude 6.1 earthquake, which measured 4 on the shindo (intensity) scale, was detected at a depth of 40 kilometers off the coast of Miyagi Prefecture, on Saturday at 11:44 a.m.

There is currently no tsunami warning in effect.

As a precaution, those near coastal areas are advised to move to higher ground.

6.3 magnitude earthquake strikes Chile

Sputnik News
Fri, 11 Sep 2020 07:53 UTC

According to seismologists, the earthquake occurred at a depth of 44 kilometres.

A 6.5-magnitude earthquake has struck near the coast of Northern Chile. No tsunami alert has been issued.

No possible casualties or damage have been reported so far.

Chile is situated in the easternmost part of the Ring of Fire, a seismically active zone in the Pacific Ocean, where many earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur, including powerful ones.

Comment: Less than a week ago a M6.2 earthquake hit Chile. There has been an increase in seismic activity worldwide recently.

Over 90 earthquakes in 24 hours reported near Yellowstone Lake

Olivia Kennah
Sweetwaternow.com
Thu, 10 Sep 2020 22:58 UTC

Seismic activity near Yellowstone Lake has seen a big increase over the past 24 hours

The southwest side of Yellowstone Lake, the largest body of water in Yellowstone National Park, is experiencing quite an uptick in seismic activity today, Thursday, September 10.

According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), Yellowstone experiences about 1,500 to 2,500 located earthquakes per year, many occurring in swarms, or earthquakes that cluster in time and space. Most swarms are small, containing 10-20 earthquakes, and short, lasting for one to two days.

Today's seismic activity is a little abnormal in that as of 4 pm Thursday, 93 earthquakes, and counting, have occurred all within this area of Yellowstone Lake since Wednesday night, according to USGS data. All but seven of the earthquakes have been under 2.5 magnitude. None have reached 3.0 magnitude.

In the same area depicted in the map below, 108 earthquakes have been recorded over the past 30 days, including today's activity. That means only 15 earthquakes were recorded in the area before today.

'Quite large' M3.3 earthquake felt across several towns in southern England

BBC
Tue, 08 Sep 2020 12:12 UTC

Carly Jan Smith, 31, in Dunstable, said it was "really strong" and lasted for about two seconds. Her whole room went from "side to side", she said.

The British Geological Survey said it struck just north of Leighton Buzzard.

Bedfordshire Police said there were no reports of injuries, although it had received a large number of calls.

Dr Richard Luckett, of the British Geological Survey, confirmed the quake, saying: "It was very minor on a global scale, but still quite large for the UK.

'Chance of aftershocks'

Comment: It seems our planet is shaking a lot more than usual right now:

Shallow 6.2 magnitude earthquake rocks Vanuatu - 2nd of such strength in 28 hours

RNZ
Mon, 07 Sep 2020 11:59 UTC

Two strong earthquakes, within 20 minutes of each other, rocked the Vanuatu capital Port Vila this afternoon.

According to the United States Geological Survey website the first quake, which struck at 6:12pm, measured 6.2 on the Richter scale and occurred at a depth of 10 kilometres with its epicentre about 73 kms north north east of Port Vila.

The second measured 5.7 and hit at 6:29pm it was also at a depth of 10kms but its epicentre was a little closer at 75kms north north east of Vila.

Residents in Port Vila were shaken by quakes but so far there have been no reports of any serious damage.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre reported there was no threat of a Tsunami from either quake.

Comment: Additionally this latest quake was the second magnitude 6.2 to strike near the island within 28 hours, see: Pacific 6.2M earthquake strikes off Vanuatu

It was also the fifth of magnitude 6 + recorded within 2 days across the planet: Earthquake of magnitude 6.3 strikes near Mindanao, Philippines - 4th such strong quake within 24 hours globally