Earthquakes
S


Bizarro Earth

5.4-Magnitude Quake Shakes Puerto Rico


USA Today
Fri, 24 Dec 2010 22:00 UTC
San Juan - A 5.4-magnitude earthquake struck the U.S. Caribbean territory on Christmas Eve, rattling windows and doors across the island but causing no major damage, officials said.

The quake occurred at a depth of 63 miles south-southwest of the capital of San Juan, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Blanca Saez, Ports Authority spokeswoman, told the Associated Press that the international airport is operating as usual. She said six ceiling panels fell at the American Airlines terminal, but that no one was injured.

The earthquake was centered just a couple of miles from the central mountain town of Aguas Buenas.

Emergency officials and police told local media that no damage or injuries have been reported.

Heriberto Sauri, emergency management director, told El Nuevo Dia newspaper that crews would inspect buildings at daylight if necessary.

Comment: From USGS website:
Magnitude 5.4 - PUERTO RICO

Date-Time:

Friday, December 24, 2010 at 23:43:44 UTC

Friday, December 24, 2010 at 07:43:44 PM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location:
18.260°N, 66.135°W

Depth:
102 km (63.4 miles)

Region:
PUERTO RICO

Distances:
3 km (2 miles) W (277°) from Aguas Buenas, PR
5 km (3 miles) N (355°) from Santa Clara, PR
7 km (4 miles) W (276°) from Bairoa, PR
9 km (6 miles) NNW (346°) from Bayamon, PR
16 km (10 miles) S (172°) from Bayam�n, PR
19 km (12 miles) SSW (205°) from San Juan, PR

Location Uncertainty:
Horizontal +/- 170 km (105.6 miles); depth +/- 0.9 km (0.6 miles)

Parameters:
NST= 52, Nph= 52, Dmin=42.4 km, Rmss=0.28 sec, Gp=184°,
M-type="moment" magnitude from initial P wave (tsuboi method) (Mi/Mwp), Version=3

Source:
Puerto Rico Seismic Network, University of Puerto Rico

Event ID:
pr10358004


Read More...
Bizarro Earth

Rhine-Main region shaken by earthquake


The Local
Thu, 23 Dec 2010 11:49 UTC
rhine city
Residents of the Rhine-Main region west of Frankfurt were shaken by an earthquake early Thursday morning that scientists say registered 3.5 on the Richter scale.

While such a magnitude is rated as "minor" on the Richter scale, the quake seized the attention of experts because it reached a strength that is very rare for the area.

Residents of the Wiesbaden and Mainz were startled by the deep rumbling that one observer likened to "a train or a truck were driving past the house."

Another observer compared the noise of the quake to "a railway train ... approaching," followed by a dull boom.

The quake occurred at 2:36 am and lasted a few seconds.
Read More...
Bizarro Earth

Aleutian Islands - Earthquake Magnitude 6.2


USGS
Thu, 23 Dec 2010 11:03 UTC
Alaska Quake_231210
© USGSEarthquake Location
Date-Time:
Thursday, December 23, 2010 at 14:00:33 UTC

Thursday, December 23, 2010 at 04:00:33 AM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location:
53.175°N, 171.218°E

Depth:
22.2 km (13.8 miles)

Region:
NEAR ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA

Distances:
137 km (85 miles) WNW (286°) from Attu Station, AK

407 km (253 miles) ESE (121°) from Nikol'skoye, Komandorskiye Ostrova, Rus.

838 km (521 miles) E (84°) from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy, Russia

3125 km (1942 miles) NE (42°) from TOKYO, Japan
Read More...
Bizarro Earth

Japan: Bonin Islands Region: Earthquake Magnitude 6.3


USGS
Wed, 22 Dec 2010 20:18 UTC
Japan Quake_221210
© USGSEarthquake Location
Date-Time:
Wednesday, December 22, 2010 at 21:49:39 UTC

Thursday, December 23, 2010 at 07:49:39 AM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location:
26.780°N, 143.635°E

Depth:
11 km (6.8 miles)

Region:
BONIN ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION

Distances:
145 km (90 miles) ESE of Chichi-shima, Bonin Islands, Japan

320 km (200 miles) NE of Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, Japan

1050 km (650 miles) SSE of TOKYO, Japan
Read More...
Bizarro Earth

Japan: Bonin Islands Region: Earthquake Magnitude 7.4


US Geological Survey
Tue, 21 Dec 2010 13:46 UTC
Image
© USGS
Date-Time:
Tuesday, December 21, 2010 at 17:19:41 UTC

Wednesday, December 22, 2010 at 03:19:41 AM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location:
26.866°N, 143.739°E

Depth:
14.9 km (9.3 miles)

Region:
BONIN ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION

Distances:
155 km (95 miles) E of Chichi-shima, Bonin Islands, Japan

335 km (210 miles) NE of Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, Japan

1050 km (650 miles) SSE of TOKYO, Japan
Read More...
Bizarro Earth

Iran: Earthquake Magnitude 6.5 Kills 7, Buries Many


CNN
Tue, 21 Dec 2010 03:11 UTC
Image
© Getty ImagesThe quake struck late Monday and was felt hardest in mostly rural, relatively sparsely populated areas of Kerman province.
The death toll from a magnitude-6.5 earthquake in southeastern Iran rose to 7, with officials fearing that it will continue to climb, state-run Press TV said Tuesday.

Felt as far away as the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, the quake was particularly strong between the cities of Zahedan and Bam. It struck late at night and hardest in mostly rural, relatively sparsely populated areas of Kerman province, officials said. "Considering the dimensions of the damage, the death toll is expected to rise," the governor general of Kerman was quoted as saying by the IRNA news agency.

Citing eyewitnesses, another state-run news agency IRNA reported that scores of people are trapped in debris of buildings that have been destroyed. Many such sites are in hard-to-reach locations, making any rescue operations even more difficult. Additionally, at least seven aftershocks struck in the four hours since the 6.5-magnitude quake hit at 10:12 p.m. Monday night, according to the Iranian Seismological Center, based at the University of Tehran, and the U.S. Geological Survey.

Javad Kamali, a deputy governor for Kerman province, told the IRNA that the tremor knocked down phone lines throughout the region. Military and law enforcement workers could communicate only using wireless technology, he added. Relief and recovery teams, some from outside the area, have converged around the village of Hosseinabad, between the towns of Fahraj and Rigan, Kamali said.
Read More...
Bizarro Earth

Some houses destroyed but no casualties reported after yesterday's Ethiopian Magnitude 5.3 earthquake

Armand Vervaeck
Earthquake-Report.com
Mon, 20 Dec 2010 14:13 UTC
Image
With thanks to a number Ethiopian readers of Earthquake-Report.com we are able to develop a view on what happened exactly during yesterdays earthquake in Ethiopia. We truly thank our readers for their involvement.

The Ethiopian Addis Abeba university published a report that the earthquake occurred in and around Hossana and had a Magnitude of 5.3. It happened at 3:15 local time.

Following ENA (Ethiopian News Agency) the earthquake lasted 19 seconds and was felt very well in the greater Hossana area.

Some traditional old earthen houses were demolished as a result of the earthquake
Some houses erected with modern materials were left with cracks in the walls.
No people were killed and it is uncertain if people have been injured.

Here are a few of the reports from our readers (they can also be read below our main article published shortly after the earthquake)
Read More...
Bizarro Earth

Very heavy earthquake in Southern Iran

Armand Vervaeck
Earthquake-Report.com
Mon, 20 Dec 2010 19:00 UTC
Image
© RSOE EDIS
A very heavy earthquake just happened in Southern Iran.

At 22:11 (10:11 PM) a very powerful and shallow earthquake occurred in the Iranian desert close to Road 93. Some smaller villages are located at a distance of 10 to 20 km from the epicenter.

These villages are: Kaskuh, Darundeh, Dulab, Nemetabad, Sangabad and Bagerabad.

Due to the kind of fault lines Iran earthquakes and the building methods exceeding M 6 are extremely dangerous. It will take a little before the Iranian press will publish more details on this earthquake (our experience based on many prior earthquakes).

The epicenter location has an error margin of 14.6 km.

USGS has calculated that about 735 people will endure a MMI VIII (Severe shaking). 19,000 people a VII, very strong shaking.

The city of Bam, destructed almost completely in another earthquake in a recent history, will get a V MMI shaking today.
Read More...
Bizarro Earth

SouthEastern Iran - Earthquake Magnitude 6.5


USGS
Mon, 20 Dec 2010 13:35 UTC
Iran Quake_211210
© USGSEarthquake Location
Date-Time:
Monday, December 20, 2010 at 18:41:59 UTC

Monday, December 20, 2010 at 10:11:59 PM at epicenter

Location:
28.439°N, 59.098°E

Depth:
12.4 km (7.7 miles) set by location program

Region:
SOUTHEASTERN IRAN

Distances:
213 km (133 miles) SW (236°) from Zahedan, Iran

283 km (176 miles) SE (136°) from Kerman, Iran

310 km (193 miles) ENE (63°) from Bandar-e Abbas, Iran

538 km (334 miles) N (5°) from MUSCAT, Oman
Read More...
Cloud Lightning

2010's World Gone Wild: Quakes, Floods, Blizzards

Seth Borenstein & Julie Reed Bell
AP News
Sun, 19 Dec 2010 14:25 UTC
tornado
© unknown
This was the year the Earth struck back.

Earthquakes, heat waves, floods, volcanoes, super typhoons, blizzards, landslides and droughts killed at least a quarter million people in 2010 - the deadliest year in more than a generation. More people were killed worldwide by natural disasters this year than have been killed in terrorism attacks in the past 40 years combined.

"It just seemed like it was back-to-back and it came in waves," said Craig Fugate, who heads the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency. It handled a record number of disasters in 2010.

"The term '100-year event' really lost its meaning this year."

And we have ourselves to blame most of the time, scientists and disaster experts say.


Comment: This article supports the idea of human-caused global warming, and, as the above sentence says, blames us humans for most of the disasters that befell the world this past year. Find an analysis and rebuttal to this story here.


Even though many catastrophes have the ring of random chance, the hand of man made this a particularly deadly, costly, extreme and weird year for everything from wild weather to earthquakes.

Poor construction and development practices conspire to make earthquakes more deadly than they need be. More people live in poverty in vulnerable buildings in crowded cities. That means that when the ground shakes, the river breaches, or the tropical cyclone hits, more people die.
Read More...