Latest Earthquakes in the World

[Psalm 51:17]

http://news.yahoo.com/quake-shakes-southern-mexico-magnitude-set-5-4-125737941.html

9/22/12

MEXICO CITY - An earthquake shook parts of southern Mexico on Saturday, causing buildings to sway gently in the capital but causing no immediate reports of damage.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake struck at 7:30 a.m. (8:30 EDT; 1230 GMT) with a magnitude of 5.4. It was centred about 16 miles (25 kilometres) north of Pinotepa Nacional, a city near the Pacific Coast, and about 210 miles (340 kilometres) south-southeast of Mexico City.

Mexico's national seismology service initially calculated the magnitude of the quake as 5.8 and said it was centred southwest of Pinotepa Nacional.
..

[Psalm 51:17]

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/62-quake-shakes-mexicos-baja-coast-17324713

6.2 Quake Shakes Mexico's Baja California Coast

9/26/12

A 6.2-magnitude earthquake rattled the southern part of Mexico's Baja California peninsula Tuesday and was felt strongly in the city of La Paz.
 
State civil defense director Carlos Rincon said there were no immediate reports of damages or injuries in La Paz, a tranquil fishing and resort city.
 
"We are calling on the public to remain calm in case there are aftershocks," Rincon said.
 
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake was centered about 47 miles (75 kilometers) north-northeast of La Paz in Baja California Sur.
 
The USGS said the quake occurred at about 4:45 p.m. local time and was centered offshore in the Gulf of California.
 
About twenty minutes later, a 4.6-magnitude aftershock occurred about 24 miles (38 kilometers) north of La Paz, along with a 4.8 temblor about 8 miles (14 kilometers) further out in the Gulf of California about 12 minutes later.

[Psalm 51:17]

NZ to hold first national quake drill
http://news.msn.co.nz/nationalnews/8538590/nz-to-hold-first-national-quake-drill

MSN  September 26, 2012   Get ready to stop what you’re doing, clamber under your desk and hold on tight – New Zealand is holding its first ever national earthquake drill on Wednesday morning.

More than 1.2 million people are set to participate in the New Zealand ShakeOut at 9.26am.

Civil Defence wants as many Kiwis as possible to practise the drop, cover and hold drill, which means dropping to the ground when an earthquake hits, taking cover by getting under a sturdy desk or table and holding on until the shaking stops.

People are expected to stay under cover for only about 10 seconds.

In Wellington, Mayor Celia Wade-Brown will take part in a mass drill at Wellington Airport’s main terminal, while in Auckland, the New Zealand Breakers and the Auckland Council will host an event in the inner city.

A number of local community events have also been organised throughout the country, while several radio stations and TV1 will broadcast a civil defence siren to mark the start of the drill.

Director of civil defence emergency management John Hamilton says he wants the ShakeOut to be more than just a one-off drill.

More:  http://news.msn.co.nz/nationalnews/8538590/nz-to-hold-first-national-quake-drill

[Psalm 51:17]

http://news.yahoo.com/huge-earthquake-triggered-other-quakes-worldwide-180724130.html

9/26/12

On April 11, a massive magnitude 8.6 earthquake shook the floor of the Indian Ocean off Sumatra. It wasn't just unusual because of its size — the 10th largest quake in the last century — it also set off a series of quakes around the world for up to six days afterward, according to a study published today (Sept. 26) in the journal Nature.
 
"Until now, we seismologists have always said, 'Don't worry about distant earthquakes triggering local quakes,'" said Roland Burgmann, an earth and planetary scientist at UC Berkeley, in a statement. "This study now says that, while it is very rare — it may only happen every few decades — it is a real possibility if the right kind of earthquake happens."
 
The study found that some quakes were triggered within a few hours, while in other places the seismic waves from the Sumatran quake primed temblors to happen for up to six days later. 
 
The findings should remind those living in seismically active areas that the risk from a large earthquake could persist, even on the opposite side of the globe, for more than a few hours, the study scientists said.

more

[Psalm 51:17]

6.9 magnitude earthquake strikes Aleutian Island regions of Alaska
http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/2012/09/27/6-9-magnitude-earthquake-strikes-aleutian-island-regions-of-alaska/

September 27, 2012 – ALASKA – A strong 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck the Aleutian Island regions of Alaska. The epicenter of the earthquake was 131 km (82 miles) from Adak, Alaska and about 2054 km (1277 miles) from Anchorage, AK. The 6.9 magnitude earthquake registered at a depth of 40 km (25.2 miles) below the earth’s surface. The earthquake struck 33 km south of the Tanaga volcano in Alaska. Tanaga is a 5,924-foot (1,806 m) stratovolcano in the Aleutian Range of the U.S. state of Alaska. There have been three known eruptions at the volcano since 1763. The most recent eruption occurred in 1914 and produced lava flows.

[Psalm 51:17]

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/6.0-magnitude-quake-hits-off-solomon-islands-usgs/1009247/

9/28/12

6.0 magnitude quake hits off Solomon Islands: USGS

A quake measuring magnitude 6.0 hit off the Solomon Islands today, but Australian seismologists said there was little risk of a tsunami.
 
The US Geological Survey put the quake at 6.0-magnitude some 272 kilometres west-northwest of the capital Honiara. With a depth of about 9 kilometres, it was about 112 kilometres southeast of the western city of Gizo.
 
Geoscience Australia measured the quake at about 6.2-magnitude but said it was unlikely to create a tsunami or cause serious damage in the capital.
 
"It's just off the plate boundary so it's a normal-sized earthquake and positioning for the area," seismologist Hugh Glanville told AFP.
 
more

[Psalm 51:17]

http://kliv.com/New-report-says-Silicon-Valley-faults-could-set-of/14352554

New report says Silicon Valley faults could set off global tremors
Matt Burrows Reporting

    The San Andreas, Calaveras, and Hayward fault lines -which run underneath Silicon Valley - could set off tremors and aftershocks globally, according to a new study.

    Researchers at UC Berkeley and the U.S. Geological Survey found that fault lines of the "strike-slip" type, where plates of land slide past each other, were more likely to set off the worldwide aftershocks.

    As an example, the researchers found the 8.6 earthquake in Indonesia this April set off 16 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.5 or greater within days.

    Not only could these "strike slip" faults like the San Andreas, Calaveras, and Hayward faults set off worldwide aftershocks, but the researchers indicate the faults could also be set off if another earthquake's tremors struck when the fault was ready to rupture.

    However, the study indicates a quake powerful enough to do that only happens once every 50 years or so.

[Psalm 51:17]

http://news.yahoo.com/3-4-magnitude-quake-rattles-dallas-texas-suburb-061228281.html

3.4 magnitude quake rattles Dallas, Texas, suburb

DALLAS (AP) — A small earthquake followed by an aftershock rattled a suburb west of Dallas overnight, cracking some walls and knocking down pictures, but authorities reported no serious damage and the unscathed Dallas-Fort Worth airport near the epicenter kept up normal flight operations.

Emergency officials said they had no indications of any injuries from Saturday's late-night quake.

The initial earthquake measuring a preliminary magnitude of 3.4 struck at 11:05 p.m. CDT on Saturday and was centered about 2 miles north of the Dallas suburb of Irving, the US Geological Survey's national earthquake monitoring center in Golden, Colo., reported. USGS Geophysicist Randy Baldwin told The Associated Press from Colorado that the initial quake lasted several seconds and appeared strong enough to be felt up to 15 or 20 miles away.

He said the smaller aftershock with an estimated 3.1 magnitude occurred four minutes later and just a few miles away in another area west of Dallas.

Irving's emergency operators were flooded with more than 400 calls after the initial quake as people reported such minor damage as cracks in some walls and a ceiling, pictures knocked down and a report of a possible gas leak, according to an emergency official, Pat McMacken. City officials said they were still following up on the various reports early Sunday.

more

[Psalm 51:17]

9/30/12

Magnitude 7.1 earthquake hits Colombia

A magnitude 7.1 earthquake has hit southwestern Colombia, the U.S. Geological Survey reports.
 
The earthquake was recorded 38 miles from Popayan, Colombia.
 
There were no initial reports of damage.


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/09/30/magnitude-74-earthquake-hits-colombia/?test=latestnews#ixzz27yvp2e8Z

[Psalm 51:17]

9/30/12

Magnitude 7.1 earthquake hits Colombia

It's also the 5th 7.0+ EQ to hit globally in the last 45 days.

http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/2012/09/30/powerful-7-1-earthquake-strikes-along-the-coast-of-colombia-the-fifth-7-0-magnitude-quake-to-strike-in-45-days/

September 30, 2012 – COLOMBIA – A strong 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck along the coast of Colombia at a depth of 162.1 km (100.7 miles). The epicenter of the earthquake was 62 km (39 miles) S (176°) from Popayan, Colombia and 345 km (214 miles) from QUITO, Ecuador. According to USGS statistics, about fifteen 7.0 magnitude earthquakes occur each year but there have been five such high intensity earthquakes reported across the planet in the last 45 days, provided the USGS does not downgrade today’s quake further. On August 14, a 7.7 magnitude earthquake was reported in Sea of Okhotsk near NE Russia; on August 27, a 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of El Salvador; on August 31, a 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck near the Philippine Islands, and on September 5, a 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Costa Rica. Today’s earthquake was originally registered as a 7.4 by the USGS. There have been no initial reports of damage

[Psalm 51:17]

http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2012/09/30/earthquake-shakes-north-texas/

9/30/12

IRVING (CBSDFW.COM) - A series of three earthquakes rattled homes and nerves across North Texas over the weekend. The most recent quake hit just after 10:30 p.m. Sunday near the intersection of Highway 183 and Carl Road in Irving. This is a short distance away from the 3.4-magnitude temblor that struck 24 hours earlier.
 
Irving resident Priscilla Barrientos was watching television when that first quake moved the ground. “I didn’t know what was going on,” she said. “I was scared.” According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the estimated epicenter was just feet from her apartment.
 
Several businesses and residents near the intersection of MacArthur Boulevard and Rochelle Road in Irving also reported feeling the ground move, seeing televisions and tables shake, and hearing a loud noise. “We all got up and we ran outside and everybody was going and saying, ‘Did you guys feel that?” said Leslie Cordero.

And then, just four minutes after the first quake, a second 3.1-magnitude earthquake was felt. There were also tremors, but many went unnoticed by the public. Finally, a 2.1-magnitude quake hit on Sunday night.
 
Seismologists at Southern Methodist University in Dallas looked at the recorded data. As many area residents might guess, earthquakes are unusual in Texas, according to SMU seismologist Brian Stump. “There are faults here, they are small faults. They are not activated like the San Andreas Fault in California,” he said.
 
Although the quakes caused virtually no damage, they did leave North Texans shaken.
 
“They were relatively small events. You know, if we lived in California, this would be something that happens all the time,” Stump said.

[Psalm 51:17]

http://japandailypress.com/6-2-magnitude-earthquake-occurs-off-japans-eastern-coast-0214023

10/2/12

6.2 magnitude earthquake occurs off Japan’s eastern coast

The U.S. Geological Survey reports that early Tuesday morning local time, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake hit off of Japan’s eastern coast. Originating from a depth of 9.7 kilometers (6 miles), it was centered about 96 kilometers (60 miles) off the coast of Miyako, Iwate Prefecture, in the northeast region of the country that was struck by the devastating earthquake and tsunami on March 11th, 2011. There have been no reports of damages or signs of approaching tsunami.
 
In comparison from Tokyo, the 6.2 magnitude quake was about 550 kilometers (342 miles) from the capital city. Neither the Japan Meteorological Agency or the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued tsunami warnings or advisories on Tuesday as it wasn’t necessary. Geophysicist Gerard Fryer, with the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, says the quake was too small to generate any kind of tsunami, but the residents of northeastern Japan would surely have felt it.
 
The quake probably gave some frightful flashbacks to those of Japan’s Tohoku region who survived last year’s disaster. The tsunami disaster that took tens of thousands of lives and washed away entire coastal cities was caused by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake just over a year and a half ago, and led to the world’s worst nuclear crisis in 25 years in Fukushima Prefecture.

[Psalm 51:17]

http://www.nwpr.org/post/silent-earthquakes-ripple-under-cascadia

10/5/12

Parts of Washington and Oregon are in the midst of silent earthquakes this week. You can't feel this so-called "slow slip" quake and it doesn't cause damage. Still, scientists want to learn more about the recently discovered phenomenon.
 
Little is certain so far, but there's a possibility these deep tremors could trigger a damaging earthquake or serve as a warning bell for the Big One.
 
A bank of computer monitors covers one wall of the University of Washington seismology lab. Some display seismograph readouts that look like jagged mountain ranges stacked one over the other. A big screen shows a current map of tremors under the Pacific Northwest. It is lit up with activity.
 
"Each dot represents the location of a five minute burst of tremor," says earth scientist Ken Creager.
 
He scrutinizes a dense slash of blue, yellow, green and red dots. The arc stretches south from mid-Vancouver Island, goes under the Olympic Peninsula, Puget Sound and peters out south of Olympia. A separate patch of color radiates out from near Roseburg, Ore.
 
Washington State Seismologist John Vidale is also keeping an eye on the busy map.
 
"This kind of earthquake is distinctly different than the earthquakes we have been watching for a hundred years, because this patch of fault that we're watching takes three weeks to break. Whereas ordinarily something a hundred miles long would take a minute or less to break."
 
"About half of our instruments can see it," Vidale adds. "It's a very slight level of rattling. I don't think I have ever heard of somebody who we believed could feel it."
 
Local seismologists woke up to the phenomenon about a decade ago and have since discovered a big non-volcanic tremor swarm happens fairly routinely around here -- every 14 months or so in western Washington, a little less often in Oregon and more often in northern California.
 
Scientists have coined a variety of names including "slow slip quake" or "episodic tremor and slip" to describe what they're seeing.
 
Vidale says the mechanisms at work deep underground remain fairly mysterious. This current slow slip quake under the Salish Sea has lasted five weeks. Creager says scientists have calculated that a significant event like this releases the equivalent energy of a magnitude 6.5 regular quake.
 
"It's a lot of energy being released," Creager says. "It just happens so slowly that you're not going to feel it. This is the way we like to see energy released."
 
But there's a flip side. The grinding and slippage at depth increases the strain closer to the surface where the North American plate and the oceanic plate are stuck together or "locked." When that offshore fault zone eventually gives way, we get the damaging Big One.
 
University of Oregon Professor David Schmidt makes an analogy to a car teetering partway over a cliff.
 
"And these small slow slip events are somebody standing behind that car giving it a little nudge every several months. So even though the nudge is small, at some point that nudge might be enough to kind of tip us over the edge and cause the car to fall off the cliff."
 
Or set off the Cascadia megaquake in this analogy.

Schmidt points to a study published in the journal Science that describes how last year's great earthquake and tsunami in Japan was preceded by slow slip and tremor near the epicenter.
 
John Vidale mentions another killer earthquake, in Turkey in 1999, where instruments picked up a slow slip precursor.

"One of the goals of our research is to say, how often does that slow slip trigger a great earthquake? How often are great earthquakes triggered by slow slip? That's almost completely unknown at this point."
 
Vidale and his colleague Creager are more certain that we don't need to quake with worry. They note that great earthquakes strike very infrequently in the Northwest.
 
So even if a megaquake becomes more likely during a slow slip event, the chances of one happening are still quite slim.

[Psalm 51:17]

http://www.sacbee.com/2012/10/08/4891519/magnitude-6-earthquake-hits-gulf.html

10/8/12

Magnitude-6 earthquake hits Gulf of California

MEXICO CITY -- A magnitude-6 earthquake has shaken the Gulf of California coast in Mexico, but there are no reports of damage.

The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake hit at 11:26 p.m. Sunday local time (2:26 a.m. Monday EST; 0626 GMT) was centered 63 miles (102 kilometers) southwest of Los Mochis.

Local officials reported some panic, but no known damage.

[Psalm 51:17]

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/asia/316047/6-3-quake-strikes-off-indonesia-coast

6.3 quake strikes off Indonesia coast

10/8/12

An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.3 struck off the southeastern Indonesia coast Monday evening, the US Geological Survey said.

The epicentre of the quake, which occured at 6:43 pm Monday (1143 GMT), was located in the Banda Sea 139 km (86 miles) southeast of the town of Ambon, USGS reported. It took place at a depth of 34 km.

[Psalm 51:17]

http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/173301651.html

No tsunami threat from southwestern Pacific quake

A preliminary 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck 452 miles northwest of the Balleny Islands region early this morning at 2:32 a.m., but presented no tsunami threat to Hawaii, according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

more

[Psalm 51:17]

http://www.pegasusnews.com/news/2012/oct/09/earthquakes-north-texas-sept-fluke-fracking/

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Earthquakes in North Texas in late September were just flukes **Read Matthew 24

The three earthquakes that shook North Texas late last month left many mildly rattled residents scratching their heads.

North Texas is not on any major fault lines, and area residents are likely more familiar with tornadoes than other violent natural disruptions, but the two earthquakes that struck West Dallas and Irving on September 29 registered a 3.4 and 3.1 on the Richter scale, respectively. A third quake in Irving the next day registered at 2.1.

The quakes were strong enough to be felt, but there have been no reports of the seismic shifts causing any damages or injuries.

“Anything that can be felt is a noticeable earthquake in Texas,” geography professor Reid Ferring said.

North Texas does not have the geological conditions necessary to create large earthquakes, and historical data indicates that the recent seismic activity is not necessarily indicative of future earthquakes, Ferring said.

Environmental activists questioned whether there was a connection between the quakes and gas drilling at the Barnett Shale in North Texas.

A recent study conducted by Cliff Frohlich, a senior research scientist at the University of Texas’ Institute for Geophysics, found a connection between injection wells used to dispose of fracking wastewater – a byproduct of a drilling method used frequently in North Texas – and small quakes in North Texas.

The study found that most earthquakes in the Barnett Shale region occur within a few miles of one or more injection wells used to dispose of wastes associated with petroleum production, according to a University of Texas press release. The study indicates that fracking itself does not lead to an increase in earthquakes, but that there is some correlation between disposal of fracking wastewater and tiny quakes.

Other experts have said there is little connection between gas drilling in North Texas and these recent earthquakes.

Seismologist and SMU professor Brian Stump told NBC News that he does not believe fracking or gas drilling was a cause for the earthquakes, and Ferring said last month’s tremors were likely just fluke occurrences.

“It could just be a really natural rare event and very difficult to relate to any human activity,” Ferring said.

According to the United States Geological Survey, the largest earthquake ever recorded in Texas was a 5.8 in 1931 near Valentine, Texas.

“They may be alarming to some people. We don’t like to hear our houses shake,” Ferring said. “But I don’t think there’s any real threat to property, to buildings, to people or to water that we drink.”

[Psalm 51:17]

http://news.yahoo.com/6-7-earthquake-rocks-indonesias-eastern-province-maluku-011602564.html

6.7 earthquake rocks Indonesia's eastern province of Maluku; no reports of injuries

10/11/12

JAKARTA, Indonesia - A strong earthquake has jolted parts of eastern Indonesia, but there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

Indonesia's meteorology and geophysics agency said there was no danger of a tsunami, but the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was a "very small possibility" for a tsunami near the epicenter.

The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake measured magnitude 6.7 and was centred 108 kilometres (67 miles) north of Dobo on Aru island chain of the provincial capital of Maluku, at a depth of 24 kilometres (15 miles).

Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago nation, is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin.

[Psalm 51:17]

http://www.mynews4.com/news/local/story/More-than-100-small-earthquakes-shake-Spanish/CBXZ94ADfUi2CP40hWoOTA.cspx

10/14/12

More than 100 small earthquakes shake Spanish Springs(Nevada)

RENO, Nev. (KRNV & MyNews4.com) -- Some rattling and rolling in the area has earthquake experts on alert. In the past week more than 100 small earthquakes have shaken the earth beneath Spanish Springs.

So far they've been too small to feel, but quake experts want you to know they're happening. There's no reason to panic - but it's a good reminder to make sure you're prepared.

"People can consider certain mitigation steps in case these earthquakes increase in intensity and there's a larger one," said Ken Smith, associate director of the Nevada Seismological Laboratory.

Smith says most injuries from earthquakes are caused by falling or flying objects - and you don't want to wait for a big quake to get ready.

"Secure your water heaters. Secure your valuables. Secure your book cases," Smith said. 

It's not strange for a dozen quakes this size to happen in a week, but there have been at least 115 since October 8, and about 60 of those have been since Thursday.

"These things are totally unpredictable," Smith said. "It could stop today, or it could keep going at a level of very small events that no one would feel."

Or they could get stronger. so far they're small - with the biggest two quakes shaking at magnitude one - but there's potential for one that really rocks Reno.

"We have faults around here that are capable of magnitude seven type events," Smith said. 

So this week the Great Nevada Shakeout will teach people to drop, cover and hold-on just in case there's a big quake. It's Nevada's largest earthquake drill and it's this Thursday, October 18 at 10:18 am.

[Psalm 51:17]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/ondeadline/2012/10/16/earthquake-maine-boston/1637441/

4.0 earthquake shakes Maine, felt in Boston

9:05PM EDT October 16. 2012 - A minor earthquake rattled southern Maine this evening and was felt throughout New England.

Update at 8:40 p.m. ET: Nonplussed by the relatively small quake, some Twitterers have weighed in with a little humor:

Californians Declare 4.5 Magnitude Earthquake 'Absolutely Adorable.' @MrWordsWorth
Great earthquake of our time. @Ayo_61
Hour one after earthquake: food is low. Water is almost gone. Supplies on the verge if nothing. Survival is not likely. @billbro_baggins
Earthquake in Maine just felt in downtown Boston. I'm guessing tons of babies born 9 months from tonight. @ryanwhitney6
There was just an earthquake outside Portland, Maine. Look for Stephen King's 1000-page novelization, Doomquake, in bookstores tomorrow. @TheTweetOfGod
Update at 8:33 p.m. ET: Not surprisingly, the quake was also felt in Connecticut and Rhode Island, the Associated Press says.

Still no reports of any damage.

Update at 8:29 p.m. ET: The USGS has revised the quake's depth from 17 miles to 3 miles.

Update at 8:17 p.m. ET: The U.S. Geological Survey has again revised the magnitude, this time down to 4.0.

Update at 7:57 p.m. ET: Twitter users in Montpelier, Vt., reported "sustained shaking for 10 seconds," says the Burlington Free Press, published by USA TODAY's parent, Gannett.

The paper notes that Burlington and parts of Vermont were shaken last Wednesday by a magnitude-3.9 quake in Quebec.

Update at 7:40 p.m. ET: The USGS has revised the magnitude to 4.6 and the epicenter to 3 miles west of Hollis Center, Maine, which is west of Portland. It struck at 7:12 p.m. ET.

Besides Boston, the temblor was felt in the Augusta-Waterville, Maine, area and in Montpelier, Vt., according to local news reports.

Original post: A magnitude-4.5 earthquake struck southern Maine shortly after 7 p.m. ET and was felt in Boston.

The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake, about 17 miles deep, was centered near Lake Arrowhead.

No reports so far of any damage.

The USGS says the New England region has "felt small earthquakes and suffered damage from infrequent larger ones since Colonial times. Moderately damaging earthquakes strike somewhere in the region every few decades, and smaller earthquakes are felt roughly twice a year."

[Kilika]

some Twitterers have weighed in with a little humor:

Yeah, they laugh now! Wait till the real big quakes come.

[Psalm 51:17]

http://news.yahoo.com/great-shakeout-california-prepares-powerful-earthquakes-190307867.html

Great Shakeout: California Prepares For Powerful Earthquakes
By Becky Oskin, OurAmazingPlanet Staff Writer | LiveScience.com – 3 hrs ago

Most people create their own earthquake hazards.

When a quake hits, the first instinct for many is to run outdoors or huddle in a doorway. But as hundreds of YouTube videos prove, powerful earthquakes send furniture and glass flying and fracture buildings, raining down debris.

Instead, experts say the safest place during a big earthquake is under a desk or table, where you can drop, cover and hold on.

"If you think back to big earthquakes around the world, the people who survived were those who were underneath something that protected them from debris falling down on them," said Steve Walter, a seismologist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park, Calif. Tomorrow (Oct. 18) more than 9 million California residents plan to practice dropping and covering at 10:18 a.m. PDT, during the Great American Shakeout.

Golden State Shakeout

In all, more than 14 million people are expected to participate in the 60-second exercise, including along the Pacific coast of Alaska and British Columbia. This year marks the first time the Shakeout will be observed in parts of the eastern United States (where people also will drop and cover at 10:18 local time – a time of day picked to coincide with the date).

"This provides a once-a-year reminder that we live in areas that can be strongly shaken at any time," Walter told OurAmazingPlanet.

The event aims to raise awareness among residents with little firsthand experience of powerful quakes, and to correct misperceptions about what to do when the ground trembles.

Leading up to the Shakeout, local, state and federal agencies will practice responding to a magnitude 7.6 shaker on the San Andreas Fault today, the anniversary of the 1989 Loma Prieta quake, which killed dozens of people in the San Francisco area.

People underestimate the power of earthquakes, Shakeout organizers say. While earthquake intensity depends on myriad conditions, even a relatively small event of magnitude 6.3 can produce waves more powerful than the force of gravity. The waves can knock you off your feet and make it impossible to walk. The intense back-and-forth motions will cause the floor or the ground to jerk sideways out from under you, and every unsecured object could topple, fall or become airborne. [Video – What Does Earthquake 'Magnitude' Mean?]

Don't underestimate quake's power

But California's stringent building codes mean offices and homes are unlikely to collapse during a quake, said Cindy Pridmore, an engineering geologist with the California Geological Survey in Sacramento. That's why experts advise residents to stay in place and find cover there. Most quake-related injuries come from flying TVs, falling fridges, stepping in broken glass, and tripping and twisting or breaking bones, Pridmore told OurAmazingPlanet.

And contrary to what many have been told, those building codes also mean doorframes are no stronger than the rest of the building. In a doorframe, you're more likely to be slammed by swinging doors.

"A doorframe has no structural integrity, and it could even be a weak spot," said Pridmore, who remembers her mother yelling at her to get in a doorway during the 1971 Sylmar quake in Southern California.

"Protect your head and neck. It's been proven statistically to be the best thing to do, and it's the easiest," Pridmore said. [Natural Disasters: Top 10 US Threats]

If it's night, stay in bed unless something heavy could fall on you. (And if you live in earthquake country, the Shakeout is a good reminder to evaluate your living space. Move anything that's heavy enough to crush you in bed.)

Another reason to stay inside: falling brick and glass. Pridmore cites online videos showing panicked shoppers trying to escape a grocery store through its sole exit, exposing them to falling brick and shattering glass.

"People should not panic in a building. Drop, cover and protect your neck and spine, and wait until the shaking stops," Pridmore said. If outdoors, move as far away as possible from buildings, trees and power lines.

The Great American Shakeout began in 2008, following the centennial of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

"When you realize that maybe 10 percent of people in the area have made any preparation at all, it just seems like the right thing to encourage them to think about it on an annual basis," said Walter, who uses the Shakeout as a reminder to restock his emergency food and water supplies and donate the old stash to a local food bank. "Every year, if people do a little more or do an additional step of preparation, we'll be that much better to withstand the next big earthquake here in the Bay Area."

West Coast risk

California coastal areas and inland along the San Andreas Fault are at risk of powerful shaking. Many faults are overdue for a quake. But even the Golden State's inland valleys aren't immune. Sacramento, the state capital, could still feel the effects of a major quake, Pridmore said. Sacramento is the same distance from the Hayward Fault as San Francisco was from the center of the Loma Prieta quake, she said.

The California Geological Survey publishes a seismic shaking hazard map for California.

Farther north, Oregon and Washington state potentially face the same one-two punch as Japan's devastating earthquake and tsunami.

To sign up for the Shakeout, visit http://www.shakeout.org. And remember these steps:

DROP down onto your hands and knees (before the earthquake knocks you down). This position protects you from falling while allowing you to  move if necessary.
COVER your head and neck (and the rest of your body if possible) under a sturdy table or desk. If there is no such shelter nearby, only then should you get down near an interior wall (or next to low-lying furniture that won't fall on you) and cover your head and neck with your arms and hands.
HOLD ON to your shelter (or to your head and neck) unti the shaking stops. Be prepared to move with your shelter if it is shifted around by the shaking.

[Psalm 51:17]

http://zeenews.india.com/news/world/6-0-magnitude-quake-hits-eastern-indonesia6-0-magn_806140.html

6.0-magnitude quake hits eastern Indonesia

Jakarta: An earthquake measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale jolted off North Sulawesi province in eastern Indonesia on Wednesday but neither tsunami alert was triggered nor casualties or damages were reported.
 
Indonesian Meteorology and Geophysics Agency said that the quake happened at 11:42 a.m. Jakarta time (04:42 GMT) with epicenter at 113 km northwest of Kepulauan Sangihe in the province at the depth of 308 km under sea bed.

The U.S. Geological Survey said that the earthquake measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale jolted Celebes Sea between Sulawesi and Mindanao.
 
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[Psalm 51:17]

http://www.dominicantoday.com/dr/local/2012/10/17/45464/A-third-quake-rattles-Dominican-Republics-south-region

10/17/12

A third quake rattles Dominican Republic’s south region

Santo Domingo.- A 4.7 magnitude  quake rattled the Central Mountain towns of Padre las Casas and Constanza Tuesday night, paniclomg residents.
 
It’s the third moderate tremor in as many days in the country’s south-central region, felt in several towns in the area.
 
According to the United States Geodetic Survey, the quake occurred at 11:30pm, at a depth of 12.7 kilometers (around 8 miles).
 
Inhabitants of the villages of Guayabal and Sabana Yegua also felt the shake and another, less intense aftershock minutes later.
 
No damages have been reported thus far.

[Psalm 51:17]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/ondeadline/2012/10/16/earthquake-maine-boston/1637441/

4.0 earthquake shakes Maine, felt in Boston

http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20121017-NEWS-121019782

Quake prompts 'unusual event' at Seabrook nuke plant

SEABROOK — An “unusual event” indeed. The 4.0 magnitude earthquake that rumbled across the Seacoast and beyond Tuesday evening triggered normal safety protocols at the Seabrook Station nuclear power plant.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission declared an “unusual event” — NRC-speak for the lowest of its four levels of emergency classifications — at 7:20 p.m. Tuesday. The declaration was prompted by on-site ground motion resulting from an earthquake centered near Hollis, Maine — about 50 miles from the plant.

“There was absolutely no impact to the plant from the earthquake,” said Al Griffith, spokesman for NextEra Energy, the plant’s owner. Griffith said a series of mandated safety checks were conducted at the plant, concluding at 1:49 a.m., some six and a half hours after the tremor.

Citing the “robustness” of the plant’s design, Griffith assured that it is capable of withstanding a far, far greater impact than Tuesday’s quake.

There are seismic monitors on site and Griffith said officials will be conducting “a very thorough examination and analysis of all of our data.”

An NRC resident inspector assigned to Seabrook responded to the site last night to confirm that there were no immediate safety issues at the plant, which is currently shut down for a scheduled refueling and maintenance outage.

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[Psalm 51:17]

http://www.timesofisrael.com/moderate-earthquake-rattles-egypt-felt-in-israel/

Moderate earthquake rattles Egypt, felt in Israel

5.0-magnitude quake comes two days ahead of Israel’s large-scale preparedness drill

10/19/12
A moderate earthquake rattled Egypt early Friday morning and was felt as far as Israel, two days before a scheduled nationwide earthquake-preparedness drill here.
 
The tremor, measuring a magnitude of 5.0 on the Richter scale, occurred at approximately 5:30 a.m. local time. It did not cause any injuries or damage, according to initial reports.
 
The epicenter of the quake was approximately 95 miles (150 kilometers) north of the Egyptian coastal city of Alexandria.
 



Approximately 30,000 moderate earthquakes take place every year throughout the world, according to seismology site UPSeis.
 
The timing of the quake could help remind Israelis to take seriously Sunday’s large-scale drill being organized by the Home Front Command.
 
The exercise will include a scripted simulation of an earthquake and a tsunami, aimed at raising the preparedness of the citizens, local authorities and emergency services for dealing with natural disasters.
 
According to the script, an earthquake of moderate magnitude (measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale) will be “felt” Sunday at 11 a.m. in southern Israel, near Eilat. Thirty minutes later, a stronger earthquake — 7.1 on the Richter scale — will hit the Upper Galilee. At noon, shortly following a tsunami warning, citizens will be required to imagine a giant wave crashing against the shores of Israel, causing heavy destruction in Tel Aviv.
 
The drill will include television and radio broadcasts that will interrupt scheduled programming to admonish citizens to rush to open spaces wherever possible. Alternatives include finding sheltered rooms and standing under door frames.
 
The drill will continue in the Hula Valley area, where a tremor measuring 4.2 on the Richter scale will be enacted at 7 p.m.
 
Schoolchildren across the country will participate in enactments in their schools.
 
According to Home Front estimations, a real-life occurrence of the above scenario would lead to 7,000 deaths, 8,600 people injured in serious condition, 37,000 injured lightly, 9,500 trapped under rubble and about 170,000 displaced and homeless. In addition, 28,000 buildings are expected to be heavily damaged, with hundreds of thousands of buildings expected to incur light damage.
 
The prognosis is grimmer yet for the Dan region, where some 95,000 buildings — including 300 schools — could collapse in the event of an earthquake of a magnitude of 7 or higher on the Richter scale. According to the Home Front Command, 70 percent of buildings in the area — which houses about 42 percent of Israel’s population — do not meet the earthquake-resistance standards set in 1980, as they were constructed prior to that year.
 
Home Front Minister Avi Dichter said last week that, unlike with missiles and mortar shells, “there are no earthquake alarms, which is why an alert and a responsive public can minimize damages and prevent a catastrophe.”

[Psalm 51:17]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/ondeadline/2012/10/16/earthquake-maine-boston/1637441/

4.0 earthquake shakes Maine, felt in Boston

 

Thousands report loud boom and unusual sounds in Northeastern US: USGS classifies it as earthquake, but was it really an overhead meteor explosion?


Melissa M. Werthmann
The Globe and Mail
Wed, 17 Oct 2012 04:11 CDT

Some heard a loud bang. Others felt rolling vibrations. Still others thought it was a large truck, airplane, or helicopter.

The 4.0-magnitude earthquake that hit west of Hollis Center, Maine, at 7:12 p.m. Tuesday was different things to different people as it rumbled across New England.

"We heard it coming - it sounded like an airplane at treetop level. The quake probably only lasted about five seconds. It felt like it went up my driveway, under the kitchen and out the back yard. It was pretty cool," Bill from Northborough wrote on the "Feel the Quake?" forum on boston.com.

The earthquake surprised residents who rarely experience the phenomenon. Fortunately, no real damage was reported.

More than 7,000 people across Massachusetts, including people from 344 of the state's 351 communities, submitted reports of feeling the quake to the US Geological Survey's website. More than 500 people in Boston and 300 in Cambridge filed reports, according to the agency. Hundreds of people also contributed accounts of the quake to boston.com.

"I live in a house that's over 100 years old. I've never felt any motion before. The house is solid, but this evening I felt it sway and almost ran out of the house. It was very disconcerting. I live in Lexington on a high hill," Ashley Lieberman wrote.

"Yes, we felt and heard a rumble, that moved like a wave across the area, from the nothern part of the house, then underneath our feet, then over to the southern part. Okay, no damage, but kind of creepy nevertheless."

Submitted to Globe and Mail by

RD

Braintree, MA

Sent on October 17, 2012, at 10:47 am

Mary shared her experience from York, Maine, which is about an hour from the epicenter of the quake. "At first, after feeling what seemed like a big bang, including a loud sound, I thought something in the neighborhood blew up or that a car hit the house, but then the house started shaking and I realized what was happening. It was pretty scary! I was glad it discontinued after a few seconds. Hope I never feel one again," she wrote.

Dan B. from Newburyport said his house shook for five seconds and he first ran to the basement to check his furnace. "I thought it was a large low flying helicopter," he wrote. "It shook the nerves of my three children, all under 10 years old. We also have a calm dog who began to bark during the shake."

The shaking caused a low-level alert at the Seabrook nuclear power plant in Seabrook, N.H.

John Ebel, director of the Weston Observatory and professor of geophysics at Boston College, said some people might have had a few items rattled off shelves but that he has not received any reports of real damage.

"I've not heard directly of any damage and I would not expect any," Ebel said.

He was in Natick when the quake struck.

"I heard a kind of muffled boom and rumble as though an explosion had gone off half a mile away, but then the house really creaked and rocked for about five to 10 seconds," he said.

Ebel grew up in Missouri and completed his PhD in California, so he is no stranger to earthquakes.

He said the tremors from Tuesday night's quake were not as strong as those of a 5.6-magnitude earthquake he experienced in Missouri. Still, he said, the shaking he felt Tuesday night was comparable to some of the quakes he has felt on the West Coast.

Earthquakes on the East Coast are felt three to four times farther than earthquakes of the same magnitude on the West Coast, he said.

East Coast quakes are farther-reaching because cold rock transmits seismic waves without absorbing seismic energy, he said. Waves die much faster on the West Coast because warmer rock absorbs energy.

"If you were to drill 20 miles deep into rock" on each coast, "you would see much higher temperatures on the West Coast," Ebel said.

Jason Johnson, deputy chief of the fire department in Hollis, Maine, the epicenter of the quake, likened the experience to the tremors felt during a quarry blast.

"It almost felt like a boom and you could hear it rumble, and then the ground kind of sunk underneath your feet," Johnson said. "It was quite interesting."

Johnson was on the scene of a fire when he felt the blast and said the town's emergency dispatchers were immediately inundated with phone calls. Some residents called to report issues related to the earthquake, while others called to find out what had caused the shaking, Johnson said.

"People panicked," he said. "We had a lot of complaints of fires in the house, furnaces blowing up. It turned out to be that there were no real serious issues."

Johnson said there were no injuries to report.

"It came and went," he said. "Everything's pretty much back to normal. We really didn't sustain much in the way of damage."

Concord, N.H., fire Chief Dan Andrus did not feel the earthquake.

"It was pretty much a non-event up here," he said.

Andrus said the fire department received one call at 7:29 p.m. from a woman who felt her house shake and wanted firefighters to check her property.

The rest of the calls were from residents who did not require an emergency response but were wondering if what they had felt was, in fact, an earthquake, he said.

"My wife was home and said it sounded like a 15-story building landed next to her," Andrus said.

[Psalm 51:17]

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/usb000d9fg.php

Magnitude 4.9 - TAIWAN REGION

2012 October 20 08:49:38 UTC

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[Psalm 51:17]

http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/53-earthquake-shakes-alexandria-early-friday

5.3 earthquake shakes Alexandria(Egypt) early Friday

A 5.3 magnitude earthquake hit Alexandria early on Friday morning.
 
Hatem Oada, head of the National Institute for Astronomical and Geophysical Research, said in a statement to the state-run MENA news agency that regional seismic networks indicate the tremor hit at 5:35 am, Cairo time. No damages or injuries have been reported.
 
The epicenter of the quake was in the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Delta. This region is not typically seismically active, Oada said.

[Psalm 51:17]

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/earthquakes/

10/21/12

Earthquake: 3.7 quake strikes near San Jose

A shallow magnitude 3.7 earthquake was reported Sunday morning 12 miles from New Idria, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The temblor occurred at 12:37 a.m. Pacific time at a depth of 5.6 miles.
 
According to the USGS, the epicenter was 16 miles from San Lucas, 17 miles from King City and 91 miles from San Jose City Hall.

In the past 10 days, there have been three earthquakes magnitude 3.0 and greater centered nearby.

http://www.foxnews.com/weather/2012/10/21/moderate-53-earthquake-shakes-central-california/?test=latestnews

10/21/12


Moderate 5.3 earthquake shakes central California

SALINAS, Calif. –  A moderate earthquake was widely felt as it rattled the central California coast, but authorities said it didn't cause any damage.
 
The U.S. Geological Survey said nearly 5,000 people reported on its website that they felt the magnitude 5.3 quake, when it struck shortly before midnight Saturday near King City, about 40 miles southeast of Salinas.
 
USGS geophysicist Amy Vaughan says the temblor struck along the San Andreas Fault and was followed by at least four aftershocks that were greater than magnitude 2.5.
 
The sheriff departments for Monterey and San Luis Obispo counties both said they have no reports of any damage.
 
"We did have people call in but there no reports of any damage," said Shawna Schaffer, a dispatch with the San Luis Obispo department.
 
Vaughan said a magnitude 5 quake is capable of causing damage, most often knocking things to fall off shelves and making moderate cracks in walls and foundations.