Earthquakes

[Pizza_Mahal]

AHHHHH! I lived NEAR to most of them! (Guam)
Scary thought.

[Soldier4Christ]

I felt this one this morning and another one within the last hour. Schools here have been let out until gas lines can be checked for possible leaks but there is no apparent damage anywhere nearby where I live as of yet.



5.2 quake shakes large part of Midwest
Rattles skyscrapers in Chicago, homes in Cincinnati

Residents across the Midwest were awakened Friday by a 5.2 magnitude earthquake that rattled skyscrapers in Chicago's Loop and homes in Cincinnati but appeared to cause no major injuries or damage.

The quake just before 4:37 a.m. was centered six miles from West Salem, Ill., and 66 miles from Evansville, Ind.

"It shook our house where it woke me up," said David Behm of Philo, 10 miles south of Champaign. "Windows were rattling, and you could hear it. The house was shaking inches. For people in central Illinois, this is a big deal. It's not like California."

Bonnie Lucas, a morning co-host at WHO-AM in Des Moines, said she was sitting in her office when she felt her chair move. She grabbed her desk, and then heard the ceiling panels start to creak. The shaking lasted about 5 seconds, she said.

The quake is believed to have involved the Wabash fault, a northern extension of the New Madrid fault about 6 miles north of Mt. Carmel, Ill., said United States Geological Survey geophysicist Randy Baldwin.

The last earthquake in the region to approach the severity of Friday's temblor was a 5.0 magnitude quake that shook a nearby area in 2002, Baldwin said.

"This is a fairly large quake for this region," he said. "They might occur every few years."

Baldwin said the USGS revised the quake's magnitude from 5.4 to 5.2.

Irvetta McMurtry of Cincinnati said she felt the rattling for up to 20 seconds.

"All of a sudden, I was awakened by this rumbling shaking," said McMurtry, 43. "My bed is an older wood frame bed, so the bed started to creak and shake, and it was almost like somebody was taking my mattress and moving it back and forth."

Lucas Griswold, a dispatcher in West Salem, said the Edwards County sheriff's department received reports of minor damage and no injuries.

"Oh, yeah, I felt it. It was interesting," Griswold said. "A lot of shaking."

Indiana State Police spokesman Sgt. Todd Ringle in Evansville said there were no immediate reports of damage.

[Soldier4Christ]

Correction: It was just a little over an hour ago for the second one.

An aftershock of magnitude 4.5 follows the 5.2 Illinois Quake

Few minutes ago, the usgs website reported an aftershock of magnitude 4.5. This quake occurred at 10:14:16 AM (local time) today. According to the U.S. Geological Survey it had a magnitude of 4.5. It was located about 5 miles from the first quake this morning in West Salem, Ill.

This aftershock was felt by far more people compared to the original quake as most people in the region have woken up by now.

There were 2 more aftershocks between the 4.5 and 5.2 magnitude earthquakes. The U.S. Geological Survey said two small aftershocks during the next three hours measured 2.6 and 2.5.

There were no immediate reports of injuries after the first quake.

As per wikipedia : An aftershock is an earthquake that occurs after a previous earthquake (the main shock). An aftershock is in the same region of the main shock (generally within a few rupture length) but is always of smaller magnitude. If an aftershock is larger than the main shock, the aftershock is redesignated as the main shock and the original main shock is redesignated as a foreshock.

[David_james]

I felt both here in kitchener, Ontario

[nChrist]

Hello Pastor Roger,

I heard about this quake this morning from several sources, including my daughter. According to her, they've had some interesting ROCK AND ROLL in St. Louis. They said that it was more than just obvious at their home. We've had some tiny quakes in Oklahoma, but they've talked for years about the possibility of some big ones on a fault line within 20 miles of us. We actually have a very old and unmanned seismic station in a tiny town called Meers. There's a very old seismic machine in the main building of the tiny town. I assume that someone picks up the paper readings, but I don't know who.

If I understand correctly, there were multiple quakes from more than one fault line, and these fault lines are old and inactive. I think that Meers is the intersection of 2 fault lines, so this might be the beginning of some interesting things for the entire area. I just give thanks that there are no reports of anyone being hurt or killed.

[nChrist]

I felt both here in kitchener, Ontario

Hello Brother David,

WOW! - I see that we made our posts 11 seconds apart. By the way, I don't remember feeling anything at all here. However, we're used to hearing and feeling artillery, bombs, and you name it from the ranges on Ft. Sill.

[Soldier4Christ]

Yes, there were two quakes about 5 miles apart then two aftershocks later on. This was the largest earthquake in Illinois since they started keeping records. There was a large number of quakes in 1811-1812 but the region was sparsely populated then so other than some anomolies called sandblasts and a report that the Mississippi River flowed backwards it cannot be said just how big those quakes were as there were no recording devices in the area.

Yes, there probably will be more coming soon. The release of pressure on this area can most likely increase the pressure on other areas of the New Madrid fault lines.

[Shammu]

Brothers, lets not forget the "Wrath of the Lamb" earthquake. This one will be felt through out the whole world.

Revelation 6:12, 14-17 12 When He [the Lamb] broke open the sixth seal, I looked, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun grew black as sackcloth of hair, [the full disc of] the moon became like blood.

14 And the sky rolled up like a scroll and vanished, and every mountain and island was dislodged from its place.  15 Then the kings of the earth and their noblemen and their magnates and their military chiefs and the wealthy and the strong and [everyone, whether] slave or free hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, 16 And they called to the mountains and the rocks, Fall on (before) us and hide us from the face of Him Who sits on the throne and from the deep-seated indignation and wrath of the Lamb. 17 For the great day of His wrath (vengeance, retribution, indignation) has come, and who is able to stand before it?

[Shammu]

East Timor shaken by strong earthquake, causing panic

Sat Apr 19, 1:56 AM ET

DILI, East Timor - An undersea earthquake rocked East Timor's coastal capital Saturday, shaking buildings and sending screaming residents running into the streets.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage from the magnitude 6.4 tremor, according to a witness and meteorological agencies.

The U.S. Geological Survey put the tremor at a magnitude 6.0, while the Indonesian Meteorological and Geophysics Agency registered a more powerful 6.4.

The agencies said it struck 55 miles north of the capital, Dili, at a depth of 7 miles.

"The tremor was very strong and shook everything in my house," said Ruben Ximenes, a technician for the United Nations. "All I could do was run away."

Women and children were screaming and some people used bamboo drums to sound the alarm, he said.

No tsunami alert was issued following the quake.

East Timor shaken by strong earthquake, causing panic

[Soldier4Christ]

Reno's swarm of quakes defies the odds
'When you get a hundred of them in 1 day, you start to feel like you are in Berlin in 1944'

Residents of the Reno suburb of Mogul are so shaken by an intense swarm of earthquakes over the past two months that some have taken to sleeping outside in campers and trucks.

Since an April 25 temblor knocked pictures off the walls and broke the family crystal, Phil Oberlander has spent nights in his Cuddy Cabin boat parked in front of the house.

"I was in a car wreck that was less violent than the earthquake," Oberlander said. "When you get a hundred of them in one day, you start to feel like you are in Berlin in 1944."

Since Feb. 28, more than 1,000 earthquakes have struck the small community about 2 miles west of Reno. The strongest one, of 4.7 magnitude, hit a week ago, knocking over furniture and cracking walls. Along with California, Nevada is one of the most seismically active states in the country. Nevada experienced magnitude 6 quakes in Verdi, west of Reno, in 1948 and in Reno in 1914.

But scientists say the "Mogul earthquake sequence" is unusual.

"Normally, Nevada and California earthquakes are 5 to 10 kilometers deep, and these here are unusually shallow," said Rasool Anooshehpoor, research associate professor at the Seismological Laboratory at the University of Nevada. "Hopefully, we can learn and see what causes them, but right now I don't think we have enough information."

Scientists are also puzzled over the progression of the swarms - usually, the main shock is followed by a series of smaller quakes that eventually fade out. In the Mogul sequence, smaller temblors led to a large one, Anooshehpoor said.

On April 25, for example, the area was hit by a magnitude 3.3 quake, followed by a 4.7 and at least 30 smaller ones. Since then, the scientists have counted more than 600 quakes.

"It is certainly intriguing, and it will be interesting to see when all this comes together," said David Hill, a veteran seismologist at the U.S. Geological Survey. "We see a lot of sequences like this in volcanic areas, where they are associated with stresses as the magna moves around."
Mogul residents uneasy

Earthquakes historically have occurred away from population centers, and Mogul residents say all the moving and shaking right beneath the town has put them on edge.

"I know people in the Bay Area think we are wimps, and 4.7 is not very big," said Sandy Wyosnick, who took all her paintings off walls, duct-taped her kitchen cabinets shut and now sleeps in a camper in the backyard. "But when it's right under your feet, it's big."

Len and Gail Sims decided not to take their chances and moved into a downtown hotel.

"It's very nerve-racking; you don't know when the big one is coming," Sims said. "Our nerves are just fried."

Last week, Len Sims was awakened by a loud crack - the 4.7 temblor sent a TV set and paintings to the floor. The Sims spent the rest of the night in the back of their truck and in the morning got an emergency supply of water and food.
Temblor smashed bar

The April 25 quake also pushed the fireplace several inches off the wall and took down a bar filled with collectible wine and liquor in Garrett Rucker's two-story house.

"It was just unreal," said Rucker, who now sleeps in a motor home outside the house with his parents. "I looked at the book shelves, and they were moving from side to side."

In the past several days, the number of the earthquakes has been declining, but scientists are being careful with their predictions about future seismic activities in the area. Historically, there is a 5 percent chance that any earthquake can be followed by another one of a higher magnitude in the following 10 days.

"People have been studying to see if there is a precursor," said Anooshehpoor. "But no scientist can tell you that there is going to be an earthquake tomorrow at 5 p.m."

The talk around town is about a big one hitting the area in the upcoming weeks. Some residents are staying with their relatives in Reno, while others, like Wyosnick, are camping outside.

"One good thing that has come out of this," she said, "is that we have finally met our neighbors."

[Soldier4Christ]

Thousands evacuated as frequent earthquakes rock southern Chile

Some 4,000 people have been evacuated from Chaiten in southern Chile since Friday night, as minor but frequent earthquakes struck the region.

According to the University of Chile's Seismological Service, more than 10 moderate earthquakes have hit the Chaiten region between Friday night and Saturday morning.

No casualties or damage have been reported so far.

The quakes, some experts believe, were triggered by the eruption of Chaiten volcano early Friday morning. Regions around the volcano have been covered with dense clouds of ash and dust.

The volcano, located 10 km from the city of Chaiten, is small and not expected to produce huge eruptions, but possible eruptions at any time pose a deadly threat due to the volcano's proximity to the city. Local authorities have declared a red alert.

[Soldier4Christ]

Quake 100 miles away wakes up Tokyo residents
Strong temblor struck off coast of Japan

A strong earthquake struck off the coast of Japan early Thursday, the national Meteorological Agency said, waking up people 100 miles away in Tokyo.

Two people suffered minor injuries from falling furniture, public television broadcaster NHK reported. An 18-year-old man was hit when his stereo speakers fell onto his bed, and a 25-year-old man was hit by objects rattled off shelves.

There were no other immediate reports of injuries or damage from the magnitude 6.8 earthquake, NHK said. No tsunami warning was issued.

The earthquake occurred at 1:45 a.m. offshore at a depth of about 25 miles, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The epicenter was about 100 miles northeast of Tokyo.

A second quake with a magnitude of 5.3 struck the same area about 30 minutes later, and more aftershocks could follow, Tamotsu Aketagawa, an official who monitors earthquakes for the country's Meteorological Agency, told The Associated Press.

"Since it was a very large-scale earthquake, we would expect to see some modest aftershocks," he said.

Japan is one of the most earthquake-prone countries in the world because it sits atop four tectonic plates. Tokyo has not been hit by a major quake since 1923, when 140,000 people died in the Great Kanto Earthquake.

[Soldier4Christ]

Magnitude 5 quake strikes off Legaspi City

A magnitude 5 earthquake struck off Legazpi City at 1:38 p.m. Wednesday, the US Geological Survey said, about four-and-a-half hours after Albay and Sorsogon were hit by a 4.8 magnitude tremor.

There were no immediate reports of damage or injury.

The latest undersea quake was located 45 kilometers south of Bicol region’s southeastern city and 50 kilometers north-northeast of Masbate island at a depth of 31.6 kilometers, the USGS said.

Alex Baloloy, senior science research analyst of the Philippine Institute
of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) in Bicol, said the first quake, with a 4.8 magnitude, struck at 8:59 a.m.

It was measured at intensity 5 in Bulan, Sorsogon, and intensity 3 in Legazpi City.

He said the earthquake's epicenter was detected 41 kilometers south and 17 kilometers west of Legazpi City with a depth of 21 kilometers.

The earthquake, caused by the movement of tectonic plates under the earth's surface, was not destructive since it was below magnitude 6, Baloloy said.

He added it had nothing to do with any activity on Mayon Volcano, which had been showing an intensified crater glow during the past weeks.

"The intensified crater glow is a sign of rising magma. But Mt. Mayon's alert warning is maintained at level 1," Baloloy said in a mobile phone interview.

He said visual observation of the crater glow is just one parameter in determining volcanic activity.

"We are now monitoring other parameters such as seismic activity, ground deformation, and sulfur dioxide emission," Baloloy said.

He added that the alert level status may only be heightened when all the parameters show a significant increase.

The Philippines sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a zone where continental plates collide causing frequent seismic and volcanic activity.

[Soldier4Christ]

Small earthquake reported in northern Virginia

The U.S. Geological Survey says a small earthquake shook the Washington area today, and some residents reported feeling tremors.

There were no reports of damage or injuries.

The earthquake occurred at 1:30 p.m., and the epicenter was about a mile from Annandale in Fairfax County. The Geological Survey estimates its magnitude at 1.8.

County spokeswoman Merni Fitzgerald says the county received several dozen calls from people wondering what it was they were hearing or feeling. In neighboring Arlington County, officials also received calls from residents reporting rumbling.

Bruce Presgrave is a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colorado. He says earthquakes with a magnitude of about 2.0 or less are usually called microearthquakes, and about 1,000 occur around the world each day.

[Soldier4Christ]

China says massive quake has killed thousands
7.8 temblor topples schools, factories, hospital in Sichuan province

A massive earthquake struck central China on Monday, killing more than 8,500 people and trapping nearly 900 students under the rubble of their school, state media reported.

The 7.8-magnitude earthquake was among the worst to strike China in decades, devastating a hilly region of small cities and towns in Sichuan and nearby provinces. The official Xinhua News Agency said 8,533 people died in Sichuan and dozens of other deaths were reported elsewhere.

Xinhua said 80 percent of the buildings had collapsed in Beichuan county in Sichuan province after the quake, raising fears the overall death toll could increase sharply.

A chemical plant collapsed in Shifang city, to the northeast of the quake’s epicenter, burying hundreds of people and sending more than 80 tons of toxic liquid ammonia leaking from the site, state media reported.

The earthquake sent thousands of people rushing out of buildings and into the streets hundreds of miles away in Beijing and Shanghai. The temblor was felt as far away as Pakistan, Vietnam and Thailand.

The quake was one of the deadliest in three decades and posed a challenge to a government already grappling with discontent over high inflation and a widespread uprising among Tibetans in western China while trying to prepare for the Beijing Olympics this August.

Middle of the school day
Monday’s quake hit 60 miles northwest of Chengdu in the middle of the school day, toppling at least eight schools, leaving hundreds of students and teachers trapped, state media said. There were several smaller aftershocks, the U.S. Geological Survey said on its Web site.

The temblor struck hilly country leading up to the Tibetan highlands, toppling buildings in small cities and towns in the largely rural area. About 1,200 pandas — 80 percent of the surviving wild population in China — live in several mountainous areas of Sichuan.

The earthquake occurred in an area with numerous fault lines that have triggered destructive temblor before. A magnitude 7.5 earthquake in Diexi, Sichuan, that hit on Aug. 25, 1933 killed more than 9,300 people.

Xinhua said 50 bodies had been pulled from the debris of the school building in Juyuan town but did not say if the children were alive. Xinhua reported students also were buried under five other toppled schools in Deyang city.

‘Crying out for help’
Xinhua said its reporters saw buried teenagers struggling to break loose from underneath the rubble of the three-story building in Juyuan “while others were crying out for help.”

Two girls were quoted by Xinhua as saying they escaped because they had “run faster than others.”

Photos showed heavy cranes trying to remove rubble from the ruined school. Other photos posted on the Internet and found on the Chinese search engine Baidu showed arms and a torso sticking out of the rubble of the school as dozens of people worked to free them, using their hands to move concrete slabs.

Calls into the city did not go through as panicked residents quickly overloaded the telephone system. The quake affected telephone and power networks, and even state media appeared to have few details of the disaster.

“In Chengdu, mobile telecommunication convertors have experienced jams and thousands of servers were out of service,” said Sha Yuejia, deputy chief executive officer of China Mobile.

Although it was difficult to telephone Chengdu, an Israeli student, Ronen Medzini, sent a text message to The Associated Press saying there were power and water outages there.

“Traffic jams, no running water, power outs, everyone sitting in the streets, patients evacuated from hospitals sitting outside and waiting,” he said.

Xinhua said an underground water pipe ruptured near the city’s southern railway station, flooding a main thoroughfare. Reporters saw buildings with cracks in their walls but no collapses, Xinhua said.

Premier Wen Jiabao arrived in Chengdu and President Hu Jintao ordered an “all-out” rescue effort, Xinhua reported.

Olympic venues survive unscathed
The earthquake also rattled buildings in Beijing, some 930 miles to the north, less than three months before the Chinese capital was expected to be full of hundreds of thousands of foreign visitors for the Summer Olympics.

Many Beijing office towers were evacuated, including the building housing the media offices for the organizers of the Olympics, which start in August. None of the Olympic venues was damaged.

“I’ve lived in Taipei and California and I’ve been through quakes before. This is the most I’ve ever felt,” said James McGregor, a business consultant who was inside the LG Towers in Beijing’s business district. “The floor was moving underneath me.”

In Fuyang, 660 miles to the east, chandeliers in the lobby of the Buckingham Palace Hotel swayed. “We’ve never felt anything like this our whole lives,” said a hotel employee surnamed Zhu.

Patients at the Fuyang People’s No. 1 Hospital were evacuated. An hour after the quake, a half-dozen patients in blue-striped pajamas stood outside the hospital. One was laying on a hospital bed in the parking lot.

Skyscrapers in Shanghai swayed and most office occupants went rushing into the streets.

In the Taiwanese capital of Taipei, 100 miles off the southeastern Chinese coast, buildings swayed when the quake hit. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

Thousands of army troops and paramilitary People’s Armed Police carrying medical supplies were also headed to the region, state television said. But a landslide had blocked a mountain road leading to Wenchuan, preventing troops from reaching the scene, state radio said.

The quake was felt as far away as the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi, where some people hurried out of swaying office buildings and into the streets downtown. A building in the Thai capital of Bangkok also was evacuated after the quake was felt there.

Major event
A magnitude 7.8 earthquake is considered a major event, capable of causing widespread damage and injuries in populated areas.

The last serious earthquake in China was in 2003, when a 6.8-magnitude quake killed 268 people in Bachu county in the west of Xinjiang.

China’s deadliest earthquake in modern history struck the northeastern city of Tangshan on July 28, 1976, killing 240,000 people.