Current Events and Links

Great = > 8

Major = 7 to 7.9

Strong = 6 to 6.9

Moderate = 5 to 5.9

Light = 4 to 4.9

Minor = Less than 3.9

Biggest California Earthquake of 2012: M6.3 December 14, 2012

Dec. 14, 2012 - Before dawn today a magnitude 6.3 (M6.3) earthquake struck off the Californian coast about 185 miles south west of San Diego. It was not large enough to generate a tsunami, but it was the largest of the year to date in California.

Source: Decoded Science

Prophetic Significance of Earthquakes

Strong Quake Shakes Northern Japan

Dec. 7 - Japan has experienced a 7.3-magnitude earthquake in the same area, off shore from the Miyagi Prefecture, where the massive 9.0-magnitude quake hit on March 11, 2011. A tsunami warning was sounded, but the tsunami generated was only about 1 meter high. There are no reports yet of major injuries or damage.

Source: Wall Street Journal

Smaller-than-expected tsunami hits Hawaii after Canada earthquake

Oct. 28, 2012 - A 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck Canada's Pacific coastal province of British Columbia late on Saturday generated a tsunami warning in Hawaii.

At least 100,000 people were ordered to move from the shoreline to higher ground late Saturday after the tsunami warning, but the first waves were less forceful than had been feared.

Source: NBC

Scientists Link Deep Wells to Deadly Spain Quake

Oct. 21, 2012 - A new study about an earthquake in Lorca, Spain last year indicates that the quake was caused by deep wells used for water extraction and waste disposal. The tremor then ruptured a fault running near a basin that had been weakened by 50 years of groundwater extraction in the area. Nine people were killed and nearly 300 were injured by the unusually shallow magnitude-5.1 quake.

Source: NewsMax

Bizarre 2012 earthquake signals birth of world's newest tectonic plate

Sept. 27, 2012 - Analysis of a major earthquake on April 11 of this year revealed that the magnitude 8.7 temblor that struck the Indonesian island of Sumatra was one of the strongest and strangest ever recorded. The 9.2 earthquake that struck the same island in 2004 caused a massive tsunami that resulted in incredible damage and killed more than 227,000 people in 14 countries. This year's quake caused only a small tidal wave (12 inches high).

Studies have shown that this earthquake was not a "subduction" earthquake, where the edge of one tectonic plate slips beneath the edge of another plate. That sort of earthquake causes the ocean floor to drop, generating the large tsunami wave. Instead, this quake was a "strike-slip" earthquake — like the San Andreas Fault — where the two sides of the fault move horizontally, displacing the ground sideways.

The April 11 earthquake was unusual in two ways. First, it was the most powerful strike-slip quake ever recorded, and secondly, it was not on the edges of separate tectonic plates like the San Andreas. Instead, it occurred in the middle of one tectonic plate, and in the process it created a zig-zag pattern - racing along one fault at the speed of more than a mile per second, and then, when it intersected another fault, it ruptured that one too.

In all, it ruptured four different faults over the course of 150 seconds, unleashing an amount of energy equivalent to about four magnitude-8.0 earthquakes.

Thorne Lay, a professor of earth and planetary sciences at the University of California, Santa Cruz, explained that the earthquake occurred in a region that is giving birth to the Earth's newest tectonic plate.

Source: CSMonitor

Earthquakes shake south-west China's Yunnan

Sept. 6, 2012 - A 5.6 magnitude near the border between China's Yunnan and Guizhou provinces has caused considerable damage and has killed at least 50 people and injured 150 others. The death toll is expected to rise as more detail comes to light.

Xihua reported that at least 100,000 people have been evacuated and earlier reports said that more than 20,000 houses were damaged.

Source: BBC

Powerful quake hits Costa Rica, tsunami warning issued

Sept. 5, 2012 - A 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck about 87 miles off the coast of Costa Rica today. A tsunami warning is in effect, but there are no reports of injuries at this time.

Source:

Strong Earthquake Strikes El Salvador Coast

Aug. 27, 2012 - A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck about 86 miles offshore from El Salvador at a depth of just over 120 miles. No damage or injuries have been reported.

A small tsunami hit the El Salvador port of Acajutla following the quake, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.

Source: Fox

Series of Earthquakes Rattle California - NewsMax

Iran earthquake relief efforts begin after 250 killed

Aug. 12, 2012 - Two earthquakes in Iran have killed at least 250 people, injured more than 2,000, and caused damage in more than 100 villages.

The 6.4 and 6.3 quakes struck near Tabriz and Ahar in in East Azerbaijan province on Saturday afternoon, followed by dozens of aftershocks.

Relief operations are underway.

Source: BBC

Update 8/13/12 - Iran earthquake death toll passes 300 day after search for survivors called off - CBS

Strong earthquake strikes off the coast of Mexico

April 12, 2012 - Another strong earthquake struck the northern coast of Mexico between the Baja peninsula and the northern state of Sonora. The temblor measured 6.9 on the magnitude scale. It followed a separate quake that caused evacuations in Mexico City.

Source: Fox

Indonesia Sets New Tsunami Warning as Aftershock Hits

April 11, 2012 - An 8.6 magnitude earthquake struck more than 200 miles off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. In 2004 a devastating earthquake and tsunami occured in the same area. So far there are no reports of casualties or significant damage.

The earthquake was felt in Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, news agencies reported, with coastal areas of southern Thailand and eastern India declaring tsunami alerts and Indonesia issuing a tsunami warning following the aftershocks.

Source: New York Times

Quake off Indonesia triggers tsunami alert - CNN

Indian Ocean tsunami alert lifted after Aceh quake - BBC

7.4 quake shakes Mexico, 100s of homes damaged

Mar. 21, 2012 -

A strong 7.4-magnitude earthquake hit southern Mexico on Tuesday, damaging some 800 homes near the epicenter and swaying tall buildings and spreading fear and panic hundreds of miles away in the capital of Mexico City.

Source: Yahoo

6.8 magnitude earthquake shakes Japan, regional tsunami advisories issued

Mar. 14, 2012 - Japan was struck by a 6.8 magnitude earthquake this morning, followed by a 5.9 aftershock about two hours later.

The town of Otsuchi in Iwate prefecture, where more than 800 died in last year's tsunami, issued an evacuation order to all households along the coast as a precaution... No damage or injury was reported from the quake so far.

Last year on March 11, a 9.0 earthquake and tsunami left some 19,000 people dead or missing.

Source: Fox

Looking Back: 7 Strange Ways the Japan Quake Shook the World - Our Amazing Planet

8.7 magnitude earthquake struck Sumatra

Mar. 11, 2012 - . See analysis of this quake that was released later in the year.

7 Strange Ways the Japan Quake Shook the World

Mar. 7, 2012 - Analysis of last year's earthquake in Japan on March 11 reveals a number of ways that the earth was altered by the event. It was Japan's strongest earthquake, and it actually changed the pull of gravity in the region and affected the rotation of the planet.

An analysis conducted just days after the earthquake struck found that the temblor accelerated Earth's spin, shortening the length of the 24-hour day by 1.8 microseconds. A microsecond is a millionth of a second.

Source: Our Amazing Planet

Earthquakes rattling energy industry plans

Jan. 14, 2012 - Ohio has put a stop to fluid injection - part of the process of "fracking"- breaking up rock layers to allow oil and natural gas to seep through. A 4.0 earthquake there on New Year's Eve was the 11th one there since March.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources has suspended operations at a Youngstown Township fluid injection well after a 4.0 earthquake struck the area on New Year’s Eve, the 11th temblor in the area since March.

Source: WND

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