Rescue Teams Start Search for victims of quakes...

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Search begins for dead and wounded in Indonesia
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Tsunami warning issued for Indian Ocean countries

SINGAPORE-Japan's Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami warning for Indonesia, Australia, India and Sri Lanka on Thursday after another powerful earthquake rocked the south of Sumatra island."There is a possibility of a destructive regional tsunami in the Indian Ocean," the agency said in a statement, adding that the Indian Ocean coasts of Sumatra and Java and Australia's Cocos Islands could be affected within an hour.It said all coasts of India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands and all coasts of Sri Lanka could be affected between one to three hours.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake, which came about 14 hours after another powerful tremor in the same area, measured 7.5. It had earlier put its strength at 7.9.
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyid=2007-09-13T004056Z_01_SP174289_RTRUKOT_0_TEXT0.xml&WTmodLoc=NewsArt-L1-RelatedNews-1
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Aftershocks Rock Indonesia

Aftershocks rock Indonesia

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Six dead after big quake in Indonesia

PADANG,Indonesia-Rescue teams headed for Indonesia's Sumatra coast on Thursday as aftershocks pounded the region where a powerful earthquake killed six people and perhaps many more the night before.Tsunami warnings were issued but later lifted for Indian Ocean rim countries after the latest aftershocks, including a shallow quake the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said had a magnitude of 7.8."We can expect aftershocks to continue for some time," USGS Geophysicist Dale Grant told Reuters.The tremors sowed fresh panic among residents in Padang, the capital of West Sumatra. The town was thrown into chaos and many fled after the initial 8.4-magnitude quake, which the USGS said was the most powerful in the world this year."My family and neighbors are evacuating to higher ground. Everyone in the place where I live decided to evacuate," said 35-year-old Padang resident Eri Kamra."I saw buildings collapse and one person lost consciousness after the morning quake," he told Reuters.Yuli Bersi, a 42-year-old, housewife said she had also fled with her three children to higher ground after the latest quakes.

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2007-09-13T033120Z_01_L12724647_RTRUKOC_0_US-INDONESIA-QUAKE.xml&WTmodLoc=NewsArt-C2-NextArticle-2

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Another powerful quake strikes Indonesia

PADANG,Indonesia-The second powerful earthquake in as many days shook western Indonesia Thursday, collapsing buildings in a coastal city and triggering tsunami alerts around the region. The latest quake was also felt in Malaysia and in Singapore where tall buildings swayed.It triggered at least one strong aftershock.On Wednesday, a strong earthquake shook Southeast Asia, collapsing buildings, killing at least five people and injuring dozens in Indonesia.That tremor triggered a small non-destructive tsunami off the coastal city of Padang on Sumatra, the Indonesian island ravaged by the 2004 tsunami disaster. A tsunami warning was issued for wide areas of the region and nations as far away as Africa.Thursday's magnitude-7.8 quake rattled the same area of Sumatra and caused extensive damage in Padang."Many buildings collapsed after this morning's quake," Fauzi Bahar, the mayor, told El Shinta radio."We're still trying to find out about victims. Thousands of frightened people piled in trucks or sought shelter on high ground.Rafael Abreu, a geologist with The U.S. Geological Survey in Colorado, said the quake on Thursday did not appear to be an aftershock to the 8.4-magnitude temblor the day before.But the centers of both were close together."We are not calling it an aftershock at this point.It's fairly large itself.It seems to be a different earthquake,"Abreu said."The quake seems to be pretty shallow," he said. "These are the quakes that can produce tsunamis."Indonesia issued a tsunami warning, lifted it and then reissued it. Australia's Bureau of Meteorology issued a warning that unusual waves could hit Christmas Island early Thursday, but locals said there was no sign of a tsunami about an hour after the predicted time."The danger has passed," said Linda Cash, a manager at the Christmas Island Visitors Center. "There was no wave or damage or anything."However, Cash said police were out early Thursday warning people to stay away from the beaches.The USGS said the new quake was centered about 125 miles from Bengkulu, a city on Sumatra. It occurred at a shallow depth of about six miles and struck at 6:49 a.m.The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii warned Thursday's quake had the potential to generate a destructive regional tsunami along coasts within 600 miles of the epicenter.It advised authorities to take immediate action to evacuate coastal areas.After Wednesday's quake, frightened people fled their homes and ran inland, fearing a repeat of the 2004 earthquake and tsunami off the coast of Sumatra that struck a dozen nations around the Indian Ocean.That disaster killing an estimated 230,000 people in a dozen nations, most of them in Aceh province on Sumatra."Everyone is running out of their houses in every direction," Wati Said reported by cell phone from Bengkulu, a town 80 miles from the quake's epicenter. "We think our neighborhood is high enough. God willing, if the water comes, it will not touch us here. ... Everyone is afraid."One witness, Budi Darmawan, said a three-story building near his office fell."I saw it with my own eyes," he told El Shinta radio.The first quake was felt in at least four countries, with tall buildings swaying in cities up to 1,200 miles away. It was followed by a series of strong aftershocks, further rattling residents.Telephone lines and electricity were disrupted across a large swath of Indonesia, making it difficult to get information about damage and casualties.Suhardjono, a senior official with the local meteorological agency who like most Indonesians uses only one name, said a small tsunami, perhaps 3-feet high, struck Padang about 20 minutes after the quake. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center also reported a small wave. But most of the damage appeared to come from the ground shaking. Two people died when a car dealership collapsed in Padang and another was killed by a fire on the fourth floor of a damaged department store, a witness, Alfin, said by phone. Excavation machinery was being used to search the rubble for survivors, he said.The Health Ministry said two people died in Bengkulu. The Social Affairs Department said seven had been killed in and around the town. The differing tallies could not be reconciled immediately.At least 194 people were injured in Bengkulu, reported Amin Kurnia, a doctor who said most were being treated in a compound outside the hospital because its walls were cracked.The undersea temblor hit around 6:10 p.m. at a depth of 18 miles, the U.S. Geological Survey said.In Indonesia's capital, Jakarta, hundreds of miles from the epicenter, office workers streamed down stairwells as tall office buildings swayed. High-rises also were affected in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.Sensitive to the 2004 tsunami disaster, governments issued alerts as far away as Kenya and Tanzania in East Africa, telling people to leave beaches. People in Mombasa, Kenya, crowded into buses after hearing the warning over the radio.Thailand's National Disaster Warning Center sent cell phone text messages alerting hundreds of officials in six southern provinces, and after the danger past broadcast a statement on television to reassure the public.In India, officials said the tremor was not felt in the remote Andaman and Nicobar islands, some of which are just 150 miles north of the quake's epicenter. But an alert was issued and authorities were told to take precautions, said Dharam Pal, the regional relief commissioner.Sri Lankans were told to move at least 660 feet inland.In Australia, the tsunami warning was lifted after only small rises in the sea level were measured at Cocos Island and the Christmas Islands.Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago, is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanos and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070913/ap_on_re_as/indonesia_earthquake

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Small Earthquake Shakes Riverside County, California

LAKE ELSINORE,Calif.-No damage or injuries are being reported after a small earthquake shook Riverside County.The U.S. Geological Survey says the magnitude 3.7 quake hit an area about eight miles northwest of the city of Lake Elsinore, not far from Interstate 15, at around 4:30 a.m. Wednesday.A Riverside County sheriff's dispatcher says the department hasn't received any calls about the quake.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,296524,00.html

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TSUNAMI WARNING ISSUED FOR KENYA

The Kenyan government issued a tsunami warning and told people to leave beaches,just minutes ago after a strong 6.6 aftershock....They expect a maasive tsunami to hit their coast at around 11:30Am EST.,FOX News is reporting live

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QUAKE TREMOR FELT IN SINGAPUR

Quake tremor felt in Singapore
http://edition.cnn.com/
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Quake triggers tsunami in Indonesia

JAKARTA, Indonesia - A massive earthquake shook Indonesia on Wednesday, killing seven people, injuring 100 and triggering a small tsunami that hit one city on the island of Sumatra, authorities said. Tsunami warnings were issued for much of the Indian Ocean region. The 8.2-magnitude quake off Sumatra badly damaged buildings along the coast and could be felt in at least four countries, with tall buildings swaying as far as 1,200 miles away.It was followed by a series of powerful aftershocks, the strongest of which registered at a magnitude of 6.6 and triggered a second tsunami alert for Indonesia, the meteorological agency reported.
At least seven people were killed in three Sumatran towns, Social Affairs Department official Felix Valentino told the news portal detik.com. Phone lines and electricity also were cut. Most of the damage appeared to be from the quake.A wave of up to 9 feet was reported to have struck the city of Padang about 20 minutes after the initial quake, said Suhardjono, an official with Indonesia's meteorological agency, who goes by only one name.The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center also reported that a small tsunami hit Padang.Several buildings in Padang were damaged and at least one car showroom collapsed, according to the news Web site detik.com, which said people were searching to see if anyone was inside. It did not say whether the quake or wave caused the damage. Suhardjono said communication with the area was difficult.At least one person was killed and dozens injured in Bengkulu, the town closest to the epicenter, local government official Salamun Harius told El Shinta radio. At least 100 others were hospitalized, senior Health Ministry official Rustam Pakaya said.Residents in Bengkulu, where at least one building was demolished, said the quake triggered panic and that people ran inland."Everyone is running out of their houses in every direction," said Wati Said, who spoke by cell phone standing outside her house. "We think our neighborhood is high enough. God willing, if the water comes, it will not touch us here.""Communication is cut, we can't call out," she added. "I don't know how you contacted us. Everyone is afraid."{{{The quake could be felt in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, 375 miles away, where office workers streamed down the stairwells of tall, swaying buildings. It also caused tall buildings to sway in neighboring Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.}}} The undersea quake hit at about 6:10 p.m. (7:10 a.m. EDT), the U.S. Geological Survey said. It was centered 80 miles southwest of Sumatra island at a depth of 18.6 miles.
"Earthquakes of this size have the potential to generate a widespread destructive tsunami that can affect coastlines across the entire Indian Ocean Basin," the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said, warning that waves could hit Indonesia and Australia within an hour, and Sri Lanka and India within three hours.It lifted the alert for Indonesia about two hours later, saying there was no longer a potential for a destructive wave.An official with Thailand's National Disaster Warning Center, Passakorn Khanthasap, said it had sent cell phone text messages alerting hundreds of officials in six southern provinces.{{{The Kenyan government issued a tsunami warning and told people to leave beaches.}}} In India, officials said nothing was felt in the remote Andaman and Nicobar islands, some of which are just 150 miles north of Sumatra.
The Indian government issued a tsunami alert for the islands, and officials were telling local authorities to take precautions, said Dharam Pal, the regional relief commissioner.In Australia, the tsunami warning was lifted after only small rises in the sea level were measured at Cocos Island and the Christmas Islands. But officials warned residents to stay away from the ocean, warning that dangerous waves and currents could still affect beaches, harbors and rivers for several hours.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070912/ap_on_re_as/indonesia_earthquake

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Indonesia tsunami warning cancelled

The meteorological agency has cancelled a tsunami warning for Indonesia.The tsunami warning was issued after a powerful earthquake hit Indonesia, causing buildings to sway strongly in the capital Jakarta.The US Geological Survey said the quake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.9.It was centred about 9.7 miles underground in the southern Sumatra area, it said."Earthquakes of this size have the potential to generate a widespread destructive tsunami that can affect coastlines across the entire Indian Ocean Basin," it said.In Jakarta, tall buildings swayed for several minutes, and occupants rushed down the stairs to escape.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=paQuake_Wed_15_Indonesia_quakeUD&show_article=1&catnum=0
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Strong Earthquake Spawns Small Tsunami in Indonesia

JAKARTA, Indonesia-A massive earthquake struck Indonesia on Wednesday, triggering a tsunami in the town of Padang and warnings for much of the Indian Ocean region, authorities said. The quake caused tall buildings to sway in at least four countries.A wave of up to 9 feet was reported to have hit Padang about 20 minutes after the quake, said Suhardjono, an official with Indonesia's meteorological agency, who goes by only one name.A local official told Indonesian radio that at least one person was killed and dozens were injured in the earthquake.The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center also reported that a small tsunami hit Padang.
• Click here to watch video.
The underwater quake had a magnitude of 8.2 and hit at about 6:10 p.m. (1110 GMT), the U.S. Geological Survey said.Several buildings in Padang were damaged and at least one car showroom totally collapsed, according to the news Web site detik.com, which said people were searching to see if anyone was inside. It did not say whether the quake or wave caused the damage. Suhardjono said communication with the area was difficult.Residents in Bengkulu-the Sumatran town closest to the epicenter, where at least one building was demolished-said the quake triggered panic and that people ran inland."Everyone is running out of their houses in every direction," according to Wati Said, who spoke by cell phone standing outside her house. "We think our neighborhood is high enough. God willing, if the water comes, it will not touch us here.""Communication is cut, we can't call out," she added. "I don't know how you contacted us. Everyone is afraid."The temblor could also be felt in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, 375 miles away, where office workers streamed down the stairwells of tall, swaying buildings.Some people in high-rises in neighboring Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand also felt the quake."Earthquakes of this size have the potential to generate a widespread destructive tsunami that can affect coastlines across the entire Indian Ocean Basin," the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said, warning that waves could hit Indonesia and Australia within an hour, and Sri Lanka and India within three hours.It lifted the alert for Indonesia about two hours later.In India, officials said nothing was felt in the remote Andaman and Nicobar islands, some of which are just 150 miles north of Sumatra.The Indian government issued a tsunami alert for the islands, and officials were telling local authorities to take precautions on the far-flung islands, said Dharam Pal, the regional relief commissioner.Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago, is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanos and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.In December 2004, a massive earthquake struck off Sumatra island and triggered a tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people in a dozen countries, including 160,000 people in Indonesia's westernmost province of Aceh.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,296512,00.html

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Magnitude 8.2 - SOUTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA

Earthquake Details
Magnitude
8.2
Date-Time
Wednesday, September 12, 2007 at 11:10:26 UTC
Wednesday, September 12, 2007 at 06:10:26 PM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location
4.517°S, 101.382°E
Depth
30 km (18.6 miles) set by location program
Region
SOUTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA
Distances
130 km (80 miles) SW of Bengkulu, Sumatra, Indonesia410 km (255 miles) SW of Jambi, Sumatra, Indonesia620 km (385 miles) WNW of JAKARTA, Java, Indonesia695 km (435 miles) SSW of SINGAPORE
Location Uncertainty
horizontal +/- 9.4 km (5.8 miles); depth fixed by location program
Parameters
Nst=175, Nph=175, Dmin=810 km, Rmss=1.44 sec, Gp= 40°,M-type=moment magnitude (Mw), Version=9
Source
USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Event ID
us2007hear
This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsww/Quakes/us2007hear.php#details
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Quake triggers tsunami in Indonesia

JAKARTA,Indonesia-A massive earthquake struck Indonesia on Wednesday, triggering a tsunami in the town of Padang and warnings for much of the Indian Ocean region, authorities said. The quake caused tall buildings to sway in at least four countries. A wave of up to 9 feet was reported to have hit Padang about 20 minutes after the quake, said Suhardjono, an official with Indonesia's meteorological agency, who goes by only one name.A local official told Indonesian radio that at least one person was killed and dozens were injured in the earthquake.The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center also reported that a small tsunami hit Padang.Several buildings in Padang were damaged and at least one car showroom totally collapsed, according to the news Web site detik.com, which said people were searching to see if anyone was inside. It did not say whether the quake or wave caused the damage. Suhardjono said communication with the area was difficult.Residents in Bengkulu-the Sumatran town closest to the epicenter, where at least one building was demolished-said the quake triggered panic and that people ran inland. "Everyone is running out of their houses in every direction," according to Wati Said, who spoke by cell phone standing outside her house."We think our neighborhood is high enough. God willing, if the water comes, it will not touch us here.""Communication is cut, we can't call out," she added."I don't know how you contacted us.Everyone is afraid."The temblor could also be felt in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, 375 miles away, where office workers streamed down the stairwells of tall, swaying buildings.Some people in high-rises in neighboring Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand also felt the quake.The U.S. Geological Survey said the underwater quake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.9 and hit at about 6:10 p.m. (7:10 a.m. EDT). It was centered 80 miles southwest of Sumatra island at a depth of 18.6 miles. "Earthquakes of this size have the potential to generate a widespread destructive tsunami that can affect coastlines across the entire Indian Ocean Basin," the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said, warning that waves could hit Indonesia and Australia within an hour, and Sri Lanka and India within three hours.It lifted the alert for Indonesia about two hours later.In India, officials said nothing was felt in the remote Andaman and Nicobar islands, some of which are just 150 miles north of Sumatra.The Indian government issued a tsunami alert for the islands, and officials were telling local authorities to take precautions on the far-flung islands, said Dharam Pal, the regional relief commissioner.Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago, is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanos and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.In December 2004, a massive earthquake struck off Sumatra island and triggered a tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people in a dozen countries, including 160,000 people in Indonesia's westernmost province of Aceh.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070912/ap_on_re_as/indonesia_earthquake

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QUAKES DAILY....

*POTOSI, BOLIVIA
4 Sep 2007 04:50:40 UTC
Magnitude:4.7Mb
*ANTOFAGASTA, CHILE
4 Sep 2007 06:20:28 UTC
Magnitude:5.1Mb
*SOUTH OF KERMADEC ISLANDS
4 Sep 2007 09:41:58 UTC
Magnitude:5.3Mb
*SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
2 Sep 2007 01:05:18 UTC
Magnitude:7.2Mw
*CHANNEL ISLANDS REG., CALIFORNIA
4 Sep 2007 14:47:59 UTC
Magnitude:4.0MI
*FIJI REGION
2 Sep 2007 16:02:35 UTC
Magnitude:4.2Mb
*GULF OF CALIFORNIA
3 Sep 2007 14:46:50 UTC
Magnitude:4.1Mb
*VIRGIN ISLANDS
3 Sep 2007 15:45:02 UTC
Magnitude:3.5Mcd
*BANDA SEA
4 Sep 2007 21:53:24 UTC
Magnitude:5.6Mb
*GULF OF CALIFORNIA
5 Sep 2007 03:07:39 UTC
Magnitude:5.0Mb
*ALBANIA
5 Sep 2007 05:08:16 UTC
Magnitude:4.8Mb
*ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS.
5 Sep 2007 04:35:13 UTC
Magnitude:4.7MI
*ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS.
5 Sep 2007 06:02:18 UTC
Magnitude:4.4Mb
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Only in California:Daily Earthquake Forecasts

Geologists have constructed a model that calculates the probability of an earthquake for a given day and location in California, much like a meteorologist announces today's chance of rain.A color-coded probability map is available on the Internet.When an earthquake strikes, follow-up temblors, or aftershocks, are quite possible. Matthew Gerstenberger of the U.S. Geologic Survey and colleagues have used theories for how earthquakes cluster to determine the likelihood of seismic activity in a certain location over a 24-hour period.The seismic forecasts incorporate a background model - based on the history of known fault lines - with data on recent seismic activity. Currently only available for California, geologists hope to expand the forecasts to other earthquake-prone areas.Updated every hour, the map gives the probability of an event shaking an area with Modified Mercalli Intensity VI (six) or greater, which is enough to cause plaster to crack and windows to break. For the most part, the daily forecasts go from one-in-a-million to one-in-a-thousand."You would only see a red spot [corresponding to more than one in 10] after a large earthquake has occurred," Gerstenberger told LiveScience in a telephone interview.Following a main shock, the probability of aftershocks decreases with time. But surprisingly, some past events still cast a menacing shadow over the maps."We still see a slight increase in probability from Loma Prieta," Gerstenberger said. The Loma Prieta earthquake struck in 1989 with a magnitude of 6.9.Magnitudes are an overall measure of the energy released in a quake, whereas intensity quantifies the amount of shaking in a particular area.Other prominent temblors that still affect the forecasts are the 1992 Landers and 1999 Hector Mine earthquakes, with magnitudes 7.3 and 7.1, respectively.To demonstrate their model's accuracy, the researchers computed forecasts for the years between 1988 and 2002. As detailed in the May 19 issue of Nature, the number of aftershocks in the model matched what was actually observed over this time period.Gerstenberger did not expect people to check the earthquake forecast everyday, but he hoped they would educate themselves about the elevated hazard after a significant event. The forecasts could also help relief efforts in planning the response to a major quake."The public is accustomed to seeing probability numbers given for weather forecasts, and seismologists are fortunate in now being able to provide them for earthquakes," wrote Duncan Agnew of the University of California, San Diego, in an accompanying commentary in the journal.A live version of the color-coded map can be viewed here

http://www.livescience.com/environment/050518_quake_web.html

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QUAKES DAILY...

*EASTERN KAZAKHSTAN
2 Sep 2007 15:30:35 UTC
Magnitude:5.4 Mb
*GULF OF CALIFORNIA
2 Sep 2007 17:06:11 UTC
Magnitude:4.3 Mb
*SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
2 Sep 2007 17:29:14 UTC
Magnitude:4.7 Ml
*KODIAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
3 Sep 2007 01:01:54 UTC
Magnitude:4.9 Mb
*KODIAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
3 Sep 2007 01:01:50 UTC
Magnitude:4.9 Ml
*KODIAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
Magnitude:4.5MI
NORTHERN ALASKA
3 Sep 2007 01:48:17 UTC
Magnitude:3.8 Ml
*GULF OF CALIFORNIA
3 Sep 2007 03:05:39 UTC
Magnitude:4.3Mb
*GULF OF CALIFORNIA
3 Sep 2007 03:52:25 UTC
Magnitude:4.4Mb
*GULF OF CALIFORNIA
3 Sep 2007 04:26:13 UTC
Magnitude:4.2Mb
*NEW CALEDONIA
3 Sep 2007 09:45:06 UTC
Magnitude:5.3Mb
*KURIL ISLANDS
3 Sep 2007 16:14:53 UTC
Magnitude:6.4Mb
*OFF COAST OF CENTRAL AMERICA
3 Sep 2007 23:23:28 UTC
Magnitude:5.1Mb
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Sicily's Mount Etna erupts, no danger to residents

CATANIA,Sicily-Mount Etna, Europe's tallest and most active volcano spewed out lava late on Tuesday in its latest spectacular eruption. Sparks lit the night sky and a small stream of lava was flowing down the volcano into an uninhabited valley but there was no danger to villages lower down on the slopes, officials said.The wind blew volcanic ash onto several villages and officials said the airport of Catania, a city at the base of the volcano, would be closed during the night as a precaution.Etna erupts regularly but usually causes little damage to inhabited areas.
Raw Video: Italy's Mt. Etna erupts http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070904/wl_nm/italy_volcano_dc_1;_ylt=AhcrkaWKZWZgRrLUhqTEBA.nZiEB

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Pacifying Volcanoes....

An Indonesian man throws an offering of a chicken into the crater of Mt. Bromo, one of Indonesia's many active volcanoes in an annual ritual intended to pacify the volcano Saturday Aug. 25, 2007, in East Java, Indonesia. Indonesian is subject to frequent earthquakes and volcanoes due to its prime position in the pacific ring of fire.

http://news.yahoo.com/photo/070825/481/jak10408251214

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Two earthquakes measuring 6.6 and 5.7 hit Taiwan - Update

Taipei - Two earthquakes measuring 6.6 and 5.7 on the Richter scale respectively rocked Taiwan early Friday, but there was no immediate report of casualties. The first quake, 6.6, struck at 1:51 am Friday (1751 GMT Thursday) with its epicentre 74.6 kilometres from Ilan on Taiwan's northeastern coast, 27 kilometres under the sea, the Seismological Observation Centre said.It was followed four minutes later by an aftershock, 5.7, in the same region.Both quakes were felt all over the island, causing bottles and cups to tumble off shelves and windowframes to rattle. Many residents living in high rises in Taipei ran onto the street, fearing their buildings might collapse.Taiwan lies on the circum-Pacific seismic belt with 68 per cent of the world's quakes hitting this region. Most of the earthquakes which hit Taiwan occur off the east coast, caused by the friction between the Eurasian Plate and the Philippine Plate, but cause little or no damage.But on September 21, 1999, a quake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale hit central Taiwan, killing 2,400 people and leaving some 10,000 injured.

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/103429.html

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Moderate earthquake rattles Mexico coast

MEXICO CITY-A moderate earthquake rattled a long stretch of Mexico's Pacific coast late Wednesday, sending panicked residents into the streets. There were no immediate reports of damages or injuries. The quake, with a preliminary magnitude of 4.9, happened at 10:42 p.m. local time and was centered offshore 50 miles west of Manzanillo, a city on the coast of the state of Colima, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. It struck about 6 miles beneath the ocean floor.Mexican officials measured the preliminary magnitude at 5.2. It was felt as far north as the Pacific resort city of Puerto Vallarta, about 170 miles north of Manzanillo."It was felt strongly, but fortunately there is no damage, just a bit of alarm in the community," said Nicolas Mendoza, an official with the civil protection department for the state of Jalisco, where Puerto Vallarta is located.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070906/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/mexico_earthquake_1;_ylt=Agd7v1sCrh0xSVomJi0ZZkinZiEB

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Strong 6.6 Earthquake Rocks Taiwan

TAIPEI,Taiwan-A strong earthquake jolted the Taiwanese capital, Taipei, early Friday, shaking buildings and waking residents.The Central Weather Bureau said the 6.6 magnitude temblor struck at sea, 44 miles southeast of the eastern city of Ilan at 1:51 a.m. local time.Ilan is about 50 miles east of Taipei.There were no immediate reports of injuries or casualties, but the quake was felt for at least 30 seconds.Earthquakes frequently rattle Taiwan, but most are minor and cause little or no damage.However, a 7.6-magnitude earthquake in central Taiwan in September 1999 killed more than 2,300 people, and in December 2006 a 6.7-magnitude offshore tremor south of the city of Kaohsiung severed two undersea cables and disrupted telephone and Internet service to millions of users throughout Asia.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,295977,00.html

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Japan phasing in its quake warning system

TOKYO-It's still beyond the reach of science to predict exactly when an earthquake will strike, but Japan will soon get the next-best thing-televised warnings that come before anyone feels the ground shake.Japan's Meteorological Agency and national broadcaster are teaming up to alert the public of earthquakes as much as 30 seconds before they hit, or at least before they can bring their full force down on populated areas.The system-the first of its kind in the world- does not predict quakes, but officials say it can give people enough time to get away from windows that could shatter, or to turn off ovens and prevent fires from razing homes.And in one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries, every second counts."If we can give people enough time to take even a few steps to protect themselves before the shaking starts, it could help reduce injuries and damage," said agency spokesman Makoto Saito.The warnings, to begin in October, will be based on data provided by the Meteorological Agency, which maintains a network of sensors deep underground that estimate the intensity of a quake as soon as the ground ruptures.Alarms can go out before the shaking starts because there is a lag between the time it takes for different seismic waves to travel to the surface.Japan, which sits atop four tectonic plates, has been hit by 83 earthquakes strong enough to cause injury since March 1996, including one last month that killed 11 people and caused a fire and small radiation leak at a nuclear power plant.The warning system works by detecting primary waves, which spread from the epicenter of a quake and travel faster than the destructive shear waves.When waves of a certain intensity are detected, the alarms are set off.The national broadcaster, NHK, will relay them almost instantaneously to its television and radio audiences.

To read more go to:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20417004/

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New Tsunami Warning

An undersea fault line near the crowded river deltas of the northern Bay of Bengal is capable of unleashing a potent tsunami, although there is no indication that such a threat is imminent, a scientist reported in the journal Nature. The fault had not previously been deemed an earthquake threat. The study was done by Phil R. Cummins, an Australian government geologist who identified the risk of a great Indian Ocean tsunami many months before the Dec. 26, 2004, earthquake near Sumatra set off deadly waves. From geological records and new satellite measurements of changes in elevations, Dr. Cummins said he found evidence that the northern fault was similarly unstable.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/06/world/asia/06briefs-tsunami.html?ex=1346731200&en=25db5b49f2c1643f&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

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Can Animals Sense Earthquakes?

The belief that animals can predict earthquakes has been around for centuries.In 373 B.C., historians recorded that animals, including rats, snakes and weasels, deserted the Greek city of Helice in droves just days before a quake devastated the place. Accounts of similar animal anticipation of earthquakes have surfaced across the centuries since.Catfish moving violently, chickens that stop laying eggs and bees leaving their hive in a panic have been reported.

Countless pet owners claimed to have witnessed their cats and dogs acting strangely before the ground shook—barking or whining for no apparent reason, or showing signs of nervousness and restlessness. But precisely what animals sense, if they feel anything at all, is a mystery. One theory is that wild and domestic creatures feel the Earth vibrate before humans. Other ideas suggest they detect electrical changes in the air or gas released from the Earth. Earthquakes are a sudden phenomenon.Seismologists have no way of knowing exactly when or where the next one will hit. An estimated 500,000 detectable quakes occur in the world each year. Of those, 100,000 can be felt by humans, and 100 cause damage.One of the world's most earthquake-prone countries is Japan, where devastation has taken countless lives and caused enormous damage to property. Researchers there have long studied animals in hopes of discovering what they hear or feel before the Earth shakes in order to use that sense as a prediction tool.American seismologists, on the other hand, are skeptical. Even though there have been documented cases of strange animal behavior prior to earthquakes, the United States Geological Survey, a government agency that provides scientific information about the Earth, says a reproducible connection between a specific behavior and the occurrence of a quake has never been made."What we're faced with is a lot of anecdotes," said Andy Michael, a geophysicist at USGS. "Animals react to so many things—being hungry, defending their territories, mating, predators—so it's hard to have a controlled study to get that advanced warning signal."In the 1970s, a few studies on animal prediction were done by the USGS "but nothing concrete came out of it," said Michael. Since that time the agency has made no further investigations into the theory.

To read more go to:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/11/1111_031111_earthquakeanimals.html

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Earthquakes in WYOMING

The Federal Emergency Management Agency and US Geological Survey have classified Wyoming as having a very high seismic hazard.
The map above represents earthquakes of magnitiude 2.5 or intensity III and above that have occured in Wyoming from 1871 to present. As can be seen, historic earthquakes have occurred in every county in Wyoming. Damaging earthquakes can occur anywhere in the state. Magnitude 7.5 events can occur in western Wyoming, magnitude 6.75 events can occur along the northern and southern margins of the Wind River Basin. And magnitude 6.25 to 6.5 events can occur anywhere in the rest of the state.These web pages have been generated for two reasons. The first of these is to increase awareness of earthquakes in Wyoming. The second is to provide citizens with a means to access current earthquake data for the state.The map above shows many historic earthquakes. The Wyoming State Geological Survey (WSGS) and the Water Resources Data System (WRDS) are in the process of generating a searchable database for Wyoming. At the present time, only limited historic data can be retrieved. Presently the database contains records from:
US Geological Survey (1998 to present)
University of Utah (1998 to present)
US Bureau of Reclamation (mid-1986 to present)

http://www.wrds.uwyo.edu/wrds/wsgs/hazards/quakes/quake.html

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Russia quake victims set up home in their garages

NEVELSK,Russia-Since an earthquake shook this Russian town on Sakhalin Island in the Pacific Ocean, Ivan Popov has been living in a garage.The crude shack feels much safer than the town's Soviet-built apartment blocks, many of which crumpled in the quake."I don't ever want to live in an apartment again," the former sailor said.Nevelsk suffered the worst from an earthquake which hit the Russian Pacific island just over a month ago.Closer to Japan's northern island of Hokkaido than it is to mainland Russia, Nevelsk, near Sakhalin's southern tip, is more than 6,000 km (3,700 miles) east of Moscow.The Aug. 2 quake had a magnitude of 6.4 on the Richter scale, powerful enough to cause destruction wherever it struck. The death toll was relatively low. A total of four people were killed-two on the day and another two who died later in hospital.But the true scale of the damage only emerged in the days afterwards, as people in this fishing and mining town discovered that, even if their apartment blocks were still standing, they were no longer safe to live in.Initially, officials said 2,000 people were made homeless. Now, that figure has gone up to at least 8,000, or about 30 percent of Nevelsk's population.Residents are living with relatives and friends, in their weekend cottages outside town, in childrens' homes, garages and even railway compartments.Russia is growing rich from its energy resources and few places have more than Sakhalin. The island has received billions of dollars in investment as Russian firms and foreign majors including Exxon and BP develop its oil reserves.But the earthquake has shown that for all the wealth, Sakhalin still suffers from two legacies of the Soviet past: shoddily-built housing and a creaking bureacracy that was slow to handle the aftermath.Russian President Vladimir Putin sacked Sakhalin governor Ivan Malakhov soon after the quake, accusing local officials of failing to provide shelter for the homeless in Nevelsk.

To read more go to:

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L30807698.htm

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ALASKA Recent Earthquakes

For a detailed list to the minute of these last earthquakes go to:

http://www.aeic.alaska.edu/recenteqs_sub/index.html

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Earthquakes in History

The scientific study of earthquakes is comparatively new.Until the 18th century, few factual descriptions of earthquakes were recorded, and the natural cause of earthquakes was little understood. Those who did look for natural causes often reached conclusions that seem fanciful today; one popular theory was that earthquakes were caused by air rushing out of caverns deep in the Earth's interior. The earliest earthquake for which we have descriptive information occurred in China in 1177 B.C. The Chinese earthquake catalog describes several dozen large earthquakes in China during the next few thousand years. Earthquakes in Europe are mentioned as early as 580 B.C., but the earliest for which we have some descriptive information occurred in the mid-16th century. The earliest known earthquakes in the Americas were in Mexico in the late 14th century and in Peru in 1471, but descriptions of the effects were not well documented. By the 17th century, descriptions of the effects of earthquakes were being published around the world - although these accounts were often exaggerated or distorted.The most widely felt earthquakes in the recorded history of North America were a series that occurred in 1811-1812 near New Madrid, Missouri. A great earthquake, whose magnitude is estimated to be about 8, occurred on the morning of December 16, 1811. Another great earthquake occurred on January 23, 1812, and a third, the strongest yet, on February 7, 1812. Aftershocks were nearly continuous between these great earthquakes and continued for months afterwards. These earthquakes were felt by people as far away as Boston and Denver. Because the most intense effects were in a sparsely populated region, the destruction of human life and property was slight. If just one of these enormous earthquakes occurred in the same area today, millions of people and buildings and other structures worth billions of dollars would be affected.The San Francisco earthquakes of 1906 was one of the most destructive in the recorded history of North America - the earthquake and the fire that followed killed nearly 700 people and left the city in ruins.The Alaska earthquake of March 27, 1964, was of greater magnitude than the San Francisco earthquake; it released perhaps twice as much energy and was felt over an area of almost 500,000 square miles. The ground motion near the epicenter was so violent that the tops of some trees were snapped off. One hundred and fourteen people (some as far away as California) died as a result of this earthquake, but loss of life and property would have been far greated had Alaska been more densely populated.

http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/earthq1/history.html

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Light earthquake hits Southern California

A light earthquake shook inland areas in southern California early Tuesday.The U.S. Geological Survey said that the quake measured 4.0 on the Richter scale, The Riverside Press-Enterprise reported. Earthquakes of that size are unlikely to cause any real damage, although those who experience them will feel buildings shaking and indoor items rattling.The quake occurred at about 7:45 a.m. and appeared to be centered a La Jolla, 7 miles south of San Diego. Rumbles were felt as far as Riverside, more than 100 miles north.Two minor quakes struck California Monday and a 4.7-magnitude quake hit Lake Elsinore on Sunday.

http://politicom.moldova.org/stiri/eng/71107/

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San Diego...We've felt three earthquakes in the past week.

Recent Earthquakes- We've felt three earthquakes in the past week.
A video:
http://www.fox6.com/mediacenter/local.aspx?videoId=353557@video.fox6.com&navCatId=5&rss=800
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