chance of earthquake damage

group blamed for a magnitude 5.9 earthquake after stripping on Mount Kinabalu

Briton Eleanor Hawkins, Canadians Lindsey and Danielle Peterson, and Dutchman Dylan Snel admitted causing a public disturbance.

The group was blamed for a magnitude 5.9 earthquake after stripping on Mount Kinabalu, which is considered sacred.

They were jailed for three days, but their sentences were back-dated to reflect time already served.

A judge at Kota Kinabalu Magistrates' Court said the four had shown remorse and ordered the jail terms to run from 9 June, meaning the group is free to leave.

He also fined each defendant 5,000 Malaysian ringgit (£860/$1,330).

Foreign coverage of the story has been criticised in the Malaysian press.

Several local newspapers accused British tabloids of exaggerating reports that the tourists were arrested for causing the quake, rather than the actual charge of public indecency.

The Sabah-based Daily Express accused the papers of running "sensational" headlines, while the country's most popular English-language paper, The Star, said reports (pictured) alleging Hawkins and the others were arrested for angering mountain gods "couldn't be further from the truth".

Tourism minister, Masidi Manjun, said their acts would have merited punishment for breaking local laws and norms whether or not the earthquake took place.

Mr Masidi, who comes from the foothills of Mount Kinabalu, was also quoted in the Malay Mail as saying there had been some "fact-twisting" by foreign media.

"I don't know whether this is on purpose just to ridicule us, or their failure to appreciate our local traditions and customs," he said.

"There's a lot of public anger still against the tourists because many of them believe Mount Kinabalu is a sacred spot where their souls go to rest when they die," Ms Pak said.

"The fact that these foreigners are alleged to have stripped on the peak, urinated and cursed at staff members trying to stop them is something that many locals say is disrespectful."

Last Friday, an earthquake struck killing 18 people, including children, and leaving hundreds more stranded.

Sabah state deputy chief minister Joseph Pairin Kitingan blamed it on the travellers showing "disrespect to the sacred mountain". bbc

Location of Nepal's 7.8 and 7.3 earthquake epicenters

earthquake in nepal

Aftershocks following Saturday's magnitude-7.8 quake in Nepal are jangling nerves and complicating rescue operations. So far, there have been more than a dozen quakes of magnitude 5 or higher, and another two dozen between magnitude 4.5 and 5.

That rate of aftershocks is in line with a forecast by Andrew Michael and colleagues at the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park, Calif. The forecast is based on the location of the initial quake — along a deep boundary between colliding continental plates. In this case it feels like a large number because they're striking a heavily populated region, Michael says, "so every single one of these small aftershocks is being felt."

"Unfortunately this is simply what earthquakes do," says Ross Stein, scientist emeritus at the USGS and consulting professor of geophysics at Stanford University.The initial earthquake in Nepal released stresses underground that had been building up for 150 years. It ruptured a network of faults in a region 150 miles long and 100 miles wide, along the boundary of two colliding tectonic plates.

That reshuffling of stress underground, Stein says, is now triggering smaller earthquakes near the epicenter and on nearby faults — aftershocks."What's happening, particularly for these more remote aftershocks, is they are striking on the neighboring faults," Stein says, "and these neighboring faults could rupture in subsequent large earthquakes."

In fact, there's a 1 to 2 percent chance in the next year or two that an aftershock in this area could be even bigger than the original quake.

There is also a record of two large quakes in quick succession in this region, so a twin quake now "wouldn't be unprecedented here either," Stein says.

That means it's very challenging for people in Nepal to figure out when it's safe enough to go back into buildings. Some more recent buildings are relatively safe, because they have been built with reinforcing steel — rebar — which increases earthquake resilience.

"Unfortunately, you can't tell when you're in that building if it has rebar, and if it's been properly built," Stein says. "If concrete were translucent, the world would be a safer place."

And you can't simply wait it out until the hazard has passed. "It's kind of a cruel part of aftershocks that we cannot depend on them getting smaller," Stein says. "They just get less and less frequent with time."

The USGS forecast warns there is still a better than 50-50 chance of another aftershock that's magnitude 6 or larger in the next week, and also in the next month — and also over the course of the next year.

More than 5,000 people are confirmed dead from Saturday's earthquake just outside Kathmandu, Nepal. Nearly 11,000 more were injured, according to Nepal's National Emergency Operation Center.

Dead(5057):Injured(10915);Internally Displaced(454769)— EarthquakeNepal-MoHA (@NEoCOfficial) April 28, 2015

frost quake

A cryoseism, also known as an ice quake or a frost quake, may be caused by a sudden cracking action in frozen soil or rock saturated with water or ice. As water drains into ground, it may eventually freeze and expand under colder temperatures, putting stress on its surroundings. This stress builds up until relieved explosively in the form of a cryoseism. wikipedia

This winter has been ripe for frost quakes, known technically as cryoseism. Temperatures have been frigid, but occasional warm-ups have allowed for thawing. And the temperature swings have sometimes been abrupt.

That was the case last weekend in Missouri, where temperatures in the 40s on Saturday gave way to single-digit readings by Sunday night.

In Mark Twain's hometown of Hannibal, Mo., 100 miles north of St. Louis, police and emergency dispatches received several calls within about two hours. Facebook feeds were filled with worries.

Some people compared the noise to a sonic boom that rattles windows, said Michael Hall, executive director of the 911 center that covers the Hannibal area. Others described it as sounding like "somebody banging on their house."

Missouri isn't alone. Frost quakes were reported last month in Canada and in several other states — Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin. abc news

what is fracking?

5.8 in VA

The Virginia earthquake of 2011 August 23 occurred as reverse faulting on a north or northeast-striking plane within a previously recognized seismic zone, the "Central Virginia Seismic Zone." The Central Virginia Seismic Zone has produced small and moderate earthquakes since at least the 18th century. The previous largest historical shock from the Central Virginia Seismic Zone occurred in 1875. The 1875 shock occurred before the invention of effective seismographs, but the felt area of the shock suggests that it had a magnitude of about 4.8. The 1875 earthquake shook bricks from chimneys, broke plaster and windows, and overturned furniture at several locations. A magnitude 4.5 earthquake on 2003, December 9, also produced minor damage.

Previous seismicity in the Central Virginia Seismic Zone has not been causally associated with mapped geologic faults. Previous, smaller, instrumentally recorded earthquakes from the Central Virginia Seismic Zone have had shallow focal depths (average depth about 8 km). They have had diverse focal mechanisms and have occurred over an area with length and width of about 120 km, rather than being aligned in a pattern that might suggest that they occurred on a single causative fault. Individual earthquakes within the Central Virginia Seismic Zone occur as the result of slip on faults that are much smaller than the overall dimensions of the zone. The dimensions of the individual fault that produced the 2011 August 23 earthquake will not be known until longer-term studies are done, but other earthquakes of similar magnitude typically involve slippage along fault segments that are 5 - 15 km long.

Earthquakes in the central and eastern U.S., although less frequent than in the western U.S., are typically felt over a much broader region. East of the Rockies, an earthquake can be felt over an area as much as ten times larger than a similar magnitude earthquake on the west coast. A magnitude 4.0 eastern U.S. earthquake typically can be felt at many places as far as 100 km (60 mi) from where it occurred, and it infrequently causes damage near its source. A magnitude 5.5 eastern U.S. earthquake usually can be felt as far as 500 km (300 mi) from where it occurred, and sometimes causes damage as far away as 40 km (25 mi).

we will rebuild

erta ale

Location: The Afar region of Ethiopia.

Height: 613 m / 2,011 feet
Tectonic setting: Erta Ale (meaning "smoking mountain") is part of the East African Rift, where the African Continent is tearing apart along a seam that runs from the Red Sea/Gulf of Aden (two other arms of the rift themselves) south through eastern Africa. Many of the large lakes of eastern Africa such as Lakes Albert, Tanganyika, Nyasa and Kariba fill rift valleys created by the cracking of the continental plate from rising asthenopheric mantle. This upwelling produces the magma underneath the rift.
Type: Shield volcano
Hazards: Lava flows - the volcano has a long-lived active lava lake, possibly as long as the last 100 years (Oppenheimer and Francis, 1998). There is also evidence of more explosive eruptions (VEI 2) in the last 150 years from Erta Ale, but its remote location makes accurate records sparse.
Monitoring: There is not much in the way of nearby monitoring of Erta Ale, as the eruption of Dallafilla in 2008 shows - there was no one on the scene to find out which volcano in the range (conveniently also called Erta Ale) had erupted. Most eruptions in the area are first noticed by their sulfur dioxide plumes or the lava lakes by satellite, then by reports from the few locals who live near the volcano.

Summary: Erta Ale is one of the most remote volcanoes in the Afar region of Ethiopia part of the East African Rift. It is rarely visited and most of our knowledge of the volcano's activity comes from remote sensing data. The volcano itself is a large shield volcano with the typicalsummit caldera with craters that we see at many shield volcanoes. This summit caldera is more unique, though, thanks to the long-lived lava lake that sits in the summit crater pit. Over the last 100 years, this lava lake is sometimes joined by a second lava lake. Studies of the lake surface temperatures suggest that the flux of lava through the lake (at least in the late 1990s) is ~510-580 kg/s of basaltic lava (Burgi, 2002). Fresh-looking lava flows on the flanks of Erta Ale indicate that the lava lake will periodically overflow (as it may have in 2005), sending lava flows down the slopes of the volcano - this is a significant hazard, as superheated lava from a lava lake at Nyiragongo breached in 1977, sending lava downslope at ~100 km/h (60 mph) and killing 70 people. Most eruptions are sourced from the summit caldera area, however there have been rift vent eruptions along the northern flank of the volcano as well.
Current status: Just this week, new reports arrived that the lava lake at Erta Ale has risen to just 20 meter below the rim of th summit crater pit. Last year, an expedition visited the volcano and noted several changes since the last visit in 2002, including changes in the crater shapes and alignments at the summit.
Notable Recent Eruptions and History: An eruption of Erta Ale in 2005 forced evacuations of the region near the volcano and killed 250 heads of livestock. This eruption followed an M5.5 earthquake in the region. The volcano erupted again in 2007, prompting evacuations again, and possibly killing 5 people.
Mitigation: Evacuations are common near Erta Ale when eruptions begin, and geologists from the University of Adis Adaba usually respond quickly when evidence arises that the volcano may be erupting.

6.6

Sun Feb 7, 3:06 am ET

TOKYO – A strong earthquake shook several small islands off Japan's southern coast on Sunday, rattling buildings over 100 miles (160 kilometers) away in Taiwan and causing officials to temporarily issue atsunami warning.

There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

Japan's Meteorological Agency said the earthquake hit at 3:10 p.m. (0610 GMT; 2:10 a.m. EDT) and registered magnitude 6.6. The U.S. Geological Survey measured it at 6.4.

Japanese officials immediately issued a warning for a tsunami about 1.6 feet (50 centimeters) high, but removed the warning about an hour later.

The quake was also felt in Taiwan, about 155 miles (250 kilometers) to the east, where residents in Taipeicould feel buildings shake.

The quake hit 69 miles (110 kilometers) off the southern coast of Miyakojima island, in southern Japan, at a depth of six miles (10 kilometers), the Meteorological Agency said.

The small island is about 1,120 miles (1,800 kilometers) southwest of Tokyo.

Japan is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries. In 1995, a magnitude-7.2 quake in the western port city of Kobe killed 6,400 people.

6.4

TAIPEI, Taiwan – A powerful 6.4-magnitude earthquake rocked southern Taiwan on Thursday (3-4-10), terrifying residents, disrupting communications and triggering at least one large fire. Sixty-four people were injured, the National Fire Agency said.

No tsunami alert was issued. The quake was centered in the same mountainous region of rural Kaohsiung county that endured the brunt of the damage from Typhoon Morakot, a devastating storm that killed about 700 people last August.

Taiwanese actor Chu Chung-heng said he and other passengers were close to panic when the high-speed train on which they were traveling was dislodged from its track by the quake.

"Many people in my car were screaming," he said. "I was so scared that I couldn't make a sound. The train shook very hard, and I thought it was going to overturn."

Rail service in southern and central Taiwan was suspended, as was the state-of-the-art subway system in Kaohsiung city, Taiwan's second largest with a population of 1.5 million. Kaohsiung is about 250 miles (400 kilometers) south of Taipei.

In nearby Tainan, a fire broke out in a textile factory shortly after the quake hit, sending huge plumes of black smoke billowing into the air.Power outages struck Taipei and at least one county to the south, and telephone service in many parts of Taiwan was spotty.

Kuo Kai-wen, director of the Central Weather Bureau's Seismology Center, said the quake was not geologically related to the massive temblor that hit Chile last Saturday, but its intensity was unusual for the area.

"This is the biggest quake to hit this region in more than a century," he said.

The quake's epicenter was near the town of Jiashian, especially hard hit by last year's typhoon. A Kaohsiung county official told CTI TV news that some temporary housing built for typhoon survivors collapsed.

The Ministry of Defense said troops were dispatched to Jiashian to report on the extent of the damage.

In nearby Liugui an unidentified high school student described the quake as terrifying. "Everyone was running out of the classroom, and some people fell in the rush," she told ETTV.

The fire agency said 64 people had been injured.

A spokesman for President Ma Ying-jeou said authorities had been instructed to follow the quake situation closely and take steps to mitigate damage and dislocation. Ma was widely criticized for his government's slow response to last year's typhoon.

The presidential office said he planned to visit Tainan on Thursday afternoon.

Earthquakes frequently rattle Taiwan but most are minor and cause little or no damage.

However, a 7.6-magnitude temblor in central Taiwan in 1999 killed more than 2,300 people. In 2006 a 6.7-magnitude quake south of Kaohsiung severed undersea cables and disrupted telephone and Internet service for millions throughout Asia.

8.8 EQ

The USGS reports an 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck offshore Chile at The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has reported that some waves have been recorded along coast of South America. Hawaii is under a tsunami advisory and they are analyzing the data regarding any threat to Hawaii. If a tsunami was generated it would take approximately 14 hours to reach the Hawaii which would be 10:30 a.m. HST.

We will update this website with additional information as it is released.

MEDIA RELEASE (from West Coast Alaska Tsunami Warning Center)

To: U.S. West Coast, Alaska, and British Columbia coastal regions
From: NOAA/NWS/West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center
Subject: Tsunami Information Statement #1 issued 02/26/2010 at 10:49PM PST

A strong earthquake has occurred, but a tsunami IS NOT expected along the California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, or Alaska coast. NO tsunami warning, watch or advisory is in effect for these areas.

A tsunami may have been generated that could potentially impact the U.S. west coast, British Columbia, and Alaska. The West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Center is investigating the event to determine the level of danger. More information will be issued as it becomes available.

At 10:34 PM Pacific Standard Time on February 26, an earthquake with preliminary magnitude 8.5 occurred near the coast of central Chile . (Refer to the United States Geological Survey for official earthquake parameters.)

USGS PRELIMINARY EARTHQUAKE REPORT

Region:                           OFFSHORE MAULE, CHILE Geographic coordinates:           35.826S,  72.668W Magnitude:                        8.3 Mw Depth:                            59 km Universal Time (UTC):             27 Feb 2010  06:34:17 Time near the Epicenter:          27 Feb 2010  03:34:17 Local standard time in your area: 26 Feb 2010  20:34:17  Location with respect to nearby cities:  99 km (61 miles) WSW (246 degrees) of Talca, Chile 117 km (73 miles) NNE (17 degrees) of Concepcion, Chile 317 km (197 miles) SW (215 degrees) of SANTIAGO, Chile

Tsunami travel times: National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration

7.0

The devastating magnitude 7.0 quake that ripped through Haiti Tuesday January 12, 2010, reportedly killing thousands, did not catch everyone by surprise.

In an interview last week for an unrelated story, Robert Yeats, a professor emeritus in geoscience at Oregon State University in Corvallis and co-author of a June 1989 article for Scientific American "Hidden Earthquakes," said that an imminent big west coast earthquake concerned him far less than a "big one" that might occur in Haiti, due to the large fault near the capital city of Port-au-Prince—and the poverty-driven low level of earthquake-preparedness there. "If they have an earthquake on this fault that runs through Port-au-Prince," the death toll would be tremendous, he said January 6.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=haiti-earthquake-prediction