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320,000 could die in triple earthquake: Japan

Friday, Aug 31, 2012
JAPAN – Up to 323,000 people could die if three earthquakes occur simultaneously along the Nankai Trough, killing about 70 per cent of victims in subsequent tsunami, according to new predictions by two Cabinet Office panels.
The panels on Wednesday released predictions of damage that would be caused by a magnitude-9 Nankai Trough triple quake. This is the largest triple quake expected to occur in the trough–which stretches from off Shizuoka Prefecture down to Shikoku and Kyushu–with the so-called Tokai, Tonankai and Nankai earthquakes happening simultaneously.
The size of the predicted focal area is twice that of the magnitude-8.7 triple quake predicted by the government’s Central Disaster Management Council in 2003.
One of the study panels was tasked with estimating the height of tsunami and the area of inundated regions, while the other was a Read more…
Hawaii scientists monitor earthquake swarm near Kilauea volcano
48 small quakes and counting on the Big Island as of Wednesday morning
HAWAII VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK, Hawaii: Scientists at the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory are keeping an eye on a swarm of small earthquakes around the active Kilauea volcano.
In its morning status report, HVO wrote that there “is an ongoing seismic swarm just northwest of the summit.”
From the Wednesday status report, updated at 7:29 HST:
A swarm of shallow earthquakes started after midnight last night about 5 km (3 mi) northwest of Halema`uma`u Crater that was ongoing as of this posting. Forty-eight earthquakes were strong enough to be located beneath Kilauea: 39 quakes within the Read more…
6.8 earthquake shakes central Philippines; 1 dead

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology issued the tsunami alert for the central Philippines, saying the quake, which hit in a narrow strait just off Negros Island, could trigger a 3-foot (1-meter) wave along the island’s eastern coast as well as west of Cebu City, the country’s second largest.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center did not issue a wider regional warning.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake was centered 44 Read more…
6.3 Peru Earthquake: Tremor Strikes Central Coastline

A powerful earthquake of 6.3-magnitide has struck the central coastline of Peru, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
Peruvian officials said at least 110 people have been injured by the quake; however, it is too early to assess the overall damage wrought by the natural disaster.
“The majority [of wounded] are suffering trauma and cuts,” Fernando Leon Castaneda, manager of a local hospital, told Radio Programas del Peru (RPP).
The tremor hit right after midnight, with its epicenter about 9 miles southeast of the city of Ica. Reportedly, it was felt across the southern and central parts of the mountainous Andes nation.
Ica is about 168 miles south of the capital city of Lima.
Ica itself has suffered damage to some buildings, as well as the loss of electrical power.
“We felt a terrible earthquake that’s really scared us,” Ica resident Blanca Cabanilla told the local radio. “It was similar to Read more…
Rare Caterpillar-like Horizontal Earthquake Discovered
Imagine that, as you sit at your desk or in your living room reading this story, your entire city suddenly snaps a foot to the south.
That’s what happened to the city of Kohat, Pakistan, in 1992. A magnitude-6.0 earthquake moved a 30-square-mile (80-square-kilometer) swath of land one foot (30 centimeters) horizontally in a split second, leveling buildings and killing more than 200 people.
The area hadn’t experienced many temblors before, making the earthquake an unusual occurrence. Now, 20 years later, geologists have used satellite and seismic data to track down the cause of that rare quake — an equally rare type of fault.
“The pattern we saw was absolutely a dead ringer for a horizontal fault,” said Roger Bilham, a geophysicist at the University of Colorado at Boulder. “But here’s the problem: How do you get a horizontal earthquake?”
Perfectly horizontal
Most earthquakes occur at near-vertical faults, such as the strike-slip San Andreas Fault or the thrust fault that caused the 2011 Japan earthquake. The Kohat Plateau earthquake occurred on a Read more…
Big earthquake in Sikkim, tremors across India; 28 dead, over 100 injured
Seven people, including two Armymen, were killed in Sikkim and 33 others received injuries there. In Bihar, a seven-year-old girl was among two dead. Latehar was one of the worst hit in India; two people died there and wide cracks were visible on houses. Roads also cracked in several places and Read more…
7.2 Fiji Earthquake Today Does Not Prompt Tsunami Alert for California, West Coast
A massive Fiji neighboring earthquake today has not prompted a tsunami alert. A Fiji earthquake struck today September 15, 2011 registering 7.4 magnitude. Subsequent news reports have downgraded the quake to 7.2 magnitude. It was northeast of Australia and New Zealand claims news.
Officials confirm to news that no tsunami threat has resulted from today’s earthquake. The NOAA West Coast & Alaska Tsunami Warning Center tells news moments ago that Read more…
6.4 quake shakes northern Argentina, capital
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina—A magnitude-6.4 earthquake has struck north-central Argentina, shaking things up enough to make people evacuate some buildings in the capital hundreds of miles (kilometers) away.
The U.S. Geological Service says the quake’s epicenter was 80 miles (130 kilometers) southeast of Santiago del Estero, a provincial capital of 250,000 people and the 12th-largest city in Argentina.
It was centered deep underground, nearly 400 miles (600 kilometers) below the surface, where quakes generally cause less damage.
The shaking prompted people to spill out of the San Isidro courts building in Buenos Aires province Friday morning.
7.1 Quake strikes off Alaskan coast
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.1 struck Friday off the coast of Alaska, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.
The quake was initially reported to have occurred a depth of 6.2 miles, but the Geological Survey later updated its reading to say it was 22 miles deep.
The earthquake occurred 120 miles east-southeast of Atka, Alaska, in a sparsely populated part of the Aleutian Islands known as the Fox Islands. The epicenter was 1,658 miles west southwest of Anchorage, the Geological Survey said.
It prompted a brief tsunami Read more…
4.2-magnitude quake rumbles across Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A magnitude-4.2 earthquake and aftershocks rattled nerves across the Los Angeles region Thursday, but there were no immediate reports of damage.
The quake hit around 1:47 p.m. and was centered 24 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles. It was followed by more than a half-dozen aftershocks up to magnitude-3. The jolt was felt widely across Los Angeles County including the San Fernando and Read more…
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