(News Today) – The death toll from a powerful string of earthquakes that shook Indonesia’s Papua province last week has climbed to 17, a government official said Monday.

“Most of the deaths occurred when a truck carrying 13 people plunged off a cliff because of the earthquake,” said Priyadi Kardono, head of Indonesia’s national disaster management agency. “There are 2,556 houses badly damaged. We have a team there and aid has already started to be flown in.”

At least six earthquakes struck the region during a several-hour period Wednesday afternoon. Four quakes rattled the region within an hour’s time. The largest was a magnitude 7.0.

The epicenters of the earthquakes were clustered within 90 kilometers (56 miles) of each other and some 180 kilometers (110 miles) north of Enarotali, Indonesia.

“People ran out of their houses and headed for higher ground in fear of a tsunami,” Denni Siregar, the police chief of the Yapen Island sector, said shortly after the quakes.

Indonesia is on the so-called Ring of Fire, an arc of fault lines circling the Pacific Basin that is prone to frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

In 2004, a 9.1-magnitude underwater earthquake struck off the coast of Sumatra, triggering a tsunami that killed more than 200,000 people in 14 countries.

The tsunami, which washed away entire communities, caused nearly $10 billion in damage and more casualties than any other tsunami in history, according to the United Nations. Indonesia was among the hardest hit nations.

via Indonesian earthquake death toll climbs to 17 :: Hot News Today :: News Headlines Today :: Today News Update.

Thousands of scientists are protesting over a decision to prosecute italian seismologists for manslaughter – by failing to accurately predict the L'Aquila earthquake.

Six days before the magnitude 6.3 earthquake hit last April, there was a meeting of the Commissione Grandi Rischi – the Commission for High Risks – at which it was decided that there was not sufficient risk of a major quake to justify a serious alarm.

And because of this decision, two weeks ago the L’Aquila Prosecutor’s office decided to charge seven members of the Commission, other scientists and and civil protection officials with manslaughter through gross negligence.

Nearly four thousand scientists have now signed an open letter to Italian president Giorgio Napolitano protesting about the decision to prosecute.

“The allegations against the scientists are completely unfounded,” it reads. “Years of research worldwide have shown that there is currently no scientifically accepted method for short-term earthquake prediction that can reliably be used by Civil Protection authorities for rapid and effective emergency actions.”

Over 300 people were killed in the earthquake, and the case has been launched in response to claims that people would have fled the area if they'd been warned.

“Those involved were highly qualified individuals who should have provided the public with different answers,” L'Aquila's chief prosecutor, Alfredo Rossini, told La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno. “People died and we could not just ignore this line of investigation.”

Richard C Aster, president of the Seismological Society of America, says the decision to prosecute shows a fundamental misunderstanding of what science can and cannot do.

“There is currently no scientifically validated method for short term earthquake prediction, much less one that could reliably be used by government authorities for rapid and effective warnings in Italy or elsewhere,” he says.

“Pursuing legal action against members of the seismological community after an earthquake is unprecedented and reflects a misunderstanding of the science of earthquakes.”

via Seismologists charged with manslaughter – Death by earthquake | TechEye.

Thousands of scientists are protesting over a decision to prosecute italian seismologists for manslaughter – by failing to accurately predict the L'Aquila earthquake.

Six days before the magnitude 6.3 earthquake hit last April, there was a meeting of the Commissione Grandi Rischi – the Commission for High Risks – at which it was decided that there was not sufficient risk of a major quake to justify a serious alarm.

And because of this decision, two weeks ago the L’Aquila Prosecutor’s office decided to charge seven members of the Commission, other scientists and and civil protection officials with manslaughter through gross negligence.

Nearly four thousand scientists have now signed an open letter to Italian president Giorgio Napolitano protesting about the decision to prosecute.

“The allegations against the scientists are completely unfounded,” it reads. “Years of research worldwide have shown that there is currently no scientifically accepted method for short-term earthquake prediction that can reliably be used by Civil Protection authorities for rapid and effective emergency actions.”

Over 300 people were killed in the earthquake, and the case has been launched in response to claims that people would have fled the area if they'd been warned.

“Those involved were highly qualified individuals who should have provided the public with different answers,” L'Aquila's chief prosecutor, Alfredo Rossini, told La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno. “People died and we could not just ignore this line of investigation.”

Richard C Aster, president of the Seismological Society of America, says the decision to prosecute shows a fundamental misunderstanding of what science can and cannot do.

“There is currently no scientifically validated method for short term earthquake prediction, much less one that could reliably be used by government authorities for rapid and effective warnings in Italy or elsewhere,” he says.

“Pursuing legal action against members of the seismological community after an earthquake is unprecedented and reflects a misunderstanding of the science of earthquakes.”

via Seismologists charged with manslaughter – Death by earthquake | TechEye.

(NECN) – China's earthquake death toll has climbed to 60,000 and will likely get higher. China's premier now says the toll could rise to more than 80,000. Earlier Saturday, he met with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to tour the disaster zone. Crews are now working to move survivors out of possible danger zones, including areas downstream from rivers dammed by landslides and near radiation sources that have been buried in the rubble.

via Death toll from earthquake in China climbs past 60,000.

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274 in one week alone.

Alaska rocked by earthquakes, 274 in past week

According to a report by the U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska has had 274 earthquakes in the past week. A magnitude 5.4 earthquake rocked Southern Alaska at 11:28 a.m. Alaska Time Zone on June 22, 2009. This would be 3:28 p.m. in Eastern Time Zone and 12: 28 p.m. in Pacific Time Zone. The earthquake was felt in Skwentna, Alaska; Willow, Alaska; Susitna, Alaska; and Anchorage Alaska. An official statement from the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center issued at 11:20 a.m. Alaska Time, on June 22, 2009 stated that a tsunami would not be generated as a result from the earthquake. However additional studies and surveys will be conducted by the United States Geological Survey to determine the earthquakes effects, and tsunami risks.

Aftershocks include an M2.1 earthquake that was felt at 12:18 Alaska Time Zone, or 4:18 Eastern Time in the same regions of Skwentna, Willow, Susitna, and Anchorage, Alaska. It is recommended that all those who live in regions affected by earthquakes have a survival kit prepared and are ready to take shelter as needed. Here is a free guide that teaches how to prepare for an earthquake in Alaska. It is in pdf format and 27 pages. To download the Alaska Earthquake Survival Guide, right click the link and choose “save target as” or “save link as”. You may also click the link to read the earthquake survival guide online.

USGS Map of Earthquakes: Alaska Region

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Roanoke | Roanoke Earthquake | 2.6 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Roanoke Area

Roanoke, VA – The United States Geological Survey is confirming a small earthquake in the Roanoke area early Saturday morning. It was a 2.6 magnitude quake and, so far, there are no reports of damage.

Another sub-par review because someone thinks we are wrong about the information in LETHAL. When actually, we are right.

Earthquakes are a real threat in Washington State, the most recent occurrence being in 1996. The potential for more happening in the future is there, because of existing, known fault lines.

Tornadoes are often also real threat in Washington State.  In 1972, Washington lead the country in tornado deaths. And in 1997, 6 tornadoes touched down in Washington state in a single day.

 April 5, 1972 – Washington’s Deadliest Tornado Outbreak

* An F3 tornado touched down in Vancouver

* 6 deaths and 300 injured, Washington led nation in tornado deaths that year

* Tornado swept through a grocery store, bowling alley, and grade school near where Vancouver Mall is today

* 50 million dollars in damage

* Later that day, another F3 tornado touched down west of Spokane

* And an F2 tornado struck rural Stevens county

* Numerous severe thunderstorms with large hail and damaging winds were reported over other areas of eastern Washington 

As for the Great White Shark in the woods, it’s likely the user is in a coastal forest, and when in a coastal area, we list the dangers that the oceans represent, as a general rule.

It’s frustrating that our app consistently gets bad reviews for having information that is accurate, but unexpected or against “common wisdom.” Oh well.

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Small earthquakes rumble near Gilroy, but pose little threat

3:31 PM
 By Christopher Quirk

Gilroy has been beset by a flurry of small earthquakes in the past week, but does not face a threat of a significant earthquake, according to the United States Geological Survey.The earthquakes are centered around a typically dormant location five miles west southwest of Gilroy, according to the USGS. Five earthquakes between 2.0 and 3.3 magnitude were recorded in five days, but they do not presage any larger, more dangerous earthquakes, said USGS seismologist Steve Walter.

“This is nothing really unusual in the big scheme of things but i haven’t seen activity in that particular area since before 2000,” he said.

The earthquakes are happening on the Sargent Fault, which runs primarily northwest-southeast and cuts across U.S. 101 south of Gilroy, according to USGS maps. The fault also meets up to the north with the San Andreas Fault, which runs on the west side of the Sargent Fault.

The Sargent Fault is a small but active fault, showing numerous rumblings since 1970, Walter said. While it has produced some earthquakes in the range of 4.0-magnitude, it does not pose a significant threat, he said.

“This fault isn’t really capable itself of creating a major earthquake,” Walter said.

The tectonic activity first started showing 12:04 a.m. Wednesday when a 2.1-magnitude quake hit, according to the USGS. Another 2.1 temblor followed at 4:30 a.m. the same morning.

The next day, a third 2.1-magnitude quake hit the same spot at 7:26 a.m. and 3.3-magnitude quake struck at 3:32 p.m., according to the USGS.

Finally, a fifth earthquake came at 4:32 a.m. Sunday and measured 2.8 on the Richter scale, according to the USGS.

Previous to this set of earthquakes, there was no earthquake larger than 2.0 magnitude within a close proximity to Gilroy since a 4.6-magnitude earthquake shook the South Valley March 30, according to the USGS. The epicenter of that temblor was 11 miles north of Morgan Hill.

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CONTINUING COVERAGE: Earthquake Reported in Southeast Ohio

GALLIA COUNTY, Ohio (WSAZ) — The U.S. Geological Survey reports that a 3.3 magnitude earthquake hit in southeast Ohio Friday morning.

WSAZ.com has received dozens of breaking news reports via web, e-mail, and phone from people in and around Gallia and Jackson counties in Ohio who felt the quake.

According to the USGS Website, a 3.3 magnitude earthquake has been reported about four miles west of Gallipolis, Ohio. The USGS initially reported that the quake was a 3.4 with an epicenter was near Jackson, but since updated the location and weakened the intensity. According to government officials, the earthquake centered about 3.1 miles underground.

The earthquake was first reported at 9:42 a.m. Friday.

Residents living in and around Gallia County have called to report they felt the ground shake, as well as some office and apartment buildings.

So far no damage has been reported.

A 3.3 magnitude earthquake is considered minor and often felt, but no serious damage is reported.

According to the USGS website, eight minor earthquakes have already been reported across the world as of 10:00 a.m. Friday.

Here is a map of the location of the quake:

View Larger Map

Click here for more information about the quake from the USGS.

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3.8 earthquake hits Orange County

5:09 PM | April 23, 2009

Parts of Southern California were rattled by a 3.8 earthquake this afternoon, but there were no reports of injuries or damage.

The quake struck about two miles northeast of Yorba Linda just before 5 p.m., according to the United States Geological Survey.

Early reports indicate the temblor was felt across northern Orange County and parts of southern Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

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According to the United States Geological Survey, the quake struck at 12:28 am CT today

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Earthquake felt in Chilton County

By Mike Kelley (Contact) | Clanton Advertiser

Published Tuesday, April 21, 2009

An earthquake that occurred north of Centreville early Tuesday morning had many Chilton County residents calling the United States Geological Survey to report they believed they experienced an earthquake.

By mid-morning Tuesday, 21 county residents had reported they felt what they thought was an earthquake.

The USGS released a statement Tuesday that a 3.8-magnitude earthquake had occurred approximately four miles north of Centreville in Bibb County at 5:25 a.m.

The earthquake occurred, according to the USGS, 3.1 miles below the earth’s surface.

There have been no reports of injuries, deaths or damage caused by the earthquake.

Though the epicenter was approximately 56 miles from Clanton, residents heard and felt the earthquake. Others as far away as Alexander City reported they felt the earthquake.

Tuesday’s earthquake was the second to be reported this year in Bibb County. On February 18, an earthquake that measured 2.2 occurred approximately 10 miles south of Centreville.

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Probably too small to even be noticed, but goes to show that earthquakes are not just a possibility on the West Coast.

Small Earthquake Recorded on West Virginia Border
Posted Tuesday, April 14, 2009 ; 07:00 PM

Residents most likely did not feel it.ATHENS, West Virginia – Although residents in West Virginia and Virginia probably did not feel it, residents suffered a small earthquake over the weekend along the borders of the two states. The Southeast United States Seismic Network confirms the quake had a magnitude of 2.4. It happened at 11:09a.m. Saturday, April 11th. The recording showed it to be nine miles northeast of Athens, in Mercer County. There were no reports of damage or injuries.

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Earthquakes’ Many Mysteries Stymie Efforts to Predict Them

Almost all earthquakes are small. A small segment of a fault, miles underground, jerks a little, the rumble imperceptible at the surface. But with a few quakes, the fault continues breaking, the ground jumps several feet and the world shakes in cataclysm.

“How does a rupture go from an inch a year to 3,000 miles per hour in a few seconds?” asked Ross S. Stein, a geophysicist at the United States Geological Survey.

No one knows.

This gap in knowledge makes earthquake prediction a frustrating and chancy exercise, and complicates the effort to calculate the risk that a human construction like a water reservoir or a geothermal power plant could inadvertently set off a deadly quake.

Last month, Giampaolo Giuliani, a technician who works on a neutrino experiment at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory in Italy, issued an urgent warning that a large earthquake was about to strike the Abruzzo region. The prediction was based on measurements he had made of high levels of radon gas, presumably released from rocks that were being ground up by the stresses of an incipient quake.

On April 6, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake hit L’Aquila in central Italy, killing almost 300 people. Mr. Giuliani claimed vindication for his prediction, which had been discounted by officials.

But earthquake experts like Dr. Stein are skeptical. Scientists studied radon as a possible earthquake warning signal as far back as the 1970s, and while they found convincing cases of radon releases before some earthquakes — for example, levels of radon in groundwater were 10 times normal before the earthquake that hit Kobe, Japan, in 1995 — the correlations were not strong enough or clear enough for useful predictions.

One instance of confusing radon signals occurred in 1979. Two detectors in Southern California, 20 miles apart, measured unusually high levels of radon beginning in the summer. The radon levels then decreased in October, shortly before three earthquakes struck.

One earthquake, of magnitude 6.6, occurred 180 miles to the southeast, and the two smaller ones, of magnitudes 4.1 and 4.2, were 40 miles away. In addition, a radon detector close to one of the smaller quakes did not observe high radon levels, although it did observe a radon drop a few days earlier.

That left scientists puzzled about how they could construct a prediction out of the rising and falling radon levels. Data on other gases like carbon dioxide and on electromagnetic emissions that have sometimes been detected before earthquakes are also confusing.

“You can’t hang your hat on it unless it’s a reliable precursor and it happens before most earthquakes and it doesn’t happen at other times,” said Susan Hough, a seismologist at the geological survey.

To complicate matters, Mr. Giuliani’s prediction was off in time and place. He had predicted that the quake would hit a week earlier in a town 30 miles away. Had officials acted on his prediction, said Richard M. Allen, a professor of geophysics at the University of California, Berkeley, “you would have evacuated the wrong town and you would have evacuated the wrong town at the wrong time.”

While prediction remains elusive, scientists have learned that human activity can set off an earthquake. In December 2006, a geothermal energy project in Basel, Switzerland, started injecting water three miles into the ground. Some tiny tremors were expected, but the water was shut off when one of the quakes reached a still minor magnitude of 2.7. A few hours later, a larger quake, at magnitude 3.4, shook Basel, causing minor damage to buildings.

A couple of months later, there were two more magnitude 3 earthquakes. Researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich calculate that the area will experience a slightly greater number of small earthquakes over the next 20 to 40 years as a result of the brief geothermal project, which remains halted.

The worry is that one of these small earthquakes could cascade into a big earthquake like the one that badly damaged Basel in 1356. Conversely, the small earthquakes could instead be relieving stress along a fault, reducing the likelihood of a larger quake.

“With the current knowledge, I can’t really tell you,” said Jochen Woessner, one of the Swiss scientists.

Geologists do not know how the pieces of the Earth’s crust that usually squeeze together tightly with high friction slip past each other smoothly during a large earthquake, as if sandpaper suddenly changed to Teflon. “It looks like friction is more a complicated beast than anyone would have imagined,” Dr. Stein said.

A core dug up from the San Andreas fault in California revealed the presence of talc, which could be acting as a lubricant during an earthquake. But from one core, scientists cannot tell whether this is typical of rocks around earthquake faults.

At a meeting of the Seismological Society of America last week in Monterey, Calif., a lively debate continued about whether big earthquakes are fundamentally different from small earthquakes or whether a big earthquake is just a small earthquake that did not stop. If big earthquakes are different, then it might be possible to detect them in the first few seconds of seismic waves and send out a warning. People would not have time to evacuate, but they might have enough time before the heaviest shaking to move to a safer location in a doorway or under a desk.

Reservoirs are also believed to induce some earthquakes. Most seismologists believe that a magnitude 6.5 earthquake in India in 1967 that killed about 200 people was set off by the weight of water in a reservoir that had been filled a few years earlier. A reservoir cannot generate an earthquake by itself, but it can act as a trigger to release accumulated tectonic stresses and hasten an earthquake by years or centuries.

More controversial is the assertion by some scientists that a magnitude 7.9 earthquake in Sichuan province in China last year that killed about 80,000 people was set off by the 320 million tons of water in a nearby reservoir.

Leonardo Seeber, a research scientist at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory atColumbia University, is not sure about the Sichuan earthquake, but he believes that scientists and officials need to take more account of the risk of induced earthquakes.

For example, Dr. Seeber wonders whether a swarm of magnitude 4 earthquakes a couple of weeks ago around the Salton Sea in Southern California, close to one end of the San Andreas, might have been caused in part by a nearby geothermal power plant.

Extraction of oil from the ground may have set off other earthquakes, Dr. Seeber said. In the coming years, the proposed strategy to reduce global warming by capturing carbon dioxide from power plants and pumping it into the ground could create new earthquake risks.

So far, experiments in this kind of carbon sequestration have focused on whether it will work to keep carbon dioxide out of the air for centuries. But Dr. Seeber said this technology “has huge implications for triggering earthquakes.”

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It’s a light one.

Earthquake Shakes Imperial Valle

Written by Carroll Buckley

Saturday, 11 April 2009

An earthquake measuring 4.2 on the Richter Scale rattled the south end of the Imperial Valley Saturday evening. According to the United States Geological Survey – Cal Tech Seismic Network , the earthquake was centered in Baja California , about 27 miles south south east of Calexico , California. It was recorded at 7:19 P.M. Saturday. There are no reports of damage from the light earthquake.

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Even though people think earthquakes only occur on the West Coast, they have and will occur in other parts of the United States.

Earthquakes In The Midwestern and Eastern United States?!

Most people think that earthquakes occur only in places like California, Alaska, and Japan. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Several major and numerous minor earthquakes have occurred in the midwestern and eastern United States, as well as eastern Canada. Some of the earthquakes that have caused notable damage in these areas are listed below.

• 1663 & 1870, St. Lawrence River region, Canada
• 1755, Boston/Cape Ann, Massachusetts. Earthquake estimated to be magnitude 6.0; buildings damaged.
• 1811 & 1812 – New Madrid, Missouri, experienced the three largest earthquakes known to have occurred in North America (magnitudes estimated between 7.2 and 8.3) and 203 damaging aftershocks. Soil liquefaction occurred.
• 1886, Charleston, South Carolina. Estimated magnitude 6.8. Soil liquefaction occurred. Extensive damage; 60 people or more died. Over 400 aftershocks over the next 30 years.
• 1895, Charleston, Missouri
• 1897, Giles County, Virginia
• 1884, New York City area
• 1931 — Valentine, Texas, had a magnitude 6.4 earthquake, the largest earthquake to hit Texas in historic times.
• 1935, Timiskaming, Ontario (Canada)
• 1947 — Michigan experienced a magnitude 4.4 earthquake.
• 1979 & 1980 – New York State and the adjacent areas experienced 131 earthquakes of magnitude 1 to 5.
• 1980, 5 earthquakes recorded north of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
• 1980, Kentucky shaken by a magnitude 5.1 earthquake.
• 1982 — New Brunswick, Canada, had a magnitude 5.7 earthquake.
• 1982 — Arkansas earthquake swarm starts. Eighty-eight earthquakes between June 24 and July 5, 1982. Four earthquakes with magnitudes of 4.0 to 4.5 during first 3 months of swarm. Total of about 40,000 earthquakes in the area (most very small or not felt) between 1982 and 1985.
• 1983 – Lake Charles, Louisiana, experienced a magnitude 3.8 earthquake.
• 1983 — Indiana had a magnitude 5.9 earthquake.
• 1986 — Painesville, Ohio, experienced a magnitude 4.9 earthquake and several aftershocks. The earthquake was felt in 11 states.
• 1987 — Southeastern Illinois experienced a magnitude 5.2 earthquake. This area has had 7 earthquakes of magnitude 4.5 or greater since 1892.

You probably noticed that in the list above, the magnitudes of earthquakes that took place in the 1800′s are described as “estimated.” This is because these earthquake events took place before the Richter magnitude scale was put in place. The approximation is made by a study of accounts of the earthquake which are correlated with the damage described in theMercalli intensity scale, which, as you may recall, allows a classification of an earthquake’s magnitude by ordinary people (not just seismologists). The descriptions may come even from personal correspondance of average citizens and include telling details about the damage the earthquake caused.

Over 900,000 earthquakes occur worldwide each year. Fortunately, the vast majority of them are magnitude 2.5 or less, and great earthquakes (magnitude 8.0 or more) only happen about once every 5 to 10 years. Most of these great quakes occur along the plate boundaries, not in the eastern and midwestern U.S.

A few areas of the midwestern and eastern United States are more prone to earthquakes than others. The most earthquake-prone areas include Charleston, South Carolina, eastern Massachusetts, the St. Lawrence River area, and the central Mississippi River Valley. Others sections of this part of the country are prone to earthquakes, but can expect fewer quakes of smaller magnitude. Below is a map showing the risk of damage by earthquakes for the continental United States.

FIGURE 1 (MODIFIED FROM STEARNS & MILLER, 1977)

The central Mississippi River Valley and the Charleston, South Carolina, are more prone to damage during earthquakes than the northern part of the country. These areas have sandy soils that shake more than solid rock, resulting in damage from subsidence during an earthquake. The high water tables along the Mississippi and near the coast also increase the risk of soil liquefaction during strong earthquakes.

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U.S. to upgrade volcano, earthquake monitoring

Fri Apr 10, 2009 7:31pm EDT

WASHINGTON, April 10 (Reuters) – Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said on Friday the U.S. government will spend $15.2 million to modernize equipment for monitoring U.S. volcanoes and improve warning systems.

The United States and its territories have 169 active volcanoes, and 54 of them need improved monitoring so scientists can warn the public about explosive disruptions, alert aircraft to ash clouds and inform communities of falling ash, lava and mud flows, Salazar said.

He pointed out that the March 22 eruption of the Mount Redoubt volcano, 106 miles (170 km) southwest of Anchorage, Alaska, showed the need for adequate monitoring.

When the Redoubt volcano erupted 19 years ago, a Boeing 747 passenger airliner flew into its ash cloud and nearly crashed.

The money to upgrade volcano monitoring will come from the $3 billion that the Interior Department is responsible for managing under the economic stimulus plan passed by Congress.

Salazar said $29.4 million will also be spent to double the number of seismic stations that monitor earthquakes across the country to 1,600. (Reporting by Tom Doggett; editing by Mohammad Zargham)