Posts for 'Natural Disaster' Category

A magnitude 3.1 earthquake rattled east Los Angeles County about 3:42 p.m., according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It was centered near Chino Hills on the L.A. and San Bernardino county line, about 5 miles east of Diamond Bar. It's the same area where a couple smaller quakes hit earlier Sunday. One was a magnitude 1.4 quake at 3:38 a.m., the other a magnitude 1.1 quake at 7:22 a.m. There have been no reports of injuries or damage.

An earthquake, also known as a quake, tremor, temblor or seismic activity, is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes are measured with a seismometer; a device which also records is known as a seismograph.

At the Earth's surface, earthquakes manifest themselves by shaking and sometimes displacing the ground. When a large earthquake epicenter is located offshore, the seabed sometimes suffers sufficient displacement to cause a tsunami.

The shaking in earthquakes can also trigger landslides and occasionally volcanic activity. In its most generic sense, the word earthquake is used to describe any seismic event, whether a natural phenomenon or an event caused by humans, that generates seismic waves.

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A moderate earthquake measuring up to 5.2 on the Richter scale again hits the Andaman islands on Friday, Jul 2, Meteorologists said.The quake hit the islands in night around 11:53 pm. However as of now no damages to life, property and tsunami warning is reported.

The quake struck at the depth of 27 kilometres south of Port Blair at a place situated at 9.9° N Latitude and 91.8° E Longitude in the Andaman sea, the Meteorological department said. Indian Ocean islands usually witnesses frequent earthquake and tsunami, resulting a huge lose to life and property.

A moderate intensity earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter Scale hit Andaman and Nicobar Islands on Saturday morning. The quake shook people from their sleep, causing alarm on a string of islands, but there were no reports of casualties.

According to Met Department officials, the earthquake occurred at 4:39 a.m.with a latitude of 13.4 degree north and a longitude of 93.0 degree east. The quake struck at a depth of 11-kilometre, with the epicentre 180 kilometres from Port Blair in the Indian Ocean. However, the government has not issued Tsunami warning.

An enormous lake created by a freak landslide is about to burst its banks, and experts fear that dozens of villages in northeast Pakistan could be washed away. Many have already been evacuated.An enormous lake created by a freak landslide is about to burst its banks, and experts fear that dozens of villages in northeast Pakistan could be washed away. Many have already been evacuated.

An enormous lake, created in the far northeast of Pakistan this year by a freak landslide, is about to burst its banks, and experts fear that it could unleash a wall of water that would wash away everything in its path. Under the worst-case scenario, a 65-foot-high wave would gush down the mountainous district of Hunza all.

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According to the National Disaster Management Authority,  2050 cusecs water is entering the lake due to melting glaciers while the water release is 197 cusecs. Landslides are also expected as the water level in the lake has increased to 3.1 feet in the last 24 hours.

The Hunza Deputy Commissioner Zafar Waqar Taj said that lake water had inundated low-lying areas and the rate of increase in the lake’s water level had been steady. People from the 32 flooded villages have been evacuated and are not allowed to go back. All downstream villages have been evacuated.

The government of Khyber-Pukhtunkhwa province has been asked by Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority to prepare for a possible emergency in the districts of Shangla, Mansehra, Kala Dhaka and Kohistan, downstream from the Hunza Nagar district.

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A magnitude 6.4 earthquake has struck near the Bio-Bio region of Chile, just off the central coast. There are no reports of major damage or injuries from the latest temblor and no Tsunami watches or warnings have been issued. Chile Earthquake: Magnitude 6.4 Quake Strikes Off Chile’s Central Coast The USGS said that a 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck the central coast of Chile at about 9:45 p.m. EST this evening, May 3, 2010.

The epicenter was approximately 94 miles S-SW of Concepcion, Chile and had a depth of 12 miles. The region has undergone hundred’s of quakes since the 8.8 magnitude earthquake that struck on February 27, 2010, causing at least 486 people to lose their lives. A 5.9 magnitude hit the area yesterday. Tens of thousands of people are said to still be living in huts and tents since the February quake.

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It is likely that, within our lifetime, we will see a big earthquake ravage a populated area, such as northern Los Angeles, San Francisco, Tokyo, or Istanbul, to name a few major cities. These are earthquakes waiting to happen. It is inevitable that we will see a big one in the United States. It's not a matter of if - It's a matter of when. But it's black magic to predict. Precisely when such an event will happen - Earthquake prediction is an infant science.

How powerful was the Chilean earthquake? It packed 500 to 700 more energy than the Haitian earthquake. When you go from a 7 to 8 on the Richter scale for earthquakes, the energy goes up by 32 times. So, going from 7.0 to 8.8, you find an increase in energy of about 500 to 700 times!

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Last month's magnitude-8.8 earthquake in Chile cost insurance companies between 2.92 billion euros ($4 billion) and 5.15 billion euros ($7 billion), an insurance firm said. The Zurich-based Swiss Reinsurance Co. Wednesday said that it expects to receive claims totaling around $500 million (365 million euros).

Swiss Reinsurance Co. pointed out that purchasing earthquake insurance is a common practice in the seismically active Andean nation and that even policy-holders whose property was unscathed could file claims for interruption of business activity.

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A powerful earthquake, with a preliminary magnitude of 6 on the Richter scale, struck the eastern part of the country on the morning of March 8, killing dozens, international media reported.

The epicentre was near the village of Basyurt, about 500 km east of the capital, Ankara, and it occurred at 4.32am Bulgarian time, while many people were sleeping.

According to the Turkish Kandilli Observatory seismology centre, there were more than 20 aftershocks, the strongest measuring 4.1.

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