Important Takeaways:
- The Japan Meteorological Agency said the quake registered magnitude 7.1 and was centered in waters off the eastern coast of Japan’s southern main island of Kyushu at a depth of about 30 kilometers (18.6 miles).
- Seismologists were holding an emergency meeting to analyze whether the quake had affected the nearby Nankai Trough, the source of past devastating earthquakes.
- Seismology Department official Shigeki Aoki warned that strong aftershocks could occur for about a week.
- Japan sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a line of seismic faults encircling the Pacific Ocean, and is one of the world’s most earthquake-prone countries.
- An earthquake on Jan. 1 in Japan’s north-central region of Noto left more than 240 people dead.
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Important Takeaways:
- A magnitude 5.2 earthquake near Bakersfield on Tuesday night rattled much of Southern California, including parts of the Los Angeles metro, and was followed by dozens of aftershocks.
- According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the initial 5.2-magnitude quake struck at 9:09 p.m. PT, some 14 miles southwest of Lamont, California, in Kern County, at a depth of about 7.3 miles. Some residents of the Los Angeles area reported the shaking nearly 90 miles away.
- The USGS recorded more than 50 aftershocks in the hours following Tuesday night’s earthquake, ranging in magnitude from 2.5 to 4.5.
- Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass announced late Tuesday night that no injuries or damage were reported on the city level, according to FOX 11.
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Important Takeaways:
- A magnitude 4.9 earthquake followed by several strong aftershocks shook Southern California early Monday afternoon.
- According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quake struck at 1 p.m., with the epicenter roughly 13 miles northeast of Barstow in San Bernardino County. The impact was felt across a wide swath of Southern California, including metropolitan Los Angeles and northern San Diego County.
- The USGS initially measured the quake as a 5.1 magnitude but quickly downgraded it to 4.9. It was followed by several significant aftershocks measuring 3.5 and 2.7.
- There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
- Thousands of earthquakes are recorded in California each year, but the vast majority are extremely minor. According to the USGS, only several hundred are greater than magnitude 3.0, and only about 15 to 20 are greater than magnitude 4.0.
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Important Takeaways:
- The earthquake, which happened about 10 miles northeast of Hermleigh in West Texas, initially registered as a 4.8-magnitude before being upgraded to 5.1.
- Twelve minutes after the first earthquake, a second earthquake registered as a 3.8-magnitude, according to the USGS data.
- A third earthquake happened about an hour later and registered as a 2.7-magnitude.
- The 5.1-magnitude earthquake was similar in size to the 4.9 that was felt across West Texas and into parts of North Texas on Monday night. Both earthquakes were on the higher end of what Texas experiences with earthquakes, though some in recent years have exceeded a 5.0-magnitude.
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Important Takeaways:
- Earthquake and ground deformation rates in Kilauea’s upper East Rift Zone decreased significantly following a “burst of intense activity” at approximately 3:30 a.m. HST on July 23, 2024. Accordingly, the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory has lowered the Volcano Alert Level for ground-based hazards from WATCH to ADVISORY and the Aviation Color Code from ORANGE to YELLOW.
- The HVO reports: “More than 100 events occurred between 3–9 a.m. at depths of 0.6–1.8 miles beneath the surface. Most events were smaller than magnitude-3, though there were eight events larger. The largest event was a magnitude-3.4. Earthquake activity was accompanied by an abrupt change in ground deformation patterns in the upper East Rift Zone, shown by the ESC tiltmeter. Tiltmeters in Kīlauea summit region did not show significant changes associated with this activity.”
- The observations indicate the “likely movement of magma in the subsurface.” The Alert Level for ground-based hazards was increased from ADVISORY to WATCH
- Kīlauea erupted most recently briefly on Monday, June 3, southwest of Kaluapele (Kīlauea caldera) within the closed area of Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park. The half-day eruption lasted approximately 12 hours before pausing.
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Important Takeaways:
- At least 51 aftershocks have rattled New Jersey since an earthquake hit our region more than a week ago.
- The most recent pair of aftershocks were recorded on Friday morning in Somerset County, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
- On April 5, a 4.8 magnitude earthquake struck Hunterdon County, with its tremors felt across the Northeast, including in Philadelphia.
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Important Takeaways:
- The Parkfield section of the San Andreas fault is sending mixed messages before a time of expected increased seismic risk.
- A section of the San Andreas fault where earthquakes occur regularly may give off a distinct signal before it trembles to life, new research finds. The signal hints at the opening and closing of cracks beneath the subsurface.
- This section of Faultline, known as Parkfield in Central California, shakes regularly about every 22 years. It last ruptured in 2004, so another earthquake may be imminent. However, the signal is not currently occurring at the fault segment, and the section isn’t behaving exactly like it did the last time it ruptured, according to a study published March 22 in the journal Frontiers in Earth Science.
- The differences might mean the next quake won’t happen right away, or they might mean that the epicenter of the quake will be different from 2004’s epicenter, which was just southeast of the tiny town of Parkfield. There will be no way to know until the next quake actually happens, said study lead author Luca Malagnini, the director of research at the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology in Italy.
- “We are waiting,” Malagnini told Live Science.
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Important Takeaways:
- Two more bodies were found in the mountains of Taiwan’s eastern Hualien County, two days after a 7.4-magnitude quake off the nearby coast that was the island’s biggest tremor in 25 years.
- The quake damaged roads and sent rocks tumbling down mountains, stranding hundreds of people in Taroko National Park
- Rescue efforts have been complicated by the risk of further landslides and rockfalls, as well as intermittent rain
- Aftershocks can also still be felt every few minutes, numbering in the hundreds since Wednesday.
- As of Friday afternoon, there were 1,123 people injured, 634 trapped and 13 missing, according to the Central Disaster Response Center.
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Important Takeaways:
- The earthquake was centered near Whitehouse Station, New Jersey
- A 4.8 magnitude earthquake rocked the Northeast Friday morning, shaking buildings from Philadelphia to New Jersey to New York City to Connecticut to Westchester, New York.
- John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey and Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport are all on a ground stop while runways are inspected for damage.
- The New York City mayor’s office said there’s no immediate reports of damage in the city but crews are still assessing the impacts.
- Cars at the Holland Tunnel between New Jersey and Manhattan are being temporarily held so the tunnel can be inspected, according to the Port Authority.
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Important Takeaways:
- From Taiwan to South Korea to Silicon Valley, some of the most important nodes in the global tech economy are in disaster-prone places
- Considering that Wednesday’s quake was the strongest in Taiwan in 25 years — and that earthquakes of similar strength have killed tens of thousands of people or more in other countries — this could have been much worse.
- There was one other way in which Taiwan — and the world — avoided a worse outcome from the earthquake: the island’s all-important semiconductor manufacturing industry seemed to emerge largely intact.
- To say that Taiwan is important to the global tech industry is like saying oxygen is important to breathing. Taiwan as a whole is responsible for making 80 to 90 percent of the world’s most advanced computer chips — ones for which there is no current substitute.
- While earthquakes and volcanoes are just one threat to Taiwan’s semiconductor foundries, the better-known one is the People’s Republic of China.
- Should Taiwan’s chip foundries be destroyed in such a conflict, the damage to the global economy could be on par with the Great Depression.
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