A magnitude 6.7 earthquake rattled Japan late Saturday night leaving crumpled homes and dozens injured.
Aftershocks continued to shake the area and villagers fled their homes to shelters after at least 50 homes collapsed after the initial quake. Officials say that because the homes are built to withstand feet of heavy snow in the winter, it kept more homes from collapsing.
However, the homes that fell resulted in broken bones after heavy furniture fell on residents as they slept on their tatami floors.
The quake, which struck just west of Nagano at a depth of 3 miles, struck along a very active fault according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
Officials say most of the residents of the area are elderly and that younger residents are working to care for those who were injured and who lost their homes.
The largest earthquake to shake Kansas since a series of small quakes began to shake the state last year struck Wednesday.
The 4.8 magnitude quake struck about 25 miles southwest of Wichita around 3:40 p.m. local time. The quake followed a 2.6 magnitude quake on Tuesday.
Sharon Watson of Kansas Emergency Management said only minor damage was reported throughout the region. One home reportedly had its foundation cracked by an uprooted tree.
Oklahoma officials reported no damage.
Kansas has recorded more than 90 earthquakes since 2013 according to the Kansas Geological Survey.
Alaska has been shaken by the second earthquake in three days.
A magnitude 5.0 quake struck 10 miles northeast of Minto, Alaska around 8:30 a.m. Thursday morning. The quake was measured around 10 miles deep.
The quake follows a magnitude 5.1 quake that rattled Interior Alaska on Monday.
Residents say that despite the government saying the quake had a lesser magnitude than Monday’s, the quake felt “stronger and longer” than Monday’s. A resident in Fairbanks, Alaska said that dishes fell off shelves and others reported objects in their homes damaged because of the quake.
The quakes took place on the same fault that caused more significant earthquakes in the same region this summer.
A major earthquake shook northern Japan on Saturday.
The magnitude 6.3 quake struck around 12:35 p.m. local time under the ocean about 400 miles north northeast of Tokyo. The quake was 8.4 miles underground and did not produce a tsunami.
Because of the location of the quake, only a small amount of damage and minor injuries were reported.
Meanwhile, Japan’s nuclear regulatory commission said that the tsunami in 2011 was the cause of the damage and meltdown of the Fukushima nuclear power plant. The massive earthquake did not cause enough damage to launch the plant into a meltdown.
The plant also announced last week they had made improvements that would now require an 89 foot wave to cause damage.
A NASA radar device has found previously unknown Napa Valley fault lines in the wake of the massive 6.0 Napa quake.
The 6.0 quake, which killed one woman and injured 170 people, was the biggest to shake northern California in 25 years. Over 800 homes were damaged and so far 103 are officially too damaged to repair.
As scientists from NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey discovered the West Napa Fault moved 18 inches along its 9.3-mile long length, they discovered a series of smaller faults that run parallel to West Napa Fault. The new small faults are believed to let off some of the strain on the region but are likely not significant enough to cause major quakes on their own.
“These really tiny ones are probably not big enough faults to have a significant earthquake, but it’s a good thing to have people go out and check whether they are part of a larger fault system,” said Eric Fielding, a geophysicist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
USGS scientists say that the data is likely going to cause a revision in the quake’s magnitude up a tenth of a point to 6.1 when final data is assimilated.
Volcanoes on opposite ends of the world erupted on Thursday.
The Bardarbunga volcano in Iceland, which has been the subject of close monitoring by seismologists since a series of earthquakes began weeks ago, finally broke through the ice covering with what the Iceland Met Office called a “fissure eruption.”
The volcano had erupted under the ice earlier this week leading to an aviation warning but it was canceled when the volcano’s activity appeared to cease. The latest eruption reportedly has lava spewing to the surface but “has not shown signs of volcanic ash.”
Despite the lack of ash, the aviation warning level has been raised to red and flights are being diverted around the volcano’s area.
Aviation experts have also placed a warning over the Tavurcur volcano in Papua New Guinea following an eruption Thursday.
The Volcanic Ash Advisory Center has been monitoring the ash cloud and providing updates to airlines. The cloud of ash has been drifting southwest since the eruption.
“The volcanic eruption reached the top of the atmosphere at 50,000 feet which is the same height as which planes travel,” said meteorologist Ian Shepherd “It’s too early to say at this point if the ash cloud will reach Australia but it was a significant eruption.”
Northern California has been shaken by a series of aftershocks including a 3.9 magnitude quake that struck early Tuesday.
The U.S. Geological Survey has recorded over 125 aftershocks of various degrees since the main 6.0 earthquake. In addition to the 3.9 quake, a series of quakes near 3.0 were recorded near American Canyon around 6 a.m. local time.
At least 100 homes or businesses have been declared unsafe for human occupation as a result of the quake. The latest estimate on damage says it would take over $1 billion to return all property to normal.
Officials throughout the region are warning residents to be careful around damaged buildings that are not condemned because aftershocks could break off debris.
Seismologists say the smaller quakes are a good thing because as time goes on it lessens the possibility of a larger quake.
A massive 6.9 magnitude earthquake rocked Peru late Sunday night.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake was downgraded from a 7.0 initial reading.
A spokesman for Peru’s fire agency said that they’d received a report of one house being completely destroyed and 19 other buildings. They said many residents fled their homes for large open areas because of the strength of the quake.
Minor damage was reported to 14 homes, three schools and at least one church on top of the 19 buildings seriously damaged.
Authorities said two major landslides had taken place in the aftermath of the quake and aftershocks. Officials are warning of more landslides as the aftershocks continue throughout the region.
A 6.0 earthquake around 3:30 a.m. rocked Northern California on Sunday morning leaving residents rushing into the streets and some older buildings no longer stable enough to live in.
The quake centered about 6 miles southwest of Napa. State Geologist John Parrish told residents the aftershocks would decrease in magnitude but that buildings that were damaged in the main quake are now susceptible to collapse from the aftershocks.
Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa reported 172 patients arrived at a triage tent set up after the quake and that 13 of the patients required immediate admittance to the hospital. Hospital spokesman Walt Mickens said that one patient is in critical condition while a 13-year-old boy was airlifted to another hospital in critical condition after his home’s fireplace fell on him.
Pacific Gas & Electric said that 2,200 customers were without power on Sunday evening. A total of 70,000 lost power at some point in the aftermath of the quake.
The quake is also a potential financial disaster for the region as many of the iconic wineries in the region were struck. One vineyard reported that their entire 2011 and 2012 vintages were destroyed in the collapse of a building.
Some analysts say the quake could foretell a more serious earthquake. There are concerns that the energy released by the Napa quake could increase pressure on other fault lines throughout the region.
Hawaii, preparing for the landfall of Hurricane Iselle, was struck with a 4.5 magnitude earthquake Thursday morning.
The quake struck just off the northwest tip of the big island at a depth of 7.9 miles. Hawaiian officials said there were no immediate reports of damage but that surveys were not a priority due to the pending arrival of Hurricane Iselle.
The hurricane is the first of two that could strike the islands before the end of the week. Hurricane Iselle will make landfall on the big island tonight around 8pm local time and Hurricane Julio could hit the islands two days later.
Forecasters say it’s possible that Julio will turn north and only the outer bands of the storm will strike the islands.
Hawaii has not been hit head-on by a hurricane in 22 years. Residents have been stocking up on supplies and boarding up homes. Water is reportedly being sold at multiple times regular price because of shortages throughout the islands.
