Tag Archives: earthquakes

Idaho and California Hit With Quakes

Weekend earthquakes shook California and caused rock slides in Idaho.

Two back-to-back quakes struck southern California Saturday night with the strongest a magnitude 4.2 according to the U.S. Geological Survey.  That quake was centered around 8 miles north of Castaic, California.

“All of the sudden it was two big rattles and little rumbles afterwards,” Castaic resident Jessica Shickle told NBC Los Angeles. “It was like the Lord literally just took our house and just kind of gave it a couple shakes, and that was it and it went away.”

USGS seismologist Dr. Lucy Jones told NBC the quake was basically small.

“This really is a very small earthquake,” Dr. Jones said. “It’s a size that’s relatively common in Southern California. I did a check and there were eight earthquakes 4.2 and larger in 2014.”

On Sunday, a 4.9 magnitude quake rocked Challis, Idaho and surrounding areas.  The quake was followed by aftershocks of 4.0 and 3.6 a few hours later.

The 4.9 quake caused rock slides that blocked roadways but officials say there were no serious injuries.

Number of “Great” Earthquakes Triples In Last Decade

The number of major earthquakes around the world has almost tripled in the last 10 years.

Eighteen earthquakes with a magnitude of 8.0 or greater has struck around the globe since 2004, compared to 71 great earthquakes during the previous 100 years.

The information was released at the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America.

“If we look at all earthquake magnitudes, the past 10 years is not unusual in terms of the rate of events; the rate increases are just seen for events with magnitudes larger than 7.5 or so,” said Thorne Lay of the University of California Santa Cruz. “This suggests that great events were ‘catching up’ on the plate boundary motions in several regions with fortuitous similar timing.”

“The last 10 years have been interesting for seismologists because we have learned that great subduction zone earthquakes occur in many different ways and there do not seem to be any simple rules to predict the kind of behavior to expect,” Peter Shearer, a professor of geophysics at the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, told NBC News. “Thus we can’t reliably assess at this point whether the Cascadia subduction zone will eventually break mostly in a single giant earthquake or a series of large earthquakes.”

Second Alaskan Earthquake in Three Days

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.

Idaho Experiences Outbreak of Earthquakes

Central Idaho has been experiencing a rare outbreak of small and medium strength earthquakes that has confounded seismologists.

The U.S. Geological Survey is sending in three portable seismographs to the Challis, Idaho area to help experts understand what might be behind the outbreak.

“It certainly has gotten the attention of the state and our regional partners,” Harley Benz of the USGS told The Oregonian. “So what we’re trying to do is put in an array to get a better feel for the location of the events and the depths and the rate of activity.”

The largest quakes have happened since Thursday.  The central Idaho region experienced a 4.1 magnitude quake Thursday, 4.9 on Sunday and a 4.4 on Monday.  Dozens of other earthquakes under 3.3 magnitude has been happening on a semi-regular basis since March 24.

The region is the same as the deadly 1983 6.9 magnitude earthquake that is still the state’s strongest quake.  However, the seismologists say the current quakes are happening on a previously thought dormant fault line and not the one that lead to the major 1983 quake.

Earthquake Shakes Oklahoma City

A 4.5 magnitude earthquake shook Central Oklahoma on Saturday.

The quake came just weeks after the two-year anniversary of the strongest quake ever recorded in Oklahoma. The quake was followed by two smaller aftershocks later in the day.

Residents say that the quakes are starting to become commonplace in the state after increasing in intensity over the last few years. A restaurant owner said that when the quake struck Saturday afternoon everyone in the restaurant stopped what they were doing but immediately went back to watching a football game on TV after the quake ended.

The quake struck during the nationally televised Oklahoma State-Oklahoma football game in the middle of a field goal attempt.

The quake centered near Arcadia, Oklahoma, about 14 miles northeast of Oklahoma City. The quake was about five miles deep according to a report from the U.S. Geological Survey.

Major Earthquake Shakes Falkland Islands

The U.S. Geological Survey reported a magnitude 7.0 earthquake has struck off the coast of the Falkland Islands.

The quake struck around 2:30 a.m. local time about 195 miles southeast of the Falklands’ capital city Stanley. The depth of the quake was 6.2 miles.

The USGS reported at least four other quakes had preceded the 7.0 quake all measuring more than 5.0 during a two hour period.

Researchers are concerned because the region of the quake is not known for strong seismic activity. Only 15 quakes total over 5.0 magnitude have been recorded in the region during the last 40 years including the 5 today.

The largest quake near to that area was a 6.6 magnitude quake in September 1993.

Who Ya Gonna Call? (Pt. 4)

Stan stumbled to his car in a daze, trying to keep a grip on his emotions. Think, Stan! Think! He silently screamed to himself again and again. What should I do? What can I do?

For several minutes, Stan sat in the car in the dark. He didn’t even bother to start the engine. Shock crept into the car with him. Gone! Los Angeles is gone! It can’t be! It must be a cruel H.G.Wells type of joke. I can’t take much more of this! He thought. What in the world is going on? For the previous six months nearly every time Stan turned on the news, he had heard of another catastrophe. Hurricanes of enormous proportions, tornadoes, tidal waves, earthquakes in Turkey, massive mudslides burying people in Mexico. “It’s a disaster of Biblical proportions!” Stan and his buddies used to joke, as they laughed at the television commentators trying to outdo the other networks in their coverage of each new crisis.

Few people were laughing now.

Continue reading →

Who Ya Gonna Call? (Pt. 2)

Stan noted with concern that his gas gauge still worked accurately, as the indicator tilted far to the left, hovering precariously close to “E.”  He had planned to get gas anyhow, but he didn’t realize they were so low. This is no time to be out of gas, Stan fumed, frustrated that Christine apparently hadn’t filled up the last time she was out. Why can’t that woman get it through her head—gas isn’t always available these days! We have to get it when we can. Stan whipped the car out of the apartment area and headed toward his usual service station. Even at this hour, the roads leading toward L.A. were congested. Continue reading →

It Can’t Happen to Us – CAN IT?

Sometimes I’m amazed at the unconcerned mindsets and attitudes the majority of the people who live in this country have.  It seems that no matter what is going on all around us, how much economic turmoil we hear about and see in the news,  or how much chaos the world is experiencing – it seems as though people carry on with a lackadaisical attitude of que sera sera – whatever will be will be. 

How can they do that?  I honestly don’t get it.  I’m a mother and a wife.  My family is my major concern for me.  I am concerned enough about the ones I love to do what I can to spare them any unnecessary pain or grief or lack in Times of Trouble. 

Yesterday and today, I have been watching the news about those poor people in Japan.  The pictures and the videos are heart-wrenching!  My heart goes out to that nation and that people!  Yesterday, I saw a young couple standing in line for milk and diapers for their one-year-old.  Can you imagine not being able to feed your baby or diaper it?

Years ago, right after Katrina, I remember seeing or hearing about an emergency package that people could grab to take with them in  case of a natural disaster or other urgent situation.  It contained everything you need to survive when all of your normal essentials of life were somehow taken from you or otherwise destroyed.  It was from this idea that I asked Jim to develop a “Grab ‘n Go” backpack that we could have for our family in Times of Trouble.  He liked the idea so much that he thought we should share it with others.  It is now available through our on-line store or by calling 1(888) 988-1588.

You know, it’s not the time to criticize people like us for having things like this available!  Please, let’s get past the silliness and just GET READY! 

The prophetic dreams, visions and revelation that the Lord gives his people are for a reason!  We are not to ignore them!  Do what you can today for your family and then rest in the fact that we are in the hands of a loving God.

As this disaster in Japan goes on and on, we are being given the time and the prophetic warning that it is coming to this country through many voices.  Don’t ignore it! Jim has been saying that there will be a 9.0 in Japan and then after that, Los Angeles will have an earthquake.

What if California falls into the ocean?  What if the New Madrid fault gives way in the middle of this country?  I DON’T WANT TO BE AN ALARMIST BUT I DO WANT TO BE A REALIST!  And above all, I want to be wise in preparing for a catastrophe.  I don’t want anyone I love to have to suffer unnecessarily, and I want to have something left over to give to others.    

This truly could be the Church’s finest hours if we WAKE UP, LISTEN AND PREPARE! 

DON’T BE SCARED – BE PREPARED!

Love,

Lori