Death Toll From Philippines Quake Rises To 183

Authorities in the Philippines’ Bohol province have raised the official death toll from last week’s 7.1 magnitude earthquake to 183 and the count of wounded to 583.

The massive quake destroyed over 8,600 homes in Quezon City.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said that landslides were reported throughout Bohol province and that outside Quezon City more than 8,500 homes were destroyed and over 26,000 were damaged.

The NDRRMC also said that many roads and bridges have suffered significant structural damage and many government buildings are unstable.

The earthquake has displaced more than 3.5 million people across six provinces.

The Philippines are directly above the Pacific Ring of Fire noted for its volcanic and earthquake activity.

Whole Lotta Shakin’ On The Ring of Fire

The Pacific “Ring of Fire” is doing its impression of Jerry Lee Lewis with a “whole lotta shakin’ going on” over the last day. Four earthquakes of a magnitude of 6 or greater shook three points on the “ring.”

The first struck in Chile with a magnitude 6.8 quake. The quake centered about 24 miles north of Vallenar and was felt as far away as the capital city of Santiago. One woman died of a heart attack that local officials attributed to stress brought on by the strong quake. Continue reading

Earthquakes Rock Opposite Sides Of The Ring Of Fire

The Pacific Ring Of Fire had bookending earthquakes in the early morning. The first struck around 1 a.m. Central Time U.S. in the middle of the Gulf of California rocking awake residents of both Baja California and mainland Mexico.

The quake, centered approximately 63 miles southwest of Los Mochis, registered 6.0 on the Richter scale. Local officials reported that residents were panicking over the quake but that no major damage was reported. Continue reading

Earthquakes Rock Western US

California and Alaska have been rocked with multiple earthquakes in the last 24 hours.

Yorba Linda, California was struck with three earthquakes in just over one hour. The first, a magnitude 4.5, struck at 9:33 am local time, less than a mile and a half from the city center. The second hit 18 minutes later and measured 3.4 on the Richter Scale. The quake centered 2½ miles from the city. Continue reading

New Zealand Volcano Erupts

New Zealand’s Mount Tongariro erupted late Sunday night sending rocks and ash into the sky. Witnesses reported seeing “flame like explosions” and at least one witness reported seeing a new hole in the side of the mountain.

Mount Tongariro is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire. The volcano is made up of 12 separate cones. The current eruption happened at the Te Mari craters which had been dormant since 1897.

Residents of the area were ordered to stay inside and keep their doors and windows closed until given an all clear by government officials. Continue reading

Earthquakes Shake Both Sides of the Ring of Fire

Two large earthquakes rocked countries on opposite sides of the “Ring of Fire”.

A 7.1 earthquake shook Papua New Guinea in the South Pacific.  The earthquake did not cause any major structural damage or injuries because of it’s location however it was felt for hundreds of miles.  Due to the depth of the earthquake there was no tsunami warning issued for this quake.
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