A small Alabama county has experienced its 16th earthquake in just eight months.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reported a 3.8 magnitude earthquake struck Greene County, Alabama around 1:44 a.m. The quake centered 12 miles northwest of Eutaw at a depth of 3.1 miles.
The county is the least populated county in the state. There has been a cluster of quakes in the Northwest portion of the county.
“We do know that clusters of earthquakes occur from time to time as part of normal seismic activity in our dynamic planet,” Sandy Ebersole of the Geological Survey of Alabama said to AL.com. “These clusters often go unnoticed, but are of interest to those studying geology and seismology as they can teach us more about fault movement, subsurface structures, and stress in the crust.
“These earthquake clusters or swarms are very rarely followed by a large magnitude earthquake.”
Monday’s quake was the strongest since November 2014.
A major earthquake struck beneath the Hawaiian city of Volcano on Saturday evening.
The 5.2 magnitude quake was the strongest of 94 quakes that have struck the region in the last two weeks.
The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said that the quake caused no injuries and it doesn’t appear that any of the volcanoes are experiencing a major change in their activity.
“HVO monitoring networks have not detected any significant changes in activity at the summits or rift zones of Kilauea or other Hawaiian volcanoes,” HVO’s Scientist-in-Charge Tina Neal said.
Five aftershocks were recorded within an hour of the main quake with the strongest measuring magnitude 3.1.
The park is home to two active volcanoes including Kulauea, considered one of the world’s most active.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the quake did not cause a tsunami in the region.
Small earthquakes and changes in the level of the lava lake are causing concern for scientists monitoring Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano.
“Activity at the summit of Kilauea Volcano continues to change, as shown by a pronounced drop in the level of the lava lake within Halema’uma’u Crater, a change in the summit area deformation pattern, and the concentrated earthquake activity in the southern part of the caldera and upper Southwest Rift Zone” spokespersons with the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said in a recent press release.
The pressure inside the volcano is to the level that an eruption is possible. Sensors monitoring the ground show that there is deformation in the surrounding rock.
“The magma storage system within Kilauea is highly pressurized at this time, and future changes in the location of unrest, and the potential for eruption could unfold quickly (in days to hours),” said spokesmen with the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.
But it’s not just Kilauea that’s becoming a focus. Mauna Loa is also showing activity that indicates magma is on the move.
The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported that Mauna Loa is showing inflation in the Southwest Rift Zone and summit areas. There have also been minor earthquakes in the same area.
The scientists say the activity at Mauna Loa is lower than before eruptions in 1975 and 1984, however, the volcano has had periods of activity since 1984 without an eruption that has allowed pressure to continue to build within the mountain.
The HVO said they do not know how much pressure is involved or how much pressure the surrounding rocks can take before magma would move to the surface.
A new report says that around 143 million Americans are living in an earthquake zone and that 28 million in the lower 48 are in danger of “strong shaking”by a quake.
The researchers attribute the record total to population migration with many moving to the earthquake areas on the West Coast that are known for their activity. The scientists also say a “change in hazard assessment”contributed to the expansion of zones.
The report shows nearly 20,000 schools are in the area that is considered a threat from earthquakes.
The last time FEMA estimated the number of Americans who could be impacted by a quake in 1994. That report stated only 75 million Americans were at risk. The study was conducted then by the U.S. Geological Survey, the California Geological Survey and FEMA.
The new report says that financial losses from damages to schools, hospitals and other emergency responder buildings could run over $4.5 billion per year. Up to 80% of that cost would be located along the West Coast.
“While the West Coast may carry the larger burden of potential losses and the greatest threat from the strongest shaking, this report shows that the threat from earthquakes is widespread,”said Kishor Jaiswal, the researcher who presented the findings.
The U.S. Geological Survey confirmed to CNBC that Oklahoma is seeing a massive increase in magnitude 3.0 or greater earthquakes over the last 7 years to the level that the state sees 2 quakes a day.
“We have a good record going all the way back to the 1970s of magnitude 3 or larger earthquakes. They increased throughout the central U.S. in 2009, but primarily in just a few states like southern Colorado, Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma,” says Bill Leith, senior science adviser for Earthquake and Geologic Hazards at USGS, told CNBC. “Oklahoma is the most striking case, where the number of earthquakes is now at record levels.”
The USGS said that from 2008 through April 8th, 2015, a total of 1,063 earthquakes of 3.0 magnitude or greater were officially recorded in Oklahoma. This year there has been a total of 210 compared to just 91 over the same time in 2014.
Critics of the drilling process called fracking blame the quakes on the fracking process but quakes have been on the rise in Kansas, Texas, Arkansas, Colorado and Ohio according to the USGS which seems to counter the claims the Oklahoma quakes are related solely to fracking.
The quakes are causing another concern for the oil and gas industry above the people critical of the fracking process; storage of oil above ground. Cushing, Oklahoma is the major hub of oil pipelines in America and over $3 billion in crude oil is stored above ground in that area. A major quake that ruptures a tank could cause millions in damage to supplies and surrounding lands.
Oklahoma is getting a new set of maps.
The U.S. Geological Survey announced they will be releasing new earthquake hazard maps for Oklahoma after collections of data from a swarm of quakes the last few years.
Oklahoma in the last year has received more quakes of 3.0 or greater than California. The number of quakes in the state has been 300 times higher in the last six years compared to previous decades.
The news of the maps comes on the heels of another report from the USGS that Oklahoma is likely to see a major quake from reawakened fault lines.
“By identifying the faults, we are providing some guidance about where major earthquakes can happen,” Dan McNamara, USGS research geophysicist and lead author of the paper, said in a news release.
McNamara says that current maps are underestimating the earthquake hazard for not just Oklahoma but bordering states as well.
It may be “sleeping”, but scientists say the volcano within Mount Hood in Oregon is a giant that’s just waiting to wake up.
Scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey want to place four volcano monitoring stations on the mountain. The stations would be unmanned, take only 105 square feet of space and be painted in a way to blend in with the surrounding environment.
“Seismic, GPS and volcanic gas data collected from the stations would be used as the basis for public communications and early warnings, to ensure the safety of adjacent communities as well as recreationists using the Wilderness and Forest,” Mt. Hood National Forest said in a statement.
Mount Hood was placed on a list of very high threat volcanoes on the 2005 National Volcanic Early Warning Systems list.
The volcano is considered active although it has not erupted. There are frequent earthquakes and it releases steam and volcanic gases near the summit.
A new report says that long dormant Oklahoma fault lines are being reactivated and could lead to a massive earthquake.
The study, which includes researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey, says Oklahoma now must be considered possible for “a high degree of potential earthquake hazards.”
‘The majority of the recent earthquakes in central Oklahoma define reactivated ancient faults at shallow depths in the crust’ of less than 3.7 miles (6 km), said the report for the American Geophysical Union.
The study did not involve any research regarding fracking and if it had any impact on the reawakening of the fault lines.
‘Any one of these fault zones that are producing magnitude 3 or 4 earthquakes could rupture into a larger earthquake. There are as many as 12 different fault zones that are capable of producing a large, 5 to 6 magnitude earthquake,’ Daniel McNamara of the USGS stated.
Building codes in Oklahoma are not strong enough for a high earthquake. A major quake would result in mass destruction.
The U.S. Geological Survey has released a new estimate saying that the chance of an 8.0 magnitude or greater earthquake striking California is 7%, up from 4.7%.
The USGS said the increase in the percentage is due to new understanding that quakes aren’t always limited to separate faults. A quake could start on one fault and jump to another causing a simultaneous mega-quake.
“The new likelihoods are due to the inclusion of possible multi-fault ruptures, where earthquakes are no longer confined to separate, individual faults, but can occasionally rupture multiple faults simultaneously,” USGS seismologist Ned Field, the lead author of the report, told the L.A. Times.
“This is a significant advancement in terms of representing a broader range of earthquakes throughout California’s complex fault system.”
Data for the report included the April 4, 2010 quake that triggered aftershocks in at least six different fault lines. The report also found quakes jumping over a gap in the fault of over seven miles, more than double the previously observed three miles.
“As the inventory of California faults has grown over the years, it has become increasingly apparent that we are not dealing with a few well-separate faults, but with a vast interconnected fault system,” the report said. “In fact, it has become difficult to identify where some faults end and others begin, implying many more opportunities for multifault ruptures.”
Residents of Guthrie Oklahoma were shaken up Sunday when a 4.0 magnitude earthquake struck around 10:25 p.m. local time.
The quake was centered around 3 miles south southwest of Guthrie, 25 miles north of Oklahoma City.
The U.S. Geological Survey says that the quake was the eleventh to his the state on Sunday.
The quake comes on the heels of a report in Geophysical Reseach Letters that says Oklahoma could see more frequent and stronger earthquakes.
The study, which is headed by a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survery, says that it’s possible magnitude 6 quakes could strike the state. The report shows 3,639 earthquakes in Oklahoma between late 2009 and 2014, an increase of 300 times previous decades.
Most struck around 3 miles underground along the Nemaha and Wilzetta fault zones.
