Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Earthquake rattles New Zealand capital
Posted: 03 July 2012 1910 hrs
WELLINGTON - A 6.2-magnitude earthquake rattled the New Zealand capital of Wellington on Tuesday, the US Geological Survey said, but there were no immediate reports of any damage or casualties.
The quake hit at a depth of 236 kilometres at 1036GMT around 173 kilometres northwest of the city, USGS said. The quake was strong enough to be felt by residents in the city.
A 6.3-magnitude quake hit New Zealand's second largest city of Christchurch in February last year, flattening office blocks and toppling buildings onto lunchtime crowds and leaving 185 people dead.
The sparsely populated country sits on the so-called "Ring of Fire", the boundary of the Australian and Pacific tectonic plates, and experiences up to 15,000 tremors a year.
- AFP/ir
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Two Quakes Strike Off Japan's Coast
By PHRED DVORAK
TOKYO—An earthquake struck off the eastern coast of Japan, shaking buildings in Tokyo but not causing any reported damage. It was the second large tremor to hit Japan on Wednesday, following a quake that struck off the northern island of Hokkaido.
The second quake, with a magnitude of 6.1, hit around 9:05 p.m. local time, and was centered in the bay east of Chiba prefecture at a depth of about 10 kilometers, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency website.
Japanese authorities said there was no danger of a tsunami. Tokyo Electric Power Co. said it hadn't detected any problems with its nuclear reactors, including those at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi plant, located farther north. Some train lines were paused briefly, but soon resumed service.
The quake followed a magnitude-6.8 tremor that struck off the northern island of Hokkaido earlier Wednesday. That quake sparked a small tsunami wave along Japan's northeastern coast, and prompted authorities to issue an evacuation warning. It caused no apparent damage.
Write to Phred Dvorak at phred.dvorak@wsj.com
TOKYO—An earthquake struck off the eastern coast of Japan, shaking buildings in Tokyo but not causing any reported damage. It was the second large tremor to hit Japan on Wednesday, following a quake that struck off the northern island of Hokkaido.
The second quake, with a magnitude of 6.1, hit around 9:05 p.m. local time, and was centered in the bay east of Chiba prefecture at a depth of about 10 kilometers, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency website.
Japanese authorities said there was no danger of a tsunami. Tokyo Electric Power Co. said it hadn't detected any problems with its nuclear reactors, including those at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi plant, located farther north. Some train lines were paused briefly, but soon resumed service.
The quake followed a magnitude-6.8 tremor that struck off the northern island of Hokkaido earlier Wednesday. That quake sparked a small tsunami wave along Japan's northeastern coast, and prompted authorities to issue an evacuation warning. It caused no apparent damage.
Write to Phred Dvorak at phred.dvorak@wsj.com
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Another Earhtquake rocks Tokyo
Posted: 01 January 2012 1423 hrs
TOKYO: A major 7.0-magnitude earthquake rocked Tokyo Sunday as Emperor Akihito led Japan's New Year celebrations by urging people to work together in rebuilding the nation from March's quake-tsunami disaster.
The tremor struck at 2:28pm (0528 GMT) with its focus deep at about 370 kilometres (230 miles), Japan's Meteorological Agency said. The US Geological Survey put the depth at 348 kilometres.
Its epicentre was located near Torishima, a northwestern Pacific island about 560 kilometres south of Tokyo.
There were no immediate reports of damage or injury and no tsunami warning was issued.
The mid-afternoon quake swayed buildings in Tokyo and surrounding areas but it did not disrupt the final of the Emperor's Cup football tournament under way at the National Stadium.
"Some people, who were walking, did not seem to notice the quake," a spokesman for Tokyo Disneyland said, adding business went on as usual at the theme park after some rides were automatically shut down.
He did not give the number of visitors on the day but estimated it at several tens of thousands.
Train runs and airline flights in and around the capital area were not affected.
A 9.0-magnitude quake and monster tsunami ravaged the country's northeast on March 11, killing more than 19,000 people, and crippled a nuclear power plant which has been since leaking radiation into the environment.
In a New Year message, Emperor Akihito said: "Our country is now going through difficult times because of the earthquake and other factors."
"But I hope that the people's hearts will always be with the afflicted, and that everyone will persevere and work together to build a brighter tomorrow."
Wishes for the nation's recovery appeared to have dominated as the new year started in Japan with tens of thousands of people flocking to Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples to offer money and pray for good fortune.
- AFP/cc
TOKYO: A major 7.0-magnitude earthquake rocked Tokyo Sunday as Emperor Akihito led Japan's New Year celebrations by urging people to work together in rebuilding the nation from March's quake-tsunami disaster.
The tremor struck at 2:28pm (0528 GMT) with its focus deep at about 370 kilometres (230 miles), Japan's Meteorological Agency said. The US Geological Survey put the depth at 348 kilometres.
Its epicentre was located near Torishima, a northwestern Pacific island about 560 kilometres south of Tokyo.
There were no immediate reports of damage or injury and no tsunami warning was issued.
The mid-afternoon quake swayed buildings in Tokyo and surrounding areas but it did not disrupt the final of the Emperor's Cup football tournament under way at the National Stadium.
"Some people, who were walking, did not seem to notice the quake," a spokesman for Tokyo Disneyland said, adding business went on as usual at the theme park after some rides were automatically shut down.
He did not give the number of visitors on the day but estimated it at several tens of thousands.
Train runs and airline flights in and around the capital area were not affected.
A 9.0-magnitude quake and monster tsunami ravaged the country's northeast on March 11, killing more than 19,000 people, and crippled a nuclear power plant which has been since leaking radiation into the environment.
In a New Year message, Emperor Akihito said: "Our country is now going through difficult times because of the earthquake and other factors."
"But I hope that the people's hearts will always be with the afflicted, and that everyone will persevere and work together to build a brighter tomorrow."
Wishes for the nation's recovery appeared to have dominated as the new year started in Japan with tens of thousands of people flocking to Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples to offer money and pray for good fortune.
- AFP/cc
Friday, December 23, 2011
Powerful quakes rock New Zealand's Christchurch
WELLINGTON: New Zealand's Christchurch was Friday rocked by a fresh series of powerful earthquakes, sending terrified people fleeing into the streets 10 months after a devastating quake claimed 181 lives.
Two shallow quakes of magnitude 5.8 and 5.9 and a series of aftershocks struck as the town centre was packed with afternoon Christmas shoppers, sending stock tumbling from the shelves and turning the festive mood to panic.
The quakes, which closed the international airport and disrupted communications, were the latest in a series that began 15 months ago and have destroyed much of the inner-city.
Local news media reported people fleeing in fear as the quake and a series of aftershocks rattled the city, leading to liquefaction and flooding in some suburbs worst hit by previous earthquakes.
Liquefaction is caused when shaking loosens the bonds between soil particles, turning the ground into a quagmire.
"It was very frightening there for a wee moment," one resident, Brian Cornish, told National Radio.
"Everybody out in the car park was flung on the ground, liquefaction started up in the car park, the building rocked like crazy, all the cars were bouncing up and down on their springs."
"You can't underestimate the ongoing stress this has created for people," Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker said, while Prime Minister John Key described the impact as "frightening and disheartening" for the beleaguered residents.
The lives of people in New Zealand's second largest city have been shattered by a series of earthquakes that began in September last year when a tremor of 7.0 struck.
That quake caused widespread destruction but because it hit just before dawn there were few casualties.
But on February 22, a lunchtime 6.3 quake killed 181 people and reduced much of the downtown area, including the city's Anglican cathedral, to a pile of rubble, while in the suburbs thousands of homes were written off.
The cost of repairing the city has been put at NZ$20 billion ($15.5 billion), and even after the latest quakes Key said the government's resolve to rebuild Christchurch remains unchanged.
Smaller earthquakes in the 3.0-4.0 range have become an almost daily occurrence in Christchurch but only a few thousand from a population of more than 350,000 people are reported to have left the city.
Deputy mayor Ngaire Button said the latest quakes coming at the end of a difficult year, were likely to make more people consider moving elsewhere but she doubted many would go.
"Every aftershock we've had, there have been people who have felt that way, we can't blame them for that," she said.
"We do recover, though, and hopefully tomorrow we'll all be feeling a little bit better again and restoring our faith in the will to live and the will to live in Christchurch."
One woman, Susan Holmes, told TV3 she had had enough.
"It's beyond devastating, It's happened again. I'm sick of it," a sobbing Holmes said as she faced the prospect of clearing debris from her home for the fourth time in 16 months."
The US Geological Survey said a 5.8-magnitude quake struck at 1:58 pm (0058 GMT) Friday at a depth of less than five kilometres (three miles). It was followed 70 minutes later by a 5.9 tremor at about the same depth.
One person was rushed to hospital after being injured in a shopping mall and the National Crisis Management Centre was activated.
Telephone services were cut in many areas and electricity supplies disrupted, but police said there were no reports of other injuries or widespread damage.
The international airport and shopping malls were all evacuated and closed as a precautionary measure.
"I'm pretty sure we will be open again this afternoon," airport chief executive Jim Boult told Radio New Zealand.
Police spokesman Stephen Hill said a few buildings collapsed and people were also urged to stay away from hill suburbs because of a risk of rockfalls.
Scientists had warned last month of an increased probability that another powerful earthquake would hit Christchurch.
"We knew to expect aftershocks and one in the range around about 6.0 was expected over the next 12 months and that appears to have arrived," Parker said.
New Zealand sits on the so-called "Ring of Fire" the boundary of the Australian and Pacific tectonic plates, and experiences up to 15,000 tremors a year.
-AFP/ac
Two shallow quakes of magnitude 5.8 and 5.9 and a series of aftershocks struck as the town centre was packed with afternoon Christmas shoppers, sending stock tumbling from the shelves and turning the festive mood to panic.
The quakes, which closed the international airport and disrupted communications, were the latest in a series that began 15 months ago and have destroyed much of the inner-city.
Local news media reported people fleeing in fear as the quake and a series of aftershocks rattled the city, leading to liquefaction and flooding in some suburbs worst hit by previous earthquakes.
Liquefaction is caused when shaking loosens the bonds between soil particles, turning the ground into a quagmire.
"It was very frightening there for a wee moment," one resident, Brian Cornish, told National Radio.
"Everybody out in the car park was flung on the ground, liquefaction started up in the car park, the building rocked like crazy, all the cars were bouncing up and down on their springs."
"You can't underestimate the ongoing stress this has created for people," Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker said, while Prime Minister John Key described the impact as "frightening and disheartening" for the beleaguered residents.
The lives of people in New Zealand's second largest city have been shattered by a series of earthquakes that began in September last year when a tremor of 7.0 struck.
That quake caused widespread destruction but because it hit just before dawn there were few casualties.
But on February 22, a lunchtime 6.3 quake killed 181 people and reduced much of the downtown area, including the city's Anglican cathedral, to a pile of rubble, while in the suburbs thousands of homes were written off.
The cost of repairing the city has been put at NZ$20 billion ($15.5 billion), and even after the latest quakes Key said the government's resolve to rebuild Christchurch remains unchanged.
Smaller earthquakes in the 3.0-4.0 range have become an almost daily occurrence in Christchurch but only a few thousand from a population of more than 350,000 people are reported to have left the city.
Deputy mayor Ngaire Button said the latest quakes coming at the end of a difficult year, were likely to make more people consider moving elsewhere but she doubted many would go.
"Every aftershock we've had, there have been people who have felt that way, we can't blame them for that," she said.
"We do recover, though, and hopefully tomorrow we'll all be feeling a little bit better again and restoring our faith in the will to live and the will to live in Christchurch."
One woman, Susan Holmes, told TV3 she had had enough.
"It's beyond devastating, It's happened again. I'm sick of it," a sobbing Holmes said as she faced the prospect of clearing debris from her home for the fourth time in 16 months."
The US Geological Survey said a 5.8-magnitude quake struck at 1:58 pm (0058 GMT) Friday at a depth of less than five kilometres (three miles). It was followed 70 minutes later by a 5.9 tremor at about the same depth.
One person was rushed to hospital after being injured in a shopping mall and the National Crisis Management Centre was activated.
Telephone services were cut in many areas and electricity supplies disrupted, but police said there were no reports of other injuries or widespread damage.
The international airport and shopping malls were all evacuated and closed as a precautionary measure.
"I'm pretty sure we will be open again this afternoon," airport chief executive Jim Boult told Radio New Zealand.
Police spokesman Stephen Hill said a few buildings collapsed and people were also urged to stay away from hill suburbs because of a risk of rockfalls.
Scientists had warned last month of an increased probability that another powerful earthquake would hit Christchurch.
"We knew to expect aftershocks and one in the range around about 6.0 was expected over the next 12 months and that appears to have arrived," Parker said.
New Zealand sits on the so-called "Ring of Fire" the boundary of the Australian and Pacific tectonic plates, and experiences up to 15,000 tremors a year.
-AFP/ac
Friday, September 2, 2011
Friday, August 19, 2011
Magnitude 6.8 Quake Hits Japan, No Damage Reported
Published: Friday, 19 Aug 2011 | 2:33 AM ET By: Reuters
A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 jolted northeastern Japan off Fukushima prefecture on Friday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said, although no damage was reported and a tsunami advisory for the area was lifted after no waves were sighted.--
Some highways were closed and high-speed bullet trains were halted after the quake, public broadcaster NHK said.
A 50 cm (20 inch) tsunami advisory was issued for the coastal areas of Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures that were severely damaged by the massive March 11 quake and tsunami, but was lifted about 35 minutes late.
Tokyo Electric Power Co said no abnormalities had been found at radiation monitoring posts at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, about 240 km (150 miles) northeast of Tokyo, or the nearby Daini plant, and that cooling operations at the damaged reactors were continuing.
Tohoku Electric Power said there were no abnormalities at its Onagawa nuclear power plant, which has been shut since the March disaster.
The focus of the tremor was off the coast of Fukushima, 20 km below the earth's surface, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
On March 11, the northeast coast was struck by a magnitude 9 earthquake, the strongest on record in Japan, and a massive tsunami that triggered the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. The disaster left about 20,400 dead or missing.
A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 jolted northeastern Japan off Fukushima prefecture on Friday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said, although no damage was reported and a tsunami advisory for the area was lifted after no waves were sighted.--
Some highways were closed and high-speed bullet trains were halted after the quake, public broadcaster NHK said.
A 50 cm (20 inch) tsunami advisory was issued for the coastal areas of Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures that were severely damaged by the massive March 11 quake and tsunami, but was lifted about 35 minutes late.
Tokyo Electric Power Co said no abnormalities had been found at radiation monitoring posts at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, about 240 km (150 miles) northeast of Tokyo, or the nearby Daini plant, and that cooling operations at the damaged reactors were continuing.
Tohoku Electric Power said there were no abnormalities at its Onagawa nuclear power plant, which has been shut since the March disaster.
The focus of the tremor was off the coast of Fukushima, 20 km below the earth's surface, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
On March 11, the northeast coast was struck by a magnitude 9 earthquake, the strongest on record in Japan, and a massive tsunami that triggered the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. The disaster left about 20,400 dead or missing.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Magnitude 5.4 Quake Hits Central Japan; 7 Injured
Published: Wednesday, 29 Jun 2011 | 10:14 PM ET By: Reuters
A magnitude 5.4 earthquake hit central Japan and injured seven people on Thursday, but there were no immediate reports of major damage.
The epicentre of the earthquake, which struck around 8:16 a.m. was in Nagano prefecture, about 120 km (75 miles) from Tokyo, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
No tsunami warning was issued after the quake, the agency said. The magnitude was revised down from a preliminary reading of 5.5.
Seven people were taken to hospital including those hurt from falling objects, but the injuries did not appear serious, an official at the local fire department said.
Japan accounts for about 20 percent of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.
On March 11, the northeast coast was struck by a magnitude 9 earthquake, the strongest quake in Japan on record, and a massive tsunami, which triggered the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years, at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. The disaster left up to 23,000 dead or missing.
A magnitude 5.4 earthquake hit central Japan and injured seven people on Thursday, but there were no immediate reports of major damage.
The epicentre of the earthquake, which struck around 8:16 a.m. was in Nagano prefecture, about 120 km (75 miles) from Tokyo, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
No tsunami warning was issued after the quake, the agency said. The magnitude was revised down from a preliminary reading of 5.5.
Seven people were taken to hospital including those hurt from falling objects, but the injuries did not appear serious, an official at the local fire department said.
Japan accounts for about 20 percent of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.
On March 11, the northeast coast was struck by a magnitude 9 earthquake, the strongest quake in Japan on record, and a massive tsunami, which triggered the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years, at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. The disaster left up to 23,000 dead or missing.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Huge 7.4 earthquake rocks Alaskan islands
Posted: 24 June 2011 1138 hrs
WASHINGTON: A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake shook Alaska's remote Aleutian Islands late on Thursday, but US officials did not issue a tsunami warning for the Pacific Ocean.
There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
A tsunami advisory issued by the US West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center (WCATWC) warned nearby coastal residents to "move immediately inland to higher ground and away from all harbors and inlets including those sheltered directly from the sea."
The quake on the Fox Islands -- 101 miles (163 kilometers) east of the tiny fishing port of Atka -- struck at 6:09 pm local time (0309 GMT), the US Geological Survey said in a statement.
"Those feeling the earth shake, seeing unusual wave action or the water level rising or receding may have only a few minutes before the tsunami arrival and should move immediately," warned the WCATWC.
"Homes and small buildings are not designed to withstand tsunami impacts.
Do not stay in these structures," officials warned.
The quake struck more than 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) west of the major Alaskan city of Anchorage.
-AFP/ck
WASHINGTON: A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake shook Alaska's remote Aleutian Islands late on Thursday, but US officials did not issue a tsunami warning for the Pacific Ocean.
There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
A tsunami advisory issued by the US West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center (WCATWC) warned nearby coastal residents to "move immediately inland to higher ground and away from all harbors and inlets including those sheltered directly from the sea."
The quake on the Fox Islands -- 101 miles (163 kilometers) east of the tiny fishing port of Atka -- struck at 6:09 pm local time (0309 GMT), the US Geological Survey said in a statement.
"Those feeling the earth shake, seeing unusual wave action or the water level rising or receding may have only a few minutes before the tsunami arrival and should move immediately," warned the WCATWC.
"Homes and small buildings are not designed to withstand tsunami impacts.
Do not stay in these structures," officials warned.
The quake struck more than 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) west of the major Alaskan city of Anchorage.
-AFP/ck
Monday, June 13, 2011
Powerful Quakes Rattle New Zealand City, 10 Injured
A series of powerful tremors rattled the quake-prone New Zealand city of Christchurch on Monday, destroying buildings and sending boulders tumbling down hillsides nearly four months after a quake killed 181 people.
There were no reported fatalities. New Zealand's Civil Defence said 10 people suffered minor injuries in the quakes, with the strongest put at a magnitude of 6.0 at 2.20 p.m. (0220 GMT) local time.
Buildings were evacuated and infrastructure damaged across the city, still trying to recover from the Feb. 22 6.3 magnitude earthquake.
Monday's quake knocked the New Zealand dollar [NZD=D4 Unavailable () ] lower and was seen as another hurdle to rebuilding New Zealand's second largest city, likely encouraging the Reserve Bank of New Zealand to keep interest rates on hold for longer.
"You can draw a picture already of a significant earthquake," Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker told Radio New Zealand. A cloud of dust had enveloped the city after the quakes, he said.
Civil Defence said two people had been rescued from a damaged church. There were no further reports of trapped people.
As with the initial quake, Monday's aftershock sent boulders on the city's Port Hills tumbling towards houses. Parts of the eastern city which suffered the most damage in February's tremor suffered from flooding and liquefaction - where solid ground is turned into liquid by the force of the quake.
New Zealand's GNS Institute said the earthquakes were within the expected pattern after February's tremor and could well trigger fresh seismic activity.
"We would expect a number of aftershocks in the magnitude 4.0 to 5.0 range on the coming days and weeks," said Kelvin Berryman, GNS's Manager of Natural Hazards Research.
Prime Minister John Key said the new tremor would probably affect recovery efforts. "I acknowledge that this is a setback for Christchurch, but it does not lessen our resolve to rebuild," he told reporters in parliament.
Power Cuts, Infrastructure Damaged
Power was cut to about 50,000 houses and there were reports of damage to roads, buildings and water supplies.
A number of homes were likely to remain without power overnight, with the temperature likely to dip close to freezing.
Christchurch has experienced a number of strong earthquakes since a magnitude 7.1 quake struck the city on Sept 4 last year.
On Monday, five tremors of magnitude 4.3 or greater were recorded from 0029 GMT. A 5.5 tremor at 0100 GMT was believed to have caused most of the damage 10 km (6 miles) south-east of the city centre at a depth of 11 km.
Parts of the city centre have been closed since the Feb 22 quake. One of the city's tallest buildings, the Grand Chancellor Hotel, has been declared unstable and is being prepared for demolition.
The cost to rebuild Christchurch after the quakes has been estimated at around NZ$15 billion ($12.2 billion).
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand cut rates after the February tremor to a record-equalling low of 2.50 percent. But signs of recovery and an upbeat assessment from the bank at its review last week have led markets to price in rate rises from December.
However, markets would start to ease back on expectations of a rate hike, said Tim Kelleher, CBA's vice president of institutional banking and markets.
"It puts things like the rebuild of Christchurch further on delay," he said.
There were no reported fatalities. New Zealand's Civil Defence said 10 people suffered minor injuries in the quakes, with the strongest put at a magnitude of 6.0 at 2.20 p.m. (0220 GMT) local time.
Buildings were evacuated and infrastructure damaged across the city, still trying to recover from the Feb. 22 6.3 magnitude earthquake.
Monday's quake knocked the New Zealand dollar [NZD=D4 Unavailable () ] lower and was seen as another hurdle to rebuilding New Zealand's second largest city, likely encouraging the Reserve Bank of New Zealand to keep interest rates on hold for longer.
"You can draw a picture already of a significant earthquake," Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker told Radio New Zealand. A cloud of dust had enveloped the city after the quakes, he said.
Civil Defence said two people had been rescued from a damaged church. There were no further reports of trapped people.
As with the initial quake, Monday's aftershock sent boulders on the city's Port Hills tumbling towards houses. Parts of the eastern city which suffered the most damage in February's tremor suffered from flooding and liquefaction - where solid ground is turned into liquid by the force of the quake.
New Zealand's GNS Institute said the earthquakes were within the expected pattern after February's tremor and could well trigger fresh seismic activity.
"We would expect a number of aftershocks in the magnitude 4.0 to 5.0 range on the coming days and weeks," said Kelvin Berryman, GNS's Manager of Natural Hazards Research.
Prime Minister John Key said the new tremor would probably affect recovery efforts. "I acknowledge that this is a setback for Christchurch, but it does not lessen our resolve to rebuild," he told reporters in parliament.
Power Cuts, Infrastructure Damaged
Power was cut to about 50,000 houses and there were reports of damage to roads, buildings and water supplies.
A number of homes were likely to remain without power overnight, with the temperature likely to dip close to freezing.
Christchurch has experienced a number of strong earthquakes since a magnitude 7.1 quake struck the city on Sept 4 last year.
On Monday, five tremors of magnitude 4.3 or greater were recorded from 0029 GMT. A 5.5 tremor at 0100 GMT was believed to have caused most of the damage 10 km (6 miles) south-east of the city centre at a depth of 11 km.
Parts of the city centre have been closed since the Feb 22 quake. One of the city's tallest buildings, the Grand Chancellor Hotel, has been declared unstable and is being prepared for demolition.
The cost to rebuild Christchurch after the quakes has been estimated at around NZ$15 billion ($12.2 billion).
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand cut rates after the February tremor to a record-equalling low of 2.50 percent. But signs of recovery and an upbeat assessment from the bank at its review last week have led markets to price in rate rises from December.
However, markets would start to ease back on expectations of a rate hike, said Tim Kelleher, CBA's vice president of institutional banking and markets.
"It puts things like the rebuild of Christchurch further on delay," he said.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Predicting the next big quake
By Augustine Anthuvan | Posted: 21 May 2011 1033 hrs
SUMATRA: A Banyan tree - well over a hundred years old - located on Simeulue island, has survived two tsunamis - a big one in 1907 and the recent one caused by the 2004 earthquake.
And those who survived continue to tell the story of the 1907 "Semong", the local word for tsunami.
Kerry Sieh, Director of the Earth Observatory of Singapore, said: "The reason that villagers here were able to escape is because their grandparents, their great grandparents passed down to them the story of what happened in 1907.
"When the tsunami hit in 2004, the water tore all these buildings off their foundations, all you see are the slab foundations, so you can see it was pretty strong. It ripped them off their foundations leaving that little building, leaving the mosque...the wave was about four metres high.
"In 1907, the villagers said that (according to the story), the wave was about 10 metres or so...so they learnt from that event in 1907. That when you feel a big earthquake, you run to the hills as fast as you can. They did that and no one in this village died."
However, Mr Sieh said survival in earthquake prone areas would require looking beyond oral traditions.
"If you pass things down from generation to generation, say like the Pacific North West Indians in the United States did about the big eruption of Mount Mazama in Oregon, 6,000 years of oral tradition, that's wonderful but it's rare and in big cities people don't tend to have these oral traditions.
"What I'm submitting to you is...geology can tell you a lot if you're willing to pay attention to it. Now the Japanese were caught short in that regard recently, even though they were the most prepared people in the world for tsunamis and earthquakes. They didn't pay enough attention to the geological evidence."
Geological evidence of the 1907 earthquake at Simeulue Island is in the form of a coral head, that popped up 1.3 metres out of the water.
"In a sense that's a seismogram, it's a record of an old earthquake," said Mr Sieh.
An island off the west coast of Nias became 10 times its original size after the 2005 earthquake.
Data from coral reef upliftments on this "new" island are helping scientists to understand the patterns of great earthquakes on the Sunda megathrust.
Mr Sieh said: "The corals show and the Dutch records show there was a big earthquake in 1861. After 1861, the island rose but then it slowly subsided, as the megathrust carried the subducting slab down, so it went down...if it kept going down for a couple of decades, this whole island would have disappeared beneath the water.
"But just in time, the next one happened and the island grew again so now its subsiding again. It will subside a centimetre per year over the next century or so and then (it will) pop up come again."
Scientists are now able to forecast the location of where an impending large Sumatran earthquake might hit. But challenges remain. For one, authorities will have to translate that knowledge into planning and changing land use and finding meaningful ways to protect the majority of the people that are likely to be affected.
-CNA/ac
SUMATRA: A Banyan tree - well over a hundred years old - located on Simeulue island, has survived two tsunamis - a big one in 1907 and the recent one caused by the 2004 earthquake.
And those who survived continue to tell the story of the 1907 "Semong", the local word for tsunami.
Kerry Sieh, Director of the Earth Observatory of Singapore, said: "The reason that villagers here were able to escape is because their grandparents, their great grandparents passed down to them the story of what happened in 1907.
"When the tsunami hit in 2004, the water tore all these buildings off their foundations, all you see are the slab foundations, so you can see it was pretty strong. It ripped them off their foundations leaving that little building, leaving the mosque...the wave was about four metres high.
"In 1907, the villagers said that (according to the story), the wave was about 10 metres or so...so they learnt from that event in 1907. That when you feel a big earthquake, you run to the hills as fast as you can. They did that and no one in this village died."
However, Mr Sieh said survival in earthquake prone areas would require looking beyond oral traditions.
"If you pass things down from generation to generation, say like the Pacific North West Indians in the United States did about the big eruption of Mount Mazama in Oregon, 6,000 years of oral tradition, that's wonderful but it's rare and in big cities people don't tend to have these oral traditions.
"What I'm submitting to you is...geology can tell you a lot if you're willing to pay attention to it. Now the Japanese were caught short in that regard recently, even though they were the most prepared people in the world for tsunamis and earthquakes. They didn't pay enough attention to the geological evidence."
Geological evidence of the 1907 earthquake at Simeulue Island is in the form of a coral head, that popped up 1.3 metres out of the water.
"In a sense that's a seismogram, it's a record of an old earthquake," said Mr Sieh.
An island off the west coast of Nias became 10 times its original size after the 2005 earthquake.
Data from coral reef upliftments on this "new" island are helping scientists to understand the patterns of great earthquakes on the Sunda megathrust.
Mr Sieh said: "The corals show and the Dutch records show there was a big earthquake in 1861. After 1861, the island rose but then it slowly subsided, as the megathrust carried the subducting slab down, so it went down...if it kept going down for a couple of decades, this whole island would have disappeared beneath the water.
"But just in time, the next one happened and the island grew again so now its subsiding again. It will subside a centimetre per year over the next century or so and then (it will) pop up come again."
Scientists are now able to forecast the location of where an impending large Sumatran earthquake might hit. But challenges remain. For one, authorities will have to translate that knowledge into planning and changing land use and finding meaningful ways to protect the majority of the people that are likely to be affected.
-CNA/ac
Moderate quake hits Philippines
Posted: 22 May 2011 0000 hrs
MANILA: An earthquake measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale hit the northern Philippines late Saturday, causing localised power outages as buildings swayed, but no casualties were reported, officials said.
The epicentre of the quake, which struck at 9:08pm (1308 GMT), was a few kilometres northeast of Ilagan, the capital of Isabela province, a duty officer with the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology told AFP.
There were no reports of casualties around the city of about 131,000 more than an hour later, said Inspector Joel Dulin, the senior officer on duty at the signal department of the Isabela police.
"We have been contacting the other (Isabela) municipalities for any reports of damage or casualties, but so far it has been negative," he added.
"Power outages hit some parts of Ilagan," Dulin told AFP, and the provincial police headquarters there were among areas left without electricity.
Police officer Lito Piga, duty officer for the region's civil defence office located in Tuguegarao, 60 kilometres (37 miles) north of Ilagan, said the two-storey building swayed noticeably.
"I ran downstairs, but when we inspected the building for cracks later on we did not find any," he told AFP.
The US Geological Survey, which uses a different scale, said the quake had a magnitude of 5.3 and put its depth at 45 kilometres.
-AFP/wk
MANILA: An earthquake measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale hit the northern Philippines late Saturday, causing localised power outages as buildings swayed, but no casualties were reported, officials said.
The epicentre of the quake, which struck at 9:08pm (1308 GMT), was a few kilometres northeast of Ilagan, the capital of Isabela province, a duty officer with the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology told AFP.
There were no reports of casualties around the city of about 131,000 more than an hour later, said Inspector Joel Dulin, the senior officer on duty at the signal department of the Isabela police.
"We have been contacting the other (Isabela) municipalities for any reports of damage or casualties, but so far it has been negative," he added.
"Power outages hit some parts of Ilagan," Dulin told AFP, and the provincial police headquarters there were among areas left without electricity.
Police officer Lito Piga, duty officer for the region's civil defence office located in Tuguegarao, 60 kilometres (37 miles) north of Ilagan, said the two-storey building swayed noticeably.
"I ran downstairs, but when we inspected the building for cracks later on we did not find any," he told AFP.
The US Geological Survey, which uses a different scale, said the quake had a magnitude of 5.3 and put its depth at 45 kilometres.
-AFP/wk
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Moderate quake hits China's Sichuan province
Posted: 15 May 2011 1705 hrs
BEIJING - A 5.0-magnitude tremor hit the Chinese province of Sichuan on Sunday, the US Geological Survey said, three years after a giant quake left 87,000 dead or missing in the region.
The tremor struck at 3:05 pm (0705 GMT) at a depth of 15 kilometres (nine miles) with an epicentre 31 kilometres west of the city of Guangyuan, the USGS said. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.
An 8.0-magnitude quake rocked Sichuan and parts of neighbouring Shaanxi and Gansu provinces on May 12, 2008, killing tens of thousands and flattening swathes of the province.
China's government issued a plan in September 2008 to rebuild 51 quake-struck counties covering 130,000 square kilometres (50,200 square miles), the official Xinhua news agency said.
Mu Hong, a vice director of the National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top economic planning agency, said last week that work on 95 percent of the reconstruction projects in the plan had been completed.
China has spent nearly 800 billion yuan ($123 billion) to rebuild in the region, senior officials said last week.
- AFP /ls
BEIJING - A 5.0-magnitude tremor hit the Chinese province of Sichuan on Sunday, the US Geological Survey said, three years after a giant quake left 87,000 dead or missing in the region.
The tremor struck at 3:05 pm (0705 GMT) at a depth of 15 kilometres (nine miles) with an epicentre 31 kilometres west of the city of Guangyuan, the USGS said. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.
An 8.0-magnitude quake rocked Sichuan and parts of neighbouring Shaanxi and Gansu provinces on May 12, 2008, killing tens of thousands and flattening swathes of the province.
China's government issued a plan in September 2008 to rebuild 51 quake-struck counties covering 130,000 square kilometres (50,200 square miles), the official Xinhua news agency said.
Mu Hong, a vice director of the National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top economic planning agency, said last week that work on 95 percent of the reconstruction projects in the plan had been completed.
China has spent nearly 800 billion yuan ($123 billion) to rebuild in the region, senior officials said last week.
- AFP /ls
Moderate quake hits Afghanistan
Posted: 15 May 2011 0621 hrs
KABUL: A 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck Afghanistan's mountainous Hindu Kush region near the Pakistani border early Sunday, US seismologists said, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.
The quake hit at 01:37am (2107 GMT Saturday) some 75 kilometres (46 miles) south-southeast of Feyzabad and 256 kilometres from the capital Kabul, the United States Geological Survey said in a report.
Its epicentre was 207 kilometres deep, and was 140 kilometres from Khorugh in Tajikistan and 236 kilometres from Mingora in Pakistan, USGS said.
Northern Afghanistan and Pakistan are frequently hit by earthquakes, especially around the Hindu Kush range near the collision of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates.
A 7.6-magnitude earthquake in Pakistan in October 2005 killed 74,000 people and displaced 3.5 million.
-AFP/wk
KABUL: A 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck Afghanistan's mountainous Hindu Kush region near the Pakistani border early Sunday, US seismologists said, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.
The quake hit at 01:37am (2107 GMT Saturday) some 75 kilometres (46 miles) south-southeast of Feyzabad and 256 kilometres from the capital Kabul, the United States Geological Survey said in a report.
Its epicentre was 207 kilometres deep, and was 140 kilometres from Khorugh in Tajikistan and 236 kilometres from Mingora in Pakistan, USGS said.
Northern Afghanistan and Pakistan are frequently hit by earthquakes, especially around the Hindu Kush range near the collision of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates.
A 7.6-magnitude earthquake in Pakistan in October 2005 killed 74,000 people and displaced 3.5 million.
-AFP/wk
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Fresh Quake in Japan
Posted: 14 May 2011 1006 hrs
TOKYO: A 6.2-magnitude earthquake on Saturday hit off the coast of northeastern Japan, still reeling from the massive March 11 quake and tsunami, according to the US Geological Survey.
The quake struck at 8:35 am (2325 GMT Friday), 59 kilometres (36 miles) northeast of the Pacific coast city of Iwaki at a depth of nearly 38 kilometres, the USGS said.
There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties and no tsunami warning was issued.
The northeastern coast of Japan's main Honshu island was ravaged by a 9.0-magnitude quake and monster tsunami on March 11, leaving 24,525 people dead or missing, according to the latest count by the National Police Agency.
- AFP/cc
TOKYO: A 6.2-magnitude earthquake on Saturday hit off the coast of northeastern Japan, still reeling from the massive March 11 quake and tsunami, according to the US Geological Survey.
The quake struck at 8:35 am (2325 GMT Friday), 59 kilometres (36 miles) northeast of the Pacific coast city of Iwaki at a depth of nearly 38 kilometres, the USGS said.
There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties and no tsunami warning was issued.
The northeastern coast of Japan's main Honshu island was ravaged by a 9.0-magnitude quake and monster tsunami on March 11, leaving 24,525 people dead or missing, according to the latest count by the National Police Agency.
- AFP/cc
Indonesian Quake
Posted: 14 May 2011 0813 hrs
JAKARTA: A 5.2-magnitude earthquake struck beneath the sea between Australia's Christmas Island and the Indonesian island of Java on Saturday, US seismologists said, but no tsunami warning was immediately issued.
There were no immediate reports of damage from the quake, which struck at 4:43 am (2143 GMT Friday) 224 kilometres (139 miles) from Christmas Island and 303 kilometres from Tasikmalaya city in Java, at a relatively shallow depth of 12.5 kilometres, the US Geological Survey said.
Indonesia sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", where the meeting of continental plates causes high seismic activity, and is frequently hit by earthquakes.
-AFP/wk
JAKARTA: A 5.2-magnitude earthquake struck beneath the sea between Australia's Christmas Island and the Indonesian island of Java on Saturday, US seismologists said, but no tsunami warning was immediately issued.
There were no immediate reports of damage from the quake, which struck at 4:43 am (2143 GMT Friday) 224 kilometres (139 miles) from Christmas Island and 303 kilometres from Tasikmalaya city in Java, at a relatively shallow depth of 12.5 kilometres, the US Geological Survey said.
Indonesia sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", where the meeting of continental plates causes high seismic activity, and is frequently hit by earthquakes.
-AFP/wk
6.0-magnitude quake rattles Costa Rica
Posted: 14 May 2011 0801 hrs
SAN JOSE : A 6.0-magnitude earthquake shook Costa Rica on Friday, alarming residents of the Central American country and causing minor damage but no known injuries, authorities said.
The quake struck at around 4:47 pm (2247 GMT), 25 kilometres (16 miles) northwest of San Jose, according to the US Geological Survey, which gave its magnitude as 6.0.
It was felt with particular intensity in San Jose's western Escazu and Santa Ana neighbourhoods, upscale areas where many diplomats and foreign business executives have their homes.
"It broke all the glasses in my bar," said an Argentine resident who lives on the sixth floor of a building in Escazu.
Residents in the area around the San Jose International Airport reported power outages that impacted traffic lights during the daily rush hour.
Cellphone service was disrupted in some areas, and some small landslides were reported on the road connecting the capital to the Pacific coast.
"It felt very strong. Some of the tiles on the houses in the condominium fell. People ran outside, frightened," said Carolina Diaz, a Chilean who lives in the centre of the city.
Local media reported that the shock waves were felt along the country's Pacific coast, and less strongly on the Caribbean side of the country.
The quake occurred at a depth of 70 kilometres (43.5 miles).
Juan Segura, the director of Costa Rica's Volcanology and Seismology Observatory, said it was caused by the impact of the Coco and Caribe plates.
He said it was the most serious earthquake in Costa Rica since a 6.2-magnitude quake in January 2009 that killed 23 people and destroyed dozens of houses in Volcan Poas, a tourist area 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the capital.
That quake was the strongest to hit the popular ecotourism and beach holiday destination in 150 years.
The Costa Rican Red Cross appealed for calm, and urged the public "to remain on alert in case of aftershocks".
- AFP/wk/ms
SAN JOSE : A 6.0-magnitude earthquake shook Costa Rica on Friday, alarming residents of the Central American country and causing minor damage but no known injuries, authorities said.
The quake struck at around 4:47 pm (2247 GMT), 25 kilometres (16 miles) northwest of San Jose, according to the US Geological Survey, which gave its magnitude as 6.0.
It was felt with particular intensity in San Jose's western Escazu and Santa Ana neighbourhoods, upscale areas where many diplomats and foreign business executives have their homes.
"It broke all the glasses in my bar," said an Argentine resident who lives on the sixth floor of a building in Escazu.
Residents in the area around the San Jose International Airport reported power outages that impacted traffic lights during the daily rush hour.
Cellphone service was disrupted in some areas, and some small landslides were reported on the road connecting the capital to the Pacific coast.
"It felt very strong. Some of the tiles on the houses in the condominium fell. People ran outside, frightened," said Carolina Diaz, a Chilean who lives in the centre of the city.
Local media reported that the shock waves were felt along the country's Pacific coast, and less strongly on the Caribbean side of the country.
The quake occurred at a depth of 70 kilometres (43.5 miles).
Juan Segura, the director of Costa Rica's Volcanology and Seismology Observatory, said it was caused by the impact of the Coco and Caribe plates.
He said it was the most serious earthquake in Costa Rica since a 6.2-magnitude quake in January 2009 that killed 23 people and destroyed dozens of houses in Volcan Poas, a tourist area 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the capital.
That quake was the strongest to hit the popular ecotourism and beach holiday destination in 150 years.
The Costa Rican Red Cross appealed for calm, and urged the public "to remain on alert in case of aftershocks".
- AFP/wk/ms
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
5.1 quake kills eight, topples buildings in Spain
Posted: 12 May 2011 0213 hrs
LORCA, Spain - A magnitude 5.1 quake killed at least eight people in southern Spain on Wednesday, sending historic buildings crashing down as panicked residents fled for their lives.
Eight people perished in the deadliest tremor in Spain in more than five decades, a spokeswoman for the regional government of Murcia said, revising down an earlier toll of 10 dead without explanation.
The quake collapsed fronts of buildings in the southeastern town of Lorca and ripped open walls, which slumped into the streets.
Witnesses reported many injuries.
A church clocktower smashed to the ground and narrowly missed one television reporter as he conducted an interview in the town on Spanish public broadcaster TVE. A bronze bell lay in the rubble.
Fearful residents including families with children gathered outside with blankets as night fell. About 10,000 people were evacuated from the cordoned-off city-centre.
"We are calling on shopping centres in the area to give them water, food and blankets," Lorca mayor Francisco Jodar said.
Television images showed shocked families with children gathering in squares and playgrounds, some weeping and hugging as they sought safety.
Masonry blanketed streets and a line of parked cars lay crushed under tonnes of rubble. A corpse lay in the street covered in a rescue blanket.
The tremor struck at 6:47 pm (1647 GMT) with a depth of 10 kilometres (six miles) and could be felt as far away as the capital Madrid. It hit nearly two hours after a smaller 4.4-magnitude quake.
Among the dead were a pregnant woman and two children, said regional newspaper La Verdad. One woman lost her life when a modern three-storey building collapsed, it said.
A doctor said many people had been hurt.
"I had just finished attending to a patient. We all went out into the streets and had to treat people, some with serious inuries, many unconscious, because the ambulances could not reach them. They took more than 40 minutes," the doctor, identified only as Virtudes, told the online edition of El Pais.
"They just took away a man who had a wall fall on top of him."
New-born babies were evacuated from the town's Rafael Mendez hospital for fear it could collapse, the paper said. "The stairway was totally open. The roof of the building opposite and the medical centre fell off," one of the evacuated mothers told the paper.
Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero was informed of the disaster while he was in a meeting with King Juan Carlos, the premier's office said in a statement.
The king and prime minister then spoke to the president of the Murcia region and Zapatero immediately ordered the deployment of emergency military units to the area.
Earthquake damages were concentrated in the towns of Lorca and Totana, which lie in one of the most active seismic zones of the Iberian peninsula, but also spread as far as Albacete and Velez-Rubio in Almeria, the premier's office said.
Residents described confusion in the town of 92,700 inhabitants about 70 kilometres (45 miles) southeast of Murcia. Lorca traces its history back more than 2,000 years and boasts many medieval monuments.
"This is chaotic. All the ground is full of rubble," resident Jesus Ruiz told the paper.
"There are cracked buildings and all the ground is full of rubble and cornices. I saw them sewing up a child's head," said Ruiz, who was at work in an industrial zone when the quake struck.
Cristina Selva, 32, said she was playing with her two-year-old daughters.
"The building moved and I was was very scared for the girls. I took them and the three of us got under the table to wait for it to pass," she said.
"It was the longest 20 seconds of my life."
It was the deadliest earthquake in Spain since April 19, 1956 when a tremor wrecked buildings and killed 11 people in Albolote, a town in the southern Spanish province of Granada.
Ironically, it struck on the same day many residents stayed away from work in the Italian capital Rome fearing a supposed prophecy of a devastating tremor by a self-taught Italian seismologist who died in 1979.
- AFP /ls
LORCA, Spain - A magnitude 5.1 quake killed at least eight people in southern Spain on Wednesday, sending historic buildings crashing down as panicked residents fled for their lives.
Eight people perished in the deadliest tremor in Spain in more than five decades, a spokeswoman for the regional government of Murcia said, revising down an earlier toll of 10 dead without explanation.
The quake collapsed fronts of buildings in the southeastern town of Lorca and ripped open walls, which slumped into the streets.
Witnesses reported many injuries.
A church clocktower smashed to the ground and narrowly missed one television reporter as he conducted an interview in the town on Spanish public broadcaster TVE. A bronze bell lay in the rubble.
Fearful residents including families with children gathered outside with blankets as night fell. About 10,000 people were evacuated from the cordoned-off city-centre.
"We are calling on shopping centres in the area to give them water, food and blankets," Lorca mayor Francisco Jodar said.
Television images showed shocked families with children gathering in squares and playgrounds, some weeping and hugging as they sought safety.
Masonry blanketed streets and a line of parked cars lay crushed under tonnes of rubble. A corpse lay in the street covered in a rescue blanket.
The tremor struck at 6:47 pm (1647 GMT) with a depth of 10 kilometres (six miles) and could be felt as far away as the capital Madrid. It hit nearly two hours after a smaller 4.4-magnitude quake.
Among the dead were a pregnant woman and two children, said regional newspaper La Verdad. One woman lost her life when a modern three-storey building collapsed, it said.
A doctor said many people had been hurt.
"I had just finished attending to a patient. We all went out into the streets and had to treat people, some with serious inuries, many unconscious, because the ambulances could not reach them. They took more than 40 minutes," the doctor, identified only as Virtudes, told the online edition of El Pais.
"They just took away a man who had a wall fall on top of him."
New-born babies were evacuated from the town's Rafael Mendez hospital for fear it could collapse, the paper said. "The stairway was totally open. The roof of the building opposite and the medical centre fell off," one of the evacuated mothers told the paper.
Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero was informed of the disaster while he was in a meeting with King Juan Carlos, the premier's office said in a statement.
The king and prime minister then spoke to the president of the Murcia region and Zapatero immediately ordered the deployment of emergency military units to the area.
Earthquake damages were concentrated in the towns of Lorca and Totana, which lie in one of the most active seismic zones of the Iberian peninsula, but also spread as far as Albacete and Velez-Rubio in Almeria, the premier's office said.
Residents described confusion in the town of 92,700 inhabitants about 70 kilometres (45 miles) southeast of Murcia. Lorca traces its history back more than 2,000 years and boasts many medieval monuments.
"This is chaotic. All the ground is full of rubble," resident Jesus Ruiz told the paper.
"There are cracked buildings and all the ground is full of rubble and cornices. I saw them sewing up a child's head," said Ruiz, who was at work in an industrial zone when the quake struck.
Cristina Selva, 32, said she was playing with her two-year-old daughters.
"The building moved and I was was very scared for the girls. I took them and the three of us got under the table to wait for it to pass," she said.
"It was the longest 20 seconds of my life."
It was the deadliest earthquake in Spain since April 19, 1956 when a tremor wrecked buildings and killed 11 people in Albolote, a town in the southern Spanish province of Granada.
Ironically, it struck on the same day many residents stayed away from work in the Italian capital Rome fearing a supposed prophecy of a devastating tremor by a self-taught Italian seismologist who died in 1979.
- AFP /ls
Friday, May 6, 2011
6.1-magnitude quake hits Sulawesi, Indonesia
Posted: 06 May 2011 1527 hrs
JAKARTA : A 6.1-magnitude earthquake hit off the Indonesian island of Sulawesi on Friday, government seismologists said, but there were no immediate reports of damage and no tsunami warning was issued.
The quake hit at a depth of 35 kilometres (21 miles) at 0646 GMT, around 75 kilometres southeast of Gorontalo city, said Indonesia's Meteorology and Geophysics Agency.
"The quake's epicentre is on the sea but there's no tsunami potential," Indra, an agency official who uses only one name, told AFP, adding that no damage had been reported so far.
The US Geological Survey measured the quake at magnitude 5.8 and said it had a depth of 85 kilometres.
Indonesia sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", where the meeting of continental plates causes high seismic activity, and is frequently hit by earthquakes.
- AFP/al
JAKARTA : A 6.1-magnitude earthquake hit off the Indonesian island of Sulawesi on Friday, government seismologists said, but there were no immediate reports of damage and no tsunami warning was issued.
The quake hit at a depth of 35 kilometres (21 miles) at 0646 GMT, around 75 kilometres southeast of Gorontalo city, said Indonesia's Meteorology and Geophysics Agency.
"The quake's epicentre is on the sea but there's no tsunami potential," Indra, an agency official who uses only one name, told AFP, adding that no damage had been reported so far.
The US Geological Survey measured the quake at magnitude 5.8 and said it had a depth of 85 kilometres.
Indonesia sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", where the meeting of continental plates causes high seismic activity, and is frequently hit by earthquakes.
- AFP/al
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