Earthquakes In The News
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SOLOMON ISLANDS 01 APRIL 2007 2039 hours GMT ( 07:39 am 2nd April, Local time) 30 km SSE of Gizo, 345 km WSW of Honiara Magnitude 8.1 earthquake at 8.48S, 156.98 E Tsunami generated, with waves at least 2 m high at least 25 people killed more on Seismicity of New Guinea Link to USGS site on this earthquake . Shake map prepared by the USGS |
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HAWAII 15 Oct 2006 , 07:07 local time (17:07 GMT) A magnitude 6.7 earthquake, in which numerous people suffered minor injuries. The earthquake was centred approximated 100 km west of Hilo, Hawaii. Over 1,100 building were damaged, and landslides blocked roads on Hawaii. Damage estimated to exceed $73 million. Maximum felt intensity VII - VIII. A magnitude 6.0 earthquake occurred 7 minutes later. Other important Hawaiin earthquakes 1868 - Mag 7.9 46 drowned in an associated tsunami, and landslides killed 31 1951 Aug 21 - Magnitude 6.9 event - damaged many homes and triggered numerous landslides Link to USGS site with more information
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Java, Indonesia, 17 July 2006 A magnitude 7.7 earthquake occurred off Java at 0819 hrs GMT on the afternoon of July 17. The earthquake generated a tsunami, with maximum wave heights of at least 3 metres. At least 600 people have been killed in the catastrophe, the vast majority by the tsunami which was generated by the earthquake. Link to USGS report on this event more on Indonesian earthquakes |
Earthquake felt in Kalgoorlie, 4 July 2006 An earthquake occurred approximately 10 km SE of Kalgoorlie at 8 minutes past midnight on July 5, 2006. Geoscience Australia computed its magnitude at 3.2. It was felt by many residents in the area. More on Goldfields earthquakes
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Earthquake in Java 26 May at 2254 GMT ( 0554 27 May, Local time) Magitude 6.3 Latitude - 7.98 South, Longitude 110.32 East, depth 35 km this earthquake occured 20 km SSW of Yogyakarta estimated death toll- OVER 6,000 more on Indonesian earthquakes
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Tonga, 03 May 2006, 1526 GMTMagnitude 7.9 Lat 20.13 South, 174.16 East, 55 km depth 165 km south of Neiafu One person injured, 0.5 metre local tidal wave This was the largest earthquake in the world since the Mag 8.6 event at Niass, Indonesia, on 28 March 2005. The largest intervening earthquake was a magnitude 7.8 event on 13 June 2005 (20.0 south, 69.2 west)
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Earthquake in Northern Tasmania, 25 April 2006 41.19 South, 146.84 East, Magnitude 2.2 1126 hours GMT one miner killed, two trapped underground for 14 days . .
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IRAN, 31 MARCH 2006 Time 0117 GMT (0447 local time) Magnitude 6.1 Location - 335 km SW of Teheran At least 66 killed and 1200 injured. It occurred in the Borujerd-Dorud area of Lurestan province. The map below shows other important recent earthquakes in the region
some more information on earthquakes in this region
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BANDA SEA, INDONESIA, 27 JANUARY 2006 Time 1658 GMT, Mag 7.7 Depth 340 Km Latitude 5.448 South, Long 128.099 East Felt in Darwin For a background to Indonesian Seismicity & tectonics, follow this link A seismogram of the earthquake, recorded at Bickley, near Perth, W.A.
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AFRICA, 05 DEC 2005, MAG 6.8Lake Tanganyika Region Latitude 6.21 South, Long 29.60 East, time 12:19 hrs GMT Deaths and damage are uncertain at this stage Below - tectonic map of East Africa region by USGS Below - Earthquakes Mag 4 and above, 1980 to 8 Dec 2005 (data from IRIS) SOME PREVIOUS LARGE EARTHQUAKES IN LAKE TANGANYIKA REGION
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Pakistan, 08 Oct 2005Time: 0350 GMT ( 08:50 hrs Local Time) Location : 34.43 North, 73.74 East , Magnitude 7.6 Probable death toll of over 80,000 Below - epicentral map by USGS Below - locality map from USGS for more information on major earthquakes in India, Pakistan, Tibet and Afghanistan, follow this link |
JAPAN 16 August 2005 Magnitude 7.2Near East coast of Honshu, Japan at 0246 hours, GMT near the event of October 2003, approximately 300 km North east of Tokyo approximately 40 people injured local small (10 cm) tsunami generated more information on recent Japanese seismicity SUMATRA, 28 March 2005, Mag 8.7Location - 2.06N, 97.01E, Time 1609 GMT At this early stage, estimated deaths are between 200 - 300 No significant tsunami has been confirmed Link to USGS site on this earthquake more information on recent Indonesian earthquakes Map below by USGS |
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Kyushu, Japan, 20 March 2005, Magnitude 6.6 Time: 01:53 GMT - Location 33.85N, 129.98E One person killed, at least 500 injured, 60 houses destroyed in landslide Link to USGS site on this event The Mar 20 event is the one at the bottom of the Korean Peninsula ( map by USGS) |
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South Africa, 9th March, 10:15 hrs GMT, Magn 5.0 NEAR Klerksdorp, South Africa 115 km (75 miles) WSW of Vanderbijlpark, South Africa One person killed, 58 injured and many buildings damaged in the Klerksdorp-Stilfontein area. Felt (V) at Klerksdorp and (III) at Johannesburg. Also felt at Pretoria and Westonaria. Link to USGS site on this event Reuters report JOHANNESBURG, March 11 (Reuters) - Rescue workers on Friday found the body of a miner missing deep in a South African goldmine after an earthquake, making the final death toll two, mining firm DRDGOLD said. The discovery ended a search that lasted almost 50 hours in the Stilfontein mine, where one other miner was killed after Wednesday's magnitude 5.3 earthquake caused rockfalls that blocked access tunnels. Dozens of miners were injured in the quake and at one stage 40 were trapped some 2.4 kilometres (1.5 miles) underground. Mine spokesman James Duncan said the body of the final missing miner was located on Friday afternoon. "They are recovering the body back to the shaft," he said. Rescue teams were now being removed from the mine and detailed inspections of the damaged area would begin, Duncan said. Seven of the eight mine shafts were already back in production, he said. South Africa: earthquake is linked with mining activity A strong earthquake injuring a dozen of people and evacuating thousands in northern South Africa on Wednesday was probably caused by mining activity, experts said. The tremor, measured a preliminary five on the Richter Scale was "a secondary effect from mining activity," Ian Saunders, project leader of the South Africa's National Seismograph Network,was quoted as saying by the South African Press Association (SAPA). South Africa, the world's number one gold producer, has dug some 3,000 meters underground or ever deeper in the gold-rich Witwatersrand Basin, where the quake-affected region is located. An earth tremor occurring in the neighboring Free State Province on Monday morning killed four gold miners after they were trapped by falling rocks inside a shaft belonging to Harmony Gold,the world's sixth largest gold mining company, reports Xinhuanet. Saunders said the epicenter of the earthquake on Wednesday was believed to be around Klerksdorp, North West, where major South African gold miners including Anglo American Goldfields and DRDGold operate mining shafts. Around 3,200 miners at DRDGold's operations were being evacuated late on Wednesday afternoon after the earthquake, and 13miners who were injured were being treated at the scene, SAPA reported. According to VOA News, a gold mining company in South Africa says 42 of its miners are trapped following an earthquake measuring around 5.0 on the Richter scale. DRDGold says the company has sent a rescue team to the mine located near the northern city of Klerksdorp, at the epicenter of the quake. It says at least 13 other miners suffered injuries in Wednesday's quake. The company says it is evacuating all of the 3,200 miners who were on duty. Police say another 38 people in the town of Klerksdorp suffered minor injuries. Several buildings in the area were damaged. NR BANDA SEA 2nd March 2005, Magnitude 7.1 Location - 6.52 degrees Sth, 129.9 degrees east - depth approx 200 km FELT IN DARWIN, 8.12 pm local time Below -Earthquake locations, August 2004 to August 2005. The Banda Sea earthquake and its aftershocks are represented by the group of earthquakes coloured green, above Darwin(source - IRIS data centre)
Below - report from ABC News Online Earthquake shakes DarwinA strong earthquake has rocked parts of Darwin, with tremors lasting several minutes and felt right across the city and in rural areas. ... report continues, follow link Link to USGS report on this earthquake Below - the event as recorded at Bickley Obsevatory, near Perth WA . |
Central Iran, 22 February 2005, Magnitude 6.4This earthquake killed at least 400 people in the Kerman Province of Central Iran, and injured many others. It occurred at 05.55 am, local time. It was about 250 km north west of the large earthquake of 26 December, 2003 (magnitude 6.6), which killed approximately 30,000 people Link to USGS site on this earthquake Follow link for more maps of damaging earthquakes in this region |
GREAT EARTHQUAKE - INDONESIA - 26 Dec 2004This earthquake was the largest in the world since a Magnitude 9.2 event in Alaksa in 1964. It was the 4th largest event in the world since 1900. It is estimated to have caused rupturing along the plate boundary, in a roughly north-north-west direction, of at least 500 km. The average displacement has been estimated at 15 metres. The zone of aftershocks is at least 1300 km long. As we all know, it caused a tsunami of devastating dimension, having caused deaths as far away as the east coast of Africa. Minor tsunami effects were recorded on the west coast of Australia, and they are documented elsewhere on this web site. Follow link for more information on this earthquake Follow link for descriptions of the effects of the tsunami in Western Australia Link to USGS site on this earthquake Other Large events this century 1952 - Kamchatka - Mag 9.0 1957 - Andreanof Is, Alaska - Mag 9.1 1960 - Chile - Mag 9.5 1964 - Pr. William Sound Alaska - Mag 9.2 each of these events caused destructive tsunamis |
OTHER HISTORICAL TSUNAMI EVENTS
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23 Dec 2004, EARTHQUAKE SOUTH OF TASMANIAThis earthquake occurred approximately 1000 km southeast of Tasmania, at 14:59 hours GMT on 23 December. At Magnitude 8.1, it was the largest world earthquake of 2004. until a magnitude 9.0 earthquake off Indonesia occurred on 26 December. The earthquake on 23 December was felt widely in Tasmania and New Zealand Map by the United States Geological Survey |
Japan, 23 October 2004, Magnitude 6.5Preliminary estimate of at least 20 deaths from this earthquake, which struck at 5.56 pm local time. Click here for link to USGS site, Honshu, Japan earthquake, Mag 6.5 23 October 2004 |
