Topic: Around the Globe in Real Time

[Nichi]

I saw on the news that it rocked Palm Springs ... Della probably felt it.

Wouldn't be surprised.
It's been felt all the way to N. California, and there are some interesting features to it ... it has spawned some geothermal activity in the north, which isn't good news. I think all of this will unfold over the next few days. There's more to come.

The good news is ... most of California's buildings are in good shape for earthquakes. Don't know about Mexico...

Millions in Calif., Ariz., Mexico feel 7.2 quake

[Nichi]

Here is a list of the 3.5+ Magnitude earthquakes for the past 4 days. This  includes the 5+ quakes too. I included the lesser values to illustrate that California is in an extreme agitation right now, though "3.5" is not necessarily troublesome.  Those blocked in red are those which have occured in the last 7 hours alone!


MAG  UTC DATE-TIMEy/m/d h:m:s  LATdeg  LONdeg  DEPTHkm  LOCATION

5.0   2010/04/05 03:15:24    32.628   -115.806  0.1   BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
5.1   2010/04/05 01:25:35    32.167   -115.103  6.0   BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
5.1   2010/04/05 00:07:11    31.885   -114.779  9.6   SONORA, MEXICO
3.6  2010/04/05 05:16:41 32.471 -115.490 4.0   20 km ( 13 mi) S of Mexicali, Mexico
3.0  2010/04/05 04:50:03 32.454 -115.572 11.2   24 km ( 15 mi) SSW of Mexicali, Mexico
3.3  2010/04/05 04:36:51 32.992 -115.923 33.0   26 km ( 16 mi) SE of Ocotillo Wells, CA
3.2  2010/04/05 04:34:46 32.604 -115.772 0.3   22 km ( 14 mi) SSW of Seeley, CA
3.1  2010/04/05 04:31:55 32.603 -115.766 0.0   22 km ( 14 mi) SSW of Seeley, CA
3.0  2010/04/05 04:24:06 32.618 -115.789 0.1   21 km ( 13 mi) SSW of Seeley, CA
3.0  2010/04/05 04:18:09 32.530 -115.663 2.4   23 km ( 14 mi) SW of Calexico, CA
3.2  2010/04/05 04:14:22 32.359 -115.561 2.2   34 km ( 21 mi) SSW of Mexicali, Mexico
4.4  2010/04/05 04:10:13 32.363 -115.545 12.1   33 km ( 20 mi) SSW of Mexicali, Mexico
4.3  2010/04/05 04:09:40 32.418 -115.523 0.2   27 km ( 16 mi) S of Mexicali, Mexico
3.3  2010/04/05 04:07:51 32.652 -116.245 2.9  6 km ( 4 mi) NW of Jacumba Hot Springs,CA
3.1  2010/04/05 04:02:33 32.492 -115.649 15.1   25 km ( 15 mi) SW of Mexicali, Mexico
3.5  2010/04/05 03:59:25 32.440 -115.656 6.9   29 km ( 18 mi) SW of Mexicali, Mexico
3.4  2010/04/05 03:45:50 32.639 -115.765 0.5   18 km ( 11 mi) SSW of Seeley,CA
3.1  2010/04/05 03:44:40 33.068 -115.562 10.0   7 km ( 4 mi) ENE of Westmorland,CA
3.2  2010/04/05 03:37:54 33.053 -115.580 7.5   4 km ( 3 mi) ENE of Westmorland,CA
3.6  2010/04/05 03:31:42 32.705 -115.852 0.0   14 km ( 9 mi) ESE of Ocotillo,CA
3.2  2010/04/05 03:27:55 32.544 -115.734 4.0   27 km ( 17 mi) SW of Calexico,CA
3.1  2010/04/05 03:20:23 32.685 -115.799 2.5   16 km ( 10 mi) SW of Seeley,CA
4.1  2010/04/05 03:13:13 33.016 -115.511 13.7   5 km ( 3 mi) NNE of Brawley,CA
4.4  2010/04/05 03:11:01 32.083 -114.999 6.0   25 km ( 16 mi) SSE of Guadalupe Victoria, Mexico
3.9  2010/04/05 03:09:53 32.528 -115.624 6.1   20 km ( 12 mi) SW of Mexicali, Mexico
3.6  2010/04/05 03:09:51 33.022 -115.969 7.8   20 km ( 13 mi) SE of Ocotillo Wells, CA
3.3  2010/04/05 03:04:50 32.582 -115.727 29.2   24 km ( 15 mi) S of Seeley, CA
3.2  2010/04/05 03:03:40 32.648 -115.805 0.1   19 km ( 12 mi) SW of Seeley, CA
3.5  2010/04/05 03:02:35 32.643 -115.802 0.0   20 km ( 12 mi) SSW of Seeley, CA
3.0  2010/04/05 03:01:14 32.622 -115.733 2.8   19 km ( 12 mi) SSW of Seeley, CA
3.0  2010/04/05 02:59:11 32.816 -116.205 27.0   21 km ( 13 mi) WNW of Ocotillo, CA
4.2  2010/04/05 02:54:34 32.453 -115.619 14.5   26 km ( 16 mi) SSW of Mexicali, Mexico
3.0  2010/04/05 02:41:36 32.658 -116.161 0.7   5 km ( 3 mi) NNE of Jacumba Hot Springs, CA
3.4  2010/04/05 02:40:09 32.536 -115.662 4.1   22 km ( 14 mi) SW of Calexico, CA
3.0  2010/04/05 02:34:48 32.596 -115.764 0.8   23 km ( 14 mi) SSW of Seeley, CA
3.1  2010/04/05 02:33:20 32.560 -115.752 7.3   26 km ( 16 mi) SSW of Seeley, CA
3.2  2010/04/05 02:07:47 33.008 -116.126 7.2   15 km ( 9 mi) S of Ocotillo Wells, CA
3.1  2010/04/05 01:58:30 33.022 -116.455 4.4   13 km ( 8 mi) ESE of Julian, CA
4.4  2010/04/05 01:52:25 32.608 -115.766 12.6   22 km ( 14 mi) SSW of Seeley, CA
3.2  2010/04/05 01:50:02 32.651 -115.790 0.3   18 km ( 11 mi) SSW of Seeley, CA
3.5  2010/04/05 01:39:49 32.611 -116.205 11.0   2 km ( 1 mi) WSW of Jacumba Hot Springs, CA
3.5  2010/04/05 01:35:43 32.672 -115.812 1.5   18 km ( 11 mi) SW of Seeley, CA
3.3  2010/04/05 01:31:32 32.584 -115.770 3.5   24 km ( 15 mi) SSW of Seeley, CA
3.4  2010/04/05 01:28:14 32.642 -115.719 8.9   17 km ( 11 mi) S of Seeley, CA
3.3  2010/04/05 01:25:01 32.393 -115.578 13.9   31 km ( 19 mi) SSW of Mexicali, Mexico
3.3  2010/04/05 01:22:54 33.480 -116.502 11.2   18 km ( 11 mi) ESE of Anza, CA
4.0  2010/04/05 01:22:44 32.506 -115.662 6.8   24 km ( 15 mi) SW of Mexicali, Mexico
3.2  2010/04/05 01:21:39 32.796 -116.234 21.8   20 km ( 13 mi) NNW of Jacumba Hot Springs, CA
3.1  2010/04/05 01:20:44 32.619 -116.409 16.6   21 km ( 13 mi) W of Jacumba Hot Springs, CA
3.1  2010/04/05 01:13:57 32.595 -115.785 0.0   24 km ( 15 mi) SSW of Seeley, CA
4.3  2010/04/05 01:06:39 32.202 -115.376 10.0   27 km ( 17 mi) WSW of Guadalupe Victoria, Mexico
4.2  2010/04/05 00:58:50 32.236 -115.326 10.0   21 km ( 13 mi) WSW of Guadalupe Victoria, Mexico
3.2  2010/04/05 00:56:06 32.521 -115.684 15.9   25 km ( 15 mi) SW of Calexico, CA
3.3  2010/04/05 00:53:31 32.648 -115.778 1.9   18 km ( 11 mi) SSW of Seeley, CA
3.6  2010/04/05 00:42:09 32.658 -115.810 2.3   19 km ( 12 mi) SW of Seeley, CA
3.4  2010/04/05 00:40:51 32.686 -115.850 0.1   15 km ( 9 mi) ESE of Ocotillo, CA
3.6  2010/04/05 00:38:09 32.442 -115.626 6.6   28 km ( 17 mi) SSW of Mexicali, Mexico
3.1  2010/04/05 00:37:47 19.249 -66.283 17.7   87 km ( 54 mi) N of Breñas, PR
3.2  2010/04/05 00:33:14 33.184 -116.411 11.7   8 km ( 5 mi) SSW of Borrego Springs, CA
3.8  2010/04/05 00:32:10 32.608 -115.755 0.4   21 km ( 13 mi) SSW of Seeley, CA
3.5  2010/04/05 00:31:15 32.311 -115.456 30.5   33 km ( 20 mi) W of Guadalupe Victoria, Mexico
3.0  2010/04/05 00:30:44 32.669 -116.097 8.0   10 km ( 6 mi) ENE of Jacumba Hot Springs, CA
3.5  2010/04/05 00:30:01 32.572 -115.763 3.6   25 km ( 16 mi) SSW of Seeley, CA
3.5  2010/04/05 00:27:04 33.031 -115.729 3.5   10 km ( 6 mi) W of Westmorland, CA
3.4  2010/04/05 00:25:43 33.022 -116.022 6.8   17 km ( 11 mi) SE of Ocotillo Wells, CA
3.0  2010/04/05 00:25:22 33.175 -116.414 12.2 9 km ( 6 mi) SSW of Borrego Springs,CA
4.1  2010/04/05 00:22:12 32.456 -115.530 27.6   23 km ( 14 mi) SSW of Mexicali, Mexico
3.7  2010/04/05 00:21:27 32.599 -115.742 3.9   22 km ( 14 mi) SSW of Seeley, CA
3.8  2010/04/05 00:20:13 32.475 -115.643 0.1   26 km ( 16 mi) SW of Mexicali, Mexico
3.1  2010/04/05 00:19:35 32.609 -115.748 6.0   21 km ( 13 mi) SSW of Seeley, CA
4.3  2010/04/05 00:12:23 32.577 -115.744 0.0   24 km ( 15 mi) SSW of Seeley, CA
3.7  2010/04/05 00:06:00 32.516 -115.713 1.5   27 km ( 17 mi) SW of Calexico, CA
3.4  2010/04/05 00:04:51 32.681 -115.841 10.3   16 km ( 10 mi) ESE of Ocotillo, CA
3.1  2010/04/05 00:02:48 33.186 -115.873 0.0   15 km ( 9 mi) SSE of Salton City, CA
3.0  2010/04/05 00:01:49 33.175 -116.406 12.9   9 km ( 5 mi) SSW of Borrego Springs, CA




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5.4   2010/04/04 23:25:09    32.122   -115.061  10.0   BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
5.2   2010/04/04 23:15:15    31.903   -115.142  10.0   BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
7.2   2010/04/04 22:40:41    32.128   -115.303  10.0   BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
5.1   2010/04/04 20:28:05   -17.197   -176.994  23.0   FIJI REGION
3.9  2010/04/04 23:57:13 32.586 -115.735 6.0   23 km ( 14 mi) S of Seeley, CA
3.6  2010/04/04 23:53:43 32.548 -115.736 6.0   27 km ( 17 mi) WSW of Calexico, CA
3.4  2010/04/04 23:50:07 32.649 -115.766 5.1   17 km ( 11 mi) SSW of Seeley, CA
3.4  2010/04/04 23:48:23 32.916 -115.401 21.5   12 km ( 7 mi) N of Holtville, CA
3.3  2010/04/04 23:46:30 32.685 -115.796 5.4   15 km ( 10 mi) SW of Seeley, CA
4.7  2010/04/04 23:37:32 32.424 -115.543 6.0   26 km ( 16 mi) SSW of Mexicali, Mexico
4.2  2010/04/04 23:34:28 32.576 -115.747 6.0   25 km ( 15 mi) SSW of Seeley, CA
4.4  2010/04/04 23:33:13 32.422 -115.383 10.0   27 km ( 17 mi) SSE of Mexicali, Mexico
3.6  2010/04/04 23:22:04 33.144 -116.496 7.1   12 km ( 7 mi) NE of Julian, CA
3.9  2010/04/04 23:19:31 32.594 -115.748 10.0   23 km ( 14 mi) SSW of Seeley, CA
3.0  2010/04/04 23:10:14 33.965 -118.713 6.0   9 km ( 6 mi) SE of Malibu, CA
4.8  2010/04/04 23:09:38 32.109 -115.329 6.0   29 km ( 18 mi) SW of Guadalupe Victoria, Mexico
3.9  2010/04/04 22:56:40 33.157 -116.446 10.1   12 km ( 8 mi) SW of Borrego Springs, CA
3.4  2010/04/04 22:47:57 32.898 -116.259 15.0   26 km ( 16 mi) ENE of Pine Valley, CA
3.3  2010/04/04 22:34:50 32.280 -115.274 10.0   15 km ( 10 mi) W of Guadalupe Victoria, Mexico
3.0  2010/04/04 14:23:03 17.911 -66.521 13.0   10 km ( 6 mi) SSW of Potala Pastillo, PR
3.3  2010/04/04 12:31:56 57.122 -156.461 93.1   67 km ( 41 mi) SE of Ugashik, AK
3.4  2010/04/04 09:36:25 32.227 -115.276 4.1   17 km ( 11 mi) WSW of Guadalupe Victoria, Mexico
3.2  2010/04/04 07:51:35 32.137 -115.314 0.2   26 km ( 16 mi) SW of Guadalupe Victoria, Mexico
3.3  2010/04/04 05:05:07 32.137 -115.318 0.1   26 km ( 16 mi) SW of Guadalupe Victoria, Mexico
3.2  2010/04/04 03:15:52 44.601 -111.000 0.0   11 km ( 7 mi) SE of West Yellowstone, MT
3.3  2010/04/04 02:09:23 19.751 -66.834 11.1  141 km ( 87 mi) N of Isabela, PR




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5.1   2010/04/03 22:33:44    -2.207    100.084  44.1   KEPULAUAN MENTAWAI REGION, INDONESIA
5.1   2010/04/03 02:19:53    25.834    128.516  6.6   RYUKYU ISLANDS, JAPAN
5.3   2010/04/03 01:35:34   -31.282   -176.869  10.0   KERMADEC ISLANDS REGION
4.3  2010/04/03 23:03:47 32.249 -115.328 8.2   21 km ( 13 mi) WSW of Guadalupe Victoria, Mexico
3.7  2010/04/03 22:34:11 51.327 -176.738 15.3   62 km ( 39 mi) S of Adak, AK
3.2  2010/04/03 20:49:04 32.263 -115.302 33.2   18 km ( 11 mi) W of Guadalupe Victoria, Mexico
3.1  2010/04/03 07:53:49 18.267 -67.820 75.0   61 km ( 38 mi) W of Rincón, PR
3.3  2010/04/03 03:47:59 32.261 -116.587 5.5   35 km ( 22 mi) S of Tecate, Mexico
3.4  2010/04/03 02:30:02 63.593 -151.418 5.6   55 km ( 34 mi) SE of Lake Minchumina, AK
3.1  2010/04/03 01:43:54 36.646 -121.261 4.1   17 km ( 10 mi) NW of Pinnacles, CA




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5.0   2010/04/02 23:15:31    0.796    126.466  100.6   MOLUCCA SEA
5.9   2010/04/02 22:58:09   -36.194    -72.771  30.9   BIO-BIO, CHILE
5.1   2010/04/02 19:34:13   -35.984    -72.582  47.5   MAULE, CHILE
5.2   2010/04/02 10:24:49    16.984    147.463  48.0   MARIANA ISLANDS REGION
5.1   2010/04/02 03:50:23   -24.737   -176.124  33.7   SOUTH OF THE FIJI ISLANDS
5.1   2010/04/02 02:42:08    -7.671    127.514  177.8   KEPULAUAN BARAT DAYA, INDONESIA
3.2  2010/04/02 23:49:23 18.998 -64.999 26.0   70 km ( 44 mi) NNW of Little Harbour, British Virgin Islands
3.2  2010/04/02 08:15:47 61.852 -147.384 4.2   18 km ( 11 mi) ENE of Glacier View, AK
3.6  2010/04/02 06:00:38 38.367 -119.383 10.0   18 km ( 11 mi) NW of Bridgeport, CA
3.2  2010/04/02 05:38:53 19.226 -67.986 89.8  102 km ( 63 mi) NE of Higüey, Dominican Republic




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5.0   2010/04/01 19:43:01   -34.118    -71.951  19.7   LIBERTADOR O'HIGGINS, CHILE
5.4   2010/04/01 15:46:51   -61.213    153.913  10.0   BALLENY ISLANDS REGION
5.0   2010/04/01 14:07:31    30.153    69.584  35.0   PAKISTAN
5.2   2010/04/01 12:53:08   -34.521    -71.725  11.2   LIBERTADOR O'HIGGINS, CHILE
3.1  2010/04/01 23:55:30 53.841 -163.178 10.1  111 km ( 69 mi) S of False Pass, AK
3.1  2010/04/01 23:21:42 19.042 -64.599 64.0   45 km ( 28 mi) NW of Settlement, British Virgin Islands
3.2  2010/04/01 21:59:22 51.660 -172.915 25.0  107 km ( 67 mi) ESE of Atka, AK
3.2  2010/04/01 18:25:46 19.102 -64.587 65.6   50 km ( 31 mi) NW of Settlement, British Virgin Islands
3.1  2010/04/01 18:14:36 19.078 -64.652 47.0   52 km ( 32 mi) NW of Settlement, British Virgin Islands
3.1  2010/04/01 18:10:57 19.221 -64.603 62.0   62 km ( 39 mi) NNW of Settlement, British Virgin Islands
3.4  2010/04/01 18:08:05 19.007 -64.587 67.0   42 km ( 26 mi) NW of Settlement, British Virgin Islands
3.0  2010/04/01 17:42:16 18.880 -64.477 79.8   23 km ( 15 mi) NW of Settlement, British Virgin Islands
3.5  2010/04/01 15:54:17 59.157 -152.120 64.6   25 km ( 15 mi) SSW of Nanwalek, AK
3.0  2010/04/01 15:17:29 18.790 -64.423 83.8   13 km ( 8 mi) WNW of Settlement, British Virgin Islands
4.0  2010/04/01 13:46:56 56.361 -156.710 73.7  105 km ( 65 mi) E of Chignik, AK
3.0  2010/04/01 13:40:53 19.897 -64.778 39.0  138 km ( 86 mi) NNW of Settlement, British Virgin Islands
3.1  2010/04/01 13:03:48 19.129 -64.665 48.0   57 km ( 36 mi) NW of Settlement, British Virgin Islands
3.0  2010/04/01 12:33:58 18.692 -64.378 81.9   7 km ( 5 mi) SW of Settlement, British Virgin Islands
3.0  2010/04/01 12:31:37 19.094 -64.683 51.7   56 km ( 35 mi) NW of Settlement, British Virgin Islands
3.2  2010/04/01 12:09:34 19.141 -64.724 34.0   62 km ( 39 mi) NW of Settlement, British Virgin Islands
3.0  2010/04/01 12:07:13 19.162 -64.747 13.0   66 km ( 41 mi) NW of Settlement, British Virgin Islands
3.2  2010/04/01 12:03:06 19.245 -64.692 9.0   69 km ( 43 mi) NW of Settlement, British Virgin Islands
3.0  2010/04/01 11:50:23 19.065 -64.715 16.0   56 km ( 35 mi) NW of Settlement, British Virgin Islands
3.0  2010/04/01 04:43:13 19.086 -66.687 19.5   68 km ( 42 mi) N of Carrizales, PR
3.3  2010/04/01 04:01:59 18.596 -69.019 126.6   19 km ( 12 mi) NNW of La Romana, Dominican Republic




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5.1   2010/03/31 12:27:35   -42.157    82.403  10.0   MID-INDIAN RIDGE 
3.3  2010/03/31 18:49:13 51.201 -172.515 10.0  161 km (100 mi) SE of Atka, AK
3.0  2010/03/31 12:21:44 51.715 -175.315 26.4   93 km ( 58 mi) SW of Atka, AK
4.2  2010/03/31 09:20:26 32.354 -115.229 6.0   13 km ( 8 mi) WNW of Guadalupe Victoria, Mexico
3.4  2010/03/31 06:18:59 17.964 -63.975 147.0   53 km ( 33 mi) SSE of West End, British Virgin Islands
4.9  2010/03/31 03:51:01 51.576 -175.331 37.4   97 km ( 60 mi) ESE of Adak, AK
3.9  2010/03/31 03:42:48 51.802 -175.397 25.7   86 km ( 54 mi) E of Adak, AK
3.5  2010/03/31 03:03:48 53.510 -135.367 8.7  250 km (156 mi) SW of Hydaburg, AK
3.1  2010/03/31 02:18:30 54.867 -152.713 12.5  248 km (154 mi) SSE of Akhiok, AK
3.3  2010/03/31 01:31:08 61.288 -152.332 127.7   64 km ( 40 mi) WNW of Tyonek, AK




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5.0   2010/03/30 19:29:14   -31.457   -178.497  35.0   KERMADEC ISLANDS REGION
6.6   2010/03/30 16:54:48    13.609    92.884  41.7   ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION
5.2   2010/03/30 05:16:15   -31.274   -178.792  89.0   KERMADEC ISLANDS REGION
5.6   2010/03/30 01:02:51    43.298    138.424  7.0   EASTERN SEA OF JAPAN
3.0  2010/03/30 20:42:18 44.672 -68.752 4.4   9 km ( 5 mi) ENE of Winterport, ME
3.1  2010/03/30 15:30:00 51.303 -179.704 25.7  221 km (137 mi) WSW of Adak, AK
3.0  2010/03/30 14:25:52 17.551 -66.436 33.9   46 km ( 29 mi) S of Jauca, PR
4.5  2010/03/30 09:14:18 31.675 -113.534 10.0   39 km ( 25 mi) N of Puerto Peñasco, Mexico
3.0  2010/03/30 04:05:52 18.865 -67.330 6.0   51 km ( 32 mi) NNW of Cabán, PR

[Nichi]

Just wanted to mention something very unprecedented in the listings. Apparently Maine has been experiencing some mild quakes in the last 7 days. I believe they registered less than 3.0 magnitude -- but, MAINE!  What?

I think we all need to get a lot of practice now holding onto our hats.

[Nichi]

Why Mexico earthquake, stronger than Haiti's, did much less damage

By Peter Spotts, Staff writer / April 5, 2010

The magnitude 7.2 Mexico earthquake centered in northern Baja California inflicted widespread damage in the border towns of Calexico, Calif., and Mexicali, Mexico, Easter Sunday afternoon local time.

But the initial damage reports – and two known fatalities at this writing – paled before those that emerged from Haiti in February during a modestly weaker quake.

Seismologists credit two broad factors for the difference: better quake-resistant building standards north and south of the border, and the characteristics of Sunday's temblor.

"California building codes are very rigorous," developed and refined after years of experience with earthquakes and experiments in the lab, where buildings up to seven stories tall can be placed on huge shaking tables and given a simulated geophysical once-over, observes Debi Kilb, a seismologist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, Calif.

But, she adds, neither town was "smack dab on top of the fault," as was the case in Port-au-Prince.

The quake that struck the region, which was felt in Los Angeles and as far away as Phoenix and Las Vegas, released roughly twice the energy of Haiti's 7.0 quake.

The region has a history of strong quakes.

The suspected fault in Sunday's quake, the Laguna Salada Fault, is part of an array of roughly north-south faults associated with the boundary between the Pacific and North American Plates. That orientation appears to have directed much of the energy released during Sunday's quake away from the Calexico-Mexicali area northeast of the fault.

The two vast patches of Earth's crust are grinding against each other along their boundary. The most infamous of the faults along this boundary is California's San Andreas Fault, which runs nearly the entire length of the state.

The plates both are moving generally northwest, but the Pacific Plate is moving faster. This gives it a relative speed advantage of nearly 2 inches a year over its continental counterpart in the region where Sunday's quake took place, according to the US Geological Survey.

Northern Baja California is no stranger to strong earthquakes. A different segment of the same fault ruptured in a major quake in 1892. Other faults in the area triggered magnitude 7-class quakes in 1915 and 1936. In 1940, the Imperial Fault, just north of the border, shook the Imperial Valley with a magnitude 6.9 quake.

At first blush, the depth at which Haiti's and Baja California's big ones took place might seem to account for some of the difference. In Haiti, the rupture along the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden Fault occurred some 8 miles below the surface, compared with a 6.2-mile depth for Baja's quake.

But Dr. Kilb notes that with earthquakes as strong as these two were, any difference in depth makes doesn't much affect the shaking that people experience at the surface.

Perhaps more telling, she suggests, are the distances from the two epicenters. Port-au-Prince was 15 miles from the epicenter of February's quake and was in the region of strongest shaking. Mexicali, with a population roughly half that of prequake Port-au-Prince, lies some 38 miles from the epicenter of Sunday's quake.

For seismologists, the task now is to monitor aftershocks and determine the extent to which this quake has altered stress patterns on other faults in the region, including the southern San Andreas Fault and the San Jacinto Fault Zone to its west. For all the attention the San Andreas receives, southern California's San Jacinto Fault Zone is the most active in southern California, according to USGS researchers Douglas Morton and Jonathan Matti.

Why Mexico earthquake, stronger than Haiti's, did much less damage
Why Mexico earthquake, stronger than Haiti's, did much less damage

[Nichi]

Death Count in Haiti

This source, written in February, put it at 230,000:
http://www.examiner.com/x-31031-Providence-Headlines-Examiner~y2010m2d27-Current-Pictures-Chile-earthquake-2010-death-toll-rises-Japan-tsunami-watch

Last week, I heard on one of those shows advertising for donations and such, that the count-estimate is now at 250,000.

[Ke-ke wan]

I was wondering if y'all felt it too!

A couple nights ago I dreamed I was in the midst of a quake and was talking to the folks I was with.   "Did you feel that?" I asked them as I watched the ground shift a bit and people struggle to get back to their feet. I have no idea where we were.

[Nichi]

Magnitude 7.7 - NORTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA Yesterday

More later.
The earth is rockin' and rollin'.

[Ke-ke wan]

Millions in Calif., Ariz., Mexico feel 7.2 quake[/url]

Just a note:

I read this as "minions in California rise quake."

[Nichi]

Spain??

M 5.0, northern Peru - 2 hours ago
M 6.3, Spain - 10 hours ago
M 5.3, Ryukyu Islands, Japan - 19 hours ago
M 5.0, Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins, Chile - 22 hours ago
M 6.8, Solomon Islands - 22 hours ago

[Nichi]

Unfortunately, there's a lot to report today. One's head could begin to spin...

Quake in western China kills 400, buries more

By GILLIAN WONG, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 5 mins ago

BEIJING – A series of strong earthquakes struck a mountainous Tibetan area of western China on Wednesday, killing at least 400 people and injuring more than 10,000 as houses made of mud and wood collapsed, officials said. Many more people were trapped, and the toll was expected to rise.

The largest quake was recorded by the U.S. Geological Survey as magnitude 6.9. In the aftermath, panicked people, many bleeding from their wounds, flooded the streets of a Qinghai province township where most of the homes had been flattened. Students were reportedly buried inside several damaged schools.

Paramilitary police used shovels to dig through the rubble in the town, footage on state television showed. Officials said excavators were not available. Crews worked to repair the damaged road to the nearest airport and clear the way for equipment and rescue teams. Hospitals were overwhelmed, many lacking even the most basic supplies, and doctors were in short supply.

By nightfall, the airport was operating with emergency power and receiving relief flights carrying medical workers and supplies, state media reported.

Downed phone lines, strong winds and frequent aftershocks hindered rescue efforts, said Wu Yong, commander of the local army garrison, who said the death toll "may rise further as lots of houses collapsed."

With many people forced outside, the provincial government said it was rushing 5,000 tents and 100,000 coats and blankets to the mountainous region, with an altitude of around 13,000 feet (4,000 meters) where night time temperatures plunge below freezing.

Workers were racing to release water from a reservoir in the disaster area where a crack had formed after the quake to prevent a flood, according to the China Earthquake Administration.

The Wednesday quake, which struck at 7:49 a.m. local time (2349 GMT, 7:49 p.m. EDT), was centered on Yushu county, in the southern part of Qinghai, near Tibet, with a population of about 100,000, mostly herders and farmers.

Lightly populated by Chinese standards, the region is remote, making the rescue operation logistically difficult. Relief flights, for example, need to carry in spare jet fuel to augment the limited supplies stored at Yushu's airport, the state-run Xinhua News Agency said.

The USGS recorded six temblors in less than three hours, all but one registering 5.0 or higher. The China Earthquake Networks Center measured the largest quake's magnitude at 7.1. Qinghai averages more than five earthquakes a year of at least magnitude 5.0, Xinhua said. They normally do not cause much damage.

Residents fled as the ground shook, toppling houses made of mud and wood, as well as temples, gas stations, electric poles and the top of a Buddhist pagoda in a park, witnesses and state media said. The quake also triggered landslides, Xinhua said.

"Nearly all the houses made of mud and wood collapsed. There was so much dust in the air, we couldn't see anything," said Ren Yu, general manager of Yushu Hotel in Jiegu, the county's main town. "There was a lot of panic. People were crying on the streets. Some of our staff, who were reunited with their parents, were also in tears."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100414/ap_on_re_as/as_china_earthquake

[Nichi]

Cyclone kills 89 people in eastern India

By MANIK BANERJEE, Associated Press Writer – 58 mins ago

CALCUTTA, India – A cyclone packing winds of more than 100 mph (160 kph) demolished ten of thousands of mud huts in northeastern India, killing at least 89 villagers, officials said Wednesday.

The cyclone struck close to midnight on Tuesday in northeastern parts of West Bengal and Bihar states, uprooting trees and snapping telephone and electricity lines, West Bengal Civil Defense Minister Srikumar Mukherjee said. Hundreds of people were injured and many thousands left homeless.

Devesh Chandra Thakur, Bihar state's Minister for Disaster Management, said there was no cyclone warning from the weather department, so villagers were unprepared.

Television footage showed uprooted trees lying across shanties and sheets of corrugated metal ripped from the roofs of homes. Small children sat outside their damaged huts as parents tried to salvage their belongings from inside.

Namita Biswas, 51, a housewife in West Bengal, told The Associated Press by phone she and her husband were sleeping in their hut when it was crushed by a tree that broke from the impact of the cyclone. Her husband was killed.

The cyclone demolished nearly 50,000 mud huts in West Bengal and thousands more in Bihar, officials said.

The worst-hit villages in West Bengal state were Hematabad, Raiganj and Kiran Dighi, where police and rescue teams have recovered 39 bodies, Ramanuj Chakraborty, a senior local official told The Associated Press.

Another 50 people were killed in the northeastern Bihar districts of Araria, Kishenganj and Purnea, according to government officials.

By Wednesday evening, authorities had begun rushing medical teams and food supplies to the cyclone-hit area, Ramanuj Chakraborty, a West Bengal official said. Temporary shelters were also being set up for those who had lost their homes, he said.

A prison wall collapsed in Bihar's Araria district, forcing authorities to shift more than 600 inmates to another prison, officials said.

In neighboring Bangladesh, tropical storms lashed dozens of villages in the northern part of the country Wednesday killing at least five people and injuring dozens, news channel Desh TV reported. The storms in Rangpur and neighboring Lalmonirhat district also demolished about 500 mostly mud-and-straw huts, the report said.

Government officials were not immediately available for comment, but the weather office in the capital Dhaka said the storms were not related to the cyclone that struck eastern India. Such storms are common in the tropical delta nation.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100414/ap_on_re_as/as_india_cyclone

[Nichi]

Iceland evacuates hundreds as volcano erupts again

By GUDJON HELGASON and JILL LAWLESS, Associated Press Writers – 47 mins ago

REYKJAVIK, Iceland – A volcano under a glacier in Iceland erupted Wednesday for the second time in less than a month, melting ice, spewing smoke and steam, closing a major road and forcing hundreds of people to flee rising floodwaters.

Authorities evacuated 800 residents from around the Eyjafjallajokull glacier as rivers rose by up to 10 feet (3 meters).

Emergency officials and scientists said the eruption under the ice cap was 10 to 20 times more powerful than one last month, and carried a much greater risk of widespread flooding.

"This is a very much more violent eruption, because it's interacting with ice and water," said Andy Russell, an expert in glacial flooding at the University of Newcastle in northern England. "It becomes much more explosive, instead of a nice lava flow oozing out of the ground."

Rognvaldur Olafsson, a chief inspector for the Icelandic Civil Protection Agency, said no lives or properties were in immediate danger. Scientists said there was no sign of increased activity at the much larger Katla volcano nearby.

Iceland's Meteorological Office said a plume of steam rose at least five miles (eight kilometers) into the air. Scientists aboard a Coast Guard plane that flew over the volcano said the new fissure appeared to be up to 1.2 miles (2 kilometers) long.

There were no immediate signs of large clouds of volcanic ash, which could disrupt air travel between Europe and North America. Some domestic flights were canceled, but Iceland's international airport remained open.

The volcano, about 75 miles (120 kilometers) east of Reykjavik, erupted March 20 after almost 200 years of silence.

The original eruption petered out earlier this week. But Gunnar Gudmundsson, a geophysicist at the Icelandic Meteorological Office, said there were a series of tremors overnight, and rivers in the area began rising Wednesday morning — strong evidence of a new eruption under the glacier.

Last month's eruption struck near the glacier in an area that had no ice. Gudmundsson said the new eruption appeared to be about eight or nine kilometers (five to six miles) west of the original fissure.

"Most probably this eruption is taking place at the summit ... under the ice," he said.

Pall Einarsson, a geophysicist at the University of Iceland, said magma was melting a hole in the 650-foot (200 meter) thick ice covering the volcano's crater, sending floodwater coursing down the glacier into lowland areas.

Residents were evacuated to a Red Cross center in the nearby community of Hvolsvollur, the Civil Protection Agency said.

Iceland's main coastal ring road was closed near the volcano, and workers smashed a hole in the highway in a bid to give the rushing water a clear route to the coast and prevent a major bridge from being swept away.

Iceland, a nation of 320,000 people, sits on a large volcanic hot spot in the Atlantic's mid-oceanic ridge. Volcanic eruptions are often triggered by seismic activity when the Earth's plates move and when magma from deep underground pushes its way to the surface.

The last time there was an eruption near the 100-square-mile (160 square-kilometer) Eyjafjallajokull glacier was in 1821.

A bigger worry is Katla, which in the past has erupted in tandem with Eyjafjallajokull.

Katla is located under the vast Myrdalsjokull ice cap. An eruption could cause widespread flooding and disrupt air traffic between Europe and North America.

The last major eruption took place in 1918, and vulcanologists say a new blast is overdue.

"So far there have been no signs of the reawakening of the Katla volcano, but a lot of things can still happen, so we are monitoring it quite closely," Einarsson said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100414/ap_on_re_eu/eu_iceland_volcano

[Nichi]

NORTHERN LIGHTS IN THE USA: On Saturday, April 11th, a coronal mass ejection (CME) hit Earth's magnetic field. The impact caused a G2-class geomagnetic storm and, for the first time this year, ignited auroras over the continental United States. "The lights were bright enough to produce a reflection from the surface of Lake Superior," says photographer Shawn Malone, who recorded the scene from a beach in Marquette, Michigan:



Northern Lights were also spotted in Maine, Vermont, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Mostly the lights were dim and required a photographic exposure of some tens of seconds for full effect. Nevertheless, they were there.

"Lower 48" sightings of auroras are a sign: The deep solar minimum of 2008-2009 has come to an end and a new solar cycle is gaining strength. If forecasters are correct, Solar Max is just two to three years away. Are you ready?

http://www.spaceweather.com/

[Nichi]

Iceland's volcanic ash halts flights across Europe


LONDON – An ash cloud from Iceland's spewing volcano halted air traffic across a wide swath of Europe on Thursday, grounding planes on a scale unseen since the 2001 terror attacks as authorities stopped all flights over Britain, Ireland and the Nordic countries.

Thousands of flights were canceled, stranding tens of thousands of passengers, and officials said it was not clear when it would be safe enough to fly again.

An aviation expert said it was the first time in living memory that an ash cloud had affected some of the most congested airspace in the world, while a scientist in Iceland said the ejection of volcanic ash — and therefore disruptions in air travel — could continue for days or even weeks.

"At the present time it is impossible to say when we will resume flying," said Henrik Peter Joergensen, the spokesman for Copenhagen's airport in Denmark, where some 25,000 passengers were affected.

The ash plume, which rose to between 20,000 feet and 36,000 feet (6,000 meters and 11,000 meters), lies above the Atlantic Ocean close to the flight paths for most routes from the U.S. east coast to Europe.

With the cloud drifting south and east across Britain, the country's air traffic service banned all non-emergency flights until at least 7 a.m. (0600GMT, 2 a.m. EDT) Friday. Irish authorities closed their air space for at least eight hours, and aviation authorities in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Belgium took similar precautions.

The move shut down London's five major airports including Heathrow, a major trans-Atlantic hub that handles over 1,200 flights and 180,000 passengers per day. Airport shutdowns and flight cancellations spread eastward across Europe — to France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Ireland, Sweden, Finland and Switzerland — and the effects reverberated worldwide.

French officials shut down all flights to Paris and 23 other airports.

Airlines in the United States canceling some flights to Europe and delayed others. In Washington, the Federal Aviation Administration said it was working with airlines to try to reroute some flights around the massive ash cloud.

Flights from Asia, Africa and the Middle East to Heathrow and other top European hubs were also put on hold.

The highly abrasive, microscopic particles that make up volcanic ash pose a threat to aircraft because they can affect visibility and get sucked into airplane engines, causing them to shut down. The ash can also block pitot tubes, which supply vital instruments such as air speed indicators, or latch onto engine blades, forming a glassy substance that may cause engines to surge or stall.

Ash will also damage all forward-facing surfaces on an aircraft, such as the cockpit windshields, the wings' leading edges, the landing lights and air filters for the passenger cabin.

It was not the first time air traffic has been halted by a volcano, but such widespread disruption has not been seen the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks.

"There hasn't been a bigger one," said William Voss, president of the U.S.-based Flight Safety Foundation, who praised aviation authorities and Eurocontrol, the European air traffic control organization, for closing down airspaces. "This has prevented airliners wandering about, with their engines flaming out along the way."

Gideon Ewers, spokesman for the International Federation of Airline Pilots Associations said it was a unique event.

"Normally, these volcanic eruptions affect air travel in areas of thin traffic such as the Aleutian islands in Alaska, or in Indonesia and the Philippines," he told The Associated Press.

In Iceland, hundreds of people have fled rising floodwaters since the volcano under the Eyjafjallajokull (ay-yah-FYAH'-plah-yer-kuh-duhl) glacier erupted Wednesday for the second time in less than a month.

As water gushed down the mountainside, rivers rose up to 10 feet (3 meters) by Wednesday night, slicing the island nation's main road in half. The eruption was at least 10 times as powerful as the one last month, scientists said.

The volcano still spewed ash and steam Thursday, but the flooding had subsided, leaving new channels carved through the Icelandic landscape. Some ash was falling on uninhabited areas, but most was being blown by westerly winds toward northern Europe, including Britain, about 1,200 miles (2,000 kilometers) away.

"It is likely that the production of ash will continue at a comparable level for some days or weeks. But where it disrupts travel, that depends on the weather," said Einar Kjartansson, a geophysicist at the Icelandic Meteorological Office. "It depends how the wind carries the ash."

At Heathrow, passengers milled around, looking at closed check-in desks and gazing up at departure boards listing rows of cancellations.

"It's so ridiculous it is almost amusing," said Cambridge University researcher Rachel Baker, 23, who had planned to meet her American boyfriend in Boston but got no farther than Heathrow.

"I just wish I was on a beach in Mexico," said Ann Cochrane, 58, of Toronto, a passenger stranded in Glasgow.

The National Air Traffic Service said Britain had not halted all flights in its space in living memory, although most flights were grounded after Sept. 11. Heathrow was also closed by fog for two days in 1952.

The ash cloud did not disrupt operations at Iceland's Keflavik airport or caused problems in the capital of Reykjavik, but has affected the southeastern part of the island, said meteorologist Thorsteinn Jonsson. In one area, visibility was reduced to 150 meters (yards) Thursday, he said, and farmers were told to keep livestock indoors to protect them from eating the abrasive ash.

Eurostar train services to France and Belgium and cross-Channel ferries were packed as travelers sought ways out of Britain. P&O ferries said it had booked a passenger on its Dover-Calais route who was trying to get to Beijing — he hoped to fly from Paris instead of London.

The U.S. Geological Survey says about 100 aircraft have run into volcanic ash from 1983 to 2000. In some cases engines shut down briefly after sucking in volcanic debris, but there have been no fatal incidents.

Kjartansson said until the 1980s, airlines were less cautious about flying through volcanic clouds.

"There were some close calls and now they are being more careful," he said.

In 1989, a KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Boeing 747 flew into an ash cloud from Alaska's Redoubt volcano and lost all power, dropping from 25,000 feet to 12,000 feet (7,500 meters to 3,600) before the crew could get the engines restarted. The plane landed safely.

In another incident in the 1980s, a British Airways 747 flew into a dust cloud and the grit sandblasted the windscreen. The pilot had to stand and look out a side window to land safely.

Last month's eruption at the same volcano occurred in an area where there was no glacial ice — lessening the overall risk. Wednesday's eruption, however, occurred beneath a glacial cap. If the eruption continues, and there is a supply of cold water, the lava will chill quickly and fragment into glass.

If the volcano keeps erupting, there's no end to the flight disruptions it could cause.

"When there is lava erupting close to very cold water, the lava chills quickly and turns essentially into small glass particles that get carried into the eruption plume," said Colin Macpherson, a geologist with the University of Durham. "The risk to flights depends on a combination of factors — namely whether the volcano keeps behaving the way it has and the weather patterns."

Iceland, a nation of 320,000 people, sits on a large volcanic hot spot in the Atlantic's mid-oceanic ridge, and has a history of devastating eruptions.

The worst was the 1783 eruption of the Laki volcano, which spewed a toxic cloud over Europe with devastating consequences. At least 9,000 people, a quarter of the population of Iceland, died, many from the famine caused by the eruption, and many more emigrated. The cloud may have killed more than 20,000 people in eastern England and an estimated 16,000 in France.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100415/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_iceland_volcano

[Michael]