Earthquakes

News about earthquakes. The stronger events are edited manually by the author, but a part of the quakes are automatically detected and posted by the usgs.

Strong Earthquake Mw 6.9 Causes Casualties in Morocco

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Date 09/08/23 | Time: 22:11:00 UTC | 31.074; -8.477 | Depth: 10 km | Mw 6.9

A strong earthquake with a moment magnitude of 6.9 occurred last night near Agadir and Marrakesh. The earthquake occurred at 22:11:00 UTC. The quake caused significant destruction and has resulted in 632 fatalities and 329 injuries so far. The exact depth of the hypocenter varied depending on the source: EMSC reported a depth of 10 km, GFZ Potsdam measured 27 km, and USGS determined nearly 19 km. EMSC located the epicenter 60 km west-southwest of Oukaïmedene, in a remote region of the Atlas Mountains. There were severe damages, particularly in the mountain villages near the epicenter, where numerous buildings have completely collapsed. The search for victims is still ongoing, and in many areas, there have been power outages and communication disruptions. There is speculation that landslides may have occurred, and some communities could be isolated from the outside world.

Earthquake Mb 3.8 near Solfatara triggers swarm of earthquakes

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Date 09/07/23 | Time: 17:45:28 UTC | 40.83; 14.147 | Depth: 2.5 km | Mb 3.8

Yesterday, there was an earthquake in the Campi Flegrei Caldera with a magnitude of 3.8. The earthquake’s epicenter was at a depth of 2.5 km. The earthquake occurred near the northeastern crater rim of Solfatara, close to the thermal area of Piscarelli, and triggered an aftershock sequence with 30 subsequent earthquakes. These aftershocks mostly had low magnitudes in the microseismic range.

The main earthquake was felt in Pozzuoli and parts of Naples. EMSC received reports from people located 16 km away from the epicenter who felt the tremor. For those living closer, the earthquake was strong and frightening, but there are no reports of damage.

Moderate earthquake shakes Greek island Crete

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Date: 08/13/23 | Time: 07:49:32 UTC | Coordinates: 35.247 ; 23.878 | Depth: 10 km | Magnitude: 4.6

The Greek holiday island of Crete was shaken by a moderate earthquake with a magnitude of 4.6 this morning. The hypocenter was located at a depth of 10 km by the EMSC. This depth is often provided when it is certain that the earthquake occurred in shallow areas of the Earth’s crust, but the exact depth has not (yet) been determined. The epicenter was a few kilometers from the southwest coast and was located 18 km east-northeast of Palaióchora. The island’s capital, Heraklion, is 115 km away from the epicenter. Aftershocks can be expected.

Earthquake M 5.2 in Turkey

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Date: 10th August 2023 | Time: 17:48:00 UTC | Location: 38.267 ; 38.265 | Depth: 11 km | Magnitude: 5.2

Once again, an earthquake occurred along the East Anatolian Fault in southeastern Turkey. The moderate earthquake reached a magnitude of 5.2 on the Richter scale and had its hypocenter at a depth of 11 km. The epicenter was located about 10 km south-southwest of the town of Malatya. Local media report at least 23 injured individuals. The earthquake took place at 17:48:00 UTC, affecting a region that had already been severely impacted by the strong earthquake near Gaziantep. The infrastructure of Malatya had already been heavily damaged, which is why the recent moderate earthquake caused further harm and led to the injuries.

Magnitude 7.8 Earthquake Shakes Southwest Turkey

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Date: 6th February 2023 | Time: 01:17:32 UTC | Location: 37.23 N ; 37.02 E | Depth: 10 km | Magnitude: 7.8

A very powerful earthquake with a moment magnitude of 7.8 struck the southwest of Turkey. The hypocenter was at a depth of 10 km. The epicenter was located 26 km east-northeast of Nurdağı. The town is home to 12,800 people. The major city of Gaziantep, with over 1 million residents, is only 37 km away from the epicenter. There have been significant damages and numerous fatalities and injuries. Images show that houses along entire streets have collapsed. The main earthquake occurred during the night, waking many people who couldn’t manage to leave their homes in time. The earthquake happened at 04:17:32 local time or 01:17:32 UTC.

According to media reports, a small tsunami occurred in the Mediterranean, even though the epicenter wasn’t located on the coast but further inland.

The earthquake occurred in the border region with Syria. The well-known city of Aleppo, which was largely destroyed during the Syrian war, is also within the affected area of the earthquake. Preliminary figures indicate that at least 280 people have lost their lives in Turkey. In Syria, over 300 deaths have been confirmed so far. Additionally, there are hundreds of injuries. The casualty numbers will continue to rise, as search and rescue operations are still in their early stages.

Update: According to the latest counts, the earthquake has caused more than 57,000 casualties in Turkey and Syria combined. Enormous property damage has also occurred.

New Zealand: Earthquake Mw 5,4 under Taupo

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Date: 30.11.22 | Time: 10:47:59 UTC | 38.84 S ; 175.91 E | Depth: 9 km | Mw 5.4

Yesterday there was an earthquake of moment magnitude 5.4 (Ml 5.6) under the Taupo caldera in New Zealand. GeoNet published more information about it today. The earthquake manifested at 10:47:59 UCT. In New Zealand, it was 11:47 p.m., which is night-sleeping time. So also the residents of the caldera were startled out of their sleep when they were shaken hard. But it didn’t stop at one shaker, as there was minor damage as items fell off shelves and some roof pieces came crashing down from a store. There were more than 180 aftershocks, 30 of which could be felt. The strongest aftershock brought it to M 4.5.

The main earthquake was the strongest since an M 5.0 earthquake in 2019, and an increase in seismicity has been observed under Lake Taupo since May 2022. Volcanologists believe the series of earthquakes is caused by activity related to magma and hydrothermal fluids inside the volcano. This activity could continue with varying speed and intensity in the coming weeks or months.

Alaska: Earthquake Mw 8.2

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Date: 29.07.2021 | Time: 06:15:50 UTC | Location: 55.60 N ; 157.97 W | Depth: 40 km | Mw 8.2

A strong earthquake with magnitude 8.2 occurred off the coast of the Aleutian Islands. The earthquake focus was located at a depth of 40 km. The epicenter was located 162 km east-northeast of Sand Point. It was the strongest earthquake in a long time and despite the depth of the hypocenter, there could be tsunami danger. So far there have been 3 strong aftershocks. The strongest had magnitude 6.3. The data are from the EMSC and could still be corrected.

Iceland earthquake M 5,0

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Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula experienced a new earthquake with a magnitude of 5. According to IMO, the earthquake was detected at 02:02. The epicenter was located about 3 km west-south-west of Fagradalsfjall. Already at 0:22 a short tremor phase was registered. It lasted 20 minutes and can be seen on the graph by the fact that also the frequency bands 0.5-1 Hz and 1-2 Hz deflected. This was followed by a general increase in seismicity, at the peak of which the M 5.0 earthquake occurred. Interestingly, the EMSC located this earthquake on the northern coast of the Reykjanes Peninsula, in the immediate vicinity of the national capital. The EMSC gives a magnitude of 5.2.

Strong earthquake shakes Iceland

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This morning Iceland was shaken by a strong earthquake of magnitude 5.7. The hypocenter was located at a depth of only 1.1 km, according to IMO. The epicenter was located on the Reykjanes Peninsula, more precisely, 3.3 km south-south-west of Keilir. This is a mountain of volcanic hyaloclasti. These are fragments of volcanic glass. Keilir is located about 10 km northeast of Grindavik and thus in the area that has been hit by inflation-related earthquakes since the beginning of last year. However, the magnitude of the current main earthquake suggests that the origin was tectonic in nature. However, it could be that the ground deformation triggered by inflation caused stresses and thus a fault zone was activated. But this is so far only speculation on my part. Therefore, I am eagerly awaiting a report from IMO to assess the situation.

There were numerous pre- and aftershocks. Among the aftershocks, there were 34 tremors with magnitudes greater than 3. IMO has so far registered a total of 378 tremors in the affected region within 48 hours.

The earthquake occurred at 10:05 UCT. It was felt in a wide radius. There are no reports of damage yet.

Strong earthquake Mw 7.6 shakes Loyalty Islands

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The Loyalty Islands region has just been shaken (13:19:57 UTC) by a strong earthquake of magnitude 7.6. The epicenter was located 401 km east of Tadine on New Caledonia. The earthquake focus was located at a depth of only 2 km. Should the information be confirmed, then in my opinion a tsunami is imminent. The strong earthquake was preceded by several quakes with magnitudes between 6.2 and 5.7.