--Earthquakes--

~~~ EARTHQUAKE ~~~

This Site deals with EARTHQUAKES--and the devastating after-effects they mostly cause. There is no fool-proof defense against earthquakes. The best defense is to be a safe distance from the epicenter.

Mon., July 2,2001
SPOKANE, WASHINGTON:- No damages or injuries were reported from two mild earthquakes that rumbled through Spokane, as was reported by the authorities. The earthquake was felt at 10:45 p.m. on Saturday, as reported by the dispatcher for the Spokane County Fire Department, Bob Stose. He said they were "little rumbles. They weren't earth-shattering or anything, just minor." A series of earthquakes struck Spokane on June 25. None had the magnitude above 3.4. Damage was limited to bricks falling fom a few chimneys, cracked plaster and broken dishes.

Sunday, March 25,2001
HIROSHIMA, JAPAN:- A powerful magnitude 6.4 earthquake devastated southwestern Japan on Saturday, wrecking roads, snapping power lines, causing damage to houses and the falling debris killed two people. The quake caused damage in five Japanese states; and was felt as far away as South Korea; located a distance of more than 150 miles away from the epicenter. Authorities reported 123 injuries; In the Japanese state of Hiroshima, 12 of them were reported serious; and a lot more in sorrounding states. Thousands of dwellings were left without running water. The broken window parts and roof tiles littered the streets in the city of Hiroshema. Hiroshima has a population of 1 million people. The quake lasted about one minute. An 80-year-old woman died in the the city of Kure; located about 12 miles south of Hiroshima, as a result of being buried under the mass of a collapsed wall. In the nearby state of Ehime, a 50-year-old woman was killed by falling roof tiles while she was fleeing her home, in the city of Matsuyama. The quake's epicenter was located about 38 miles below ground. It struck at about 3:28 p.m., near Hiroshima, which is located about 430 miles southwest of Tokyo, as reported by the Meteriological Agency. Water lines were broken near the epicenter of the quake, causing 10,000 households to be without water. Telephone service was interrupted; train service stopped and the airport in Hiroshima was closed down for inspection. The nuclear reactors in the area of the quake were not affected in any way.

Wednesday, February 14,2001
JAKARTA, Indonesia- Early today, an earthquake shook Sumatra; an island of Indonesia. The quake measured 7.3, as was reported by the Australian Geological Survey Organization. The strength of the quake was enough to have created tidal waves and cause great damage. The epicenter was located at a great depth in the ocean, about 13 miles from Bengkulu, which is the provincial capital, as reported by the Metereology and Geophysics Agency located in Jakarta, home of about 260,000 people who inhabit the capital. There was no reported deaths or damage; although there was great confusion and panic.

DECEMBER,2000

INDONESIA-
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake, and a series of aftershocks sent workers scurrying from office buildings in the capital of Jakarta. The quake was centered beneath the Indian Ocean, about 145 miles southwest of western Java. While there were no deaths, injuries or significant damage, its location near the site of one of the biggest volcanic eruptions in history; Krakatau, which erupted in 1883, killing 36,000; was a reminder of the fury of nature.

Monday, August 21, 2000
ANKARA, Turkey A moderate earthquake rattled eastern Turkey early Sunday, causing panicked residents to jump from balconies and out windows. At least nine people were reported injured. The magnitude-4 earthquake hit the city of Erzurum just after midnight on Sunday, as was reported by the Anatolia news agency. No serious damage was reported in Erzurum; which is located 560 miles east of Ankara. A soldier was critically injured when he threw himself out of the second floor of a military barracks in utter panic. It was reported a woman suffered a heart attack, due to the stress and shocking experience caused by the event. Friday, August 18, 2000 GOLCUK,TURKEY People in this town of Golcuk began to weep as a prayer leader chanted verses from Muslim scripture, in memory of 17,000 people who died in Turkey a year ago as the result of a massive earthquake. One of the banners in the Golcuk area where memorial services were held, read: "With God's mercy, we remember the martyrs." This area was one of the hardest hit by the quake last August 17. During the memorial services, a moderate earthquake shook Kastamonu province. Most of northern Turkey sits on an active fault line. There were no reported injuries from that quake; which was reported as having a preliminary magnitude of 4. Kastamonu is 375 miles east of Istanbul.

Thursday, August 10, 2000

MEXICO CITY
Early Wednesday, a strong earthquake centered under the Pacific Ocean, shook western and central Mexico, cracking walls, breaking windows and forcing people to rush into the streets for some semblance of safety. Mexico's National Seismological Service put the magnitude at 7.0; but the U.S. Geological Survey in Golden, Colorado, reported it was a 6.4 magnitude earthquake. The quake was centered about 240 miles west-southwest of Mexico City in the Pacific Ocean; and about 30 miles west of the coastal city of Lazaro Cardenas.
In Lazaro Cardenas, at least one person was hurt when parts of a wall collapsed in a hotel under costruction. Otherwise, there were few other reports of any significant damage. Residents, shook awake by the quake, fled into the streets.
About 160,000 people live in Lazaro Cardenas and its administrative district, which extends about 45 miles along the coast.
A magnitude-6 earthquake can cause severe damage if it is centered under a populated area. Magnitude-7 indicates a major earthquake, which is capable of widespread and devastating damage. Since the start of 1990, the National Seismological Service of Mexico has recorded 38 earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.
Mexico's worst devastating quakes hit its Pacific coast, where continental plates clash. Amoung those was the 1985 earthquake with 8.1 magnitude that killed thousands in Mexico City.

Saturday, July 22, 2000

MEXICO CITY
An earthquake shook buildings across central Mexico early Friday, sending terrified people rushing from their beds and out of nightclubs. The magnitude-5.9 earthquake struck at 1:13 a.m., and was centered south of Mexico City, near the border of Puebla and Morales states.
No injuries or major damage was reported.
Along city streets, frightened people stood in their pajamas and underwear; some covering with towels, staring up at swaying power lines. Authorities reported only minor damage to outdoor walls, after having flown over the area in helecopters, as was reported by the government news agency Notimex.

Friday, July 7, 2000
San Juan De Oriente, Nicaragua

A moderately strong earthquake shook Nicaragua on Thursday, killing two children; and causing serious damage to homes in villages east of the capital. The earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.9, struck at 1:30 p.m. It was centered in Laguna de Apoyo, 30 miles east of the capital of Managua, as reported by the Nicarguan Institute of Territorial Studies.

Y-2000
JAPAN

About 2,500 people were evacuated from the small island of Miyakejima in late June, after earthquakes rumbled beneath the sea. Seismologists say they were related to increased activity of Mount Oyama; which is 2686 feet high; and the last time had erupted in 1983.

Friday, June 9, 2000
CHINA

A magnitude 5.9 temblor, injured 24 people, and left more than 4,000 homeless, when it struck northwest China's Gansu province.

Earth movements were also felt in Japan, Taiwan, northwest Pakistan, eastern Cuba and the California-Mexico border area.

SUMATRA
A massive magnitude 7.9 temblor, centered off Sumatra, killed more than 100 people, and caused widespread destruction across the Indonesian island.

Meanwhile, thousands of people in Turkey's Cankiri province, were left homeless or too frightened to return to their homes in wake of a magnitude 5.9 earthquake that killed two people, and injured more than 80 others.

Monday, June 5, 2000

JAKARTA, INDONESIA
A powerful quake, and dozens of aftershocks struck the Indonesian island of Sumatra, killing at least 44 people, injuring hundreds, and leaving thousands homeless as was reported by authorities today.
In Bengkulu, the the hardest hit city, people dug through the rubble of ruined buildings in search of trapped survivors and bodies. The Indonesian Meteriological and Geophysical Service said the quake, measuring 7.3, hit at 11:29 p.m. on Sunday; and was centered beneath the Indian Ocean, about 60 miles west of Bengkulu, where 1.2 million people live. The U.S. Geological Survey estimated the strength of the quake at 7.9. The death toll of the quake was expected to rise, as volunteers and workers search the buildings.

November, 1999

TURKEY
More than 15,000 people were killed after an earthquake measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale struck the most heavily populated northwest region of this country; flattening hundreds of apartment blocks.
As many as 20,000 people remain unaccounted for.

On August 17, 1999, an estimated 17,000 people were killed when a magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck Turkey.

Friday, July 23, 1999

Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh
An earthquake jolted an island off the southern coast of Bangladesh on Thursday; leaving at least three dead, and 500 injured, as reported by residents and doctors.
The intensity of the quake at Maheskhali island and the neighboring coastal areas was recorded at a magnitude of 5.2 by the U.S. Geological Survey in Denver Colorado. However, Press Trust of India quoted geologists in India as saying the temblor's strength was registered at 4.7.

June 22, 1999

MEXICO CITY
On Monday, the second quake hit Mexico in as many two weeks, sending swarms of people in the streets, and and causing buildings to sway.
There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries from the quake on Monday. The quake's epicenter was located in a sparcely populated mountain area, 165 miles southwest of Mexico City, as reported by the U.S. Geological Survey in Golden, Colorado. The agency estimated the magnitude of the quake at 5.7, while Mexico's Seismological Service, placed the strength of the temblor at 5.8.

Neither of the magnitudes approached the strength of the quake that struck with a magnitude of 6.7, in central Mexico on June 15.

Sunday, May 2, 1999

DUBAI,United Arab Emirates
Earthquakes jolted several areas in Iran in the past two days; damaging buildings---but causing no casualties, as reported by a news agency on Saturday. A magnitude-4.7 earthquake destroyed many buildings in the ancient part of Khonj in southern Iran on Friday afternoon, as reported by the Islamic Republic News Agency. Some homes in nearby villages were also reported destroyed. The epicenter of the quake was about 600 miles southeast of the Iranian capital, Tehran, the agency reported, which is monitored in Dubai.

Friday, July 10, 1998

PORT MORESBY, Paupa New Guinea
Following a magnitude-7 earthquake; located about 12 miles offshore the southwest Pacific island group of Papua New Guinea; a 23-foot high tidal wave crashed into the its northern coast on Friday night, as was reported by the National Disaster Center.
The tidal wave washed away villages that were built on the beaches; killing at least 71 people, and leaving hundreds missing, disaster officials reported on Saturday.
Thousands were left without food and shelter after the wave had hit. Although authorities estimated the death toll at 71; there were unconfirmed reports that dozens more may have been killed by the gigantic wall of water called a Tsunami,(caused by the after effect of the under water volcano)
Most of the dead were children who drowned.
The tsunami struck west of the town of Aitape in the West Sepik province; hitting at least four villages. Austen Crapp, a relief organizer said "at Warapu, there was no house standing; in its village of 1,800 people."
Papua New Guinea, with a population of 4 million, is largely dependent on agriculture and mining. The capital Port Moresby, is located about 375 miles east of the northeastern tip of Australia. Some people were reported, fled into the jungle; and are still hiding there, because they have never heard of anything like it, they think the world is coming to an end.

Friday, March 27, 1998

ROME
An earthquake rattled central Italy on Thursday, spreading renewed panic in an area where hundreds of homes were destroyed by major tremors only last fall. No damage was immediately reported; but phone lines were jammed in the Umbria and Marche regions--where many people were left homeless by the earlier earthquakes--are still living in campers. The quake on Thursday was felt as far away as Rome; which is 110 miles to the south. The quake had a preliminary magnitude of 5.4--and its epicenter was 80 miles north of Rome.

Saturday,March 1,1997

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN
Villagers in western Pakistan dug with bare hands through the mud to reach their neighbors on Friday, after a powerful earthquake killed at least 80 people

IRAN
Hours later, a quake in northwest Iran was reported to have killed more than 100 people. More than 250 people were injured in the magnitude-5.5 quake that struck the northwestern Iranian towns of Ardabil and Meshkinshahr on Friday afternoon, as was reported by Iranian television. That quake erupted about 16 hours after one struck a remote corner of western Pakistan; 1,200 miles to the southeast. The pre-dawn, magnitude-7.3 quake, crushed flimsy mud homes, killing more than 80 people.

JAPAN
On July 12, 1993, 196 people were killed when an earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale, struck northern Japan.

In 1923, the Japanese cities of Tokyo and Yokohama, were devastated by an earthquake that claimed an estimated 150,000 lives.

JAKARTA-
The most powerful earthquake in two years, plunged half an Indonesian town into the sea. Heavy casualties were feared.
The quake which measured 8.0 on the Richter Scale, devasrated Ansus; a town a distance of 2,300 miles east of Jakarta.

On August 28, 1973, more than 520 people died when an earthquake shook central Mexico.

On April 18, 1906, a devastating earthquake struck San Francisco, causing raging fires that inflicted extensive damage.
About 700 people died in the aftermath.

CHARLESTON, S.C.
On August 31st, 1886, an earthquake struck Charleston, S.C. This was the first major recorded EARTHQUAKE in the eastern United States. About 100 people were reported to have died.

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