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Great Earthquakes of 2010 (This page was created just to give us view and clue what's going on with our planet) (Latest Earthquake in the world for the last few days)
Earthquakes, also called temblors, can be so tremendously
destructive, it’s hard to imagine they
occur every day around
the world, usually in the form of small
tremors.
Some 80 percent of all the planet's earthquakes occur along the rim of the Pacific Ocean, called the "Ring of Fire" because of the preponderance of volcanic activity there as well. Most earthquakes occur at fault zones, where tectonic plates—giant rock slabs that make up the Earth's upper layer—collide or slide against each other. These impacts are usually gradual and unnoticeable on the surface; however, immense stress can build up between plates. When this stress is released quickly, it sends massive vibrations, called seismic waves, often hundreds of miles through the rock and up to the surface. Other quakes can occur far from faults zones when plates are stretched or squeezed. Scientists assign a magnitude rating to earthquakes based on the strength and duration of their seismic waves. A quake measuring 3 to 5 is considered minor or light; 5 to 7 is moderate to strong; 7 to 8 is major; and 8 or more is great.
Sept. 29, 2009 a magnitude-8.3 earthquake killed people in American Samoa, 183 in Samoa and nine in Tonga
The 2009 Samoa earthquake was an 8.1
Mw
submarine
earthquake that took place in the
Samoan Islands region at 06:48:11 local time on
September 29, 2009 (17:48:11
UTC, September 29).[3]
It was the
largest earthquake of 2009.
A tsunami was generated which caused substantial damage and loss of life in Samoa, American Samoa, and Tonga. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center recorded a 3-inch (76 mm) rise in sea levels near the epicenter, and New Zealand scientists determined that the waves measured 14 metres (46 ft) at their highest on the Samoan coast.[4] The quake occurred on the outer rise of the Kermadec-Tonga Subduction Zone. This is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, where tectonic plates in the Earth's lithosphere meet and earthquakes and volcanic activity are common. Countries affected by the tsunami in the areas that were hit are American Samoa, Samoa and Tonga (Niuatoputapu) where more than 189 people have been killed, most of them in Samoa.[5] Large waves with no major damage were reported on the coasts of Fiji, the northern coast of New Zealand[6] and Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. People took precautions in the low-lying atolls of Tokelau and moved to higher ground. Niue was reported as reasonably safe because it is high. There have been no reports of high waves from Vanuatu, Kiribati, New Caledonia and the Solomon Islands.[7] January 12,2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake
As of 2010, five major
earthquakes have been recorded in
Haiti.
On Feb. 27, 2010 the day the 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck Chile
CONCEPCION, Chile — Chile's president sent the army to help police attack looting on Sunday in the wake of an earthquake that shattered cities and killed at least 708 people. History: The largest earthquake ever recorded struck the same area of Chile on May 22, 1960. The magnitude-9.5 quake killed 1,655 people and made 2 million homeless. Saturday's quake matched a 1906 temblor off the Ecuadorean coast as the seventh-strongest ever recorded in the world.
March 4, 2010 6.4- magnitude Taiwan earthquake that hit Thursday
A map locating the epicentre of a 6.4-magnitude quake that struck southern Taiwan. At least 96 people were injured in the quake which disrupted rail services, toppled farm houses, and momentarily cut off electricity to more than half a million homes
March 5, 2010 Friday Magnitude 6.5 earthquake shakes Indonesian Sumatra A 6.5 magnitude earthquake struck off the Indonesian island of Sumatra at 11:06 p.m. local time (16:06 GMT) yesterday but a widespread tsunami was not predicted.
JAKARTA, Indonesia – A magnitude-6.5
undersea earthquake shook the
western shore of Indonesia's Sumatra
island on Friday, causing panic but no
casualties or damage, an official said.
The quake hit about 165 km
west of Bengkulu, Sumatra at
a depth of about 22 km, the
US Geological Survey
said.The US National Oceanic
and Atmospheric
Administration said there
was no widespread threat of
a tsunami in the Indian
Ocean.
The Earth is changing rapidly....... What's Next???? March 8, 2010 KOVANCILAR, Turkey 6.0-magnitude
A woman stands on the ruins of a destroyed house in Okcular Village, in Elazig province March 8, 2010
KOVANCILAR,
Turkey
A strong
earthquake
killed at
least 51
villagers in
a remote
part of
eastern
Turkey
before dawn
on Monday,
officials
said, and
aftershocks
continued
for hours
while
rescuers
searched for
trapped
survivors.
People were sleeping in their mud-brick houses when the 6.0-magnitude quake struck at 4:32 am local time (0232 GMT) in a sparsely-populated area of high steppe in Eastern Anatolia.
"We felt it very strongly and everyone tried to get out onto the street."
History: Turkey is criss-crossed with faultlines and frequently suffers earthquakes. A large earthquake measuring 7.4 killed about 18,000 people in August 1999. On Monday, families huddled in the open around fires lit to keep them warm, as the ground shook with more than 40 aftershocks, the largest of which had a magnitude of 5.5.
March 9, 2010 Earthquake hits off Hawaii's coast
A 4.4-magnitude earthquake struck Hawaii
Monday evening.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
(CNN) -- A 4.4-magnitude earthquake struck Hawaii on Monday evening, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The quake struck about 6:30 p.m. (11:30 p.m. ET) and was 19.3 miles (31.1 km) deep. The epicenter was 13 miles (20 km) southwest of the coastal region of Laupahoehoe and 189 miles (304 km) east of Honolulu, the USGS said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
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Source:
Wikipedia Encyclopedia
A
local Taiwanese resident inspects the
damage to his home after a strong
earthquake jolted the island, Thursday,
March 4, 2010, in Kaohsiung county,
southern Taiwan. A powerful
6.4-magnitude earthquake rocked southern
Taiwan on Thursday morning, causing
widespread damage, and disrupting
communications around the island.
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