The WorldWideHelp Group is blogging the recent Indonesia/Java Earthquake and the subsequent Tsunami at the WorldWideHelp Blog. Please go there for regular updates and relief/aid information.
By Rebecca Whitney
The Pictorial
Jul 08 2006
VICTORIA, BC - A minor earthquake on Tuesday had some people in the Cowichan Valley rumbling in their boots.
Pacific Geoscience Centre reported the quake, with a magnitude of 3.7, was centred in the Strait of Juan de Fuca 20 kilometres off the coast of Victoria.
Earthquakes on the scale of Tuesday’s shake do not generally cause damage — and in this instance there was no damage reported — although some Victoria residence reported incidences of things falling from shelves.
“You don’t start to get damage until you get to a 5 or 5.5 and even then only in poorly built structures,” said Natural Resources Canada earthquake seismologist Taimi Mulder.
“A 3.7 would feel like a truck slamming into your house — a real short, sharp jerk,” said Mulder.
As you move further from the epicenter of the quake, the frequency of the waves lengthen and therefore the quake is felt as more of a swaying of the ground.
People as far up Island as Shawnigan Lake and Cobble Hill reported feeling the earth move under their feet, but only very slightly.
According to Mulder there were three reports written in from the south Cowichan region stating the quake felt like a “strong gust of wind hitting the house” and an audible “vibration” that didn’t cause any movement.
Earthquakes of this magnitude occur a couple of times a year in southwestern British Columbia, and Mulder says “every couple of months an earthquake will occur that is strong enough to be felt.”
Mulder asks Vancouver Island residents to report to Natural Resources Canada if they feel an earthquake because people’s experiences are valuable tools in measuring and analyzing earthquakes.
“People’s experiences provide us with really valuable local information, said Mulder.
If you get shaken by a quake log onto www.earthquakescanada.ca and click on Did You Feel it.
The Pictorial
Jul 08 2006
VICTORIA, BC - A minor earthquake on Tuesday had some people in the Cowichan Valley rumbling in their boots.
Pacific Geoscience Centre reported the quake, with a magnitude of 3.7, was centred in the Strait of Juan de Fuca 20 kilometres off the coast of Victoria.
Earthquakes on the scale of Tuesday’s shake do not generally cause damage — and in this instance there was no damage reported — although some Victoria residence reported incidences of things falling from shelves.
“You don’t start to get damage until you get to a 5 or 5.5 and even then only in poorly built structures,” said Natural Resources Canada earthquake seismologist Taimi Mulder.
“A 3.7 would feel like a truck slamming into your house — a real short, sharp jerk,” said Mulder.
As you move further from the epicenter of the quake, the frequency of the waves lengthen and therefore the quake is felt as more of a swaying of the ground.
People as far up Island as Shawnigan Lake and Cobble Hill reported feeling the earth move under their feet, but only very slightly.
According to Mulder there were three reports written in from the south Cowichan region stating the quake felt like a “strong gust of wind hitting the house” and an audible “vibration” that didn’t cause any movement.
Earthquakes of this magnitude occur a couple of times a year in southwestern British Columbia, and Mulder says “every couple of months an earthquake will occur that is strong enough to be felt.”
Mulder asks Vancouver Island residents to report to Natural Resources Canada if they feel an earthquake because people’s experiences are valuable tools in measuring and analyzing earthquakes.
“People’s experiences provide us with really valuable local information, said Mulder.
If you get shaken by a quake log onto www.earthquakescanada.ca and click on Did You Feel it.
A tsunami warning system covering the Indian Ocean region is now "up and running", UNESCO has said. The UN organisation, which has overseen the project, says the whole region can now receive and distribute warnings of possible tsunamis.
The system is in place 18 months after the devastating tsunami of December 2004 that killed more than 200,000. The Pacific region has had a system for 40 years and others are planned for the Atlantic, Mediterranean and Caribbean.
Koichiro Matsuura, director-general of the UN's scientific and cultural organisation, said the nations involved should be "justly proud of having done all this and much more".
There are 26 national tsunami information centres receiving information from 25 new seismographic stations. There are also three deep-ocean sensors to detect and report tsunamis.
Read the Full Article at BBC News
Read the UNESCO Press Release
The system is in place 18 months after the devastating tsunami of December 2004 that killed more than 200,000. The Pacific region has had a system for 40 years and others are planned for the Atlantic, Mediterranean and Caribbean.
Koichiro Matsuura, director-general of the UN's scientific and cultural organisation, said the nations involved should be "justly proud of having done all this and much more".
There are 26 national tsunami information centres receiving information from 25 new seismographic stations. There are also three deep-ocean sensors to detect and report tsunamis.
Read the Full Article at BBC News
Read the UNESCO Press Release
SAN MARTIN, June 15, 2006 - A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck the south San Francisco Bay area early Thursday, but there were no reports of injuries or damage, authorities said.
The quake struck at 5:24 a.m. PDT about 6 miles east of San Martin, a town of 4,200 people in a rural part of southern Santa Clara County, and was followed by three smaller quakes, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The quake could be felt in San Francisco, about 70 miles north of the epicenter.
No one was hurt and there were no reports of damage, according to the Santa Clara County sheriff's department and police in Gilroy, about 8 miles from where the quake struck.
The quake struck at 5:24 a.m. PDT about 6 miles east of San Martin, a town of 4,200 people in a rural part of southern Santa Clara County, and was followed by three smaller quakes, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The quake could be felt in San Francisco, about 70 miles north of the epicenter.
No one was hurt and there were no reports of damage, according to the Santa Clara County sheriff's department and police in Gilroy, about 8 miles from where the quake struck.
Just a heads-up that the World Wide Help Group is blogging about the floods in Suriname at http://worldwidehelp.blogspot.com/.
Information from and about Suriname in general, and the flood situation in particular would be most appreciated. As would information about aid efforts, whether official, NGO-led or ad-hoc, national or international. Mail us at suriname[AT]worldwidehelp[DOT]info.
And we could really use your help if you can translate from and to Dutch.
Information from and about Suriname in general, and the flood situation in particular would be most appreciated. As would information about aid efforts, whether official, NGO-led or ad-hoc, national or international. Mail us at suriname[AT]worldwidehelp[DOT]info.
And we could really use your help if you can translate from and to Dutch.
From the Associated Press:
A magnitude-8.0 earthquake struck early Thursday near the South Pacific nation of Tonga, the U.S. Geological Survey said. A tsunami warning was issued for Fiji and New Zealand.
The temblor, classified by the USGS as a "great" quake, struck 95 miles south of Neiafu, Tonga, and 1,340 miles north-northeast of Auckland, New Zealand.
The U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued the tsunami warning but said it was not known whether the quake generated a potentially deadly giant wave.
The Following Earthquake has been Reported:
Date: 2006/03/31 21:14:40.8
Region: Talaud Islands, Indonesia
Magnitude: Mo 6.1
Latitude: 3.8947 N
Longitude: 126.3045 E
Institute: NEI
Injured Exp. min/max: 0 / 0
Fatalities Exp. min/max: 0 / 0
The earthquake is located 40 km off shore. Only small settlements along the coast.
More Information can be found here:
http://www.wapmerr.org/user_quake.htm
Date: 2006/03/31 21:14:40.8
Region: Talaud Islands, Indonesia
Magnitude: Mo 6.1
Latitude: 3.8947 N
Longitude: 126.3045 E
Institute: NEI
Injured Exp. min/max: 0 / 0
Fatalities Exp. min/max: 0 / 0
The earthquake is located 40 km off shore. Only small settlements along the coast.
More Information can be found here:
http://www.wapmerr.org/user
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)