The major earthquake thread-Updated Constantly

[yass]

Biggest quake in a century rocks Victoria
Jeff Turnbull and Kellee Nolan
June 19, 2012 - 9:19PM

AAP

It was the biggest earthquake to hit Victoria in more than a century and millions felt it when it struck just before 9pm (AEST) for about 30 to 40 seconds on Tuesday.

Reports started coming in from residents in suburban Melbourne and then spread to the northeast and southeast of the state.

Windows were rattled, floors rocked and roofs shook as the quake struck at about 8.55pm.

The Geoscience Australia website was in meltdown as people flocked online to find out what occurred and Twitter went wild.

When Geoscience was able to restore its site it had the news that the quake that rocked Victoria was the biggest in the state for 109 years.

Geoscience reported the earthquake had a magnitude of 5.3, down from their earlier estimate of 5.5.

It was almost 10km deep with an epicentre between Trafalgar and Moe in the southeast.

Anthony Atkin, the duty manager of the Criterion Hotel at Trafalgar, just west of Moe, said he feared for his life when the quake hit.

"I thought the roof was going to fall down," Mr Atkin said.

"Everyone in the hotel ran outside, it was like a train was coming through the hotel.

"I've been here for 44 years and never felt anything like it."

He said the quake lasted for around 20 to 30 seconds "but it felt like a lifetime".

He said alarms had been set off in many shops in the town.

Moe police constable Chris Hand was enjoying a cup of coffee when he felt the ground moving.

"I had the cup sitting on the table and it spilled over," Const Hand told AAP.

"We've had a lot of calls but no one is reporting any damage or injuries at this stage.

"It was a decent-size rumble, the biggest I've ever felt.

"The ground moved for 15 to 20 seconds."

Continues at http://www.watoday.com.au/breaking-n...619-20m8d.html

[yass]

Moderate Aftershock Follows 6.0 Alaska Earthquake

ANCHORAGE, Alaska June 19, 2012 (AP)

A strong earthquake that struck a remote and sparsely populated region of Alaska on Tuesday was felt on the island of Shemya where the U.S. military operates an air station.

"They didn't report any damage, not even any objects falling off the shelves," said Natasha Ruppert, a seismologist with the Alaska Earthquake Information Center in Fairbanks.

The center reported that the quake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.0 and occurred shortly after 8 a.m. Tuesday in the Aleutian Islands that extend into the Bering Sea in far southwestern Alaska. About five hours later, a magnitude-5.8 aftershock was reported in the same area but there were no reports of damage or of it being felt.

Shemya is 108 miles west-northwest of where the earthquake was centered. It is home to Eareckson Air Station, which serves mainly as an early warning radar installation.

Ruppert said the center called people at the air station who reported that everyone there felt the quake but there was no damage.

Air Force spokesman Tommie Baker said there was no damage to military facilities or injuries to personnel.

There are no military personnel at the air station, but about 60 civilians work on contract to maintain the facility. Numbers can increase to a couple hundred in the summer months.

Shemya is earthquake-prone because the island on the western end of the Aleutians is where two large tectonic plates collide, causing tension that is released through earthquakes.

The island lies in the middle of the rupture zone of an 8.7-magnitude earthquake that occurred in 1965 and produced a tsunami wave that measured 35 feet.

Neither the quake nor the aftershock was expected to produce tsunamis.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/6...3#.T-ErkJHNmZ0

[yass]

Different reports can have such interesting human stories.

Earthquake, aftershocks felt across the region
BY MEGAN LEVY AND NATHAN PARTENZA
20 Jun, 2012 08:30 AM

VICTORIA has been shaken by more than 60 aftershocks since a magnitude 5.3 earthquake rattled Gippsland last night, the largest quake in the state in more than a century.

The earthquake struck at 8.53pm, rattling buildings and frightening residents from Gippsland to the western district and as far north as the NSW town of Wagga Wagga.

In Melbourne, residents reported feeling the quake all over the metropolitan area — from the Dandenongs in the east to Bentleigh in the south-east, Pascoe Vale in the west and through the inner city.

Melton resident Rennea Burgess said she had been watching television when her home began to shake.

"Our back door leading into garage started rattling," she said.

"I honestly thought someone was in [the] shed rattling the handle trying to break in.

Read more at http://www.caseyweeklyberwick.com.au...n/2596409.aspx

[justdunno]

Originally Posted by wakeup2nwo

Thanks.

The reason i asked was because if it was really at 2 km it would have been more than likely a bomb rather than an earthquake.

Glad your Ok though mate.

Thanks guys. All good here. I did think it was weird, the 2 km report, but some expert( everyone's an expert) on the radio today was commenting that the original 2km depth might explain why it was felt so intense, 500 Kim's from the epicenter. We will never know the real depth or magnitude, can't really trust any source not even the official one. But it was big for us. Especially since we rarely get any that we can feel and even hear coming. Quite trippy.
Hope it's not a prelude for bigger ones around the globe.
Mother nature is a little cranky at the moment.

[spellbound]

6.0 mag...Macquarie island region depth 9.9 km...{ south of NZ]

we now has a strong possibility of a Christchurch quake in next 24 hours....
if usual pattern repeats

[spellbound]

6.5 in Russia

http://quakes.globalincidentmap.com/

[spellbound]

6.3 just hit remote area of China.....

[ambersky]

6.2 Off West Coast of the North Island, New Zealand.

Depth 236.1 km

[pippin]

friend of mine who lives on the south island in New Zealand has just told me that the North Island 200km from Wellington has had a mag 7.

[ambersky]

Originally Posted by pippin

friend of mine who lives on the south island in New Zealand has just told me that the North Island 200km from Wellington has had a mag 7.

http://quakes.globalincidentmap.com/

This map shows 2 quakes both happened at the same time about 70 minutes ago in different locations.

Mag. 6.2 Cook Strait New Zealand
Mag. 7.0 60 km South of Opunake

[morgen_hurst]

Not 6+ but

5 quakes on Frontera ranging from 2.5 to 2.8, as I under stand it this is up to a possible big one?

http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/index2.php

[spellbound]

6.3 mag...Vanuatu....depth 179 km

[spellbound]

6.0 mag...Japan region ...Kuril Islands....depth...23 km

[blackwolf]

USGS has this as a 5.6, off the coast of Kalkan, Turkey.

Almost one month to the day, since the last big seismic event, Kalkan felt tremors from another 6.0 earthquake.

This time, the epicentre was 83 km SSW of Kalkan, out in the Mediterranean Sea, and at a depth of 21.1 km.

The tremors were felt in Kalkan town, but were not as noticeable as last month's. There are no reports of injuries or damage to property.

This quake hit at 16.54 local time, and was a little further away than the one on 10th June, which was only 50 km away.

[siliconpsychosis]

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquak...usb000bcyb.php


2012 July 22 2012 at 02:11:11 UTC

2012 July 22, 2012 at 08:41:11 AM at epicenter
Magnitude 5.2 - MYANMAR

[spellbound]

6.6 Mag...Simeulue,Indonesia...depth 45 km...

[earthenigma]

"3.7 quake strikes near Marina del Rey and felt in downtown L.A."

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lano...ey-xjxezl.html

[spellbound]

6.5 mag...Solomon Islands...depth 22 km.....

we can probably expext a quake near New Zealand in next 2 days if pattern continues...

[zephiloyd]

Mauritius/Reunion Region

6.6

http://geofon.gfz-potsdam.de/eqinfo/...id=gfz2012ooqd

[spellbound]

Originally Posted by spellbound

6.5 mag...Solomon Islands...depth 22 km.....

we can probably expext a quake near New Zealand in next 2 days if pattern continues...

4.8 mag North Island of New Zealand.....

Once again i have predicted a quake....one of many successful predictions...