Earthquake watch

Restless awakening: Iceland shaken by 1,500 earthquakes in November

Iceland Review,

11 December, 2012

Archive photo from Grímsvötn. Photo by Páll Stefánsson.

A total of 1,500 earthquakes hit in Iceland last month. According to data from the Icelandic Met Office, the most seismic activity—or a total of 750 earthquakes—occurred in Eyjafjörður, which was also the location of the strongest earthquake, of a magnitude 3.8, mbl.is reports.

In late November, a minor glacial outburst flood was reported in Grímsvötn volcano in Vatnajökull glacier. GPS data shows that the ice level had decreased, a strong indication that a flood had started. The flood reached its peak on November 26.

A glacial outburst isn’t necessarily an indication of an upcoming eruption.

Anxieties rise as surge of tremors makes Navidad the shakiest town in Chile

Washington Post,

13 December, 2012

NAVIDAD, Chile — One jolt hit in the middle of the night. Another caught fishermen at a nearby beach. Then the ground shook at supper. And then again, and again: More than 170 tremors were felt in Navidad in just five weeks. The strongest struck during a funeral, and sent panicked mourners fleeing into the street.

Navidad, a coastal farming town of 5,500 people, has become one of the shakiest spots in one of the world’s shakiest countries. And seismologists can’t say whether these were aftershocks from Chile’s devastating quake two years ago, or warnings of another huge disaster to come.

Navidenos, though, have learned to take quakes in stride.

In this town whose name means Christmas, some decorate Christmas trees with quakes in mind, wiring ornaments to the branches or taking extra efforts to secure the base. Restaurant owners nail wood railings to their shelves to keep glasses and liquor from crashing down. Some now use canned beer, shunning bottles as too risky.

Children at public schools practice drills every day and everyone seems to have a quake bag with flashlights and food ready.

“We were born, grew up and were raised with earthquakes,” acting Mayor Rodrigo Soto said. “It seems like the world for the first time has discovered Navidad. Everyone asks us if we’re scared and all we can say is that we need to be prepared.”

Still, no amount of preparation can avoid that panicky feeling when the ground really rumbles. There’s no way to know at that moment whether the shaking will pass quickly, or become frighteningly worse.

While the ground shook under the pews at the funeral, the faces of the mourners turned pale like the dead. Despite appeals for calm, the church swayed so much that people panicked and ran outside.

“People were terrorized,” said Carolina Jeria, recalling that 5.9-magnitude quake on Nov. 21. “In a moment like that, you lose control. We’re very worried about the quakes because the big one in 2010 caught us unprepared.”

Soto says the town still has an inadequate tsunami alert system — a siren that sounds like a car alarm and lacks the volume needed to reach all the townspeople. But after so many tremors, he says Navidenos know in their bones when to run.

They know they’ll barely feel a magnitude-2, but a magnitude-7 will knock them off their feet and that’s a sign to scramble for high ground in case there’s a tsunami.

Aside from the quakes, life is slow in Navidad. Many farmers still use oxen to plow their land, while others cater to tourists who come for the Pacific beaches from Chile’s capital of Santiago, 170 kilometers (100 miles) northeast of town. Yet people are often on edge.

It’s not just the ground’s trembling that reminds people of earthquake risks here. Alongside the highway into town, wildflowers grow around tsunami warning signs that urge residents to build their homes high or be prepared to run for higher ground.

So far, the recent tremors have not caused damage or injuries, but they’re a frequent reminder of the 8.8-magnitude quake and tsunami in 2010 that devastated much of Chile’s coast, including Navidad. That quake killed 551 people, destroyed 220,000 homes and washed away docks and seaside resorts, costing Chile $30 billion, or 18 percent of its annual gross domestic product.

(Major) Earthquakes list December 13, 2012 – Moderate earthquakes in Costa Rica and El Salvador

Earthquake Report.

13 December, 2012

Worldwide earthquakes M 4.4 or higher.  Earthquakes of M 2.5 or more, click here.

Strong earthquake at intermediate depth off the coast of El Salvador
The depth has been reported in between 37 and 80 km depending of the seismological institute.

It will have been widely felt because of this intermedia depth.

The earthquake will be harmless we think.

49km (30mi) SSW of Acajutla, El Salvador
67km (42mi) SSW of Sonsonate, El Salvador
69km (43mi) SSW of Sonzacate, El Salvador
72km (45mi) SSW of Izalco, El Salvador
103km (64mi) SW of San Salvador, El Salvador

Update 22:04 UTC : Maximum shaking is MMI IV or light shaking. These theoretical values are based on the USGS data. We however think that the shaking will have been less as the number of visitors in our site from the greater earthquake is rather limited. Additionally we have to tell that people in this area of the world is used to weak shaking because of the many earthquakes they experience.

Earthquake in Costa Rica

Based on an increasing number of visitors joining us from Costa Rica, we believe that an earthquake was felt. When you are one of the people who experienced this earthquake, please fill in the form behind “I Felt A (not Listed) Earthquake”. Thank you.

Preliminary magnitude as reported by USGS : M5.0 at a depth of 37 km.
Epicenter in the Pacific Ocean approx. 30 km from the shore.

37km (23mi) SSE of Quepos, Costa Rica
50km (31mi) SW of San Isidro, Costa Rica
50km (31mi) WSW of Daniel Flores, Costa Rica
74km (46mi) SSE of Tejar, Costa Rica
92km (57mi) S of San Jose, Costa Rica

Update 17:40 UTC : Based on the preliminary data from the seismological agencies we possess at the moment, we are pretty convinced that this earthquake will be harmless (no damage or injuries expected).

Update 17:56 UTC : Just like somebody told us in his I Have Felt It report (below), this was recorded as a double earthquake  4 minutes apart from each other and having nearly the same Magnitude. Epicenter of both earthquakes was nearly the same, about 30 km out of the coastline.

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NEW EARTHQUAKES and EXPERIENCE REPORTS WILL APPEAR AUTOMATICALLY

SRC	Location	UTC Date/time	M	D	INFORMATION
ER	I Felt A (not Listed) Strong Earthquake	Dec 13 23:59 PM	4.6	0.1	MAP	I Felt It
EMSC	Offshore El Salvador	Dec 13 21:26 PM	5.5	80.0	MAP	I Felt It
GEOFON	El Salvador	Dec 13 21:26 PM	5.3	60.0	MAP	I Felt It
USGS	Offshore El Salvador	Dec 13 21:26 PM	5.5	13.0	MAP	I Felt It
GEOFON	D'entrecasteaux Islands Region	Dec 13 18:15 PM	4.7	10.0	MAP	I Felt It
EMSC	D'entrecasteaux Islands Region	Dec 13 18:15 PM	4.7	10.0	MAP	I Felt It
EMSC	Costa Rica	Dec 13 17:20 PM	4.9	34.0	MAP	I Felt It
USGS	Costa Rica	Dec 13 17:20 PM	4.9	34.0	MAP	I Felt It
GEOFON	Costa Rica	Dec 13 17:16 PM	4.9	16.0	MAP	I Felt It
Heredia - San Jose - it is very fast, and strong San Pedro, Costa Rica - I was on the third floor of a building and I could feel the shaking. Everyone noticed, the TV was shaking. A pretty tame earthquake. There was a small aftershock. Ojo de Agua, Belen - It was weak, but you could feel everything shifting and everything swaying. It happened 2 times only a minute after each other and lasted a few seconds Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica - Bed was shaking a little Heredia, Costa Rica - I work with Amazon.com, and right now I'm in the 3rd floor. This was horrible, I think it was pretty long too! I hate earthquakes!! Quepos, Costa Rica - Building shook for six or seven seconds.
USGS	Costa Rica	Dec 13 17:16 PM	5.0	37.3	MAP	I Felt It
EMSC	Costa Rica	Dec 13 17:16 PM	5.0	69.0	MAP	I Felt It
EMSC	Fiji Region	Dec 13 13:31 PM	4.6	558.0	MAP	I Felt It
GEOFON	Fiji Islands Region	Dec 13 13:31 PM	4.6	558.0	MAP	I Felt It
USGS	Near The East Coast Of Honshu, Japan	Dec 13 11:56 AM	4.6	62.6	MAP	I Felt It
EMSC	Near East Coast Of Honshu, Japan	Dec 13 11:56 AM	4.8	60.0	MAP	I Felt It
GEOFON	Near East Coast Of Honshu, Japan	Dec 13 11:56 AM	4.9	48.0	MAP	I Felt It
EMSC	Azores Islands Region	Dec 13 11:31 AM	4.7	10.0	MAP	I Felt It
GEOFON	Azores Islands Region	Dec 13 11:31 AM	4.7	10.0	MAP	I Felt It
GEOFON	Northern Mid Atlantic Ridge	Dec 13 10:02 AM	4.6	10.0	MAP	I Felt It
USGS	Northern Mid-atlantic Ridge	Dec 13 10:02 AM	4.7	10.1	MAP	I Felt It
EMSC	Northern Mid-atlantic Ridge	Dec 13 10:02 AM	4.6	10.0	MAP	I Felt It
EMSC	Kyrgyzstan	Dec 13 03:52 AM	4.6	1.0	MAP	I Felt It
GEOFON	D'entrecasteaux Islands Region	Dec 13 00:58 AM	5.1	60.0	MAP	I Felt It
EMSC	D'entrecasteaux Islands Region	Dec 13 00:58 AM	5.1	60.0	MAP	I Felt It
USGS	Kermadec Islands, New Zealand	Dec 13 00:53 AM	5.5	64.9	MAP	I Felt It
GEOFON	Kermadec Islands, New Zealand	Dec 13 00:53 AM	5.4	60.0	MAP	I Felt It
EMSC	Kermadec Islands Region	Dec 13 00:53 AM	5.5	59.0	MAP	I Felt It

Small Earthquake Confirmed Near Burleson

CBS,

12 December, 2012

FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM/AP) - The U.S. Geological Survey confirmed that a 2.6-magnitude earthquake shook the ground near Burleson shortly after 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday night.

According to a preliminary report, the earthquake reached a depth of 8.1 miles and was centered about three miles away from Burleson. No damage was reported.

Capt. Kevin Rodricks with the Fort Worth Police Department told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that 911 operators were flooded with phone calls from residents of southwest Fort Worth who reported “a loud bang, followed by tremors.”

“It shook the whole house,” said Tina Enriquez, who is used to earthquakes having grown up in California. “My husband came out of the back and said it felt like the whole house came up and slammed back down.”

Enriquez lives in southwest Fort Worth and said that the temblor lasted about two or three seconds. “It felt like an explosion,” explained the California native. “It was just a little tremble. But it’s still been a long time since I felt the ground rumble beneath me, and it was a little exciting.”

Another southwest Fort Worth resident, Mike Walls, said that the shaking was so mild that he didn’t even know it was an earthquake at first. “I’ve been in an earthquake before,” Walls said, “and it wasn’t anywhere near what I had experienced.” He compared it to the rumble you might feel if a large truck barreled in front of your house.

This is the latest in a string of earthquakes felt across North Texas. A 2.7-magnitude quake shook Midlothian in October. Another occurred on September 30, followed by two more on October 1 — all in the Irving area.

Magnitude 5.7 - EAST OF SEVERNAYA ZEMLYA

2012 December 13 23:03:38 UTC

Earthquake Details

• This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.

Magnitude	5.7
Date-Time	Thursday, December 13, 2012 at 23:03:38 UTC Friday, December 14, 2012 at 07:03:38 AM at epicenter Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location	80.795°N, 121.451°E
Depth	9.9 km (6.2 miles)
Region	EAST OF SEVERNAYA ZEMLYA
Distances	1542 km (958 miles) NNE (21°) from Noril'sk, Russia 2982 km (1853 miles) NNW (339°) from Fairbanks, AK
Location Uncertainty	horizontal +/- 14 km (8.7 miles); depth +/- 2.6 km (1.6 miles)
Parameters	NST=558, Nph=565, Dmin=>999 km, Rmss=1.05 sec, Gp= 22°, M-type=regional moment magnitude (Mw), Version=9
Source	Magnitude: USGS NEIC (WDCS-D) Location: USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Event ID