Earthquake

Taiwan: Agency Forecasts 10 Percent Chance of Radioactive Fallout Hitting Taiwan

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The chances of radioactive fallout from two Japanese nuclear power plants crippled by Friday’s massive earthquake are not high, the Cabinet-level Atomic Energy Council said yesterday in a statement.

If two plants in Japan’s Fukushima prefecture release large amounts of radiation, the probability of it reaching Taiwan is only 10 percent, the council predicted.

The area most likely to fall victim to radiation from Japan would be Taiwan’s northeastern coast and Monday would be when it would most likely arrive, the council said.

Read moreTaiwan: Agency Forecasts 10 Percent Chance of Radioactive Fallout Hitting Taiwan

Iceland Hit By 400 Earthquakes in 24 Hours, Krisuvik Volcano Shows Activity

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After four days of continues earthquake activity it appears that Krísuvík volcano has stepped up it’s activity by a order of magnitude. Since midnight there have been over 400 earthquakes in Krísuvík volcano. The activity is continuing when this is written and does not show any signs of slowing down at this moment. Geologist in Iceland are expecting more earthquakes in this area over the next hours and even earthquakes that are larger then ML3.0 in size.


Earthquake location 27 Feb 15:40 GMT

The largest earthquakes where ML3.3 and ML3.7 in size. This is automatic size by the SIL system. The depth of the earthquakes was 4.7 km and 1.1 km according to the automatic SIL system. Due to high number of earthquakes the SIL system is putting earthquakes down all around the Reykjanes Peninsula. While there might be some earthquakes there, the number is not nearly as high as can be seen on the map. The earthquakes can be located by there low quality number.

Read moreIceland Hit By 400 Earthquakes in 24 Hours, Krisuvik Volcano Shows Activity

Christchurch earthquake death toll rises with hundreds still missing – Supposedly quake-proof buildings collapsed – Galleries: Earthquake in Christchurch, NZ

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– Galleries: Earthquake in Christchurch, NZ (Daily Telegraph):

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Murray and Kelly James look at their destroyed house in central Christchurch, New Zealand, Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2011. Tuesday’s magnitude-6.3 temblor collapsed buildings, caused extensive other damage and killed dozens of people in the city. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

–  Christchurch earthquake death toll rises with hundreds still missing (The Guardian):

Curfew and cordon thrown around rescue zone in centre of New Zealand city, where 75 are confirmed dead and 300 missing

– Supposedly quake-proof buildings collapsed (Independent):

Perched on the border of two continental plates, New Zealand’s position in the Pacific Ring of Fire is precisely what gives the country much of its astonishing natural beauty. Its mountains, volcanoes and geothermal springs are all the product of intense tectonic activity. But geological beauty can be a double-edged sword.

Technically any new structure built in New Zealand has to be able to withstand intense quakes but footage has shown that, although older buildings in Christchurch seem to have been hit the hardest, plenty of newer ones that should have been able to survive a 6.3 quake have also collapsed.

New Zealand: 6.3 Magnitude Earthquake Devastates Christchurch, Hundreds Feared Dead

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– Live updates: Christchurch quake (TVNZ):

3.15am: There is no water supply to 80 % of Christchurch.

– Latest updates: Christchurch earthquake (+ map) (New Zealand Herald)

– In pictures: Earthquake rocks Christchurch (BBC News)

– New Zealand earthquake: Your pictures (BBC News)

Watch the video here:

– New Zealand’s darkest day: hundreds feared dead (Sydney Morning Herald):

HUNDREDS of people are feared to have been killed in yesterday’s devastating New Zealand earthquake, which has left large parts of the city of Christchurch in ruins.

Rescuers worked through last night searching for survivors among the hundreds of people believed to be trapped inside the wreckage of high-rise buildings in the city centre.

Read moreNew Zealand: 6.3 Magnitude Earthquake Devastates Christchurch, Hundreds Feared Dead

FEMA Video Game Prepares Kids For MEGA-EARTHQUAKES And ALIEN Invasion!

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Don’t miss:

– FEMA Wants to Buy 140 Million Pre-Packaged Meals For A Catastrophic Disaster Event Within The New Madrid Fault System (Required Shelf Life Only 36 Months???)

– FEMA Wants to Buy 140 Million Blankets For A Catastrophic Disaster Event Within The New Madrid Fault System

– FEMA Ready Kids – Let’s Get Ready! Planning Together For Emergencies: Sesame Street Prepares The Nation!


Added: 26. January 2011

– New video game teaches children about preparedness, earthquake safety (Ready.Illinois.Gov)

A new video game offers a fun way for young people to learn about emergency preparedness and earthquake safety. The video game, entitled “The Day the Earth Shook,” helps players learn about items needed for a disaster preparedness kit, as well as safe and dangerous locations in a home when an earthquake occurs. Once players successfully complete the game for the first time, they can replay it for scores that would land them on the leader board. The video game can be downloaded here.

The game was developed by the Electronic Visualization Lab at the University of Illinois at Chicago, the National Center for Supercomputing Applications and the Center for Public Safety and Justice, which is within the Institute of Government and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois.

Physicist Michio Kaku Warns the World Citizens: Potential Mega Earthquake To Destroy Cities Like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Mexico City, Tehran And Tokyo

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And Kaku knows what he is talking about:

– HAARP Project Bluebeam

In case you want to know on which side Kaku is standing:

– Physicist Michio Kaku’s New World Order Speech: ‘If You Are Against World Government You Are A Terrorist’


“In our life time, we could very well see one of these cities destroyed,” Kaku said. “Los Angeles, San Francisco, Mexico City, Tehran, Tokyo.”

Physicist and author of “Physics of the Future” Michio Kaku warned world citizens this morning on Good Morning America about the pending threat of enormous  earthquakes.

Kaku pointed to changes in the physical structures of human civilization, and how the new composure poses many risks. “We are creating mega cities where there used to be fishing villages,” he said.

About the many disasters this year, he said: “Well, look at the Chilean earthquake. You realize it was so big it actually rocked the planet earth. The axis of the earth shifted 3 inches as a result of that 8.8 earthquake. The day is no longer 24 hours, it’s been shortened by one micro-second, That’s how big that earthquake was.”

Read morePhysicist Michio Kaku Warns the World Citizens: Potential Mega Earthquake To Destroy Cities Like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Mexico City, Tehran And Tokyo

Major 7.3 Earthquake Strikes Islands in South Pacific

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(AFP) — A 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck off New Caledonia’s Loyalty Islands in the South Pacific, the US Geological Survey said Friday, but there was no tsunami warning in effect.

There were no immediate reports of damage from the quake, which hit at 3.16 am (1616 GMT Thursday) at a shallow depth of 7.2 kilometres (4.5 miles), 125 kilometres (77 miles) northeast of Tadine in the Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia, and 135 kilometres southwest of Vanuatu.

Read moreMajor 7.3 Earthquake Strikes Islands in South Pacific

Strong 7.0 Earthquake Hits Northern Argentina

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BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — A strong earthquake has struck in northern Argentina, but it was not immediately clear if there were any injuries or damage.

The U.S. Geological Survey said Saturday that the magnitude-7.0 quake hit at 6:56 a.m. about 150 kilometers (115 miles) northeast of Santiago del Estero at a depth of 563 kilometers (350 miles).

Read moreStrong 7.0 Earthquake Hits Northern Argentina

UK Police Earthquake Training For ‘Extremely Unlikely Crisis’ Costs £826,000

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Just a waste of money or do they know something that you don’t?

Hundreds of police officers undertook a three-day course on how to deal with powerful earthquakes even though Britain has never experienced any such event.

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Fire and rescue crews from across Europe and the Middle East took part in a major exercise simulating an earthquake hitting

Britain endures its fair share of elemental hardships: floods, storms, and even the occasional tornado. It is not, however, known for its high risk of catastrophic earthquakes.

But that did not stop police officers undertaking a three-day course training them to deal with a devastating tremor.

Officers from four British forces participated in the £826,000 exercise that simulated the consequences from a tremor measuring eight on the Richter scale hitting the country – something that has never happened and probably never will.

The teams were called in to work with European and Middle Eastern officials for the “extremely unlikely” crisis.

Hundreds of actors were also employed to recreate the mock disaster scenes across the country.

Critics suggested the three day exercise, one of the largest ever undertaken, was a waste of valuable resources as it would almost never occur in Britain.

Senior officials, however, felt it “necessary” to be prepared for such an “unthinkable” event despite just 11 people dying from earthquakes in Britain over the past 1000 years.

Read moreUK Police Earthquake Training For ‘Extremely Unlikely Crisis’ Costs £826,000

New Zealand Earthquake Causes New 3.5M-Wide Fault Line in Earth’s Surface, Christchurch Under Curfew, State Of Emergency Declared

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* At least 500 buildings destroyed after quake
* Water and supplies starting to return to city
* Earthquake rips open new faultline

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A man walks over a damaged road in Paiapoi, 20 kilometres south of Christchurch following the weekend’s devastating earthquake / AP

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The powerful 7.1-magnitude earthquake smashed buildings, cracked roads and twisted rail lines around the city / AP

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THE powerful earthquake that smashed buildings, cracked roads and twisted rail lines in Christchurch also ripped a new 3.5m-wide fault line in the Earth’s surface.

At least 500 buildings were destroyed in the 7.1-magnitude quake that struck New Zealand at 4.35am on Saturday near the South Island city of about 400,000 people.

The earthquake cut power across the region, roads were blocked by debris, and gas and water supplies were disrupted.

Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker yesterday said power had been restored to 90 per cent of the city and water supply had resumed for all but 15 to 20 per cent of residents.

Read moreNew Zealand Earthquake Causes New 3.5M-Wide Fault Line in Earth’s Surface, Christchurch Under Curfew, State Of Emergency Declared

Gerald Celente: This time they will close the Banks & Wall Street (03/27/10)

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‘Fascism is coming to America’


Added: 28th Mar 10

More from Gerald Celente:

– Gerald Celente: ‘It’s the greatest bank robbery in world history and the banks are doing the robbing.’

– Gerald Celente: ‘The Crash is Coming in 2010.’

– The No.1 Trend Forecaster Gerald Celente: Financial Mafia Controlling US and Wall Street

– Survivor, America: ‘It’s Only Going to Get Worse,’ Gerald Celente Says

– The No.1 Trend Forecaster Gerald Celente: The Terror And The Crash of 2010

If Nostradamus were alive today, he’d have a hard time keeping up with Gerald Celente.
– New York Post

When CNN wants to know about the Top Trends, we ask Gerald Celente.
– CNN Headline News

There’s not a better trend forecaster than Gerald Celente. The man knows what he’s talking about.
– CNBC

Those who take their predictions seriously … consider the Trends Research Institute.
– The Wall Street Journal

A network of 25 experts whose range of specialties would rival many university faculties.
– The Economist

CHILE EARTHQUAKE: 8.8 Magnitude Quake Hits Chile, 1,000 Times More Powerful Than The Haiti Earthquake

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A milder earthquake hit Japan:

– Japan Earthquake: Tsunami Warnings Downgraded After 7.0 Quake Off Japan Coast (Huffington Post)

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Rescuers searched for victims and survivors after an apartment complex collapsed in Concepcion.

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A woman sat in front a quake-damaged house in Talca, Chile. Residents were also jolted by at least 20 aftershocks measuring over 5.0 on the magnitude scale, with one topping 6.9.

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A photo of Santiago, Chile after the quake. Uploaded by Twitter user @Gonzalezcarcey.

UPDATE: 8:25 a.m. — 1,000 times more powerful than the Haiti earthquake– From the New York Times:

Phone lines were down in Concepcion as of 7:30 a.m. and no reports were coming out of that area. The quake in Chile was 1,000 times more powerful than the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that caused widespread damage in Haiti on Jan 12, killing at least 230,000, earthquake experts reported on CNN International.

UPDATE: 8:00 a.m. — 78 and rising — AP now reports that the death toll is at 78 and rising. Officials have no information yet on number of injured.

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“Calm after #terremoto. Impressive to see Divine Church Providence without cupola.” Photo uploaded to Twitpic by Twitter user @HMartinez.

UPDATE: 6:43 a.m. — 47 dead — Reuters now reports that 47 people have died in the quake.

President Michele Bachelet has declared a “state of catastrophe,” according to the Associated Press:

SANTIAGO, Chile – A massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck Chile early Saturday, collapsing buildings, killing at least 16 people and downing phone lines. President Michele Bachelet declared a “state of catastrophe” in central Chile and said the death toll was rising.Tsunami warnings were issued over a wide area, including South America, Hawaii, Australia and New Zealand, Japan, the Philippines, Russia and many Pacific islands.

“We have had a huge earthquake, with some aftershocks,” Bachelet said, appealing from an emergency response center for Chileans to remain calm. “Despite this, the system is
functioning. People should remain calm. We’re doing everything we can with all the forces we have. Any information we will share immediately.”

Bachelet said early reports were that 16 people had been killed, and “without a doubt, with an earthquake of this magnitude, there will be more deaths.”

In the 2 1/2 hours following the 90-second quake, the U.S. Geological Survey reported 11 aftershocks, of which five measured 6.0 or above.

She urged people to avoid traveling in the dark, since traffic lights are down, to avoid causing more fatalities.

The quake hit 200 miles (325 kilometers) southwest of the capital, Santiago, at a depth of 22 miles (35 kilometers) at 3:34 a.m. (0634 GMT; 1:34 a.m. EST), the U.S. Geological Survey reported.

The epicenter was just 70 miles (115 kilometers) from Concepcion, Chile’s second-largest city, where more than 200,000 people live along the Bio Bio river, and 60 miles from the ski town of Chillan, a gateway to Andean ski resorts that was destroyed in a 1939 earthquake.

In Santiago, the capital, modern buildings are built to withstand earthquakes, but many older ones were heavily damaged, including the Nuestra Senora de la Providencia church, whose bell tower collapsed. An apartment building’s two-level parking lot also flattened onto the ground floor, smashing about 50 cars whose alarms and horns rang incessantly. A bridge just outside the capital also collapsed, and at least one car flipped upside down.

In the coastal city of Vina del Mar, the earthquake struck just as people were leaving a disco, Julio Alvarez told Radio Cooperativa in Santiago. “It was very bad, people were screaming, some people were running, others appeared paralyzed. I was one of them.”

Bachelet said she was declaring a “state of catastrophe” in 3 central regions of the country, and that while emergency responders were waiting for first light to get details, it was evident that damage was extensive.

UPDATE: 5:56 a.m. — 17 dead — At least 17 people have died in Chile’s earthquake, according to radio reports from Santiago. Reuters:

Local radio said 17 people were killed and President Michelle Bachelet confirmed six deaths, saying more were possible. Telephone and power lines were down, making a quick damage assessment difficult in the early morning darkness.”Never in my life have I experienced a quake like this, it’s like the end of the world,” one man told local television from the city of Temuco, where the quake damaged buildings and forced staff to evacuate the regional hospital.

UPDATE: 4:49 a.m. — Live broadcast — A USTREAM webcast of CNN’s live coverage of the Chile earthquake:

Read moreCHILE EARTHQUAKE: 8.8 Magnitude Quake Hits Chile, 1,000 Times More Powerful Than The Haiti Earthquake

Haiti Hit by Strong 6.1 Magnitude Quake, Shaking Buildings

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French rescuers work on a victim in a collapsed building, one week after the earthquake in Port-au-Prince, on Jan. 19, 2010. Photographer: Juan Barreto/AFP/Getty Images

Jan. 20 (Bloomberg) — An earthquake measuring 6.1 struck Haiti today, eight days after the devastating temblor that may have killed more than 200,000 people, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The quake was centered 59 kilometers (36 miles) to the west-southwest of the capital Port-au-Prince at a depth of 9 kilometers, the USGS said in a preliminary e-mailed report. It struck at 6:03 a.m. local time, the USGS said.

Rescue workers with the New York police and fire departments reported “violent shaking” from the tremor yet were able to continue working, according to an e-mailed statement from the police department. The 76-member team, which includes four police dogs, pulled two children alive from the rubble of a brick building last night.

Buildings shook in Port-au-Prince and people fled to the streets, the Associated Press reported. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the earthquake was located too far inland to generate any tidal waves in the Caribbean, AP said.

“We felt the quake but it wasn’t too bad,” said Tamar Hahn, an aid worker with the United Nations Children’s Fund, in an interview on Argentina’s C5N television. “They say it was a 6.1 but it didn’t feel so strong.”

Read moreHaiti Hit by Strong 6.1 Magnitude Quake, Shaking Buildings

Yellowstone National Park hit by swarm of earthquakes

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Old Faithful from Observation Point

Yellowstone National Park has been rattled by more than 250 earthquakes in the past two days following a period of 11 months of quiet seismic activity in the park.

The quakes have been gaining strength, with a 3.1 tremor recorded at 11:03 a.m. today. A 2.9 quake was recorded at 12:38 p.m.

Prof. Robert B. Smith, a geophysicist at the University of Utah and one of the leading experts on earthquake and volcanic activity at Yellowstone, said that the activity is a “notable swarm.”

“The swarm is located about 10 miles northwest of Old Faithful, Wyo., and nine miles southeast of West Yellowstone, Montana,” said Smith.

Read moreYellowstone National Park hit by swarm of earthquakes

Haiti: Gangs Armed With Machetes Loot Port-Au-Prince

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Gangs Takeover Port-au-Prince


Added: 14. Januar 2010

Related information:

– Haiti Earthquake: Law And Order Breaks Down; Who’s Running Haiti? No One, Say The People

Central Business District Resembles Hell On Earth As Bodies Pile Up And Armed Men Battle Over Food, Supplies

gangs-armed-with-machetes-loot-port-au-prince
Gangs of men armed with machetes were seen looting parts of Port-au-Prince, Haiti on Jan. 14, 2010.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (CBS) ? The earthquake aftermath has brought out the best and worst of the people of Haiti.

Much like the days after Hurricane Katrina, looting has become a problem very quickly.

The looting appears to be isolated to Port-au-Prince’s old commercial center. It’s an area that under normal circumstances would be filled with many shops, markets and a few homes. But on Wednesday it was a completely different scene.

It looked like a war zone.

Some of the buildings were on fire. Smoke was everywhere and there were bodies in the streets, many just quake victims lying where they were when the magnitude 7.0 blast hit.

What made the situation that much more tense was sightings of gangs of young men with machetes. On Wednesday they were seen getting into stores and taking all the supplies they could carry. The armed men were seen marching up and down the streets with machetes raised and the competition among the gangs turned quite fierce.

Fights between gangs were seen on the streets. Machetes were flailing and it was impossible to predict what would happen next.

There was no sign of police or any kind of law and order.

Read moreHaiti: Gangs Armed With Machetes Loot Port-Au-Prince

Haiti Earthquake: Law And Order Breaks Down; Who’s Running Haiti? No One, Say The People

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– Who’s running Haiti? No one, say the people (Reuters):

PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) – Desperate Haitians turned rubble-strewn streets and parks into makeshift hospitals and refugee camps on Thursday in the absence of any noticeable response from authorities in Haiti after Tuesday’s earthquake.

With the 7.0 magnitude earthquake collapsing the presidential palace, a string of ministries and the headquarters of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in the country, Haiti faces a dangerous vacuum in security and government.

The Caribbean nation of 9 million people, the poorest in the western hemisphere, has a turbulent history of conflict, social turmoil, dictatorship, fragile institutions and devastating natural catastrophes.

Many in the capital Port-au-Prince picked away at shattered buildings with bare hands, sticks and hammers hoping to find loved-ones alive. Thousands of homeless people began to set up their own camps anywhere they could, the biggest right opposite the collapsed presidential palace.

“Look at us. Who is helping us? Right now, nobody,” said Jean Malesta, a 19-year-old student who was the only survivor when her apartment building collapsed from the powerful quake that has killed thousands, possibly tens of thousands.

She and a dozen others lay under a tent they had set up in the park opposite President Rene Preval’s palace. His weak and under-resourced government appears totally unequipped to handle the crisis, its officials in disarray and nowhere to be seen.

‘WE ARE ON OUR OWN’

“So far, they have brought us nothing. We need water, food, shelter, everything, but we are on our own,” Malesta added, to cries of agreement from women sitting and lying around her.

Law and order began to break down in Haiti yesterday as “constant” gunshots were heard across the capital and shops were looted.

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A resident loots food from the Caribbean supermarket in downtown Port-au-Prince after a major earthquake hit Haitian capital. REUTERS

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Aid groups in Port-au-Prince said the relief effort could be hampered by the deteriorating security situation as criminals and desperate locals fought for the scarce resources. AFP

More than 3,500 US troops are due to arrive in the country by the end of the week to bolster around 3,000 police and international peacekeepers who were said to have been deployed to secure the airport, port and main buildings.

But charity workers said they had seen little evidence of the security measures and warned of widespread looting and fights breaking out over dwindling water supplies.

Inmates escaped from the damaged main prison in Port au Prince on Tuesday when it collapsed in the earthquake.

Thieves were blamed for starting at least one mass panic in the city’s central square during the night, spreading rumours that a tidal wave was coming so they could steal the belongings left behind by hundreds of fleeing people.

Thieves also descended on a half-collapsed supermarket in the Delmas area of Port-au-Prince, carrying out electronics and bags of rice. Others siphoned gasoline from a wrecked tanker.

“All the policemen are busy rescuing and burying their own families,” said tile factory owner Manuel Deheusch. “They don’t have the time to patrol the streets.”

With law enforcement stretched thin even before the earthquake and the UN’s 9,000 peacekeepers distracted by the collapse of their headquarters and the loss of up to 100 staff, the country is ill-equipped to deal with major unrest.

Read moreHaiti Earthquake: Law And Order Breaks Down; Who’s Running Haiti? No One, Say The People

Haiti President René Préval: Earthquake Devastation ‘Unimaginable’

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• Tens of thousands lose homes in 7.0 magnitude quake

• UN headquarters, schools and hospitals collapse


Footage of the earthquake’s aftermath. Contains disturbing images Link to this video

René Préval, the president of Haiti, has described the devastation after last night’s earthquake as “unimaginable” as governments and aid agencies around the world rushed into action.

Préval described how he had been forced to step over dead bodies and heard the cries of those trapped under the rubble of the national parliament. “Parliament has collapsed. The tax office has collapsed. Schools have collapsed. Hospitals have collapsed,” he told the Miami Herald. “There are a lot of schools that have a lot of dead people in them.” Préval said he thought thousands of people had died in the quake.

A 7.0 magnitude quake – the biggest recorded in this part of the Caribbean and the largest to hit Haiti in more than 200 years – rocked Port-au-Prince, destroying a hospital and sending houses tumbling into ravines.

Read moreHaiti President René Préval: Earthquake Devastation ‘Unimaginable’

Tsunami Hits Samoa Islands, Dozens Die

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Update:
– Samoa Tsunami Kills 141 Before Quake Prompts Indian Ocean Watch (Bloomberg)

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The downtown of Fagatoga was flooded when a tsunami hit American Samoa early on Tuesday. (AP)

SYDNEY, Australia — A powerful tsunami generated by an undersea earthquake killed more than two dozen people and wiped out several villages in the tropical islands of American Samoa and Samoa early on Tuesday there, according to officials and local residents who were working to assess the damage.

The earthquake struck around dawn, as many residents were preparing for work and getting their children ready for school. Officials said they expected heavy damage in the southern parts of Samoa and American Samoa, a United States territory with about 60,000 residents.

Damaged telephone lines on both islands hampered efforts to count the casualties and assess the destruction from the earthquake, with a magnitude of 8.0. It struck below the ocean about 120 miles southwest of American Samoa and 125 miles south of Samoa, and it was centered only 11 miles below the seabed, according to the United States Geological Survey.

At least 14 people were killed in American Samoa, the territory’s governor, Togiola T. A. Tulafono, said at a news conference in Hawaii. The toll could rise as emergency workers gain access to damaged areas, he and other officials said.

Read moreTsunami Hits Samoa Islands, Dozens Die

Grim conditions force Chinese president to revisit site of Sichuan earthquake

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Hu Jintao has made his first visit back to the earthquake zone since the disaster struck in May after it emerged that millions of people were still homeless.


Destroyed buildings in Beichuan last May Photo: AFP/GETTY

Only a handful of the five million people whose homes were destroyed by the strongest earthquake to hit China in half-a-century have managed to rebuild before the arrival of winter.

Piles of bricks and bags of cement line the road to Beichuan, near the epicentre of the quake, as peasants desperately try to erect structures that will shield them from the elements. The temperature in this mountainous region has already dipped to zero and will fall to as much as minus 20 degrees centigrade in the coming months.

As he surveyed the refugee camps, where the cold weather has triggered flu outbreaks, Mr Hu said: “The most important thing is to make sure all people are housed, have clothes and quilts to resist the cold, have enough food for the winter and coming spring and [that] medical services and epidemic prevention are in place.”

Hong Xiuqiong, 34, lives in a shack made of reclaimed wood and with a straw roof. “The government has stopped paying out the relief money and we have barely any food,” she said. “We only have a plastic sheet to wrap around the hut to try to make it waterproof.”

Mrs Hong, who lives with her baby, her husband and his family in the tiny hut, said she thought her 90-year-old father-in-law “may not make it”. She added: “I was tempted to commit suicide myself after the earthquake.”

Read moreGrim conditions force Chinese president to revisit site of Sichuan earthquake

UPDATE: Scientists Eye Unusual Swarm of Yellowstone Quakes

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For three straight days, Yellowstone National Park has been shaken by a serise of small earthquakes. Scientists are watching to see whether the tremors are signaling something bigger to come. (ABC News Photo Illustration)

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) – Yellowstone National Park was jostled by a host of small earthquakes for a third straight day Monday, and scientists watched closely to see whether the more than 250 tremors were a sign of something bigger to come. Swarms of small earthquakes happen frequently in Yellowstone, but it’s very unusual for so many earthquakes to happen over several days, said Robert Smith, a professor of geophysics at the University of Utah.

“They’re certainly not normal,” Smith said. “We haven’t had earthquakes in this energy or extent in many years.”

Smith directs the Yellowstone Seismic Network, which operates seismic stations around the park. He said the quakes have ranged in strength from barely detectable to one of magnitude 3.8 that happened Saturday. A magnitude 4 quake is capable of producing moderate damage.

“This is an active volcanic and tectonic area, and these are the kinds of things we have to pay attention to,” Smith said. “We might be seeing something precursory.

Related article:
– Yellowstone National Park Hit by Hundreds of Small Earthquakes (Bloomberg)

“Could it develop into a bigger fault or something related to hydrothermal activity? We don’t know. That’s what we’re there to do, to monitor it for public safety.”

Read moreUPDATE: Scientists Eye Unusual Swarm of Yellowstone Quakes

Government warns of catastrophic U.S. quake

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KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) – People in a vast seismic zone in the southern and midwestern United States would face catastrophic damage if a major earthquake struck there and should ensure that builders keep that risk in mind, a government report said on Thursday.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency said if earthquakes strike in what geologists define as the New Madrid Seismic Zone, they would cause “the highest economic losses due to a natural disaster in the United States.”

FEMA predicted a large earthquake would cause “widespread and catastrophic physical damage” across Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee — home to some 44 million people.

Tennessee is likely to be hardest hit, according to the study that sought to gauge the impact of a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in order to guide the government’s response.

In Tennessee alone, it forecast hundreds of collapsed bridges, tens of thousands of severely damaged buildings and a half a million households without water.

Read moreGovernment warns of catastrophic U.S. quake

Two strong Earthquakes hit Japan and Indonesia, but no tsunami

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Two strong off shore earthquakes have struck Asia, triggering tsunami alerts and evacuations in coastal towns.

Separate earthquakes hit off the coasts of northern Japan and Indonesia, but neither ultimately produced damaging waves and there were no reports of damage or casualties.

The most powerful tremor, with a preliminary magnitude of 7.0, hit off the coast of Hokkaido, Japan at a depth of 12 miles at 9.21am local time.

Read moreTwo strong Earthquakes hit Japan and Indonesia, but no tsunami

Earthquake Destroyed China’s Largest Military Armory, Says Source

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A high-level Chinese military source secretly disclosed last week that the recent earthquake in Sichuan Province caused a chain-reaction of explosions in the Sichuan mountain areas. The explosions destroyed Chinese army’s largest armory, new weapon test bases and part of nuclear facilities including several nuclear warheads. This information is considered China’s top military secret.

After the earthquake, Chinese authorities had ignored the disaster victim’s initial calls for help. Only after the first critical 72 hours had passed did the authorities allow international aid to be delivered to the disaster region. Military analysts believe that this delay occurred because Mianyang City of Sichuan Province is one of important areas for the Chinese military nuclear industries and also its largest armory. The Chinese regime did not want potential spies from the outside world in this very sensitive military area during a time when there may have been a nuclear accident.


“I went to see the site of the explosion again. Villagers on the road told me, ‘These concrete blocks and soil were from the explosion,'” said a medical team member. (Photo provided by mainland Chinese Internet Users)

According to sources, a nuclear accident did happen. On June 27, the Chinese military disclosed that 2,700 chemical cleanup workers had been sent to earthquake disaster areas for nuclear chemical emergency rescue.


A villager said, “At that time, I heard a huge explosion and saw red substances tens of meters high rising off the mountain. This scared me to death.” (Picture provided by mainland Chinese Internet Users)

After carefully analyzing seismic data, military experts in southeast Asia confirmed a non-geological shock had occurred at the earthquake epicenter. The energy released was equivalent to that of an underground nuclear explosion.

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