At least five dead in a 7.6 magnitude earthquake in Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea experienced a 7.6 magnitude earthquake that left at least five dead. According to the United States Geological Survey, the earthquake struck at a depth of 38 miles about 41 miles from the eastern town of Kainantu. The quake shook the country, damaged buildings and triggered landslides. As per information, two persons died in remote mountain villages. Three others were buried alive. Arrangements were made to airlift four others to hospital. They were in critical condition. There was widespread damage as a landslide buried homes and “split” one village where people “lost their houses.” The nation’s leader, James Marape, described the earthquake as “massive.” He advised his people to be cautious and added that the damage would not be as massive as the 2018 earthquake. It had killed an estimated 150 people. Five killed as powerful earthquake strikes Papua New Guinea. The authorities have yet to assess the extent of damage and number of casualties.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Asia and the Pacific said people had suffered injuries from falling structures or debris, and some health centers, homes, rural roads and highways are damaged. There are damages in the power infrastructure with consequent outages across the Eastern Highlands. Residents shared images and videos on social media of cracked roads, damaged buildings and cars, and items falling off supermarket shelves. Small aviation companies and missionary groups involved themselves to airlift some of the injured across the rugged jungle landscape. Locals who resided near the epicenter described the vibration as much more vigorous than previous quakes. Earthquakes are common in Papua New Guinea because it sits on the Pacific Ocean’s “Ring of Fire.” This is a hotspot for seismic activity due to friction between tectonic plates. A 9.1 magnitude quake in Indonesia in 2004 triggered a tsunami that killed 220,000 throughout the region.

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A 6.6 magnitude earthquake hit southwestern China and left at least 65 dead

The quake of magnitude 6.6 struck Sichuan province in China at a depth of 6 miles. Local media reports that the impact led to breakage of telecommunication lines and triggered mountain landslides. These resulted to "serious damage." The quake left 65 people dead. Incidentally, last week the authorities had asked millions of people in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan, to stay at home because of COVID rules. The epicentre of the quake was at Luding. This is a town located about 140 miles (226 Km) in a remote mountain region southwest of Chengdu. The China Earthquake Networks Centre has reported this. The city of Ya'an reports death of 17 people and neighboring prefecture of Ganzi reports 29 deaths. In addition, there were reports of another 16 people missing and 50 injured. The tremors shook buildings in Chengdu and the neighboring mega-city of Chongqing. There was blockage of roads and disruption of communication lines to hundreds of thousands of residents. China quake: Deadly tremor rocks Sichuan city in lockdown. The shocks led to the shut down of a number of power stations in the areas of Garze and Ya'an,

The authorities moved hundreds of rescue personnel to the epicenter and workers tried to remove the roadblocks caused by landslides. Residents of Chengdu saw people trying to vacate their high-rise apartments after receiving alerts of earthquake on their phones. Chengdu became the latest city to be locked down by Chinese authorities, in an attempt to stem the rise in COVID cases. This quake comes several months after a 6.1-magnitude earthquake tore through Sichuan in June. Sichuan lies along the eastern boundary of the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau and is an earthquake-prone area. The earthquake brings into memory an 8.0-magnitude quake, which hit Wenchuan County in northwest Sichuan in 2008. It had left 70,000 dead and led to large-scale destruction.

Flash flood in Afghanistan kills at least 95, sweeps away thousands of homes

Crisis-hit Afghanistan loses lives in flash floods. Apart from deaths, homes have been swept away leaving the people stranded. The country is reeling from an economic and humanitarian crisis. These are because of Western sanctions imposed after the Taliban returned to power last year. It is now the people who are suffering and are at the receiving end. The extreme weather is aggravated by the flooding in neighboring Pakistan. Its Disaster Management Authority reveals floods have killed 820 people since mid-June. Moreover, thousands of homes are damaged or destroyed as are many bridges. These have disturbed the lives of the people and limited the travel options. Nearly 100 dead in Afghanistan floods, officials say.

Deputy Minister of Disaster Management of Afghanistan informed a section of the media that food assistance had been dispatched to many flood-affected areas. Moreover, there are promises from aid organizations for delivery of emergency assistance. However, these might fall short of actual requirements. With winter around the corner, the affected families with women and children would face difficult times. They have lost their shelters. To add to their miseries, they have lost their agricultural farms and orchards. Either these are destroyed or their harvest has been damaged. In fact, their survival is at stake and the situation will worsen in the coming weeks and months. They need help to return to normalcy as soon as possible. An earthquake in Afghanistan in June killed more than 1,000 people and the country has been through a number of natural disasters and extreme weather events. Hence, aid organizations, the United Nations and the global community have to extend help to the flood-affected Afghans. The immediate need is for basic amenities like food, shelter and medicine apart from homes, livelihood and drinking water sources.

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6.5-magnitude quake strikes Aceh in Sumatra - at least 52 feared dead

A shallow 6.5-magnitude quake hit Pidie Jaya district in Aceh and left At least 52 people dead and hundreds injured with devastation all around. There were toppled homes and flattened buildings and people ran to higher ground. There was no alert of any tsunami.
The earthquake struck Aceh province on Indonesia's Sumatra island.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 7 December 2016.

The death toll is likely to increase as rescue crews sift through the rubble to try and locate those trapped below. The destruction is on a massive scale because hundreds of homes, mosques and shops have collapsed. A local hospital and school were also heavily damaged.
The earthquake was felt across much of Aceh - it had been devastated by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
Incidentally, Indonesia experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity which is due to its position on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", where tectonic plates collide.


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7.4-magnitude quake strikes Fukushima prefecture in Japan - Tsunami waves from 30cm to 1.4m seen

A 7.4-magnitude quake struck Fukushima prefecture in Japan and gave rise to Tsunami waves from 30cm to 1.4m seen but, a Tsunami warning issued earlier was later downgraded. Residents were, however, urged to "evacuate immediately".
The earthquake shook buildings in Tokyo, 240 kilometres southwest of the epicentre. Warnings had been issued for waves of up to 3m, but the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre has indicated that the tsunami threat has passed. There were, of course, the chance of fluctuations in sea levels along some coasts and people should remain alert.
This has been reported in nzherald.co.nz dated 22 November 2016.

Officials in Japan are keeping alerts in place because the danger is not over and sea levels are still rising. As a precautionary measure, the cooling system of the number 3 reactor at the Fukushima power plant was temporarily shut down but has, later, been restored. The reactor temperature is under control.
Incidentally, the magnitude of the quake, which struck at 6am Japan time, was initially put at 7.3, before being revised down to 6.9 and then up again to 7.4 - at a depth of 25km.
Earthquakes are common in Japan since it is one of the world's most seismically active areas. It accounts for about 20 per cent of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater. It may be recalled that on March 11, 2011, the quake that struck Fukushima was of magnitude 9 - the strongest quake in Japan on record. It triggered a massive Tsunami and resulted in triggering the world's worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl a quarter of a century earlier.


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New Zealand experiences 7.8-magnitude quake with several aftershocks

A massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck New Zealand in the early hours of Monday followed by a number of aftershocks that has damaged roads and buildings, and sparked a tsunami warning which sent thousands of people fleeing to higher ground. It was later downgraded to coastal warnings.
It has killed two people, including one of a heart attack and its epicenter was located about 57 miles northeast of Christchurch in the country's South Island.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 14 November 2016.

Due to the quake, railway tracks were ripped up and tossed 10 metres, while landslips dumped hundreds of tonnes of debris onto the main highway. In addition, electricity and phones were also down in the coastal town of Kaikoura of 2,000 residents. This town is well known among tourists since it is a base for whale-watching trips.
Prime Minister John Key flew over the destruction in Kaikoura and met locals. He has estimated that the clean-up effort would run into billions of dollars and could take months. He has cancelled a planned trip to Argentina. Incidentally, New Zealand lies on the boundary of two tectonic plates and is on the so-called 'Ring of Fire'. It is an area prone to earthquakes and experiences as many as 15,000 tremors a year.


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6.2 magnitude quake leaves nearly 250 dead - Amatrice turns into a ghost town

It was a 6.2 magnitude quake that struck the town of Amatrice in Italy early morning and left nearly 250 dead with the town resembling a ghost town. The town is a notable summer getaway in central Italy and is famous as the birthplace of a pasta dish made with tomatoes and pork cheeks.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 25 August 2016.

The main quake was followed by a number of strong aftershocks — including one nearly as strong an hour later — that flattened houses and buried residents in the rubble. As Mayor Sergio Pirozzi of Amatrice has revealed to the media - half the town no longer exists. In fact, Amatrice, a quiet mountain town about 100 miles northeast of Rome looked more like a ghost town. It has a permanent population of about 2,000 and is a place where people had ties to Rome in one way or another because of employment or business interests like running restaurants, bars and hotels - food has always been part of the town's culture.
Observers feel that the initial quake was comparable in intensity to the one in 2009 in the central Abruzzo region that took more than 300 lives. The quake and aftershocks were felt as far away as Bologna, Rome and Naples and camps were set up to house hundreds of homeless. The authorities were also trying to take stock of an unknown number of tourists.


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Floods and landslides in Nepal leave at least 77 dead

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This has been reported in thestatesman.com dated 29 July 2016.

Incessant rains have swept away many houses and bridges and, apart from the 77 dead, another nine persons are still missing. The worst-hit district was Pyuthan. In this district, at least 36 have died and dozens of houses have been swept away. Moreover, nearly 200 families have been displaced due to floods and landslides.
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Kumamoto Prefectural official has revealed that the death toll was continuously rising and it stood at 19 from Saturday's magnitude-7.3 quake that shook the Kumamoto region on the southwestern island of Kyushu and another 19 when the second quake of magnitude 6.5 struck Kyushu - it left another 800 injured.
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5.7 magnitude quake strikes Christchurch - cliff collapses in Sumner

#christchurch #earthquake #wellington #sumner A quake of 5.7 magnitude struck Christchurch and it struck a week before the fifth anniversary of the deadly 6.3 magnitude earthquake which killed 185 people on February 22, 2011. However, this time, there are no casualties or serious damage or injuries except for a cliff that has fallen down in Sumner.
This has been reported in nzherald.co.nz dated 14 February 2016.
The epicenter of the severe quake was 15-Km east of the city and was felt as far north as Wellington. The first quake was followed by another, moderate one with a 3.5 magnitude at 10-Km north-east of the city. Aftershocks are believed to be continuing.

There are reports of shelves falling in homes, shops and libraries and two malls, the Riccarton Mall and Northlands Mall, have both been evacuated. As per fire services, there are reports of liquefaction and a burst water mains in Pines Beach, near Kaiapoi. There was also flooding with power lines down in New Brighton.
As a result, the National Crisis Management Centre has been activated. Emergency services have indicated that a cliff had collapsed in Sumner and power has been lost to 450 customers between Burwood and Spencerville and at 100 homes in Akaroa. There is a police cordon at Scarborough Hill blocking access to the fallen cliff.


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#AlHoceima #spain #earthquake It was a strong 6.3-magnitude earthquake that struck the Mediterranean between Morocco and Spain and send the people fleeing for cover. The 20-mile deep quake hit at 5.22am (local time). The location was 39 miles north of the Moroccan city of Al Hoceima and 102 miles east-southeast of Gibraltar as confirmed by the US Geological Survey said.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 25 January 2016.

There were six aftershocks including a 5.3-magnitude tremor but there were no immediate reports of any fatalities. However, emergency services received 250 calls from alarmed residents in the Andalucia region, in southern Spain and tremors and aftershocks were felt throughout the area including in the cities of Malaga, Cordoba, Seville and Granada. Nearly 200 households in the Spanish enclave on the Moroccan coast suffered damage to their properties.
It may be recalled that in February 2004, a strong 6.3-magnitude earthquake had hit near Al Hoceima and killed 631 people. This time the location is same but no report of fatalities. Incidentally, on Sunday, the US state of Alaska was hit by a magnitude-6.8 earthquake.

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7.5 magnitude quake strikes Pakistan, Afghanistan and North India – leaves at least 260 dead

A massive earthquake of 7.5 magnitude on the Richter scale struck the remote Afghan northeast and killed at least 63 people in Afghanistan and 223 in Pakistan and has left hundreds injured. Its shock waves were felt in parts of North India and damaged properties in Jammu and Kashmir. Recue operations are on and the toll could rise.
This has been reported in zeenews.india.com dated 27 October 2015.

The US Geological Survey has identified the epicenter of the earthquake as near Jurm in the Hindu Kush Mountains. It is in the sparsely populated province of Badakhshan, which borders Pakistan, Tajikistan and China. It said the epicenter was 213-Km deep and 73-Km south of the provincial capital, Fayzabad.
The duration of the massive earthquake was nearly one minute and it was followed by at least two aftershocks of magnitudes 4.8 and 4.7 respectively, according to the USGS.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)


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7.9-magnitude quake hits Nepal, brings down Bhimsen Tower, leaves hundreds dead

#BhimsenTower #earthquake #nepalquake #Kathmandu Earthquake of 7.9 magnitude struck Nepal and left hundreds dead with houses damaged and destroyed as reported in news.sky.com dated 25 April 2015. Damages are extensive in the capital Kathmandu. The US Geological Survey has said that the quake struck 80-Km east of the central city of Pokhara which is near the capital.

Dozens of people have been killed after a magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck Nepal causing extensive damage in the capital Kathmandu and bringing down the iconic nine-storey Dharahara tower and trapping over 50 people in the rubble. This 19th Century tourist site is also called the Bhimsen Tower.
It seems many centuries-old temples have also been destroyed.
Initial reports indicate that at least 114 people have been confirmed dead across Nepal as per the home ministry and officials suggest that the figure could rise considerably.
The quake has also, reportedly, triggered a "huge avalanche" on Mount Everest, damaging the Everest base camp. Tremors were felt in neighboring countries like India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. In India, tremors were felt in New Delhi and other northern cities.

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#Hokota #whales #Japan #Tsunami #earthquake As many as 160 melon-headed whales have been stranded on the beaches of Japan near Hokota on the Pacific coast and there are fears of an impending earthquake in the region. This is because a similar phenomenon had been observed during the 2011 Tsunami which devastated Japan.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 13 April 2015.

These whales are in fact a species of dolphin and they have been found to have washed up along a 6-mile (10km) stretch of the Pacific coast of Hokota, located nearly 60 miles (100km) north of Tokyo. Officials are investigating the cause of the stranding.
The fears of an impending earthquake are based on the appearance of 50 melon-headed whales six days before the devastating undersea earthquake in 2011 that resulted in a Tsunami and earthquake and left 19,000 people dead.
In the opinion of experts, the reason could be attributed to some sort of a parasitic infection or the sandy shoals around Hokato city may have also made the animal's sonar ineffective. Another theory suggests that these whales that measure two to three meters in length, could have been trying to avoid predators like killer whales and ventured too close to the shore.

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