Tag: earthquake

The Huge Magnitude 6.5 Earthquake That Just Hit Idaho Continues Alarming Trend Of Western Quakes

– March 30, 2020

Why has the western United States suddenly been shaking so violently over the past several weeks?  On Tuesday, the constant barrage of headlines about the coronavirus pandemic was interrupted by an enormous earthquake that hit central Idaho.  Of course Idaho is not exactly known for earthquakes, and so this was quite a surprise.  In fact, the largest quake in Idaho history was the magnitude 6.9 Borah Peak earthquake in 1983.  So when a magnitude 6.5 earthquake stuck not too far from Boise on Tuesday, it really stunned a whole lot of people.  And according to the Spokesman-Review, this quake could be felt as far away as Calgary…

An earthquake hit southern Idaho on Tuesday afternoon, with shakes felt as far as Calgary, Canada, Boise and Spokane.

The United States Geological Survey measured a 6.5-magnitude earthquake at a depth of 10 miles just before 5 p.m. The center of the quake took place about 45 miles west of Challis, Idaho.

This is an event that those living up in the Northwest will remember for a long time to come.  There was a tremendous amount of shaking all over the region, and according to at least one report some people actually “ran outside yelling”…

An entry in Volcano Discovery said: “Sustained moderate shaking for several minutes, Rumbling sound heard, people ran outside yelling. Knickknacks fell off shelf.

“Items suspended from ceiling/beams still slightly swaying 10 minutes later.”

All the way over in Helena, Montana someone described the shaking like being “on a small ship at sea during a storm”, and a restaurant owner in Stanley, Idaho reported that “the water next to me is still vibrating”…

The epicenter of this earthquake was approximately 78 miles from Boise and approximately 330 miles from Yellowstone.

Needless to say, any major seismic event anywhere near Yellowstone is a cause for concern.

http://endoftheamericandream.com

New Active Earthquake Faults Discovered Near Mount Hood Could Trigger M7.2 Quake And Devastate Everything As Far As Portland, Oregon

Strange Sounds – March 24, 2020

Mount Hood is a potentially active stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc of northern Oregon.

Researchers have newly discovered active fault lines on Mount Hood that could potentially trigger a 7.2 magnitude earthquake, devastating communities and infrastructure as far west as Portland.

As shown in the maps and video below, the newly discovered fault networks are located to the north, south and southwest of Mt. Hood and extend to the Columbia River.

A 7.2 magnitude earthquake is larger than the 1989 earthquake near the San Francisco Bay Area.

Moreover, the faults on Mount Hood are closer to Portland that the epicenter of the 1989 earthquake was to San Francisco.

mount hood earthquake risk, new fault lines discovered under mount hood, mount hood new fault lines
Map of the new fault lines discovered to the North of Mount Hood extend to the Columbia River. Map via GSOC

This would be a crustal earthquake as opposed to the Cascadia subduction zone earthquake Portland has been bracing for.

Subduction zone quakes are deeper below the surface, they last longer — as long as seven minutes — but they are lower in amplitude.

The kind of quake we would get from Mt. Hood would be shorter — 20 seconds to less than a minute — and would be strong enough to knock you off your feet.

https://strangesounds.org

Fukushima: How the ocean became a dumping ground for radioactive waste

DW – March 11, 2020

The nuclear disaster at Fukushima sent an unprecedented amount of radiation into the Pacific. But, before then, atomic bomb tests and radioactive waste were contaminating the sea — the effects are still being felt today.

Almost 1.2 million liters (320,000 gallons) of radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant is to be released into the ocean. That’s on the recommendation of the government’s advisory panel some nine years after the nuclear disaster on Japan’s east coast. The contaminated water has since been used to cool the destroyed reactor blocks to prevent further nuclear meltdowns. It is currently being stored in large tanks, but those are expected to be full by 2022.

Exactly how the water should be dealt with has become highly controversial in Japan, not least because the nuclear disaster caused extreme contamination off the coast of Fukushima. At the time, radioactive water flowed “directly into the sea, in quantities we have never seen before in the marine world,” Sabine Charmasson from the French Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) tells DW.

Radiation levels in the sea off Fukushima were millions of times higher than the government’s limit of 100 becquerels. And still today, radioactive substances can be detected off the coast of Japan and in other parts of the Pacific. They’ve even been measured in very small quantities off the US west coast in concentrations “well below the harmful levels set by the World Health Organization,” according to Vincent Rossi, an oceanographer at France’s Mediterranean Institute of Oceanography (MIO).

But that doesn’t mean there’s no risk, says Horst Hamm of the Nuclear Free Future Foundation. “A single becquerel that gets into our body is enough to damage a cell that will eventually become a cancer cell,” he says.

A study from the European Parliament reached a similar conclusion. The research found that “even the smallest possible dose, a photon passing through a cell nucleus, carries a cancer risk. Although this risk is extremely small, it is still a risk.”

And that risk is growing. Radioactive pollution in the ocean has been increasing globally — and not just since the disaster at Fukushima.

https://www.dw.com

This dome in the Pacific houses tons of radioactive waste – and it’s leaking

The Gaurdian – February 28, 2020

Black seabirds circle high above the giant concrete dome that rises from a tangle of green vines just a few paces from the lapping waves of the Pacific. Half buried in the sand, the vast structure looks like a downed UFO.

At the summit, figures carved into the weathered concrete state only the year of construction: 1979. Officially, this vast structure is known as the Runit Dome. Locals call it The Tomb.

Below the 18-inch concrete cap rests the United States’ cold war legacy to this remote corner of the Pacific Ocean: 111,000 cubic yards of radioactive debris left behind after 12 years of nuclear tests.

Brackish water pools around the edge of the dome, where sections of concrete have started to crack away. Underground, radioactive waste has already started to leach out of the crater: according to a 2013 report by the US Department of Energy, soil around the dome is already more contaminated than its contents.

Now locals, scientists and environmental activists fear that a storm surge, typhoon or other cataclysmic event brought on by climate change could tear the concrete mantel wide open, releasing its contents into the Pacific Ocean.

“Runit Dome represents a tragic confluence of nuclear testing and climate change,” said Michael Gerrard, director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University, who visited the dome in 2010.

“It resulted from US nuclear testing and the leaving behind of large quantities of plutonium,” he said. “Now it has been gradually submerged as result of sea level rise from greenhouse gas emissions by industrial countries led by the United States.”

Enewetak Atoll, and the much better-known Bikini Atoll, were the main sites of the United States Pacific Proving Grounds, the setting for dozens of atomic explosions during the early years of the cold war.

https://www.theguardian.com

10 Plagues That Are Hitting Our Planet Simultaneously

– February 17, 2020

All of a sudden, really crazy things are starting to happen all over the world.  Giant swarms of locusts are absolutely devastating entire regions, extremely unusual storms are confounding meteorologists, earthquake and volcanic activity are both on the rise, and five very dangerous diseases are sweeping across the globe.  So far in 2020, it has just been one thing after another, and many are speculating about what could be ahead if events continue to escalate.  The other day my wife mentioned that one of her friends suggested that I should put together a list of all the weird stuff that has been taking place, and so that is what I have decided to do.  The following is a list of 10 plagues that are hitting our planet simultaneously…

#1 Armies Of Locusts – As I detailed the other day, swarms of locusts the size of major cities have been devouring entire farms in Africa in as little as 30 seconds.  These swarms have also been spreading throughout the Middle East, and now we have learned that they have even reached China…

#2 Extremely Bizarre Weather Patterns – It is almost as if virtually all of the old rules have suddenly been thrown out the window.  An all-time record 209 mph wind gust just hit Calfiornia, and absolutely crazy storms are happening all over the planet.  For example, just check out what just took place in Australia…

#3 Unprecedented Flooding – We are seeing unusual flooding all over the world right now, and the flooding that is devastating the southern U.S. at this moment is being called “unprecedented”…

#4 Major Earthquakes – Really big earthquakes are happening with such frequency now that it is very difficult for me to write about them all.  For example, a magnitude 7.7 quake recently struck off of the coast of Jamaica, but I have been so busy writing about other disasters that I have not even mentioned it until now…

#5 Unusual Volcanic Eruptions – Seismic activity has been rising all over the globe, and over the past couple of months we have seen volcanoes all over the world pop off like firecrackers.  One of the most notable eruptions that we have seen in recent days was the most powerful eruption of Mount Merapi in 90 years…

http://endoftheamericandream.com

6.8 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Eastern Turkey – EMSC

Sputnik News – January 24, 2020

A strong 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck eastern Turkey at 17:55:10 GMT, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) reported. The epicentre of the earthquake was located 210 kilometres northeast of Gaziantep and 10 kilometres north of Doganyol, Turkey at a depth of two kilometres, according to the centre.

Fourteen people have been killed in the quake, Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority said.

According to the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority, tents and warm blankets have been sent to the region affected by the quake.

According to the EMSC, the earthquake was felt in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Israel.

“A 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck near the city of Sivrice at 20:55 [17:50 GMT]. The epicentre was located at a depth of 7 kilometres. There is no information about any damage and victims yet”, Mehmet Gulluoglu, the head of the country’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority, said, as aired by the Turkish NTV broadcaster.

https://sputniknews.com

Officials block villagers as quakes shake Philippine volcano

AARON FAVILA and JIM GOMEZ – January 16,2020

LEMERY, Philippines (AP) — A Philippine volcano that erupted last weekend belched smaller plumes of ash but shuddered frequently with earthquakes Thursday, prompting authorities to block access to nearby towns due to fears of a bigger eruption.

A crater lake and nearby river on the Taal volcano dried up in signs of its continued restiveness, and officials have warned people against speculating that the five-day eruption is waning.

“We have a seeming lull, but, again, as we emphasized earlier, there is something different happening beneath the volcano,” Ma. Antonio Bornas of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology told reporters, citing continued tremors, steaming and other signs of magma movement.

Renato Solidum, who heads the institute, said it may take up to two weeks for experts to assess whether the volcano’s restiveness has eased. The Taal area has remained just a notch down from the highest level of a five-step alert system the institute uses to warn the public of a volcano’s danger.

Soldiers and police blocked villagers from going back to the island volcano and nearby towns to retrieve belongings, poultry and cattle.

Many houses and farms have been damaged by volcanic ash since the eruption started Sunday, though no deaths or major injuries have been reported after tens of thousands of people evacuated.

A 65-year-old woman died of a heart attack while being moved out of Taal town in Batangas province but officials said she had been ill and may have been stressed by the calamity. Batangas province lies more than 65 kilometers (40 miles) south of the capital, Manila.

Amid warnings of a possible imminent and more dangerous eruption, police cordoned off at least four towns near shores of a lake that surrounds the volcano. The move sparked arguments with villagers.

https://apnews.com

Over 1000 Earthquakes Have Hit Puerto Rico, And Authorities Say It Is Being “Squeezed” Between Two Tectonic Plates

– January 8, 2020

The nightmarish earthquake swarm that has been rattling Puerto Rico since last month continues to make headlines all over the world.  Homes, businesses, schools, hospitals and historic structures all over the main island of Puerto Rico have crumbled, and many residents are deeply afraid of using many of the buildings that remain standing because they are afraid that they could literally collapse at any moment.  We haven’t seen this sort of shaking in the region in more than a century, and as you will see below, experts are telling us that more quakes are coming.

Traditionally, Puerto Rico has not been known for heavy seismic activity.  But now that could be changing.  According to CNN, there have been more than 500 quakes “of magnitude 2 or greater” since December 28th…

Since December 28, more than 500 earthquakes of magnitude 2 or greater have rattled the area, according to the US Geological Survey. Many of them were relatively shallow, which means they were likely felt on land.

Of the hundreds of earthquakes, 32 were magnitude 4 and above, including the ones Monday and Tuesday.

And overall, there have been “more than a thousand quakes” of all sizes since this earthquake swarm first started in December…

Since the tremors began last month, Puerto Rico has experienced more than a thousand quakes, most of them too small to feel.

The mainstream media really began to take notice when the main island of Puerto Rico was hit by a magnitude 4.7 earthquake on December 28th, and that was quickly followed by a magnitude 5.0 quake.

Then just a few days ago we witnessed a magnitude 5.8 quake, a magnitude 6.4 quake and a magnitude 6.0 quake in rapid succession.

http://endoftheamericandream.com