A visual on relative earthquake strengths

If you've ever listened to the talking heads on TV, when reporting on earthquakes, speak of the exponential nature of the Richter Scale but had difficulty wrapping your head around the concept, this might help:

(There's no sound to distract you from the numbers and graphics.)



(Saw the link first at hellinahandbasket.net by James R. Rummel)

Did the earth move for you?

So. I hear we allegedly had an earthquake on the east coast today. (At approximately 1:50 PM EDT...they say.) Well, Neither Terry nor I felt the dang thing here at the Aerie! I feel deprived!

Of course, with the heavy duty truck traffic along the road for gas drilling/pipeline work and before that windmill installation, the Aerie has seen its share of the old shake, rattle and roll--usually accompanied by a cloud of dust and a grinding of gears.

The folks at Elite Physical Therapy ("Where PT stands for Pain and Torture!") in Mansfield all say they felt it.

Anyway, just to lighten the mood a bit, here's a look back to the Animaniacs take on earthquakes.

Hang on tight!

Wow! A whole lot of shakin' and rumblin' going on...again.

Two evenings ago it was a 7.2 mag earthquake on the southern end of the San Andres Fault right where it crosses California/Mexico border and just north of the Gulf of California.



Then this morning I saw reports that Mt. Redoubt is starting to shake like a bowl full of jelly and there's a possibility of an eruption.




And this evening there was a 7.7 mag earthquake off the northwest coast of Sumatra.

The Pacific Rim is Rockin' and Rollin'

Something's happening here. What exactly isn't clear.

5.8-magnitude quake hits S. Mindanao areas

DAVAO CITY, Philippines—A 5.8-magnitude earthquake jolted several areas of Southern Mindanao around 4:37 p.m. Friday but no damages were immediately reported and no tsunami alert issued.

The United States Geological Survey said the quake's epicenter was traced 150 kilometers east southeast of this city and had a depth of 111 km.

Magnitude 6.9 earthquake rocks Okinawa islands in southern Japan

TOKYO, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- An earthquake measuring 6.9 magnitude on the Richter scale on Saturday rocked Okinawa Prefecture and its vicinity in southern Japan, said the Japan Meteorological Agency.

The focus of the quake, which occurred at 5:31 a.m. local time (2031 GMT Friday), was located some 10 km under the sea 50 km east off Naha, capital of Okinawa, said the agency.

Chile earthquake kills 78 and triggers tsunami

A massive earthquake has hit the coast of Chile, killing dozens of people, flattening buildings and triggering a tsunami.

The 8.8-magnitude quake, the country’s largest in 25 years, shook the capital Santiago for a minute and half at 3:34am (6:34am GMT) today.

Seems to be a whole lot of shaking going on.

For the latest earthquake locations try the USGA site:
Latest Earthquakes in the World

Hey Son, Are you ready to rumble?

My son is currently living and working in Eugene, Oregon. I hope he keeps his eyes open:

Swarm of Earthquakes Detected Off Oregon

There have been more than 600 quakes over the past 10 days in a basin 150 miles southwest of Newport. The biggest was magnitude 5.4 and two others were more than magnitude 5.0, OSU reported. They have not followed the typical pattern of a major shock followed by a series of diminishing aftershocks, and few have been strong enough to be felt on shore.

It looks like what happens before a volcanic eruption, except there are no volcanoes in the area, Dziak said.

Yet. He should have added, “yet” to the end of that sentence.

Here’s a map of the area.

Almost!

So close, and yet so far.

Earthquake strikes near Bali climate conference

A 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck off Bali on Friday, where it rocked a conference centre hosting more than 10,000 delegates for a key UN climate change summit.

The earthquake struck southwest of the Bali resort of Nusa Dua, where nations are meeting to craft a strategy to combat climate change, Indonesia's Meteorology and Geophysics Agency said.

The quake struck at a depth of 10 kilometres and there was no threat of a tsunami, the agency said.

"This is too small to trigger a tsunami," geophysics agency head Suharjono told AFP, adding that the agency had received no reports of damage.

A near miss. Come on, try again.

(h/t Tim Blair )