Strong 6.3-magnitude quake strikes off Pakistan - USGS

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan --  A strong 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck near the coast of Pakistan early Wednesday, the US Geological Survey said.

The shallow quake struck at 3:03 am (2203 GMT), with an epicenter just 23 kilometers (14 miles) southwest of Pakistan's coastal city of Pasni, the USGS said.

Last April, a large 6.6-magnitude quake struck neighbouring northeastern Afghanistan, rattling parts of South Asia and killing at least six Pakistanis.

In October 2015, a 7.5-magnitude quake in Pakistan and Afghanistan killed almost 400 people, flattening buildings in rugged terrain that impeded relief efforts.

Pakistan straddles part of the boundary where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet, making the country susceptible to earthquakes.

It was hit by a 7.6-magnitude quake on October 8, 2005 that killed more than 73,000 people and left about 3.5 million homeless, mainly in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.

source: interaksyon.com

Strong 6.4-magnitude quake hits southwestern Japan

TOKYO - A strong 6.4-magnitude earthquake hit Japan's southwestern island of Kyushu on Thursday, but there was no danger of a tsunami, local authorities said.

The quake, which the US Geological Survey measured at 6.0, struck at 9:26 p.m. (1226 GMT) in Kumamoto, central Kyushu at a relatively shallow depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles), the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

The quake was followed about 30 minutes later by another smaller one with a magnitude of 5.7, the agency said. That quake also did not generate a tsunami warning.

Japan's public broadcaster NHK reported that some buildings had collapsed on Kyushu with people possibly trapped, though details were scarce.

Cameras set up by NHK showed violent shaking at the time of the quake, which was felt throughout Kyushu.

Japanese media reported that shinkansen, or bullet, train service was halted on the island.

NHK showed some damage including broken concrete. Residents stood outside making calls on mobile phones.

Watermelons fell from store shelves and lay crushed on the floor of a supermarket in Kumamoto city, near the epicenter, NHK footage showed.

Objects fell from shelves and staff ducked under desks as the quake shook the NHK office in Kumamoto, video showed.

“We intend to do the utmost to grasp the situation," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters. "I’m now planning to hear what we have gathered on the situation."

Kyushu Electric Co. said it was checking conditions at its Genkai and Sendai nuclear plants.

An official at the Sendai nuclear plant in Kyushu, who declined to be named, said the plant was operating normally but that officials were checking for any abnormalities.

There were no irregularities at the Genkai or Sendai nuclear plants, which are on the southernmost main island of Kyushu, or at the Ikata plant on nearby Shikkoku, the Kyodo news agency reported.

Japan sits at the junction of four tectonic plates and experiences around 20 percent of the world's most powerful earthquakes.

But rigid building codes and strict enforcement mean even powerful tremors frequently do little damage.

A massive undersea quake that hit on March 11, 2011, sent a tsunami barrelling into Japan's northeast coast, leaving about 18,500 people dead or missing, and sending several reactors into meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant in the worst atomic accident in a generation.

source: interaksyon.com

Magnitude-6.3 quake strikes off Alaska

SAN FRANCISCO -- A strong earthquake struck off Saturday Atka Island in southwest Alaska, the northern most US state.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the tremor, with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4, hit about 32 km deep at 8:06 local time, some 65 km off Atka in the Andreanof Islands, or 1,815 km west of Anchorage, the biggest city of Alaska.

Andreanof Islands are part of the Aleutian Islands.

There have been no reports of injuries from the sparsely populated islands.

The US Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii said the quake was not strong enough to generate a tsunami.

source: interaksyon.com

Magnitude-5.1 quake rattles Los Angeles

A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck near Los Angeles on Friday, rattling a wide swath of Southern California, the US Geological Survey said.

There were no immediate reports of damage or injury from the temblor, centered outside suburban La Habra, about 20 miles from downtown Los Angeles, a Los Angeles Police Department spokeswoman said.

"However the earthquake just happened a few minutes ago so we have to give our officers the time to do an inspection," the spokeswoman said.

The quake, initially reported as a magnitude 5.3, struck shortly after 9 p.m. pacific time and was very shallow, only 1.2 miles deep, according to the USGS.

It was felt across four counties, as far east as Palm Springs and north as Ventura County.

source: interaksyon.com