Saturday, December 25, 2010

A very large amount of quakes today, plus the 'usual' big one for the holiday.

A powerful 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck off the western Pacific nation of Vanuatu on Sunday, triggering a small tsunami exactly six years after giant waves killed 220,000 people around the Indian Ocean. The shallow quake generated a tsunami, but it cancelled a regional warning after the wave measured only 15 centimetres (six inches) higher than normal in Vanuatu. The quake struck at 12:16 am on Sunday (1316 GMT Saturday), and the initial tsunami warning covered Vanuatu, Fiji and the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia. There were no reports of damage or casualties. At least a dozen aftershocks of magnitude 5.0 or greater hit the area in the hours after the main tremor.
Vanuatu, which lies between Fiji and Australia and north of New Zealand, is part of the "Pacific Ring of Fire" - an ocean-wide area alive with seismic and volcanic activity caused by the grinding of enormous tectonic lates. Sunday's quake came on the sixth anniversary of one of the worst natural disasters of modern times, when a huge tsunami triggered by an undersea quake off Indonesia killed more than 220,000 people around the Indian Ocean. In August, a 7.5-magnitude earthquake off Vanuatu generated a small tsunami and sent thousands of frightened people running for the hills. In September last year, Samoa in the Pacific suffered its worst natural disaster when three rapid-fire quakes of up to 8.1 magnitude unleashed waves as high as 15 metres (50 feet) that flattened villages and tourist resorts. The seismic catastrophe claimed 143 lives in Samoa, 34 in the US-administered territory of American Samoa and another nine in Tonga. Vanuatu lies between Australia and Fiji and has a population of 220,000 scattered across several islands.

LARGEST QUAKES -
This morning -
5.2 PHILIPPINE ISLANDS REGION
5.4 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS.
5.3 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS.
5.1 VANUATU REGION
5.2 VANUATU
5.1 VANUATU REGION
5.1 VANUATU REGION
5.1 VANUATU REGION
5.0 VANUATU REGION
5.2 VANUATU
5.2 VANUATU
5.1 VANUATU REGION
5.7 VANUATU
5.4 VANUATU
7.5 VANUATU REGION
5.1 CARLSBERG RIDGE
5.0 OFF E. COAST OF N. ISLAND, N.Z.
5.3 BONIN ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION
5.0 BONIN ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION
5.1 BONIN ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION
5.3 BONIN ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION
5.1 BONIN ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION
5.0 BONIN ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION
5.1 BONIN ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION
5.1 BONIN ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION
5.1 BONIN ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION
5.0 BONIN ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION
5.2 BONIN ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION
5.4 VOLCANO ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION
5.2 RYUKYU ISLANDS, JAPAN

Yesterday -
12/24/10
5.0 PUERTO RICO
5.0 KURIL ISLANDS
5.0 BONIN ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION
5.1 BONIN ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION
5.5 BONIN ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION
5.0 BONIN ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION
5.0 NEAR COAST OF NICARAGUA
5.3 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
5.0 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS REGION
5.9 PACIFIC-ANTARCTIC RIDGE
5.2 NEAR ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS
5.0 VANUATU