November 28, 2012
Animations and Sonifications of the Tohoku earthquake and aftershocks
The M9.0 Tohoku earthquake that roared through Japan on March 11, 2011 made its presence felt in various ways throughout the planet. The ground rippled, the ocean churned, and even the atmosphere undulated with heavy pressure waves as the force of this sudden lurch of the Earth’s crust radiated outward from its source off the coast of Japan. [Put your headphones on now.] Scientists all over the world have taken …
November 21, 2012
Amazing liquefaction in Tokyo
A new video from Japan [embedded below] shows liquefaction occurring at a scale and scope that I haven’t seen before in video footage. The video is from Urayasu town, Chiba Prefecture–an industrial suburb of Tokyo that appears to be sited on made land adjacent to Tokyo Bay. No wonder it sloshes so heavily: made land (fill) is particularly susceptible to liquefaction. We just can’t pack things down the way nature can …
November 5, 2012
Ten years ago Denali shook
Saturday [November 3, 2012] marked the ten-year anniversary of the largest quake to hit the U.S. since 1964, and the 1906 SF quake before that. The M7.9 Denali earthquake tore a ~250 mile gash through Alaskan glaciers and pine forests along the Denali Fault, which runs beside the eponymous mountain also known as Mt. McKinley, North America’s highest peak. Much like the Haida Gwaii earthquake last week, the Denali quake …
November 1, 2012
Footage from B.C. of the M7.7 Haida Gwaii quake
Last weekend a large quake rocked the Pacific Coast of Canada. In my post about it I mentioned that not much footage had surfaced. There’s still rather little, largely–I suspect–because of the quake’s remote epicenter. Nonetheless it was a very large quake, so the distant, low-frequency waves swung chandeliers and played with people’s balance across western Canada. The videos people have posted so far are collected in the compilation below. …
October 29, 2012
A huge ripple in our own pond – BC quake
Amidst the dire warnings and general alarm about the legitimately fearsome Hurricane Sandy, you may or may not have heard about the massive quake that rocked Canada’s remote Pacific coast on Saturday night, and the modest tsunami is sent racing across the Pacific. At 8:04pm Saturday (PDT) the M7.7 quake rippled out from beneath Haida Gwaii, an archipelago off the British Columbia coast formerly known as the Queen Charlotte Islands. …
October 23, 2012
Conviction of Italian seismologists – a nuanced warning
The big seismological news that started off this week was the guilty verdict in the trial of Italian seismologists and government officials indicted for multiple manslaughter after the M6.3 L’Aquila earthquake of April 2009. Natural hazards scientists the world over greeted this news with shock and dismay, and science-savvy folks of all stripes have expressed outrage about the verdict, let alone the trial itself. Angry scientists commonly lament this “trial against …
October 20, 2012
Last week’s New England quake on cam
On Tuesday evening (Oct. 16, 2012) just after 7pm Eastern a modest quake rippled out from a few kilometers beneath Maine. At a meager 4.0 the quake was quite harmless, but it was a surprising jolt for a rather large region not accustomed to periodic tremors. Cameras filming all manner of council meetings captured the interruption. In most views the quake is only apparent as a light noise and mild …
October 18, 2012
ShakeOut!
The Great ShakeOut is happening now! Millions of people across the country are practicing their Drop, Cover, and Hold On, using the video below to guide their drills. Take this opportunity to think about, talk about, and practice what you would do in an earthquake. Think about it everywhere you go today: what would you do if an earthquake hit now? The Earthquake Country Alliance has some answers for you. Happy …
October 15, 2012
ShakeOut this week! World’s largest ever earthquake drill
This is a big week in U.S. (and world) earthquake history. In the U.S. we mark the anniversaries of several major, important earthquakes that have struck the country. On October 15, 1979, a M6.9 earthquake struck the Imperial Valley of southern California/northern Baja. In 2006 a M6.7 earthquake rocked the island state of Hawaii, damaging thousands of buildings at a cost of $73 million. On October 16, 1999, people throughout the …
September 25, 2012
New MUST-HAVE earthquake app from the Red Cross
This morning the American Red Cross released a brand new app designed to help guide you before, during, and after an earthquake. This app is a must-have if you live in earthquake country, which we’ve recently been reminded means pretty much all of us. It’s a great thing to have if you live out west, where we’re plagued by earthquakes that will undoubtedly recur in our lifetimes, but the simple …
