BS: 7.8 mag quake NE of Australia

Subject: RE: BS: 7.8 mag quake NE of Australia
From: Rowan
Date: 08 Oct 09 - 05:57 PM

The Australian plate is moving north at around 6cm per year so it's no wonder there is activity at its northern boundary.

It seems yesterday's tsunami warning confusion arose as a result of the Hawaiian authorities sending out a "tsunami warning" (as was proper) but it was sent out around half an hour after the Australian authorities sent out a "tsunami watch" (not quite as alarming, in rating terms) but after the Samoan experience everybody was on tenterhooks. On top of the lack of clearly communicated warnings, due to the lack of infrastructure.

Yet more work to be done.

Cheers, Rowan

Subject: RE: BS: 7.8 mag quake NE of Australia
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 08 Oct 09 - 01:11 PM

The Vanuatu earthquake may have been far distant from areas with large populations (M.Ted), but effects of tsunamis are widespread.

The quake was on the boundary of the Australian plate, and tsunami warnings were given to Australia, Indonesia, New Zealand as well as many island communities including Guam, Samoa, Tonga, the Marshalls, etc. Although no severe waves were generated and the warning lifted later, the possibility of damaging waves was there.

Gargoyle, thanks for the link to the Quake Map; most educational.

Subject: RE: BS: 7.8 mag quake NE of Australia
From: Bill D
Date: 08 Oct 09 - 11:57 AM

1811-12 ...ah, yes...the New Madrid fault. I was taken on a tour of S.E. Missouri in 1970. The guide took us down a little road and we got out and walked to a spot where there was a vertical sort of 'slice' of land about 7 ft. higher than the road. This, he said, was level just before the big quake.....*shudder*

I don't think I want to move to Vanuatu.

Subject: RE: BS: 7.8 mag quake NE of Australia
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 08 Oct 09 - 11:33 AM

It is so amazing and gratifying that such a strong quake occurred without hurting anyone, either through shaking of the earth or tsunamis.

Gargoyle, thanks for the link to the earthquake map. I see that there was a quake in Tennessee on Monday. Apparently the buried monster that caused the great quakes of 1811-12 is still down there.

Subject: RE: BS: 7.8 mag quake NE of Australia
From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 08 Oct 09 - 06:12 AM

This is always a fun map from the United States Geological Service.

World Earth Quake Map

You can get more details by using the regional option on the lower right.

Your nice big Australian one - is three BIG boxes....inside each other.

Sincerely,
Gargoyle

Subject: RE: BS: 7.8 mag quake NE of Australia
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 08 Oct 09 - 04:35 AM

Pacific quakes come as no surprise includes links to other stories on the recent South Pacific Disasters

Subject: RE: BS: 7.8 mag quake NE of Australia
From: Keith A of Hertford
Date: 08 Oct 09 - 04:22 AM

Good animations of earthquake movements here.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/4126809.stm

Subject: RE: BS: 7.8 mag quake NE of Australia
From: M.Ted
Date: 08 Oct 09 - 01:02 AM

This earthquake was in Vanuatu and is actually one of at least three 7.0 or above today(well, they actually happened tomorrow, or at least when they happened yesterday, it was tomorrow where they happened)--for all who don't realize it, Vanuatu is one of the most seismically active places in the world. We're talking about several respectable quakes a day, though they generally only have one or two a year in the 7.0 or above range). They also have a number of underwater volcanos.

The thing is that, contrary to what we tend to think, the world is a very big place, and a lot of it is unpopulated.   Big quakes happen all the time, just not very close to where there are a lot of people--in fact, up until relatively recently, huge quakes could occur and no one would even know about it.

A lot of people are not aware of this, and sometimes, young or new people in a newsroom will see a a big quake come up on the wire, and get all excited and interrupt programming or something like that, which is probably what happened here.

Given that, though, these are exceptionally high magnitude quakes, even for Vanuatu, and last week, there was an 8.0 quake 120 miles south of Apia, Samoa. This is an unusual peak of activity, and when there is intense activity down at that end, it sometimes seems to start higher levels of activity all around the Pacific rim, first in Indonesia, then the Phillipines, then Japan, through Russia, Alaska, Canada, the US west coast, down through Mexico etc. Some of those places have large populations on the fault lines--so keep your eyes open--

Subject: RE: BS: 7.8 mag quake NE of Australia
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 07 Oct 09 - 09:57 PM

Tsusami warning cancelled.

Subject: RE: BS: 7.8 mag quake NE of Australia
From: beardedbruce
Date: 07 Oct 09 - 08:50 PM

5.0-5.9 Moderate Can cause major damage to poorly constructed buildings over small regions. At most slight damage to well-designed buildings. 800 per year

6.0-6.9 Strong Can be destructive in areas up to about 160 kilometres (100 mi) across in populated areas. 120 per year

7.0-7.9 Major Can cause serious damage over larger areas. 18 per year

8.0-8.9 Great Can cause serious damage in areas several hundred miles across. 1 per year

9.0-9.9 Devastating in areas several thousand miles across.
1 per 20 years

10.0+ Epic Never recorded; Extremely rare (Unknown)

(

Subject: RE: BS: 7.8 mag quake NE of Australia
From: Don Firth
Date: 07 Oct 09 - 08:42 PM

I was sitting at my computer at 10:54 a.m. PST on February 28th, 2001 in my ground floor apartment in a ninety-year-old brick and stone building on Capitol Hill in Seattle when the Nisqually earthquake hit.

I'd been in earthquakes before, so I recognized what all the shaking was about right away. But the ones I had been in before usually lasted maybe ten or fifteen seconds and that was it. With this one, the lights went out all over the building, my computer went off. The whole building rocked and my desk drawers started sliding in and out of their own accord. It went on. And on. And on. I thought the whole bloody building was going to wind up in my lap.

"This," it occurred to me, "is going to leave a bruise!"

I lurched away from my desk and positioned myself in the doorway of the apartment (structurally, the soundest place to be, I'd heard) and watched the chandelier in the front lobby swing wildly back and forth.

On and on it went. It seemed like an eternity. Like it would never stop. And I was sure the building would start to crumble within the next few seconds. I thought about making a dash for either the front or side door of the building, but that, it occurred to me, might make my the recipient of a rain of bricks and cornices. So I stayed where I was.

Gradually, it ebbed. And became still.

Two of my upstairs neighbors came bounding down the stairs. Two young guys. They knew I was home (and wheelchair-bound), so they wanted to check to be sure I was okay (most reassuring and most appreciated). Then, they set about checking to see if they could get the lights back on (No go. The whole neighborhood was out), and then check the building for damage. Good news. Very little, easily repaired. No damage in our apartment. One lamp fell off the top of a bookcase, but it didn't break.

It turned out the quake measured 6.8 on the Richter Scale. And it lasted for about 50 seconds.

It was a doozey, lemme tell ya!! Sort of ~ um ~ unsettling.

Don Firth

P. S. And they keep talking about "The BIG One!" Whoopie!

Subject: RE: BS: 7.8 mag quake NE of Australia
From: Rasener
Date: 07 Oct 09 - 07:46 PM

I was at the epicenter of a 5.2 one at Market rasen in the UK and that was bad enough. I was awake when it happened and it scared the crap out of me.

This one is a lot worse.

Subject: RE: BS: 7.8 mag quake NE of Australia
From: beardedbruce
Date: 07 Oct 09 - 07:37 PM

7.8   600 megatons 10 times more powerful as the largest nuclear weapon

Subject: RE: BS: 7.8 mag quake NE of Australia
From: Rasener
Date: 07 Oct 09 - 07:27 PM

Bloody hell. Does it ever stop.

Lets hope everybody will be OK over there.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/8296080.stm

Subject: BS: 7.8 mag quake NE of Australia
From: beardedbruce
Date: 07 Oct 09 - 07:13 PM

Reported on sat tv. Shallow, only about 20 miles below surface. No word on tsunamus yet.