Results tagged “earthquake”

Today is the state's largest-ever earthquake drill ever. Some 6.8 million people are signed up to participate in the simple, but important process of dropping, covering and holding on. You don't need really don't need to sign up, but listening to this video from the Great California Shakeout may help when a large quake starts shaking--hopefully in your sudden freakout, you remember these tips.

California Shakeout organizers are doing something quite genius to further their message this Thursday, when a major mock earthquake will strike California. They've asked radio and TV stations to participate by broadcasting an emergency message at 10:15 a.m. about the statewide drill and what people should do if it were a real earthquake (see the TV version above). 6.4 million people are signed up for the coordinated event.

An 8.0 earthquake off the Vanatu Islands today prompted various tsunami watches and warnings in the South Pacific and a tsunami advisory for Hawaii. However, California and the rest of the West Coast, including Alaska, have not been put under any notifications from government officials, as of 4:27 p.m. PST.

Another in a series of quake swarm events struck near Keeler, CA tonight during the 6 p.m. hour. 30 minor to moderate earthquakes struck between 6:09 and 7:10 p.m., according to the United States Geological Survey. The largest shaker was measured at magnitude 5.2 at 6:15 p.m. It was preceded by increasingly larger earthquakes at 3.1, 4.7 and 4.9.

Remember the hundreds of small quakes shaking the Salton Sea back in April? After a 5.1 shaker early this morning, dozens of smaller earthquakes have shook the small town of Keeler, which is about 148 miles from Las Vegas. Considering all the recent major earthquakes (and tsunamis) in American Samoa, Indonesia and Peru, are these related to each other? National Public Radio's Morning Edition ask that question this morning, interviewing scientists:

Yesterday's earthquake that sent a tsunami into American Samoa (and some slightly higher waves to Los Angeles) reminded us of this year's anticipated earthquake... drill. Just like last year, millions are expected to pretend a huge earthquake has struck and participate in statewide drill. This is the second year for the Great California ShakeOut, a major emergency preparedness public education tool. It doesn't take too much time, but the lesson of knowing the mantra, "drop, cover and hold on," can make a difference.

Local beaches have been cleared of the tsunami advisory issued yesterday in response to the massive earthquake in the South Pacific, reports KTLA. This morning Los Angeles County lifeguards announced they'd conducted patrols of the beach overnight and "found no dangerous currents or other hazards."

In light of today's tsunami advisory, L.A. County lifeguards will close beaches at 8 p.m., one hour before waves are expected to gain in height. City officials with Parks and Recreation were unsure if the Venice Boardwalk would close, but facilities close at 7 p.m. with most businesses shutting doors around that time. A spokesperson at Councilmember Bill Rosendahl's office said he hoped the new skatepark, scheduled to open this weekend, won't be damaged.

   

An 8.0 earthquake in American Samoa this morning prompted a tsunami watch in Hawaii and a tsunami advisory for coastal areas of Southern California, including Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. [Update: Beaches in LA County will close at 8 p.m., more info here]

Not too many local reports of people feeling the large quake in the Gulf of California one-minutes shy of 11 a.m., but it definitely shook up the water cooler talk in San Diego and other border cities and as far as Phoenix and El Paso. The 10:59 a.m. 6.9 quake struck just four minutes after a 5.8 shaker. The large quake was followed by 5.0 and 5.9 quakes within an hour. There have been no reports of damage or injuries. The large quake may have been caused by "an unidentified strike-slip style fault," according to Scienceduce Gary Robbins at the OC Register via seismologist Sue Hough at USGS in Pasadena.

A minor 3.2 quake struck near Los Angeles International Airport at 9:14 p.m., but caused no reported damage as of a half hour later, according to the LA Times. The earthquake was also located in the same general area of a few quakes that struck in May. A 4.7 rattler struck on May 17 followed by a 4.1 on May 19. These little quakes are always a good reminder to get prepared: store water, take CERT and take other measures (.pdf) to help make one of the potentially worst days of your life--when the big one strikes--a little better.

An undersea earthquake rattled a few nerves in San Diego Saturday morning, and the 4.0 shaker was felt in the OC, but it wasn't the aftershocks that had area residents talking later that day. Several giant squid washed ashore on Saturday, surprising beach-goers, most of whom had never seen anything like it before. Even after they were tossed back in the water they'd re-appear on the sand, causing many to wonder if it was because of the earthquake. Check out the video for the story.

A radar on the belly of a airplane flying above the Southern California region is taking in detailed data for scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab so they can study faults' shifting, straining in relation to seismic energy. "The data from this project could help scientists figure out where the risk of earthquake activity is highest, though the data will never be so specific as to predict a day, location and magnitude of a quake, explained the LA Times. “This will help us with the five- to 10-year time horizons,” Donnellan said. “We can see hot spot maps and ... figure out where to target our retrofitting,” said Andrea Donnellan, a JPL geophysicist.

After some of them spent two nights in a Red Cross shelter, the 18 residents of an earthquake damaged apartment building in Long Beach will return home today.

Oh, the terrible Newport-Inglewood, you've yet to forsake us. Yesterday's mild 4.1 earthquake caused 18 people to be displaced at the Locust Avenue apartments in Long Beach.

For the second time this week, an earthquake has struck an area 10 miles southwest of downtown near unincorporated Lennox. The 4.1 shaker struck at 3:49 p.m. this afternoon, followed by a 2.5 aftershock at 3:51 p.m. On Sunday evening, a 4.7 rattler shook up in the same area and earlier this month, a 4.4 struck in the Santa Monica Mountains. The Los Angeles Fire Department is reporting no immediate damage, but per policy, they must enter into "Earthquake Emergency Mode" and "actively survey" the city by ground and air to make sure. UPDATE: Officials at Caltech are saying this was an aftershock from Sunday's 4.7 quake.

LA Times photographer Jay L. Clendenin shows us why it's important to "drop, cover and hold," as earthquake experts tell us. Yes, this photo (see it, and others, in large here) shows a shard of glass on a chair at a Starbucks at Hawthorne and Artesia boulevards. Another photo shows broken glass from a North Long Beach storefront on the sidewalk.

Now, hasn't it just been too quiet in Southern California? Were you not just asking about when the next earthquake was going to hit? We have our answer. A 4.7 (originally estimated by sensors as 5.0) struck at 8:39 p.m., 10 miles SSW of Downtown L.A. in Lennox, a suburb just feet from Inglewood. We are getting reports that people have felt the quake from Santa Monica to Glendale. How was your Sunday evening shake? UPDATE: It was followed by two microquakes--3.1 and 1.6--at 8:45 p.m. and 9:46 p.m., respectively. Also, a 2.5 struck at 8:44 p.m. in El Segundo. The Los Angeles Fire Department reported no immediate damage or injuries, but recommended you review disaster preparedness info. UPDATE 2: The LA Times has a photo of broken glass at a Starbucks--one person was reportedly sent to the hospital.

That was a nice shaker. At 6:11 p.m., a 4.4 magnitude earthquake struck in the Santa Monica Mountains, south of Westlake Village and northwest from Malibu. The Los Angeles Fire Department is in "Earthquake Mode as a preventive measure." They have no reports of damage yet. UPDATE: As of 7:05 p.m., the fire department has stepped down from "Earthquake Mode." However, there is now one reported minor injury that occured when an elderly woman, scared from the quake, ran from her apartment and fell. If you remember from last Fall's Great ShakeOut, earthquake experts recommended you "drop, cover and hold on."

As if the swing flu epidemic wasn't enough. A strong 6.0 earthquake struck south of Mexico City this morning. So far, there are no reports of deaths, major injuries or damage. People, who were asked to stay away from common areas and to wear masks, were forced out of their buildings and into the crowded streets.

So the big one strikes. Your home is destroyed and you need shelter, but where do you go? The American Red Cross of Greater Los Angeles has 80 relief containers across the region just in case emergency shelters are needed (just keep in mind, a shelter area could be destroyed in an earthquake, too). It's all part of their ongoing and long-term Catastrophic Disaster Plan, which aims to build capacity to feed and shelter 250,000 people.

In the past 24 hours, thirteen mircroquakes and one minor quake have struck the Salton Sea area where over 400 little quakes have shook the ground in the last month. That minor one, a 3.5 magnitude shaker, happened yesterday afternoon around 3 p.m. Athough, the number of quakes have calmed, "Seismologist Kate Hutton of the California Institute of Technology said it will take a fair amount of quiet time before scientists can declare the swarm over," reported the Press Telegram in Long Beach.

View 4/7/09 Microquake Locations in a larger map

No that wasn't the neighbors getting it on again... A couple microquakes -- small earthquakes measuring 2.0 and 2.5 on the Richter scale -- rumbled through Silver Lake (at 7:47) and Echo Park (at 10:07) tonight. Didya feel it? Such microquakes are common along fault lines but we're reminded again that earthquakes will rock across the LAist vicinity (remember the Marina boomer earlier this year)?

The 380 or so small and moderate earthquakes shaking the area around the Salton Sea died down this weekend with a count of around 22 quakes. "The only reason this swarm got a lot of attention is that it's very close to the southern end of the San Andreas Fault, which we're always watching very closely," said seismologist Kate Hutton of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena to the Pasadena Star News. One theory seismologists have is that "a series of small earthquakes in that area could trigger a larger quake along the fault line," the paper reported. Taking advantage of the media frenzy, the Los Angeles Fire Department put the Community Emergency Response Team on guard and hoped that the public at large would start getting more prepared.

It first started Saturday in the Salton Sea. By By the end of Monday, there had been about 42 earthquakes in the Bombay Beach area. Now? Over 260, counted the LA Times. "Most swarms go on for a week," seismologist Kate Hutton told the paper. She said that some swarms can bring on thousands of quakes over a few week period, noting that nothing appears to be unusual with this swarm, but colleagues are keeping a particularly close eyes on this one because the location is near the southern tip of the San Andreas Fault. "The risk is probably lower than it was after the 4.8, but it's not gone away. Take it as a reminder to be ready for an earthquake at any time," ," Hutton said. Last night the LA Fire Department advised Community Emergency Teams to be ready for the possibility of anything.

You can't predict an earthquake, but there's been a certain amount of buzz around city hall water coolers this week regarding a plethora of minor and moderate tremblers taking place around Bombay Beach on the Salton Sea, 150 miles east of Los Angeles at the tip of the San Andreas fault. News headlines told of 42 quakes over the weekend through Monday and there's been 31 today alone as of 7 p.m.

At the base of the San Andreas Fault, where 42 small quakes struck over the weekend, a moderate 4.8 magnitude quake occurred this morning around 4:55 a.m., the LA Times is now reporting. It was followed by 23 aftershocks including a 3.1 shaker. "The only interesting thing about this one is that it occurred at the end of the San Andreas fault," said Kate Hutton, a seismologist at Caltech, to the Times. "Bombay Beach is considered the southern end of the San Andreas fault. The last swarm of earthquakes similar to this was in 2001. We're watching it closely. We'll be analyzing everything."

The land of Bruce and Bon Jovi is Full of...wimps. Southern California is no stranger to daily microquakes. In fact, just in the past week, we've had 15 of them. But when a quake shakes the bridge and tunnel crowd--like the 3.0 quake did last night--they freak. Via Gothamist, the Star-Ledger reports, "It sounded like an explosion, houses shook and dogs started barking." Other residents said it felt like a "bomb" and one man told WCBS 2, "I was upstairs on my computer, and all of a sudden I hear a boom, boom, boom, then a bang, bang, bang. My monitor almost fell off of my computer desk. So I immediately went downstairs to check on my grandma and ask her if she was alright or if she fell."

It seems the San Andreas fault has a habit of shaking us up pretty badly once every 137 years, and scientists from UC Irvine believe we are long overdue for the "Big One." The last "massive" earthquake to rumble along the infamous fault line was in 1857, "when one struck at an estimated magnitude of 7.9," according to an AP article in the Long Beach Press-Telegram. That means the next major quake is now 15 years behind schedule on the San Andreas; the 1994 Northridge Earthquake, whose 15-year-anniversary was last weekend, was a magnitude 6.7, however it was mainly centered on the Northridge (sometimes called Pico) Thrust, not the San Andreas. Several recent small earthquakes are serving as a reminder that here in Southern California we've built our cities on Mother Nature's turf, and the "Big One" could hit us at any moment--one very "Big" reason to focus on preparedness and safety.