Carol Mon May 14, 2012 3:29 pm
5.7 earthquake in Tajikistan kills one and buries herds of livestock, damaging several buildings. The most damage occurred in the country’s Garm district, where one man was killed by a collapsing wall, Nargis Nurova of Tajikistan’s emergency situations committee told AFP. Two buildings were completely destroyed, and several more were damaged, she said. The quake also caused a mudslide, burying alive herds of cows and sheep, she added. The U.S. Geological Survey located the epicenter of the tremor, which occurred at 4:28 am (2328 GMT Saturday), at around 100 kilometres (60 miles) north of the city of Kulob at a depth of 10 kilometres. Residents in the capital Dushanbe some 140 kilometres (90 miles) away felt tremors of about magnitude 4.0, a representative of the geophysics department in Tajikistan’s Academy of Sciences told AFP. The reading was based on the open-ended Moment Magnitude scale, now used by US seismologists, which measures the area of the fault that ruptured and the total energy released. Tajikistan, a former Soviet republic in Central Asia, is mostly covered by mountains, with earthquakes occurring on a nearly monthly basis. -24/7
5.5 earthquake reported south of Christchurch, New ZealandMay 12, 2012 – NEW ZEALAND – Two earthquakes, magnitudes 3.9 and 5.5, have been detected near southern New Zealand. The 3.9 quakes was near the city of Christchurch, which in 2011 was damaged by another tremor. No damages and casualties are reported from the earthquakes this time over, as the stronger one was centered in a sparsely populated area. The 3.9 Richter earthquake was felt Sunday morning, with an epicenter some 10 km away from Christchurch. It was preceded several hours earlier by the 5.5 tremor near the southern shores of New Zealand, which was felt all over the southern island. –Novinite
5.3 magntiude offshore earthquake rattles Israel and PalestineMay 12, 2012 – ISRAEL – An earthquake rocked Israel on Friday evening, shortly before 10:00 p.m. local time, and was felt in areas from northern Israel to central Israel. According to a Channel 10 News report, the police in the Northern, Central and Tel Aviv Districts said they received hundreds of phone calls from citizens who felt the earthquake. Local residents reported feeling objects and buildings move for about 15 to 20 seconds. There were no reports of injuries or damages. The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake measured 5.3 on the Richter scale and its epicenter was in Cyprus. More than a 100 calls by concerned citizens were received in the northern city of Tzfat alone, the report said. The quake was felt even in Bat Yam, Kfar Saba, Ramat Hasharon, Ra’anana and other areas in central Israel. Magen David Adom has sent reinforcements to its stations in northern Israel and is preparing for the possibility of secondary tremors, Channel 10 reported. In February, a 3.1 magnitude tremor shook Israel’s north. There were no injuries or damage following the earthquake. The epicenter of that earthquake was east of Lake Kinneret, and a number of communities in the area reported having felt the quake. Experts have warned that Israel is expected to be hit by a major earthquake. Dr. Ephraim Laor, who headed the National Steering Committee for Earthquake Preparedness, told Arutz Sheva recently that each Israeli must prepare himself for a major earthquake that could hit Israel. In February, school children around the country, from kindergarten age and up, participated in earthquake drills in their schools, practicing safe steps to take when the ground starts shaking. –Arutz Sheva
Last edited by Carol on Mon May 14, 2012 3:35 pm; edited 1 time in total
