Taiwan Central Weather Bureau reports a Magnitude of Ml 6.5 at a depth of 61.7 km (the scales used by USGS and CWB are although different, USGS is using the Moment Magnitude scale and CWB the Ml Local Magnitude scale also called the Richter scale by press and public. Ml is rather accurate up to Ml7.
A very strong but deep earthquake occurred 50 km to the east of North Taiwan.
The depth of approx. 70 km had an effect that people felt the earthquake in a wide radius.
Taiwan has a very good preparedness record but has also a lot of earthquakes. Today’s earthquake is one of the most powerful since a long time, but was luckily deep and off the island’s coast.
Image and intensities courtesy CWB, Taiwan
Most important Earthquake Data:
Magnitude : Ml 6.5
UTC Time : Saturday, June 09, 2012 at 21:00:18 UTC
Local time at epicenter : Sunday, June 10, 2012 at 05:00:18 AM at epicenter
Depth (Hypocenter) : 61.7 km
Geo-location(s) :
50 km (31 miles) E of Su’ao, Taiwan
95 km (59 miles) NE of Hualien, Taiwan
100 km (62 miles) SE of TAIPEI, Taiwan
Update : Another Ml 4.8 earthquake (aftershock?) occurred at a depth of 32.4 km at 14:23 local time. Epicenter more to the South and closer to the coast.
Update : The Magnitude values reported by the various agencies all over the world are seriously different, partly by the different scales but not completely. CWB values refer to a stronger Magnitude and a lesser depth and explain in part why this earthquake was felt so strongly in the north. Earthquake-report.com gives, different to most press instances in the world, a high credibility to local skilled seismological agencies like CWB. CWB has a lot of seismographs installed all over the island and therefore reports very accurate values.
Update : as stated below in the Experience reports we have received from our Taiwan readers, minor damage like falling objects and cracks in walls is already a certainty.
Update : Since the mainshock, CWB has reported 2 aftershocks, the first at Ml 4.5 and the second at Ml 5.1. These aftershocks may go on for some time, but as they occur the same distance out of the coast, we consider them not to cause damage.
CWB reported intensities (CWB scale)
The CWB scale is somewhat similar as the JMA (Japan scale) and goes from 0 to 7
5 CWB means in normal language : most people are considerably frightened.
Nan-ao, Yilan County 5
Heping, Hualien County 5
Su-ao, Yilan County 4
Luodong, Yilan County 4
Neicheng, Yilan County 4
Niudou, Yilan County 4
Tailuge, Hualien County 4
Wufenshan, New Taipei City 4
Hualien City, Hualien County 4
Yanliao, Hualien County 4
Nanshan, Yilan County 4
Tongmen, Hualien County 4
Shoufeng, Hualien County 4
Yilan City, Yilan County 4
Deji, Taichung City 4
The earthquake was felt all over the island, but people in the North are reporting heavy shaking.
Taiwan Central Weather Bureau reports a Magnitude of Ml 6.5 at a depth of 61.7 km (the scales used by USGS and CWB are although different, USGS is using the Moment Magnitude scale and CWB the Ml Local Magnitude scale also called the Richter scale by press and public. Ml is rather accurate up to Ml7.
for more information, and updates, go to: http://earthquake-report.com/2012/06/10/very-strong-but-luckily-deep-earthquake-50-km-east-of-yilan-county-taiwan/
Last update: June 9, 2012 at 1:40 pm by By Ashish Khanal
Moderate earthquake in Northern Italy (new area!)
The earthquake occurred at 04:04 in the middle of the night. Surprisingly this earthquake was not an aftershock in the Ferrara, Mantua, Parma area but mote to the West direction Udinese. 82 km to the north of Venice and in the foothills of the Dolomites mountain range.
The people living in this area have also felt the stronger Ferrara earthquakes.
This is the largest magnitude Irish earthquake ever recorded!
The Lleyn Peninsula Earthquake 19 July 1984 which was M5.4 caused intensity IV in Ireland.
It is expected that Mayo County will have intensity IV-V shaking from this 6th June 2012 earthquake. Mayo County has a population of 132,000 and very little earthquake resistant building measures!
The epicenter was located 50km off the west coast of Ireland.
Locals in a number of areas on the west coast reported feeling earth tremors this morning. Tremors were felt in counties Mayo, Sligo and Galway with some local radio stations receiving calls from listeners who described houses shaking.
There have been reports of some structural damage but this has not been confirmed.
Ishnakea South Island (closest point to the earthquake)
Most important Earthquake Data:
Magnitude : M4.0 (BGS)
UTC Time : 07:58:13.9 UTC on 6th June, 2012
Local time at epicenter : 07:58:13.9 AM on 6th June, 2012
Depth (Hypocenter) : 3km (BGS)
Geo-location(s) : 45km west of Old Village, Ishnakea South.
Location is approximately 60km west of Belmullet, County Mayo. Felt in the Counties of Mayo, Sligo and Galway.
Historical earthquakes near Ireland (courtesy:BGS)
for more information and updates, go to: http://earthquake-report.com/2012/06/06/a-very-rare-m4-earthquake-hits-ireland/
Last update: June 5, 2012 at 9:48 pm by By Ashish Khanal
Strong earthquake at a safe distance from Tokyo. A 6.3Mw (Japan Meteorological Agency) earthquake struck 158km away from Tokyo, altough it was strong the distance and the depth (20km) only made a Max. felt intensity of 3 on a scale of 7, we at earthquake report consider a 5+ scale as dangerous. The earthquake was probably felt by many people on the region.
Update 16:13 UTC : The data below is a little confusing for some people as USGS indicates “only” a max. MMI V (moderate shaking) and JMA a 5+ (equivalent of MMI VII). JMA Japan is a highly specialized seismological agency and we always tend to believe the local agencies. The testimony below shows that JMA Japan is right. We do not expect a lot more Experience reports as there are very few English understanding people living in these areas. Our Experience reports in Japan are mostly coming from Expats working in the country.
Intensity map, courtesy JMA Japan (dark orange = strongest shaking)
Update 15:56 UTC : An ER reader living in Misawa, approx. 75 km from the epicenter wrote a few moments ago :
Woke me up, I think midnight. I was so scared that I jumped up too quickly and ended up with a cramp in my leg. It was long too and was getting stronger so husband and I stood under doorway of lodging until subsided a little then went outside. She described the shaking as a strong shaking. Misawa is labeled as a JMA 4 intensity. Some people must have felt it a lot stronger (see above)
Update 15:52 UTC : Based on JMA data (Japan Seismological Service), the max. shaking will be 5+ at Tohoku-machi Kamikita-minami*. 5+ is considered by Earthquake-Report.com as “moderately dangerous”. JMA uses a 0 to 7 scale.
Based on theoretical data from USGS, the max. shaking will be moderate and felt by 76,000 people.
Most important Earthquake Data:
Magnitude : M6.0 (JMA Japan)
UTC Time : Wednesday, May 23, 2012 at 15:02:25 UTC
Local time at epicenter : Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 12:02:25 AM at epicenter
Depth (Hypocenter) : 50 km (JMA Japan)
Geo-location(s) :
Approx. 60 km from Mutsu, Honshu, Japan
107 km (66 miles) NNE of Hachinohe, Honshu, Japan
119 km (73 miles) ESE of Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan
127 km (78 miles) ENE of Aomori, Honshu, Japan
–
Update 18:05 UTC : Minor damage
4 schools in Noheji have broken windows. Other damage has been reported in the museum of Noheji (damage to the ceiling). We will keep you updated if new reports are published.
Update 16:57 UTC : FDMA Japan has issued a new report on 16:40 UTC – good news, still no sign of any damage. ER expects that the highest intensity area will probably remain damage free.
Update 16:44 UTC : FDMA Japan (Fire brigade who also works as SAR and Emergency forces during earthquake are currently making an assessment of the situation. The heaviest shaking is in the Aomori prefecture. Until now no damage reported as yet. The report has been issued 1 hour ago.
Purple line is subduction fault line – seismic hazard map courtesy USGS
Update 16:30 UTC : We have noticed and reported a very curious swarm of earthquakes more to the south. A lot of these earthquakes had the same Magnitude than this one but due to the distance from the coast (150 to 200 km) we have only described the phenomenon in our daily lists. This earthquake as well as all the other earlier ones and the great March 11 destructive one in 2011 are triggered by the same fault. The purple line at right is the subduction fault line where the pacific plate subducts the Eurasian plate. The depth today is a very good illustration of this subducting process. The pacific heavier plate glides below the Eurasian plate and hangs frequently. When the pressure mounts, it suddenly breaks and generates an earthquake. The friction points are mostly seen in a rather wide area (a few hundred km’s) along the subduction faults.
Update 16:20 UTC : The earthquake occurred just after midnight and a lot of people must have been already sleeping. Hard to get up this way.
Update 16:20 UTC : There are NO tsunami advisories in effect. In general earthquakes below M7 generate rarely stronger waves
Most important Earthquake Data:
Magnitude : 5.6 ?
UTC Time : 00:00
Local time at epicenter :
Depth (Hypocenter) : 10 km ?
Geo-location(s) :
23 km (14 miles) W (274°) from SOFIA, Bulgaria 116 km (72 miles) SE (128°) from Nis, Yugoslavia
Shaking map courtesy USGS
Update 00:46 UTC : The people from Sofia, Pernik and all the surrounding towns are gathering in the streets out of fear for aftershocks.
At Earthquake-Report.com we believe that damage will be inevitable.
Update 00:46 UTC : Our Experience Database is unfortunately down, we are sorry for this. Cause : too high demand.
Update 00:45 UTC : Following the theoretical calculations from USGS, 95,000 people will have felt a very strong shaking (MMI VII). MMI VII means for earthquake-report.com a potential danger for damage.
932,000 people will have felt a strong shaking.
Update 00:37 UTC : The earthquake happened 10km from Pernik. The nearest populated places are: Studena (18km), Radomir (14km), Rudartsi (18km), Tsurkva (14km), Rayko Daskalovo (17km). The closest civilian airport is Sofia / Vrazhdebna (32km).
Recent Updates:
Summary Update 13:33 UTC
– The people living at the greater Pernik area have to deal with another problem, heavy rain. Some roofs are seriously damaged and it rains inside the houses.
– No massive destruction but a lot of broken glass, brick pieces, mortar to be cleaned
– The overall damage is told to be superficial, but still widespread in the direct epicenter area and in Pernik
– A lot of people who were afraid to re-enter their houses have spend the night in their cars. There are still people doing this at this moment.
– 50% of the people in Pernik are reported to have no drinking water
– The chimney of a thermal power plant collapsed in Pernik
– Bulgaria is one of the European countries who has adopted the European EC8 earthquake resistant building code. New buildings will be surely protected against very strong earthquakes, but older buildings will always be problematic
– 60 aftershocks have been recorded since the mainshock at 00:00 UTC. The majority of these aftershocks are too weak to be felt by people.
Earthquake-Report.com wishes to thank the people who shared their experience with this specialized earthquake site. In doing this you are part of an Open Source Press Agency that informs other people in the country minutes after it happens. These reports may not be underestimated and are as important as the Earthquake data itself.
Update 08:53 UTC : Deputy Prime Minister, Power, Police
– The Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister has stated that there are no casualties, no serious injuries and no significant national infrastructure damage
– The Deputy Prime Minister said that the situation is totally under control
– Power cuts were experienced in Radomir, a town West of Pernik, but the power has been restored now
– Police patrols have been dispatched all over the country to avoid looting while people where out of their houses out of fear for aftershocks
Summary 07:00 UTC :
– 30 people were slightly injured and all have been released from hospital
– 1 house was destroyed in Rudartski. Only slight damage occurred to other buildings like fallen plaster
– Damage assessments are currently been undertaken.
– This was about as damaging as the 1965 earthquake.
Update 06:36 UTC : From the CATDAT Damaging Earthquakes Database, the following major damaging earthquakes have occurred close to this epicenter.
1555, 1641, 1818, 1848 – major damage near this epicentre.
1858 – multiple earthquakes caused major damage in Sofia with 4 deaths.
1904 – multiple large earthquakes in Gabrovo region.
Late 1938 – Damaged houses in Sofia, and overturned chimneys. From a mild earthquake.
According to Associated Press reports, an earthquake caused damage to several houses in Transylvania on August 30 1941
6 April 1942 – A Rome broadcast heard in London, England, reported that a temblor caused damage at the Bulgarian town of Tutrakan. One hundred houses were said to have been destroyed, but there was no report of casualties. BSSA:
28 January 1965 – Bulgaria; slight damage (intensity VII) in the towns of Rodomir and Pernik and in the villages of Kladnitsa and Roudartzi in the mountainous massif about 30 km south-west of Sofia (Grigorova and Rijikova, 1965)
Late 1977 saw damage in the region of Velingrad from a M5.5 earthquake.
Update 06:19 UTC :
30 people have required medical treatment however, no other casualties have been seen. The children’s ward in Pernik hospital was evacuated.
Victims who came to the hospital are numbered around 30, most of which were bruised and lacerated by fallen plaster or objects. These were not serious injuries.
The Pernik fault on which the earthquake occurred has not been activated for 100 years.
Update 03:19 UTC :
One of our Sofia readers reports : The Bulgarian networks report for a demolished house in Rudartsi but no casualties except for some people from Sofia and Pernik suffering from high blood pressure from the stress.
Update 03:08 UTC :
– The last local reports we could see was that 1 house was collapsed to the west of Pernik. A lot of people have been treated for a nervous breakdown, but we have no word on injuries based on the shaking
– A dam in the earthquake area has not been damaged
– We can advise our Bulgarian friends to read the following good article on how to behave during and after an earthquake
– About 30 residents of the city required medical treatment, mainly because of problems with blood pressure after suffering a stress.
Update 02:48 UTC :
– We expect better reports from the 15 km radius of the epicenter in about an hour when daylight will disclose more details. So far we haven’t heard anything from the villages to the west of Pernik and information out of Pernik, a city with 81,000 inhabitants, is extremely limited.
Update 02:24 UTC :
– Another strong aftershock just occurred in the earthquake zone
An Earthquake-Report.com reader is commenting : Keeps shaking, it\’s scary. The first time the walls shook for around 20 secs, bottles, books, frames falling. It increased before easing off, there were two more shakes right away, and two more in an hour and half and in about two hours. Online advice says it\’s better to stay at home, next to an inner wall, a sturdy furniture or under a bed/table, away from mirrors, windows, kitchen and electricity devices. I am alone with the kid, it\’s scary. I feel a series of small aftershocks.
Update 02:24 UTC :
– Entire walls are reported to have collapsed in the Western city of Pernik as a result of the earthquake.
– EMSC has reported a lot of aftershocks so far. 2 of them measured 4.7 and 4.6. Not dangerous for normal constructions but they can make people crazy after an earthquake.
– The Sofia area is not the most dangerous in Bulgaria but nevertheless has been labeled as an area with a potential Magnitude of 7.
Landscape near Pernik – Image courtesy Dennyl
Update 02:05 UTC :
– The city of Pernik has a lot of apartment buildings
– The confirmed damage so far is broken windows, fallen chimneys, cracks in walls etc. We are now 2 hours after the mainshock and this is good news. If the damage should have been widespread, the news must certainly have arrived already in Sofia. The Magnitude is dangerous but not as dangerous as initially reported.
– It will take a few hours more until daylight before a better picture can be made from the damage
Update 01:58 UTC :
– Our I Have felt It system can hardly follow with the many experienced we receive from within Balgaria and from the neighboring countries
– Aftershocks in the -5 range are continuing to strike in the epicenter area. Unless houses became unstable, we do expect no serious damage from these aftershocks.
– Our attention goes to the direct epicenter area to the North West of Pernik. The situation is still very chaotic at the moment.
– Local press in Pernil is saying that the epicenter is in between Pernik and Rudartsi. Other people are claiming the epicenter to be in Radomir.
Update 01:41 UTC :
– EMSC has located the earthquake’s epicenter almost below Meshtitsa. The mayor of Pernik was merely concerned about Batanovtsi from were she has received damage reports.
– A bad sign for eventual damage is the merely soft soil in this area. A lot of farming fields means that the wave propagation can be powerful. More or less the equivalent of the Italian earthquake.
Update 01:38 UTC :
– USGS has decreased his Magnitude from 5.8 to 5.6, which is a big difference in energy. Depth remains unchanged.
– EMSC maintains the M5.7 Magnitude at a depth of 10 km.
– So far we haven’t heard from Pernil, which is a bif city very close to the epicenter
– A lot of people are reporting cracks in the walls
– The Mayor of Pernik Rositsa Yanakieva have gone to town Batanovtsi, which is located near Pernik, since there is evidence that has damaged buildings.
Update 01:24 UTC :
– As could be expected, a lot of aftershocks are hampering the area
– There is information about damaged walls, chimneys, plaster, broken windows, etc. Based on our experience, this is a bad sign and will lead to a lot more damage.
– Earthquake-Report.com also fears for the strength of a lot of houses and buildings. They are mostly build out of brick , which if it not reinforced for earthquakes, collapses easily.
Update 01:17 UTC :
– There is no immediate evidence that the power would have been gone.
– The earthquake was followed almost immediately by two aftershocks of almost equal strength.
– The civil protection and fire brigade departments across Bulgaria have been alerted about minor damages to walls, ceilings, and windows. ER : based on our experience, this is only the beginning. We expect more damage as the time passes.
Update 01:11 UTC : The earthquake was well felt in the neighboring countries from Macedonia, Serbia and Greece.
Update 01:10 UTC : The first earthquake measured M5.8. The depth is still unsure. The shaking went on for about 10 seconds. The mainshock was followed by a M4.7 aftershock.
With special thanks to Dr. Carracedo (Geovol) allowing us to publish his report and Joke Volta for facilitating.
Dr. Juan Carlos Carracedo Gómez – ULPGC
Forty years after the Teneguía Volcano (La Palma, 1971), a submarine eruption took place off the town of La Restinga, south of El Hierro, the smallest and youngest island of the Canarian Archipelago. Precursors allowed an early detection of the event and its approximate location, suggesting it was submarine. Uncertainties derived from insufficient scientific information available to the authorities during the eruption, leading to disproportionate civil protection measures, which had an impact on the island’s economy based primarily on tourism, while residents experienced extra fear and distress.
El Hierro, 1.12 million years old, is the youngest of the Canary Islands. Located at the western end of the archipelago together with the neighboring island of La Palma, El Hierro rests on a ca. 3500 m-deep ocean bed.
The principal configuration of El Hierro is controlled by a three-armed rift zone system that gives rise to three ridges that extend from the center of the island in a characteristic ‘Mercedes star’ geometry(Carracedo, 1994), and host the larger part of El Hierro’s subaerial eruptions (Fig. 1A).
This triple-armed shape of El Hierro is further enhanced by the scars of several massive gravitational landslides that truncate all three flanks. The collapse of the north flank, that formed the spectacular El Golfo bay with an almost vertical 1400 m-high escarpment, is the youngest landslide of the entire Canary Archipelago with an age of less than 100 ka. Rift zones, however, also continue underneath the sea surface. The south rift stretches as a submarine ridge for more than 40 km (Fig. 1B), indicating that recent submarine eruptions have occurred there as well.
Fig. 1. A. Geological map of El Hierro (from Carracedo et al., 2001). B. colour shaded relief image of El Hierro viewed from above (from Masson et al., 2002). The subaerial and submarine parts of the South rift are indicated.
During the German research cruise Meteor 43/1 in 1998, lava samples were dredged from the submarine prolongations of the southern rift zones of La Palma and El Hierro. El Hierro samples taken close to the present eruptive site (<3 km distant) included fresh picrites and alkali-basalts and variably altered lapillistones and hyaloclastites. Further dredging along the submarine north-west and north-east rift zones during the Poseidon 270 cruise in 2001 recovered fresh alkali basalts from 21 young volcanic cones at depths of 800 to 2300 m together with ocean bottom sediments having a strong volcaniclastic component.
It appears overall that the density of seemingly young volcanoes on El Hierro’s submarine rifts is comparable to that on land, emphasizing the relevance of submarine eruptions during the growth of oceanic islands.
Precursors to the 2011 eruption
Numerous earthquakes were recorded by the Spanish Instituto Geográfico Nacional (IGN) from July 2011 onwards, the greater part of them insignificant from a hazard point of view, but were clearly precursors of a volcanic eruption. In particular, seismicity, initially of low magnitude (M < 3.0) and focused north of the island, increased while migrating southward. The greater part of the hypocentres were initially concentrated within the lower oceanic crust (Fig. 2), at depths of 8–14 km (ca. 200–400 MPa pressure), which is in agreement with pressure estimates from microscopic fluid inclusions in xenoliths from north-western El Hierro and phenocrysts from a recent eruption. The seismic and petrological data are thus in-line with a scenario of a magma batch becoming trapped as an intrusion horizon, near the base or within the subisland oceanic crust. Shifting seismic foci suggest that magma progressively accumulated and expanded laterally in a southward direction, causing a vertical surface deformation of about 40 mm at that time.
During this initial phase, the system remained active but showed no sign of having overcome the resistance of the oceanic crust. Hypocenters thereafter migrated south-east, approaching the submarine prolongation of the active South rift zone. From there, the magma progressed rapidly towards the surface, as indicated by the first time occurrence of shallow (< 3 km) earthquakes on 9 October 2011.
The scenario changed dramatically at about 4 am on 10 October, when the now frequent and strong seismicity (up to M 4.4) ceased and was rather abruptly replaced by a continuous harmonic tremor, indicating the opening of a vent and thus the onset of a submarine eruption.
Fig. 2. Seismic hypocentres beneath El Hierro between 19 July and 10 October 2011. Hypocentres migrated from North towards the South rift zone of the island, where they became shallower (< 3 km). The eruption commenced on 10 October. Most of the time, seismicity remained stable at the base of the oceanic crust (data from IGN, http://www.ign.es/ign/resources/ volcanologia/ html/eventosHierro. html)
The submarine eruption
On October 10, patches of pale-colored water that smelled of sulfur and were associated with dead fish, were found floating one mile south of the coast confirming the opening of a vent on the flank of the submarine part of the South rift zone. The surface expression of this eruption, including green and bright discoloration of seawater, was clearly observed in high-resolution satellite images featuring a large stain(locally known as ‘la mancha’) visible on the surface of the Las Calmas Sea (Fig. 3A). The eruption formed aNE–SW trending fissure outlined by strong bubbling and degassing (Fig. 3B), occasionally 10–15 m high, loaded with juvenile volcanic ash and pyroclasts (Fig. 3C).
However, information on the depth and precise location of the submarine vent was lacking in the first two weeks of the eruption because of the unavailability of adequate means for submarine surveying.
On October 24, the RV Ramón Margalef of the Instituto Español de Oceanografía (IEO) carried out the first survey of the area, previously mapped in 1998 by the Spanish RV Hespérides (Fig. 4A). Comparison of present and 1998 bathymetry outlined a 700 m-wide, 100 m-high new volcanic cone resting at about 350 m depth in a canyon on the flank of the South Rift submarine extension (Fig. 4B). On 4 December 2011, the eruption apparently waning, the RV Ramón Margalef carried out another campaign, detecting significant growth of the volcanic edifice. The initial single eruptive center (Fig. 4A,B) had now evolved to three cones of similar height, with their summit 180–160 m below the sea surface (Fig. 4D), still below the critical value to generate significant surtseyan explosions (about 100 m below sea level).
Lava flows and pyroclasts, confined by the canyon walls, caused the greater part of the erupted volume to flow downslope towards deeper parts of the ocean floor.
Fig. 3. A. Plume of dissolved magmatic gases and suspended matter producing green and bright discolouration of seawater (locally known as ‘la mancha’) commencing on 10 October 2011 and continuing for several kilometres to the south-west before drifting off into the Atlantic (Satellite image by RapidEye). Fig. 3. B. Plumes of gas on ocean surface showing a N–S trend, indicating a submarine eruptive fissure. Inset: Expansion of steam with decreasing water depth (modified from Schmincke, 2004). C, strong degassing with abundant rock fragments generated large ‘bubbles’, some of them 10–15 m-high, bursting to the surface off the nearby village of La Restinga (8 November 2011).
Fig. 4. A. DEM showing the pre-eruptive submarine canyon where the 2011 eruption nested (image taken from the RV Hespérides, 1998). B. DEM of the same area taken on 24 October by the RV Ramon Margalef after the onset of underwater activity. C. Geological map of the submarine eruption from the first DEM obtained on 24 October 2011 by the RV Ramon Margalef. D. Geological map of the same area on 4 December 2011.
Floating stones off El Hierro
Abundant rock fragments resembling lava bombs on a decimeter scale (Fig. 5) and characterized by glassy basaltic crusts and white to cream-colored interiors, were found floating on the ocean surface during the first days of the eruption. The interiors of these floating rocks are glassy and vesicular (similar to pumice), with frequent mingling between the pumicelike interior and the enveloping basaltic magma (Fig. 5B).These floating rocks have become known locally as ‘restingolites’ after the nearby village of La Restinga. Their nature and origin remained elusive at first, with suggestions from the scientific community including: (1) the floating bombs are juvenile and potentially explosive high-silica magma; (2) they are fragments of marine sediment from the submarine flank of El Hierro; and (3) that they are relatively old, hydrated volcanic material. However, none of these interpretations provides a satisfying fit to the available observation since for instance, high-silica volcanism is uncommon on El Hierro, and magmatic minerals (either grown in magma or as detritus from erosion) are entirely absent in the ‘restingolites’. Given that the involvement of highly evolved, high-silica magmatism would have implications for the explosive potential of the eruption, it was important to clarify the nature of the ‘restingolites’ swiftly in order to fully assess the hazards associated with the ongoing El Hierro eruption. Furthermore, should the ‘restingolites’ be shown not to originate from high-silica magma, then unraveling their genesis will most likely provide unique insights into the volcano–magma system beneath El Hierro.
All ‘restingolite’ samples are glassy and light in color and most are macroscopically crystal-free. However, occasional quartz crystals, jasper fragments, gypsum aggregates and carbonate relicts have been identified in hand specimens. X-Ray diffractograms mainly indicate the presence of quartz, mica and/or illite, and glass. There is a notable absence of primary igneous minerals from the XRD data. Microscopic quartz crystals have also been identified and analysed using a field emission electron probe micro-analyser (FE-EPMA), as well as the composition of the glass matrix, which ranges between ~65 and 90 per cent SiO2.
The high silica content coupled with overall low incompatible trace element concentrations, the occurrence of mm-sized relict quartz crystals and the lack of igneous minerals, plus the occurrence of carbonate, clay, jasper and gypsum relicts are all ncompatible with a purely igneous origin for the cores of the floating stones. Igneous rocks on El Hierro do not contain any free (primary) quartz crystals (nor do igneous rocks on any of the other Canary Islands). A potential source of the quartz crystals found in the floating rocks from El Hierro is likely to be the sediments of layer 1 of the pre-island ocean crust. These contain quartz crystals transported from Africa by both wind and turbidity currents and are characterized by a lack of igneous minerals due to their pre-island age.
Fig. 5. A. ‘floating rocks’ observed in October 2011 off El Hierro. B. ‘restingolite’ sample displaying typical features, such as a crust of basalt, primary sedimentary bedding, folding, high vesicularity, and mingling structures. C. hollow basaltic bomb of the late stages of the eruption. D. similar bomb from the Serreta Oceanic Volcano, Terceira, Azores (photograph by Ulrich Küppers).
The floating rocks found at El Hierro are thus most probably the products of magma–sediment interaction beneath the volcano (Fig. 6). Ascending magma mixes with the pre-volcanic sediments and the ‘restingolites’ were carried to the ocean floor during eruption while being melted and vesiculated during transport in magma. Once erupted onto the ocean floor, some of them were able to separate from the erupting lava and floated to the sea surface due to their low density (Fig. 6).
Most important Earthquake Data:
Magnitude : M6.0
UTC Time : Sunday, May 20, 2012 at 02:03:52 UTC
Local time at epicenter : Sunday, May 20, 2012 at 04:03:52 AM at epicenter
Depth (Hypocenter) : 5.1 km
Geo-location(s) :
7 km NW Finale emilia (pop 15,337)
30 km W Ferrara (pop 131,771)
36 km (22 miles) NNW of Bologna, –
Update 18:20 UTC : Mantua, Modena, shelters, highways
-150 people have been listed by the Mantua authorities for shelter for the night. They are unable to return to their damaged houses
– Modena has installed temporary shelters for 2000 homeless people
– The regional highway authority was happy to tell the press that NO problems were reported in their regional network of more than 400 bridges, viaducts, tunnels, etc
Update 18:13 UTC : Rovigo churches, firefighter, cultural heritage
– Churches have been closed for further inspection in the Rovigo province.
– A firefighter who fell from a roof when the building he was inspecting during an aftershock collapsed is conscious again. Good news, but a further proof that these people are taking great risks to get close to unstable buildings.
– The vast cultural heritage in between Modena and Ferrara and especially in Emilia Finale has been suffered enormously.
Update 17:54 UTC : aftershocks, hospital, PM Monti
– We have just counted 64 aftershocks since the mainshock at 02.03 UTC
– Civil protection will be helping with the evacuation of the hospital in Finale Emilia
– Prime Minister Monti, currently in Chicago for the G8 meeting, has said that he will do everything in his power to cope with the situation. He is constantly updated by the responsible presidents of the damaged provinces.
– The Sant’Agostina area has suffered seriously from the M5.1 aftershock from this afternoon.
Update 17:13 UTC : anti-looting, missing persons
– Police have organized anti-looting patrols to take care of unattended houses and buildings
– The president of Emilia Romagno has said to the press that nobody is missing anymore, making it probable that the current list of killend and injured people will remain as it is
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Update 16:21 UTC : displaced people, additional damage after aftershock, power, animals
– Because of some cracks in Mantua’s Palazzo Ducale, the fire department has decided to close the building for the public
– The number of displaced people (people who cannot return to their houses) is currently estimated to be 3,000.
– The M5.1 aftershock was responsible for the additional collapse of a still standing part of the Sant’Agostine town hall
– ENEL, the main Italian power company, said that besides some isolated cases, all users have electricity again.
– Misery for a number of animals too. A number of stables have been collapsed and at least a herd of cows and breeding pigs have been covered by the rubble. We expect more livestock to be in trouble as everybody knows that stables are often in a bad condition.
Update 16:00 UTC : prisoners evacuated, telecommunications and Railway line working again
– Italian Railways have reopened the Bologna – Verona railway route.
– The Modena province has asked the national government to take urgent measures to help the owners of damaged houses and businesses. An extension in time to enter tax forms isd one of them.
– The 200 users cutoff from Telecommunications at Finale Emilia have been reconnected
– 500 prisoners have been evacuated from the Ferrara prison. Some of the prisoners were maffia linked and had to be kept away from others because of testimony programs.
Update 15:27 UTC : Damage will be huge!
Earlier in this article, we have reported to believe that the damage would go into the hundreds of millions of Euro’s. We will have to boost this damage considerably as a lot of factories and buildings may be found unstable to continue producing goods. This economic damage will be added on top of the structural damage to buildings. James Daniell, an earthquake damage specialist working at Cedim Germany, will certainly be able to produce a very good estimate by tomorrow afternoon.
Update 15:21 UTC : Strong aftershock
A M5.1 aftershock struck the epicenter area at 13:18 UTC (15:18 local time). The depth of the hypocenter was at 8.9 km following USGS. INGV, Italy seismological institute, reports the same Magnitude but a depth of 5.1 km.
These continuous aftershocks are bad news for the people in the greater earthquake area as they will go on for many hours and will last at least until tomorrow, meaning that a lot of people will have to spend the night outside their own houses. The aftershocks will gradually weaken, but the situation will be at least unstable for a limited number of days. The epicenter of the last aftershock was very close to Ferrara, much closer than the mainshock. Normally, a M5.1 earthquake is not really damaging, but in combination with already unstable buildings, such shocks will be capable to increase the amount of damage considerably.
Update 15:19 UTC : 300,000 cheeses probably lost
300000 cheeses have been destroyed (buried under rubble etc.). These are mostly the popular Grana Padanoand Parmigiano Reggiano cheese types. The total of this damage will be around 50 million euros. At least 10 million kilos of the cheese are estimated to be under the rubble.Luckily, noone was killed, as these cheeses weigh between 36 and 38 kilos each.
The total damage from the event has been estimated around 250 million euros. The stacked cheeses fell and have been covered by debris. How much is salvageable is unknown
The cheese factory and storage is located in Mantovano. The damage from this factory alone is estimated to be 250 million euros.
List of the deceased (5 in the Ferrara province and 1 in Bologna province)
– Nicholas Cavicchi, 35, resident of San Martino (Ferrara) and killed while working in factory in Sant’Agostino
– Ansaloni Leonardo, 51, resident of Reno Centese (Ferrara) and killed in the same factory as Mr. Cavacchi
– Gerardo Cesaro, 59, resident of Moline.
– Tarik Naouch, 29, residing in Crevalcore. Mr. Naouch was killed in the Ursa factory in Ponte Rodoni di Bondeno
– Nerina Balboni, 103, got a heart attack when she was buried partly by debris
– 37 year old German woman died of a heart attack in Bologna (we are still searching for her identity)
Earthquake-Report.com pays his respects to the family of all the deceased.
Update 12:19 UTC :
-The President of the National Council of Engineers has said that all efforts have now to be invested in more earthquake-resistant buildings. He mentioned especially the need to further stabilize historic buildings, one of the main damaged building types during this earthquake.
– The President of the Lombardy province, Mr. Roberto Formigoni, has joined the plea of the President of Emilia Romagna to call the State of Emergency in the earthquake damaged areas. Mantua, another seriously hit area is part of Lombardy.
– Schools will be closed tomorrow as inspection of school buildings will take place
Update 11:31 UTC :
– The number of people killed directly or indirectly remains the same
– Fifty people have been reported as injured
– The body of Gerardo Cesaro, worker at the Tecopress company has been recovered from below the rubble
– Italian President Napolitano has send his sympathy to the family of the killed people and has also send words of thanks to the SAR people and all people involved in helping the victims of the earthquake. President Napolitano is constantly updated from the situation by the Italian Civil protection.
– Aftershocks are continue to strike the area. At 11:13 a M4.2 aftershock made it very clear that the dangerous hours are not over yet. Stronger aftershocks are very exceptional but occur from time to time.
– The President of Emilia-Romagna has asked the National Government to call the state of National Emergency for the area.
Image courtesy INGV Italia – Yellow star : mainshock – yellow circle : M4.1 foreshock – big red circles : aftershocks in between M4 to M5
Update 09:55 UTC : Mr. Gabrielli, chief of the regional Civil Protection has declared that the situation is “under control”. Mr. Gabrielli told the press that he has overflown the greater earthquake area and that he has not seen serious problematic areas. Traffic is going smoothly, infrastructure is almost intact and damage is not widespread.
Update 09:47 UTC :
– Italian Civil Protection is organizing shelters for people who’s houses have been damaged by the earthquake.
– tens of people have been injured during the earthquake. The devastation is not widespread. Only isolated houses and buildings have suffered serious damage. We expect not earthquake-resistant building methods to be one of the major reasons that such serious damage has been inflicted.
– The collapse, partial collapse and damaged historic buildings are currently visited by Civil Protection and Local authorities to become a clear picture of the amount of damage.
– Earthquake-Report.com is increasing the expected amount of damage into the hundreds of millions Euros. This amount not only includes damage to buildings and historic sites but also to the economy.
Update 09:23 UTC : INGV has reported 41 aftershocks so far, the strongest being a M4.9 at 03:02 UTC (05:02 local Italian time). 5 aftershocks measured M4 or higher and 14 aftershocks in between M3 and M4.
Update 09:15 UTC : The Mantua area was also seriously damaged. The church of Felonica in Mantua was damaged.
Update 09:11 UTC : Many people in the greater epicenter area remain in the streets fearing for aftershocks.
Important Update 08:56 UTC : The death toll has increased to 6 when a worker was found under the rubble of the Tecopress factory at St. Augustine (Ferrara). 4 are considered in earthquake terms as shaking deaths, 2 people have been killed indirectly (see below).
Update 08:47 UTC : Click on the pictures below to see more images of the damage inflicted by this deadly earthquake.
Images courtesy and copyright La Repubblica – Click on the images to see more of them
Update 08:35 UTC : The Chief of Civil Protection from the Ferrara province has just arrived at the Prefecture office and is now leading an assessment and operations meeting with his staff.
– Based on the many images we have seen so far, the damage will run into at least tens of millions of Euro’s, probably a lot more. Some historic buildings have collapsed completely, others partially. Industrial warehouses have been damaged. So far we have NO immediate numbers of injured, but a lot of people living in damaged houses must have at least minor injures.
Update 08:26 UTC : To give our readers an idea of the extend of the damage, we have combined a “before” and “after” image of the Castle of Finale Emilio. The angle is not the same, but you can see very good that the towers have almost completely collapsed. Images courtesy and copyright of its owners, damaged castle from Gianluca Diegoli via twitter and the “before” picture from animoweb.it.
Update 08:18 UTC : The earthquake was also felt in the neighboring countries. We got I Have Felt It reports from the Alps region, Slovenia and the Cote d’Azur (France).
Update 08:09 UTC : 2 helicopters of the Italian Police are overflying the earthquake hit areas and are trying to locate and to guide SAR forces (Search and Rescue forces) to eventual collapsed or heavily damaged buildings. These overflying helicopters are especially looking for old abandoned houses were often poor families are residing.
Update 08:01 UTC : The Palace of Venice, an historic building in Finale Emilia, badly hit by the earthquake, is partially collapsed. The 11 people from three families who lived there were rescued by SAT personnel.
Update 07:58 UTC : It is still not sure how many people have exactly perished during this earthquake. We have counted 4 so far, but the number may increase slightly. Let us make an overview.
– 2 indirect fatalities (a 37 year old ill woman died probably of an heart attack and a 100 year old person probably from the same)
– a Moroccan worker died in Ponte Rodoni, Bondeno. He worked at Ursa, a polystyrene foam company, and his shift would end at 5. He was killed when a support beam collapsed on his head.
– 2 Italian workers were killed when a roof from a ceramics manufacturing company collapsed on them. Theur work shift would have ended at 6.
3 shaking deaths and 2 indirect killed people is the sad result so far.
Update 07:45 UTC : A 5 year old child was rescued out of the rubble in a collapsed building in Finale Emilia !
Historic earthquakes map courtesy INGV – earthquake in between M6 and M7
Update 07:32 UTC : The earthquake’s epicenter was located in a area which has no damaging earthquakes since a long time. We have to go back to 1570 for a major earthquake nearFerrara and to even 1346 for another M6 to M7 earthquake at a distance of approx. 20 km from the current epicenter. From 2002 to 2008 6 smaller earthquakes (less than M4) occurred within a radius of 20 km.
Update 07:17 UTC : A lot of people are asking themselves why an earthquake with (only) a M5.9 Magnitude can inflict such a lot of serious damage. Not only was this earthquake very shallow (close to the surface), but one of the main factors is that the earthquake occurred in a relatively soft soil area. Soft ground layers are propagating the earthquake waves a lot stronger than areas with harder rocky layers.
Update 06:41 UTC : 2 earthquake of respectively M4.1 and M2.2 were precursors of the damaging M6 mainshock. Since that mainshock, INGV has recorded 12 aftershocks!
Important Update 06:39 UTC : We are sad to tell that a 4th fatality has been reported. We have also a few more details on the killed people. All of the death people are coming from the Ferrara area. 2 people died in a pottery factory in Ferrara. A third person died in the Ferrara Bondeno industrial zone and the 4th victim was a 37 year ill woman who died of an heart attack.
Update : The video below shows the damage to a couple of buildings in the Ferrara area. The shaking must have been very strong to inflict this kind of damage.
Update : The video below is mainly a picture from a damaged building combined with an interview with the Governor of the Ferrara province (in Italian). The governor talks about a lot of damage to bridges, schools, historic buildings etc. She calls the situation very serious.
Update 06:35 UTC : In San Felice sul Panaro, near Modena, the tower of the fortress collapsed. Another tower went down in Finale Emilia, and a nursing home was evacuated.
Damage in Northern Italy after the May 20 earthquake – Images courtesy and copyright La Repubblica – Please click on these pictures to see more of them in La Repubblica
Update : The 3 killed people are believed to be 3 farm workers in the Ferrara area
Update : The heavy shaking lated for about 20 seconds
Update : As what can be expected, everybody ran to the streets after feeling the shaking.
Update : A church bell collapsed in Ferrara, in Finale Emilia a church steeple was reported damage, in San Felice Parano a segment of a castle collapsed.
Update : USGS has upgraded the earthquake to 6.0 at a depth of only 5km. The updated PAGER says 73,000 people would felt a severe shaking!! and 178,000 a very strong shaking. Avery bad sign.
Update : An also strong aftershock M5.1 occurred 59 minutes later
Shaking map courtesy USGS
Update : The village who has been hit most (MMI VIII) was Camposanto, a little town with 3,000 inhabitants.
Most important Earthquake Data:
Magnitude : 4.3
UTC Time : Thursday, May 17, 2012 at 08:12:01 UTC
Local time at epicenter : Thursday, May 17, 2012 at 03:12:01 AM at epicenter
Depth (Hypocenter) : 5 km (3.1 miles)
Geo-location(s) :
Very close to Timpson, Texas
45 km (27 miles) NE of Nacogdoches, Texas
Update 14:23 UTC : A lot of people are very concerned that an even bigger earthquake may be striking the area. First of all we have to say that aftershocks which are stronger than the initial mainshock are only happening now and then. The vast majority of aftershocks are less powerful than the mainshock and are gradually getting weaker. Although very rare, it can not be excluded neither as today’s aftershock is showing. Aftershocks may also be expected in this case.
Update 14:14 UTC : news-journal.com (PanolaWatchman.com) writes that Shelby County Sheriff’s dispatcher Jacob Allen said the only injury report received so far was an elderly woman who fell out of her bed and cut her arm. Allen said the quake caused broken windows and fallen dishes, but no major damage had been reported.
Update 14:13 UTC : Following the Texas State Historical Association, earthquakes were reported in Rusk in 1891, Center in 1981, and Jacksonville in 1981. In other words, they are extremely rare in this area of the country.
Update 14:10 UTC: The home security camera inside a Texas house (location unknown) shows the kind of shaking that was experienced. Based on this footage, we believe that it must have been not too far from the epicenter. Although the origin of the video cannot be traced, earthquake-report.com has no reason to believe that this was a setup.
Update 09:31 UTC : Earthquake-Report.com does thank the Texas people for sharing their experience with the rest of the world (especially with their fellow Texans). I Have Felt it descriptions are still the best Earthquake value to be found. Magnitudes and Focal depths are of course important, but every earthquake (even with the same values) will be felt differently all over the world.
Update 09:28 UTC : On May 10, we had a surprisingly “more than normal” number of earthquakes in unusual areas. It all started in Timpson, Texas with later during the day moderate quakes in Indiana and Oklahoma! We are of course very curious to see if a similar occurrence will be the case today. Normally, we do not expect it to happen again.
Shaking map courtesy USGS – Greenish area is the Moderate shaking area
Update 09:14 UTC : Last earthquake gave only few moderate aftershocks, which hopefully will be the same today.
Update 09:09 UTC : Timpson and Tenaha are the towns where a Moderate shaking will have been experienced. Center, Carthage, Logansport, Nacagdoches, San Augustine, Tatum and Henderson will have experienced a (theoretical) light shaking. The area beyond this radius a weak to very weak shaking. These theoretical scenarios are based on the earthquake parameters in combination with the Felt intensity of historic earthquakes.
Update 09:07 UTC : Today’s earthquake happened in the middle of the night (03:12 local time), which is always a very scary experience for the people living close to the epicenter. A very shallow hypocenter adds to this experience.
Update 08:56 UTC : EMSC (European seismological agency) reports an initial M4.6 at a depth of 2 km. As you can imagine, we prefer the USGS data as most accurate in this case as USGS has a lot of equipment all over the territory.
Update 08:53 UTC : Based on theoretical estimates, 14,000 people will have experienced a moderate shaking and 143,000 people a light shaking. At Earthquake-Report.com, we can confirm these intensity expectations (based on the felt reports we have received).
Same epicenter area than the May 10 earthquake which was (only) M3.9. Only 6 km from Simpson, TX
The Experience report we received minutes after this aftershock, was right in stating that it felt stronger then the initial one. Serious damages are not to be expected, at max. a few cracks in walls and objects who are falling from shelves etc.
Earthquake May 10 – M3.9 This is what we wrote on the May 10 earthquake : Moderate earthquake below Timpson, Texas
” I was sitting at the computer when the entire house shook. I thought someone had ran into the house.” said Caroline Davis from Timpson. The earthquake was initially reported as a M3.9 earthquake and later decreased to a M3.7 at a very shallow depth of 5 km. Some local media are reporting the epicenter just South East of Garrison, although USGS maps the epicenter clearly below Timpson. Based on the Magnitude and the kind of shaking Caroline Davis has felt, we think the present location below Timpson is right. Defining the exact epicenter of an earthquake is always very difficult. It needs complex computing and an error margin is always included in the reporting of the seismological agencies. In this case the Horizontal error margin is 10.4 miles and the vertical 1.9 miles.
The max. shaking intensity as reported by people who have felt it was MMI IV (light shaking) to V (moderate shaking), enough to be scared seriously if you feel it.
The earthquake was felt well in a radius of 15 to 20 miles around the epicenter. Felt by few people in a radius up to 75 miles.
Some people reported a shaking of ca 10 seconds.
No damage or injuries have been reported so far. Earthquake-Report.com, following earthquakes worldwide every day of the year, expects NO damage or injuries from this earthquake. Fallen objects are always a possibility though. Update : According to a meteorologist at the NWC, no damage has been reported in the area. He said he did not know how an earthquake could have hit the area, as there are no significant fault lines. Update : A resident from Garrison county said the earthquake caused cracks on bricks at his house.
May 16, 2012 – Moderate earthquake close to Anchorage, Alaska
Last update: May 16, 2012 at 4:14 pm by By Ashish Khanal
Moderate earthquake close to Anchorage, Alaska
Preliminary Magnitude : 4.7 — Depth 57 km
Harmless earthquake because of the depth. Also because of the depth it will be well felt in the greater Alaska area
Anchorage – Woke me at about 700 am and my dogs freaked out
Anchorage, AK @ airport – Definitely shook Ted Stevens International Airport…
East Anchorage, Alaska – My alarm for work had just gone off and I had hit the snooze button. I was laying there half asleep until the shaking started. It shook the house pretty good.
Alaska – Thought it was my cell phone vibrating on the bed at first… then it actually hit. No damage, but the house shook and creaked pretty good.
Image and intensities courtesy CWB, Taiwan
Purple line is subduction fault line – seismic hazard map courtesy USGS
Dr. Juan Carlos Carracedo Gómez – ULPGC
Fig. 1. A. Geological map of El Hierro (from Carracedo et al., 2001). B. colour shaded relief image of El Hierro viewed from above (from Masson et al., 2002). The subaerial and submarine parts of the South rift are indicated.
Fig. 2. Seismic hypocentres beneath El Hierro between 19 July and 10 October 2011. Hypocentres migrated from North towards the South rift zone of the island, where they became shallower (< 3 km). The eruption commenced on 10 October. Most of the time, seismicity remained stable at the base of the oceanic crust (data from IGN, http://www.ign.es/ign/resources/ volcanologia/ html/eventosHierro. html)
Fig. 3. A. Plume of dissolved magmatic gases and suspended matter producing green and bright discolouration of seawater (locally known as ‘la mancha’) commencing on 10 October 2011 and continuing for several kilometres to the south-west before drifting off into the Atlantic (Satellite image by RapidEye). Fig. 3. B. Plumes of gas on ocean surface showing a N–S trend, indicating a submarine eruptive fissure. Inset: Expansion of steam with decreasing water depth (modified from Schmincke, 2004). C, strong degassing with abundant rock fragments generated large ‘bubbles’, some of them 10–15 m-high, bursting to the surface off the nearby village of La Restinga (8 November 2011).
Fig. 4. A. DEM showing the pre-eruptive submarine canyon where the 2011 eruption nested (image taken from the RV Hespérides, 1998). B. DEM of the same area taken on 24 October by the RV Ramon Margalef after the onset of underwater activity. C. Geological map of the submarine eruption from the first DEM obtained on 24 October 2011 by the RV Ramon Margalef. D. Geological map of the same area on 4 December 2011.
Fig. 5. A. ‘floating rocks’ observed in October 2011 off El Hierro. B. ‘restingolite’ sample displaying typical features, such as a crust of basalt, primary sedimentary bedding, folding, high vesicularity, and mingling structures. C. hollow basaltic bomb of the late stages of the eruption. D. similar bomb from the Serreta Oceanic Volcano, Terceira, Azores (photograph by Ulrich Küppers).
Update 16:21 UTC : displaced people, additional damage after aftershock, power, animals
Image courtesy INGV Italia – Yellow star : mainshock – yellow circle : M4.1 foreshock – big red circles : aftershocks in between M4 to M5
