Tag Archives: tsunami

Strong quake kills six in south Philippines

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Source, YahooNews

“Buildings were not just moving, they were swaying,” Gadi Sorilla, a doctor at a hospital in Tulunan, a town about 25 kilometres (15 miles) from the epicentre told AFP.

A powerful earthquake struck the southern Philippines Tuesday, killing six people, cracking buildings and injuring dozens in a region still reeling from a previous deadly tremor.

Terrified locals ran into the streets after the 6.6-magnitude quake, which hit the island of Mindanao as schools and offices opened for the day.

The shaking lasted up to a minute in some areas, damaging homes, multi-storey buildings and classrooms in a region where hundreds are still displaced by a quake that killed at least five earlier this month.

The Philippines suffers regular tremors as part of the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, an arc of intense seismic activity that stretches from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.

A teenage boy was crushed by a falling wall as he tried to escape his school in Magsaysay, the town spokesman told AFP. Though other students were injured in a “stampede” to escape the building, they survived.

Rock and landslides unleashed by the violent shaking killed four others, while a collapsed wall crushed a man, authorities said.

At least 50 people were hurt by falling debris, including some seven pupils and teachers hurt escaping their collapsed elementary school.

Locals were awed by the power of the quake, which was shallow and thus potentially more destructive.

“Buildings were not just moving, they were swaying,” Gadi Sorilla, a doctor at a hospital in Tulunan, a town about 25 kilometres (15 miles) from the epicentre told AFP.

“I asked God for help,” he said, adding the hospital had quickly received about 10 patients, some with head injuries.

  • Hundreds still displaced –

Tulunan’s mayor Reuel Limbungan said the local municipal hall had been heavily damaged and authorities had received “lots of reports of injuries”.

Rescue teams worked until dark on Tuesday to assess the damage to the region, where electricity and phone services were knocked out in some areas by the power of the quake.

The US Geological Survey said the initial 6.6 magnitude quake was followed by a number of smaller shakes, including one measuring 5.8.

The continuing tremors were causing anxiety on the ground, with people refusing to go back inside buildings for fear of being caught in any resulting collapse.

When the ‘Big One” Hits the Cascadia Subduction Zone, It’s Game-Over for Seattle

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Local media outlets in Western Washington have been talking a lot lately about the Cascadia Subduction Zone. A recently published simulation shows how the state would be impacted by a magnitude 9 earthquake:

For one, large tsunami waves would barrel in and out of the Washington coast, including through inland waterways that connect to Seattle and its surrounding communities. Though the size of these waves would certainly vary, Washington’s Chief Hazards Geologist Corina Forson notes that they would generally be “incredibly tall,” and thus devastating.

Another concern is what’s known as trough, which is when water levels suddenly recede following an earthquake, following their rapid return ashore.

“That’s one of the things we struggle with messaging,” Forson told KING5, which used the example of the massive 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that pulled water out from the beach before sending it roaring back, killing many.

“When you see the water recede, that could be an indication that the tsunami wave is coming,” she adds.

Another concern is the fact that the Cascadia Subduction Zone is located right next to the Juan de Fuca tectonic plate, which plunges underneath the North American plate. A large section of the Juan de Fuca plate is missing underneath central Oregon, or rather tearing apart and splitting the plate, which has raised more concerns about how a cascading seismic event might impact both states.

Apart from the Cascadia, Seattle is also threatened by the seismically active Seattle Fault and South Whidbey Island Fault. So just be ready, because those three fault lines are overdue for a large earthquake.

Original article on Strangesounds.org