Magnitude 7,9 earthquake in Rat Islands, Aleutian Islands

Posted on June 24, 2014 by Jón Frímann

Yesterday (23-June-2014) at 20:53 UTC a magnitude 7,9 earthquake [EMSC information here] took place in Rat Islands, Aleutan Islands. This earthquake had the depth of 100 km, no damage has been reported following this earthquake and aftershocks. The reason for that is this area has almost no population at all. The biggest risk was from local tsunamis, they where detected but I don’t think any damage took place from them.

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The regional view of the area where the magnitude 7.9 earthquake took place in Rat Islands, Aleutian Islands. Copyright of this image belongs to EMSC.

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Local view of the area where the magnitude 7.9 earthquake took place in Rat Islands, Aleutian Islands. Copyright of this image belongs to EMSC.

After the main earthquake took place a heavy aftershock activity took place. With strongest aftershock having the magnitude of Mb6,0 (EMSC information here) and Mw6,6 (EMSC information here). Many magnitude 5,0+ earthquakes took place following the main earthquake.

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Here is how the magnitude 7,9 earthquake appeared on my geophone in Iceland. This image is under Creative Commons Licence, please see CC Licence page for more details.

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Here is how the magnitude 7,9 earthquake did appear on my geophone in Denmark. Its frequency has been extended by software to show the earthquake clearly. This image is under Creative Commons Licence, please see CC Licence page for more details.

There is a risk of more aftershocks in this area for the next few days to months. There is little risk of damage due to this area low population density. It is unclear if the magnitude 7,9 earthquake is going to have any effect on volcanoes in this area. As stated yesterday by Alaska Volcano Observatory on it’s Facebook site.

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Magnitude 6,9 earthquake in Aegean sea

Posted on May 24, 2014 by Jón Frímann

Today (24-May-2014) a strong earthquake with the magnitude of 6,9 took place in Aegean sea (EMCS link here). This earthquake was felt over a wide area, but no major damage took place, so far only minor damage has been reported. I do not know if any actual major damage took place. If it did, it has not been reported on any news media that I follow.

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The Mw6.9 earthquake in Aegean sea. This is the regional view. Copyright of this image belongs to EMSC.

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The Mw6.9 earthquake in Aegean sea. This is the local view. Copyright of this image belongs to EMSC.

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This is how the earthquake did appear on my geophone in Denmark. I did clean up the original signal to see the earthquake. This image is released under Creative Commons Licence. Please see CC Licence page for more details.

This Mw6,9 earthquake did start an earthquake swarm on nearby fault line, the largest earthquake in that earthquake swarm has had the magnitude of 5,0 (EMSC link here) so far. This happens due the fault being at breaking point before the magnitude 6,9 earthquake took place. This are two different earthquake swarms taking place now.

The largest aftershock that has taken place so far is a magnitude 4,6 earthquake (EMSC link here). Many smaller earthquakes have taken place since this morning. There are many aftershocks with magnitude above 3,0 but below the magnitude of 4,5. There is risk of earthquake with magnitude above 5,5 taking place around the location were the magnitude 6,9 earthquake took place. When it might happen is impossible to know, large aftershocks often take place after such a strong earthquake. It is almost a rule, since it happens in most cases. In few cases this does not happen.

Donations: Please remember to support my work with donations. While this site is not updated as often as my Iceland geology website. I still keep it updated when something major happens. Thanks for the support.

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New magnitude 5,0 earthquake in Albania

Posted on May 20, 2014 by Jón Frímann

On the 19-May-2014 at 00:59 UTC a magnitude 5,0 earthquake [EMSC link] took place in Albania. I don’t know if any damage took place, but it is likely to be the case if the houses are not build for earthquake activity.

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Regional view of the earthquake in Albania. Copyright of this image belongs to EMSC.

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Local view of the earthquake in Albania. Copyright of this image belongs to EMSC.

There have been aftershocks of this earthquake, with the largest one having the magnitude of 3,5 [EMSC link]. There might be a risk of more earthquakes like this in the area, since this is the second magnitude 5,0 earthquake in this area. Last earthquake took place on 12-May-2014, I did write about it here.

Update: Today (20-May-2014) a magnitude 4,6 aftershock took place in Albania, EMSC information can be found here. This earthquake was felt, but I don’t know if any damage took place following this event.

Post updated at 13:20 UTC on 20-May-2014.

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Magnitude 3,6 earthquake in Germany

Posted on May 19, 2014 by Jón Frímann

On 17-May-2014 at 16:46 UTC a magnitude 3,6 earthquake (EMSC link here) took place in Germany. This earthquake was felt and some minor damage took place in the towns next to the epicenter of the earthquake. According to Brisat on Das Erste, who has its news from HR Fernsehen.

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Regional view of the earthquake. Copyright of this image belongs to EMSC.

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Local view of the earthquake. Copyright of this image belongs to EMSC.

The minor damage that took place was mostly damaged chimes and fractures in walls. I don’t think any major damage took place in this earthquake event. Some aftershock activity has been taking place, so far the largest aftershock had the magnitude of 3,0 (EMSC link can be found here). I don’t know if there is a risk of more earthquakes in this area of Germany.

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Magnitude 5,0 earthquake in Albania

Posted on May 12, 2014 by Jón Frímann

Today (12-May-2014) at 00:54 UTC a magnitude 5,0 earthquake took place in Albania. This earthquake was felt, but I do not know if any damage took place following this earthquake.

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The magnitude 5,0 earthquake in Albania. Copyright of this image belongs to EMSC.

There has been some minor aftershock activity following this earthquake. I don’t think any aftershock has been over magnitude 3,0. More information about this earthquake can be found here on EMSC website.

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Magnitude 4,4 earthquake in south France

Posted on April 29, 2014 by Jón Frímann

A magnitude 4,4 earthquake (EMSC link here) took place today in south France. This earthquake was felt but I am not sure if any damage took place when it happened. Aftershock activity has been taking place since the main earthquake, largest aftershock so far had the magnitude of 3,3 (EMSC link here). Other aftershocks have been smaller in magnitude.

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Location of the magnitude 4,4 earthquake in south France, close the border with Spain. This is regional view. Copyright of this image belongs to EMSC.

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Local view of the magnitude 4,4 earthquake in south France, close to border with Spain. Copyright of this image belongs to EMSC.

I don’t know how often or how common earthquake swarms like this are in this area. This is however the strongest earthquake in this area of France for an long time, best to my knowledge.

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Magnitude 3,1 earthquake on Fayal Island, Azores Islands

Posted on April 27, 2014 by Jón Frímann

Today (27-April-2014) at 01:28 UTC an magnitude 3,1 earthquake took place in Fayal Island (volcano information can be found here) in Azores Islands, Portugal. This earthquake had the depth of 13 km, I don’t know if its source was magma or tectonic movement.

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Regional view of the earthquake on Fayal Island. Copyright of this image belongs to ESMC.

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Local view of this earthquake on Fayal Island. Copyright of this image belongs to ESMC.

No aftershocks seems to have taken place following this earthquake. At least according to the IPMA maps of Azores Islands and its earthquake information. EMSC information about this earthquake can be found here.

Updates on Azores Islands: Since I plan on moving to Azores Islands in few years time (I don’t know when that is going to happen) I have added Azores Islands and mainland Portugal to my regular monitoring. I plan on setting up an special website for Azores Islands (not mainland Portugal) soon. Until that happens all activity is going to be covered here.

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Magnitude 4,5 earthquake in Slovenia

Posted on April 22, 2014 by Jón Frímann

Today (22-April-2014) at 08:58 UTC an magnitude 4,5 earthquake took place in Slovenia. This earthquake was clearly felt in nearby area. I do not know if any damage took place following this earthquake.

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Regional view of the earthquake in Slovenia. Copyright of this image belongs to EMSC.

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Local view of the earthquake in Slovenia. Copyright of this image belongs to EMSC.

There has been some minor aftershock activity following the main earthquake. That activity has however been minor one so far. More information about this earthquake can be found here on EMSC website.

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Earthquake swarm off the coast of Azores Islands (São Miguel & Terceira)

Posted on April 21, 2014 by Jón Frímann

On the 11-April-2014 an earthquake with the magnitude of 4,8 (EMSC says 4,7, link here) took place in the Azores Islands cluster (off the coast). Many smaller earthquakes have been recorded since the medium earthquake took place, over the past 24 hours several magnitude 3,0 earthquakes have been taking place. It is however unclear if the magnitude 4,8 earthquake and the smaller earthquake swarm that continued are connected.

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The earthquake swarm off the coast of Azores Islands. Direct link can be found here. Screen-shot my be. Copyright of the material that I took screen-shot of belongs to CVARG.

This area has many volcano. I however do not know if there is an volcano in this area, I do however find it likely to be the case. I don’t know what the depth is at this location, but if an eruption start in this area its unlikely to reach the surface. At least to start with. However what is more likely this is nothing more then just normal earthquake activity for this fault area. Earthquake activity might continue in this area for the next few days to weeks.

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Magnitude 3,5 earthquake in England, UK

Posted on April 19, 2014 by Jón Frímann

On the 18-April-2014 an magnitude 3,5 earthquake took place in England, UK. This is the second earthquake to take place in this area in the same number of days. This earthquake was felt, but no damage took place far as I know. This is also based on news from BBC News that no damage took place during this earthquake.

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Regional view of the earthquake location in the UK. Copyright of this image belongs to EMSC.

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Local view of the earthquake location in the UK. Copyright of this image belongs to EMSC.

Earthquakes are not common in the UK but they do happen every 10 to 20 years on average. More information about this earthquake can be found here on EMSC website.

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