July 20, 2012
2012: The end of the world or just another year of living in harm's way?
We live on a knife-edge, separated from an ocean of super-heated rock by a wafer-thin and perpetually rupturing crust, swinging our way through a …
The EARTH archive
Earthquakes
Explore the archive by subject.
115 articles · Page 3 of 5
June 6, 2012
Voices: Italian quakes and deaths point to industrial facilities as death traps
On May 29, eighteen people died in northern Italy when a magnitude-5.8 earthquake struck near the town of Mirandola. Arguably, these deaths were …
May 25, 2012
Better warnings for the consequences of earthquakes: Bringing seismic hazard and risk assessments to policy
During the last decade, earthquakes have taken a heavy toll on lives, shocking the world. Two exceptionally large earthquakes off the coasts of …
May 9, 2012
Sumatran strike-slip earthquakes challenge seismologists
Events may shed light on regional tectonics, alter stress on nearby megathrust Following the magnitude-8.6 earthquake that struck off the coast …
April 17, 2012
Managing the seismic risk posed by wastewater disposal
From an earthquake perspective, 2011 was a remarkable year. While the devastation accompanying the magnitude-9.0 Tohoku earthquake that occurred …
April 11, 2012
Blogging On EARTH: Wisconsin's microquake mystery
On the list of earthquake-prone states, Wisconsin does not rank highly. The largest known earthquake in the state (or at least the suspected …
March 23, 2012
Blogging on EARTH: Panelists weigh in on tsunami preparedness policy
“It is not a question of whether it will happen, but when it will happen,” said John Schelling, addressing the room at a Congressional Hazards …
March 5, 2012
Voices: From Haiti to Japan: A tale of two disaster recoveries
A year ago this month, a devastating earthquake and tsunami struck northern Japan. Two years and two months earlier, on Jan. 12, 2010, a much …
January 20, 2012
Voices: What happened at Fukushima?
The Fukushima Daiichi power plant located in the port town of Okuma in the Fukushima Prefecture, northeast Japan, has six boiling-water-type …
January 20, 2012
Voices: The confounding economics of natural disasters
In the hours (not days) after the enormous earthquake hit Japan on March 11, before it was even known that the Fukushima power plant had been …
January 20, 2012
Voices: Should science dictate whether to rebuild after a natural disaster?
Move Port-au-Prince? Maybe. San Francisco and New Orleans? Never. It is common for scientists to call for the relocation of a city to a safer …
January 20, 2012
Voices: Italian seismologists: What should they have said?
In Italy, seismologists who failed to predict the L’Aquila earthquake in 2009 could face manslaughter charges. On March 31, 2009, the Major Risks …
January 20, 2012
Voices: Geologists on the wrong side of the law
We live in a litigious society. Engineering and environmental geologists are no strangers to the legal system. They frequently deal with issues …
January 20, 2012
Crystal Ball EARTH: Natural Hazards: Reducing society's risks
The global financial disaster of 2009 has many parallels with catastrophic natural hazards. It struck pretty much without warning, its impact was …
January 5, 2012
When and why L'Aquila came tumbling down
Early on the morning of April 6, 2009, a magnitude-6.3 earthquake rocked the Apennine region of central Italy, killing more than 290 people and …
January 5, 2012
VA quake felt far and wide, here's why
A significant earthquake today shook residents in Virginia, but the event could be felt far and wide along the East Coast. The magnitude-5.8 …
January 5, 2012
US earthquakes actually a powerful Siberian quake
A magnitude-7.3 earthquake in Siberia Monday was mistaken by U.S. seismometers as temblors in Idaho and California. The actual quake occurred …
January 5, 2012
Tsunami kills hundreds in Indonesia
Updated on Oct. 28, 2010: The death toll has continued to rise from the natural disasters that struck Indonesia Monday and Tuesday. Currently, …
January 5, 2012
Travels in Geology: Glacial pools to sea caves: A tour of New Zealand's South Island
New Zealand has a reputation for extreme adventure — sky diving, jet boating, bungee jumping and even “zorbing,” which sends you rolling down a …
January 5, 2012
Thinking outside the rocks in the search for ancient earthquakes
The eyewitness accounts, written in columns from right to left, top to bottom, testify that there was no warning of the tsunami, no shaking to …
January 5, 2012
Temblor flattens Turkish towns
A magnitude-6.0 earthquake struck eastern Turkey at 4:32 a.m. local time Monday. The quake was centered in Elazig province about 625 kilometers …
January 5, 2012
Swarm of earthquakes rattles Yellowstone
An abnormally high number of earthquakes has shaken up Yellowstone National Park in the past week. Since Friday, a “swarm” of more than 250 …
January 5, 2012
Scores dead, injured following Indonesian earthquake
A powerful magnitude-7.0 earthquake struck a few kilometers off the coast of West Java, Indonesia, at 2:55 p.m. local time on Wednesday, …
January 5, 2012
Report from Ground Zero
How geoscientists aid in the aftermath of environmental disasters People around the world remember when they first learned of the attacks on New …