[nredman]

(CNN) -- An earthquake has struck near Indonesia's northern island of Sumatra, triggering fears of new tsunamis, but none were reported.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake, just before 5:30p.m. local time (1030 GMT) had a magnitude of 6.8. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said it was a 6.7.

It was centered 115 kilometers (70 miles) southwest of Padang, Sumatra, the USGS said.

Over the next couple of hours, a series of quakes followed. A spokesman for Indonesia's meteorological agency said the additional quakes were aftershocks, and all had magnitudes lower than the first.


http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapc...ake/index.html

what is the deal with this area of the world? i think the world is going to explode soon..WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!!!!!

[KeriVit]

That IS getting to be a little much, isn't it. Poor people.

[Kitschy]

You'd think all these earthquakes mess with the faults in our neck of the woods. Maybe California will fall into the ocean after all.

[nredman]

*double post*

[nredman]

TOKYO (Reuters) - A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.1 jolted the Tokyo region on Monday morning, but no tsunami warning was issued and there were no reports of serious damage or injuries

Two runways at Narita International Airport near Tokyo were closed for checks but soon reopened, public broadcaster NHK said.

Some high speed bullet train lines experienced minor delays because power stopped briefly, and some local lines were halted.

Officials warned of possible aftershocks and landslides.

A nuclear reactor in Tokaimura, about 68 miles northeast of Tokyo, was operating normally, NHK said.

The focus of the quake, which struck at 7:22 a.m. (1822 EDT Sunday), was about 37 miles below the earth's surface in Chiba prefecture, east of Tokyo, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...ake_japan_dc_3

here we go again - i'm telling you something is up.

i guess earthquakes are more common in that area.

[Severed Hand of Skywalker]

Like others have suggested it must be god punishing them because they allow so many of them gays to get married

[RonnieoftheRose]

Originally posted by Severed Hand of Skywalker:
Like others have suggested it must be god punishing them because they allow so many of them gays to get married

It's Elvis shaking his legs.

[wdlove]

The Pacific Rim just happens to be very earthquake prone. It's part of the ring of fire.

[Oisín]

Originally posted by wdlove:
It's part of the ring of fire.

The one from The Lord of the Rings?

[RonnieoftheRose]

Originally posted by Ois�n:
The one from The Lord of the Rings?

No. Lemuria. It was in the middle of the Pacific but was sunk when an alien horde attacked planet Earth Mk. II. The devastation cause a crack in the earth's crust that created the ring of fire around the Pacific coasts.

[Severed Hand of Skywalker]

Originally posted by Ois�n:
The one from The Lord of the Rings?

I was thinking of that song, didn't Grace Jones do a remix of it?

[d4nth3m4n]

you people really need to sit down with a high school earth science text.

this area is highly active with both volcanism and earthquakes. i think the only reason that this is news is because only a few months ago, thousands upon thousands of people were killed by a tsunami.

i don't really get the sense this is all that out of order following an event as big as the one that triggered the tsunami.

we're all not going to die, at least not because of this. sorry.

[Oisín]

Originally posted by RonnieoftheRose:
No. Lemuria. It was in the middle of the Pacific but was sunk when an alien horde attacked planet Earth Mk. II. The devastation cause a crack in the earth's crust that created the ring of fire around the Pacific coasts.

Ah yes, good old Mu, of course.

I just thought it would be so much cooler if it had actually turned out that the Pacific Rim was in fact the very spot where Sauron forged the Ash Nazg

[nredman]

Originally posted by d4nth3m4n:
you people really need to sit down with a high school earth science text.

this area is highly active with both volcanism and earthquakes. i think the only reason that this is news is because only a few months ago, thousands upon thousands of people were killed by a tsunami.

i don't really get the sense this is all that out of order following an event as big as the one that triggered the tsunami.

we're all not going to die, at least not because of this. sorry.

sorry i guess i didn't hit the books hard enough

[d4nth3m4n]

Originally posted by nredman:
sorry i guess i didn't hit the books hard enough

nah, sorry, i was a geology/oceanography major when i lived in hawaii. they kinda pounded it into my head there.

[nredman]

Originally posted by d4nth3m4n:
nah, sorry, i was a geology/oceanography major when i lived in hawaii. they kinda pounded it into my head there.

its all good - quit showing off your huge brain.

[kmkkid]

Originally posted by Severed Hand of Skywalker:
Like others have suggested it must be god punishing them because they allow so many of them gays to get married

Yes. All gays should be killed for their sinful acts.











































Oh wait. n/m about that.

[kmkkid]

On topic,

It's getting scary with all these major earthquakes hitting all within a short timeframe. Makes you think something BIG is going to happen under the plates.


Chris

[rjenkinson]

volcano erupts on sumatra

-r.

[Captain Obvious]

Originally posted by kmkkid:
On topic,

It's getting scary with all these major earthquakes hitting all within a short timeframe. Makes you think something BIG is going to happen under the plates.


Chris

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/shakemap/sc/shake/

9.4 mi ESE of El Cajon, CA - Apr 12 2005 - 04:06:46 PDT - 4.0

[d4nth3m4n]

Originally posted by kmkkid:
On topic,

It's getting scary with all these major earthquakes hitting all within a short timeframe. Makes you think something BIG is going to happen under the plates.


Chris

actually, it's just the opposite, more small(ish) earthquakes release energy that would otherwise be stored up and released in one big event. as plates move, they get kinda "stuck" together, so a tension builds up and when it releases, there is an earthquake. it is pretty much assumed that the motion of the tectonic plates is constant, so it would seem a good thing that earth quakes keep happening.

[CD Hanks]

Originally posted by Kitschy:
Maybe California will fall into the ocean after all.

It really do the world a lot of good.

Hell, I'll cut a deal with the powers that be, just let Los Angeles sink into the ocean.

[ghporter]

It looks like these are actually aftershocks from the MASSIVE quake that set of the tsunami in December. The big quake releases a LOT of energy, but sets up odd dynamics in the surrounding structures which eventually have to let go. Since they are recently set up, their quakes are lesser (note the intensity of these quakes has been declining, though not "tapering off"), and they are actually stabilizing the subsurface strata to some extent. Until the next BIG one comes around.

What I find amazing is how many news stories mention "no tsunami" after one of these later quakes, when there was SO MUCH explanation about how tsunamis form and how relatively rare they are after December's disaster. Don't news people think we pay attention? Do we, as a whole, pay enough attention to not EXPECT every Sumatra quake will cause a tsunami?

[olePigeon]

Everyone should move to Utah. It seems God has it in for everyone else.

[King Bob On The Cob]

Originally posted by olePigeon:
Everyone should move to Utah. It seems God has it in for everyone else.

Don't be fooled. God hates Utah-ians too. If you don't think so try and drink nothing but from their lake. He poisoned the water.

[Mister Elf]

Probably mainly just a delayed aftershock from the previous big ones.

[ASIMO]

Originally posted by Captain Obvious:
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/shakemap/sc/shake/

9.4 mi ESE of El Cajon, CA - Apr 12 2005 - 04:06:46 PDT - 4.0

Crap. Very close. Luckily it is only 4.0. It shook for seemingly five seconds. No undulation, though, just a good ol' shake.

Makes for an effective alarm clock, albeit an early one.

[Randman]

That area gets temblors regularly. Just after the tsunami, they're making news.