Indonesia is getting hammered; they've had their fourth major quake in just the last few days. Here's a map showing the area, and here's a list of the quakes depicted:

CNN.com: Indonesia rocked by another quake

Posted by Carl at 3:02 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

A second quake has struck Indonesia for the second straight day. Quake location:

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The quake was a 7.8, and another tsunami warning was issued. More from MSNBC.com.

Posted by Carl at 9:47 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

A quake with a preliminary magnitude of 8.2 on the Richter scale hit Indonesia, triggering tsunami warnings all along the Indian Ocean. Map of the tsunami location:

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A wave of up to 9 feet reportedly hit Padang about 20 minutes after the quake. So far one person is reported dead and dozens are missing.

Article via CBSNews.com

Posted by Carl at 10:42 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Apparently, according to a study by Christian D. Klose of Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in Palisades, New York. National Geographic has the article here.

I have a difficult time believing that mining, no matter how deep or extensive, is enough to cause some sort of tectonic shift. Of course, I'm not a member of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University and can't even caulk my bathtub properly, so the betting money would be on Mr. Klose's side.

If this theory is to be believed, though, it would rattle the entire mining industry because - as the article points out - the damage caused by a "human-caused" quake in Australia resulted in more monetary damage (to say nothing of the lose of life) than the value of the all of the coal that was extracted. (You can begin to see the political ramifications of this sort of study, which always makes me wonder.)

This reminds me of a plan that "we" had when "we" were kids - to get everyone on this side of the earth to jump up at exactly the same time, sending a massive shockwave from our combined weight to the other side of the world in a final blow to communism. Okay, so we were very bored, if not (in a misguided sort of way) patriotic.

Posted by Carl at 10:28 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

"In a western Kentucky town that lies near the New Madrid fault line, experts are drilling the deepest seismic observatory east of the Rocky Mountains."

Why, when I read things like this, am I immediately reminded of Thundarr the Barbarian and "a runaway planet hurtles between the earth and the moon, unleashing cosmic destruction"?

Not many people in the east know a lot about the New Madrid fault or its history of 7.0+ magnitude quakes. In 1811-1812 quakes along the fault are credited with causing permanent changes in the Mississippi (which flowed backwards for a time) and ringing church bells in Boston.

Article on the Thundarr-like drilling

Posted by Carl at 2:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

This just came across the wire:*

As you can plainly see, the earthquake that occurred today in the Gulf of Mexico was indeed caused by Godzilla. Furthermore, Godzilla is quite angry and on the move. You should keep in mind that this Godzilla Warning Graphic features the Godzilla Cone of Movement™. While there is a line plotted here to show the most likely path Godzilla will take, people should not focus on the line. Focus on the cone - because even a slight deviation in the movement of Godzilla could result in landfall anywhere within this cone.

Currently the most likely landfall will occur in the St. Pete/Tampa area. Already the combined forces of Homeland Security and FEMA are being marshaled. As such, Governor Jeb Bush has declared a state of emergency and asked that everyone south of Gainesville save themselves and flee to Houston.

People are reminded that this is a dangerous monster. Damage to structures and power lines within the path of Godzilla is extremely likely and will be severe. Please DO NOT TRY TO BE A HERO and ride out the monster. Board up your home, secure your pets and leave the area as soon as possible. States beginning with the letters "I" "K" and "O" are designated safe states and are good places to ride out the monster.

Once Godzilla makes landfall, he's expected to continue north and east until he hits Daytona Beach, where he will pick up a "Life's a Beach" towel and an oval bumper sticker that reads "DB" before he returns to the ocean.

Further bulletins as events warrant.

*Usually Alert Reader Tammy just stopped by and took a look at the map and wanted to know when that happened, and what was going to hit Florida and why there hasn't been anything on the news. I tried to explain about Godzilla and the earthquake and FEMA not wanting anyone to panic, etc., but she just sort of stared at me. So, after a brief phone call with the Blog Hero Legal Team, I've been instructed to add this clarifying disclaimer:

Godzilla™ is a trademark of Japanese entertainment company Toho. Toho is not responsible for any damage or panic that Godzilla™ causes. Any warning information about Godzilla™ that this blog issues is provided "as is" and no warranty, expressed, instant, dehydrated or otherwise, is inferred, interned, chauffeured or bean curd. Thank you.

Posted by Carl at 8:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

At 8:56 a.m. Sunday, or 14:56:07 Coordinated Universal Time, which I think is only observed on Neptune, in certain offices at the United Nations, and in parts of Iowa, a maginitude 6.0 earthquake jiggled jimmied rattled shook the Gulf of Mexico. Thankfully there are no reports of any injuries, damage, or tsunamis. In fact, the quake was not sufficient enough to even warrant a tsunami warming, watch, or panic.

The USGS site has a number of maps, including a link to a Google Map, so you can see exactly where this happened. Reuters has a good story here (albeit sans photos.) People in Georgia, Alabama, Florida and Louisiana felt the quake, and some actually Experienced Vibrating Buildings.

While this could be a completely natural event, there are also other - more serious - possibilities:

1. The Japanese Mafia, defeated by their ancient rival El Niño, have given up on the hurricane machine altogether, and have just scored a Russian-Made Cold War Era Earthquake Machine from eBay.

2. After drilling down 20,000 feet, Chevron broke through to the hollow center of the earth, and it's only a matter of days before the planet implodes.

3. As everyone knows, there is always a magnitude 6.0 quake before Godzilla appears and unleashes havoc on some coastal community.

I'm betting on... 3. Someone should notify Tampa that a Severe Giant Radioactive Lizard Watch is in effect.

Posted by Carl at 4:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

The quake occurred here.

USGS details here.

Reference map here.

AP article here.

UPDATE 1: New Zealand authorities say the tsunami threat has passed for east coast of New Zealand

UPDATE 2: A small tsunami was generated off the Pacific islands

UPDATE 3: Tsunami Day!

Posted by Carl at 1:16 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

A 4.2 magnitude (4.8 with the platform shoes) earthquake hit earthquake-deprived Californians yesterday at 6:06 p.m. It was followed by four mini-quakes, all walking in a straight line behind the Mama quake. There were no casualties reported, although an extremely valuable Simpsons Beer Stein that had just (minutes earlier!) been sold on eBay apparently fell off of a tall bookcase and shattered on the floor. It had been put up there on top of that tall bookcase to "keep the dang kids away from it." Photos of the shattered stein are being withheld, pending the notification of eBay user smpsnzrulz122.

On a completely unrelated note, I shouldn't blog so late at night. And on what hopefully is another unrelated note, we're nearing the 100th anniversary of the "Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906." Wouldn't it be weird if..?

Cool Earthquake stuff here from the USGS.

Posted by Carl at 4:01 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)