Posted on 10/26/2016 9:40:09 PM PDT by moose07
Two strong earthquakes have hit central Italy, damaging buildings and sending scared residents into the streets.
A 5.5-magnitude quake struck at 1910 local time (1710 GMT) near Visso in Macerata province, officials said.
It was followed two hours later by a 6.1 magnitude tremor in the same area. Several people were hurt, but there were no immediate reports of deaths.
The quakes come two months after a powerful earthquake struck slightly to the south, killing 298 people.
The 6.2 magnitude quake, on 24 August, toppled buildings in Amatrice and villages in the mountainous region around the town, which is just 70km (45 miles) from Visso.
Loads more at site:
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
I blame fracking.
:)
God’s response to Pope Commie.
Fracking? Are you sure, VTenigma? I remember Al Core and ubama specifically stating that the scientific consensus was that global warming was to blame. Thank goodness ubama has the Nobel prize and has worked tirelessly to save people from episodes exactly like these. Think how much worse this would have been had Bush or Trump have been in charge.
Oldplayer
Fracking? Are you sure, VTenigma? I remember Al Core and ubama specifically stating that the scientific consensus was that global warming was to blame. Thank goodness ubama has the Nobel prize and has worked tirelessly to save people from episodes exactly like these. Think how much worse this would have been had Bush or Trump have been in charge.
Oldplayer
Hey. I still got people there.
Thank goodness they’re a lot further south and the rest are in Sicily.
But that’s two in a short time.
Doesn’t make sense.
I pray these aren’t warm ups for a monster earthquake!!!
Pope commie is gonna be in a WHOLE LOT of trouble when he dies, unless he changes his ways.
It looks like a volcano is about to erupt to me.
Given the consequences of the earlier 6.2 quake, 6.1 is a worry. Hopefully the geography held down casualties and damage this time?
Prayers for all affected.
Etna. I’m glad I metcha.
The only data ,that i’ve encountered, to have emerged so far is in this article.
When I hear any up-dates , i’ll post them later.
If you require a ping just post a request.
G’night. :)
The earthquake in Norcia occurred in a shallow fault in the Apennines, a chain of mountains that form the backbone of Italy’s ‘boot’. It is well known for being a highly complex and geologically active region as it sits at a point where several tectonic plates grind against each other.
According to the US Geological Survey, this morning’s earthquake occurred at a depth of 6.2 miles (10km) on a fault that runs from the northwest to the south east. The epicentre was in the mountains just 6.2 miles to the southeast of Norcia.
It was caused by the stretching of the Earth’s crust as the tectonic plates beneath moved apart. Since the late Miocene a large basin has been opening up under the western Mediterranean Sea at the point where the massive Eurasian tectonic plate meets the African plate.
Here the African plate is driven under the Eurasian plate in a process known as subduction. However, due to the forces involved, the bend in the African plate as it is forced beneath its neighbour can occasionally move backwards in a process known as ‘roll back’.
This map shows how fault lines run right up the spine of Italy and where the epicentre of Wednesday's earthquake was located
This map shows the location of the quake's epicentre and where activity has been measured
It is similar to the effect seen when bending a piece of paper towards one end and then moving your hands – this will cause the bend to roll from one side to the other. When this happens in the tectonic plates, however, the Eurasian plate remains stuck to the African plate and stretches in a process known as ‘back-arc spreading’. This is creating a region known as the Tyrrhenian basin under the sea between mainland Italy and Sardinia.
The earthquake in Norcia is thought to have been caused by the opening of the Tyrrhenian basin occurring faster than the compression between the Eurasian and African plates, causing the earth’s crust to stretch.
At the location of the earthquake, the Eurasian plate moves towards the northeast with respect to the African plate at a rate of around 24mm/yr, according to the US Geological Survey.
A build up in pressure at this junction was suddenly released this morning, creating the magnitude 6.2 earthquake.
Compared to other much larger earthquakes, such as the one off the coast of Japan in 2011 which was magnitude 9.0, it occurred at a much shallower depth.
The 2011 Japanese earthquake was more than 18.6 miles down while the one under the Apennines was just a third of that.
These tremors are shaking the former Papal States. Coincidence? I don’t think so.
You’ve been busy. Thanks for the input. :)
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