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Earthquake rattles Darwin
News ninemsn ^ | 3/2/05

Posted on 03/02/2005 3:37:23 PM PST by TexKat

Darwin has been jolted by an earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale but authorities are confident the quake caused no damage or injuries.

Geoscience Australia said the quake's epicentre was in the Banda Sea, 660km north of Darwin and 190km under the surface. It struck about 8.12pm (CST) on Wednesday.

"I'm sure it's rattled a few windows and shaken picture frames but it's unlikely to cause any damage in Darwin," Geoscience Australia seismologist Mark Leonard said.

"Normally with a quake like this you'd expect damage out to about 100 or 200km, that kind of distance."

Dr Leonard said that, at such a depth, it was extremely unlikely to trigger a tsunami.

Initial automated reports put the magnitude anywhere between 6.7 and 7.5 on the Richter scale but Geoscience Australia later clarified this to 7.1.

Northern Territory police said no reports of damage had been received by late Wednesday night and Darwin was carrying on as normal.

"There's absolutely nothing," a spokeswoman said.

"I've had no reports of injuries, no reports of evacuations, no reports of damage."

A Royal Darwin Hospital spokeswoman said nobody had presented to the hospital's emergency department with injuries as a result of the earthquake.

She said none of the hospital's equipment was affected by the tremor, but "a lot of the patients were quite concerned".

A Power and Water spokesman said the power supply company had not received a single call for help and there were no known problems such as blackouts or damage to powerlines.

In Darwin, the effect of the quake was put at 4.0 on the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale, which measures the intensity of tremors away from the epicentre on a scale of one to 12.

A quake of Mercalli intensity 1.0 would be noticed only by birds, while intensity 12 designates total destruction.

A 4.0 on the Mercalli scale means a quake is generally noticed indoors, but not outside.

Resident Mike Emerson was in Newcastle at the time of the December 1989 quake which measured 5.6 on the Richter scale and killed 13 people.

He said the Darwin quake felt comparatively minor.

"It only lasted a few seconds. A few little waves went through the concrete floor, and the fans rocked back and forth. But there was no damage (here)," Mr Emerson said.

Darwin's SkyCity Casino and hotel said no one was evacuated from the beachfront building, despite earlier media reports.

A security surveillance worker said some patrons stepped outside the three-storey building of their own accord but returned soon afterwards.

NT News journalist Barry Doyle said tremors were felt as far south as Katherine.

"We had two good shakes. Probably the best shakes we've had," Mr Doyle said.

"It moved the building we're in and it's certainly got the town talking.

"But," he joked, "there's no truth to the rumour that it was caused by Prince Charles putting $200 on the bar in Alice Springs."

Dr Leonard said large earthquakes were relatively common in the Banda Sea region.

"The Banda Sea is one of the most seismically active areas in the world and gets an earthquake of about magnitude 5 every couple of months," he said.

Geoscience Australia said the last magnitude-seven earthquake to strike the Banda Sea region was in December 1995.


TOPICS: Australia/New Zealand; Front Page News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 71; darwin; earthquake

1 posted on 03/02/2005 3:37:23 PM PST by TexKat
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To: TexKat
660km north of Darwin and 190km under the surface.

Not only is that very deep, but 660 kilometers is akin to the distance between Los Angeles and San Francisco...not surprised at all at the lack of damage.

2 posted on 03/02/2005 3:42:17 PM PST by ErnBatavia (ErnBatavia, Boxer, Pelosi, Thomas...the ultimate nightmare Menage a Quatro)
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To: ErnBatavia

190KM is only a moderate depth, but deep enough to avoid significant damage.


3 posted on 03/02/2005 3:55:44 PM PST by JSloth
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To: TexKat

Further reports will be given as they evolve.


4 posted on 03/02/2005 3:59:52 PM PST by N. Theknow (Trusting CBS to fact check is like asking Michael Jackson to baby sit your kid.)
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To: TexKat

In a related story, Michael Behe rattles Darwin.

5 posted on 03/02/2005 4:06:36 PM PST by fishtank
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To: PatrickHenry

Evolution Ping


6 posted on 03/02/2005 4:07:44 PM PST by Ben Chad
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To: Ben Chad

Of course you know that Darwin predicted this ~160 years ago.


7 posted on 03/02/2005 4:11:07 PM PST by AndrewC (Darwinian logic -- It is just-so if it is just-so)
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To: TexKat

Is this survival of the .......fittest?


8 posted on 03/02/2005 4:21:25 PM PST by American Vet Repairman (To hell with the prime directive! Fire all weapons!)
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To: American Vet Repairman
Strong Earthquake Shakes Peruvian Capital

LIMA, Peru - A strong earthquake shook Peru's capital and the surrounding coast and mountains Wednesday, but it did not cause injuries or damage, Peru's Geophysics Institute said.

The quake with a preliminary magnitude 5.7 struck at 8:48 a.m. in the Andes about 60 miles east of Lima, where it was felt as a momentary shudder.

Closer to the epicenter, it caused people to flee their homes and shops in Matucana, a town 50 miles east of Lima, about 7,850 feet above sea level, local media reported.

Earthquakes jolt Pakistan

PESHAWAR: Two earthquakes of moderate intensity jolted parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan on Wednesday. No casualties have been reported so far.

Pakistan Seismological Department official Ishtiaq Ahmed said that the first earthquake, on 7:21am, had a magnitude of 5.2 on the Richter scale. The tremor’s epicentre was 300 kilometres north of Peshawar, in Afghanistan’s Hindukush range.

Later, a second earthquake, at 4:12pm, of the magnitude 5.0 on the Richter scale jolted Balochistan. Tremors were felt in Quetta, other parts of the province and across the border. Its epicentre was 500 kilometres southwest of Peshawar. No casualties or property damages have been reported so far, said Balochistan provincial spokesman Raziq Bugti. afp

Magnitude 4.6 earthquake strikes northern Arizona

By Ananda Shorey ASSOCIATED PRESS

8:38 a.m. March 2, 2005

PHOENIX – A light earthquake struck northern Arizona Wednesday morning. People more than 100 miles away reported feeling the tremor.

The 4.6-magnitude quake occurred at 4:13 a.m. local time southwest of Winslow. It was the largest of seven quakes in the area since Jan. 28, said Waverly Person, a geophysicist at the U.S. Geological Survey National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colo.

Residents in Scottsdale, Winslow, Prescott and Phoenix reported feeling the quake early Wednesday, he said. No damage was reported.

"People described it as a bump, the wind blowing, a truck going by," Person said.

A quake of magnitude 2.5 to 3 is the smallest generally felt by people. However, every increase of one number, say from 5.5 to 6.5, means that the quake's magnitude is 10 times as great. A magnitude 4 quake can cause moderate damage; a magnitude 5 quake can cause considerable damage.

Series of earthquakes like the recent ones in northern Arizona over the last month are not unusual, he said. There are about 60 earthquakes daily worldwide.

The other recent quakes in the area had magnitudes between 3 and 4, Person said. On Jan. 30, there was a 4.0 magnitude quake, he said.

9 posted on 03/02/2005 4:36:19 PM PST by TexKat (Just because you did not see it or read it, that does not mean it did or did not happen.)
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To: ErnBatavia

This one is definitely not aligned with the moon phase, but there is a moose in my yard. A 1000 pounds of browser, it's a good size.


10 posted on 03/02/2005 4:39:51 PM PST by RightWhale (Please correct if cosmic balance requires.)
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To: TexKat

3 Micro Earthquakes Hit Maryland
23FEB05
http://www.nbc4i.com/weather/4224112/detail.html


11 posted on 03/02/2005 5:02:20 PM PST by familyop ("Let us try" sounds better, don't you think? "Essayons" is so...Latin.)
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To: familyop
2:20 pm EST February 23, 2005

We are now on March 2, 2005

12 posted on 03/02/2005 5:04:38 PM PST by TexKat (Just because you did not see it or read it, that does not mean it did or did not happen.)
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To: JSloth
190KM is only a moderate depth, but deep enough to avoid significant damage.

On a U.S. kind of scale, 190 km is the center of the earth! Our Northridge was 18km and that one up around Seattle was only 52 - which was called very deep for these parts.

13 posted on 03/02/2005 5:13:57 PM PST by ErnBatavia (ErnBatavia, Boxer, Pelosi, Thomas...the ultimate nightmare Menage a Quatro)
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To: TexKat

I've been to Darwin 3 times. It's a great place.


14 posted on 03/02/2005 6:28:30 PM PST by GATOR NAVY (Back at sea on my sixth gator)
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To: PatrickHenry
If you see this headline, it isn't a DannyTN or Mikey-Mike grandiosity special. Darwin really has been rocked by an earthquake.

I think everyone made it out of the secret underground HQ, though.

15 posted on 03/02/2005 6:31:26 PM PST by VadeRetro (Liberalism is a cancer on society. Creationism is a cancer on conservatism.)
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To: VadeRetro
I think everyone made it out of the secret underground HQ, though.

Australia is just a minor outpost for Darwin Central. Only the platypus conspiracy is of any significance, and we can get along without it for a few months. Our true HQ's location is a carefully-guarded secret.

16 posted on 03/02/2005 6:38:11 PM PST by PatrickHenry (<-- Click on my name. The List-O-Links for evolution threads is at my freeper homepage.)
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To: VadeRetro

Australia actually rattled Wallace more than Darwin :)


17 posted on 03/02/2005 7:40:06 PM PST by RightWingAtheist (Creationism is not conservative!)
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To: ErnBatavia

And earthquakes around Tonga-Fiji (and other seismic zones around the world) approach 800km depth. Your original post made no mention of "...a U.S. kind of scale...".

Check your facts.


18 posted on 03/04/2005 4:27:09 AM PST by JSloth
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To: JSloth
"Don't get snippy with me!"


19 posted on 03/04/2005 7:20:18 AM PST by ErnBatavia (ErnBatavia, Boxer, Pelosi, Thomas...the ultimate nightmare Menage a Quatro)
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To: ErnBatavia

Whatever...

Just trying to provide some information.


20 posted on 03/04/2005 1:09:49 PM PST by JSloth
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