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