tagged w/ Earthquakes
-
I realize that bitching about petty politicians is far more important than actually DOING something about things that really matter to most people.
But here is a fantastic song/video that addresses a hugely overlooked crisis in a very educational way.
FRACK THE FRACKIN’ FRACKERSI realize that bitching about petty politicians is far more important than actually... more
-
-
In his State of the Union speech, President Obama lauded natural gas from shale as a key part of his clean energy plan. Fracking shale for natural gas is an intensive extractive process that has polluted the water and air of communities across the country. There is nothing clean about it.
President Obama said that he "will not walk away on the promise of clean energy." Tell him that the gas industry's promises are deceptive.
Fill out the form below to send a message today!
More at the linkIn his State of the Union speech, President Obama lauded natural gas from shale as a... more
-
-
CNN...
.
Strong earthquake hits off Antarctica's coast
By the CNN Wire Staff
updated 6:58 PM EST, Sun January 15, 2012
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
The quake struck Sunday morning near Antarctica's Shetland Islands
The USGS reports it struck at a depth of 6.2 miles
A U.S. agency warns there's a "small possibility of a ... regional tsunami"
.
(CNN) -- A strong 6.6-magnitude earthquake struck Sunday off the coast of Antarctica, prompting a warning that there was a "small possibility" it could trigger a tsunami.
The tremor was centered in waters south of South America's southern tip, about 334 miles (539 kilometers) west of Coronation Island and 388 miles northeast of Palmer Station in Antarctica, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.
It hit at 9:40 a.m. local time (8:40 a.m. ET) on Sunday, according to the federal agency, and had an estimated depth of 6.2 miles.
Afterward, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center released a statement saying that there appears to be no threat of "destructive widespread tsunami" because of the quake.
But the agency did state "there is a small possibility of a local or regional tsunami that could affect coasts located usually no more than a few hundred kilometers from the earthquake epicenter.
"Authorities in the region near the epicenter should be made aware of this possibility," the warning center added.
.CNN...
.
Strong earthquake hits off Antarctica's coast
By the CNN Wire... more
-
-
After viewing the documentary GASLAND, I was mortified and ashamed of what our species is capable of. If you think this is a free country... THINK AGAIN! The Bush/Cheney administration did everything in their power to take away as many freedoms as possible so doors could be opened to allow THE CORPORATE "BEING" to have free reign on getting at any type of resource no matter who or what was in the way. I know it's hard to believe that they would go so far as to ruin our planet if only to make another buck. But with every dollar, they get a nickel’s worth of power. The Power to Destroy. If you haven't seen Avatar I recommend you rent it. It is a chilling glimpse into the future of what can happen to Mother Earth when all her natural resources are depleted. Think it a fairytale? (Another... THINK AGAIN!) Watch the trailer Gasland below and The Daily Show featuring the filmmaker of Gasland, Josh Fox. Stay enlightened, information may be the only weapon we have to help save our planet against The Corporate World who will kill every living creature upon it, if they are allowed too.
---
UPDATE 2012 - I blogged this page almost 2 years ago, since then we have had Earth tremors and quakes in the Fracking areas that some experts believe are the direct result of Fracking. I know the Republicans want us all to feel that Corporations will do no harm, they care about us and our Earth. To that I say... THE SHIT OF THE BULL! Even in my own hometown there are people who are willing to destroy in order to gain BIG BUCKS for themselves... Go to this link to see how greed is on a steady course of destruction EVERYWHERE. http://www.youtube.com/user/liveoaklandfill
Please watch GASLAND and then watch the propaganda film on HOW WONDERFUL NATURAL GAS IS, brought to you by one of the United Corporations of America.
thinkingblue
PS: 3 Cheers for Montana!!! Montana Supreme Court upholds election spending limits
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-montana-court-20120104,0,5533901.story
Ohio earthquake was not a natural event, expert says
http://news.yahoo.com/ohio-earthquake-not-natural-event-expert-says-002703764.htmlAfter viewing the documentary GASLAND, I was mortified and ashamed of what our species... more
-
-
— A northeast Ohio well used to dispose of wastewater from oil and gas drilling almost certainly caused a series of 11 minor quakes in the Youngstown area since last spring, a seismologist investigating the quakes said Monday.— A northeast Ohio well used to dispose of wastewater from oil and gas drilling... more
-
-
CNN...
Work halted at 4 more Ohio fluid-injection wells in wake of quake
From Maggie Schneider, CNN
updated 6:18 PM EST, Sun January 1, 2012
.
Officials have shut down fluid-injection wells in eastern Ohio in the aftermath of heightened seismic activity in the area.
.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Ohio officials order the closure of four fluid-injection wells near Youngstown
This comes amid a probe looking at links between "fracking" and recent quakes
"We need to get more information," an official says of any possible connection
A magnitude 4.0 quake struck Saturday, one of 11 to occur in the past year
.
(CNN) -- Work has been halted at four more fluid-injection wells in eastern Ohio in the aftermath of heightened seismic activity in the area, a state official said.
Ohio Department of Natural Resources Director James Zehringer had announced on Friday that one such well -- which injects "fluid deep underground into porous rock formations, such as sandstone or limestone, or into or below the shallow soil layer," the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency explains -- was closed after a series of small earthquakes in and around Youngstown.
Then on Saturday, a magnitude 4.0 earthquake struck that released at least 40 times more energy than any of the previous 10 or more tremors that had rattled the region in 2011.
Andy Ware, deputy director of Ohio's natural resources department, told CNN on Sunday that Zehringer and Gov. John Kasich subsequently have ordered the closure of four other nearby injection wells as well.
The decision comes as authorities investigate a possible link between the earthquakes and hydraulic fracturing, better known as fracking. That controversial drilling technology involves injecting water, sand and chemicals deep into the ground at high pressure to crack the shale and allow the oil or gas to flow.
Last Friday's order affecting the first well in Youngstown came six days after a magnitude 2.5 earthquake that struck that area around 1:24 a.m. on December 24. After Saturday's larger earthquake, scientists recommended that operations stop at all wells within a 5-mile radius of that original site.
"We need to get more information," Ware said.
The epicenter for Saturday's tremor was 5 miles northwest of Youngstown, 6 miles southeast of Warren and 55 miles east-southeast of Cleveland, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. According to the preliminary estimate, the earthquake struck 1.4 miles deep.
There was a lot of shaking "and a rumbling sound," said Jimmy Hughes, a former Youngstown police chief running for sheriff of Mahoning County. "I could see the house move. ... It seemed like the ground was moving. "
Ohio is far from the edges of Earth's major tectonic plates, with the nearest ones in the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, the U.S. Geological Survey explains on its website. Still, there are many known faults in this region, with the federal agency noting that it is likely there are additional "smaller or deeply buried" ones that haven't been detected.
While earthquakes are not unprecedented in the area, the rate of them in the past year has been unusual. That fact led Zehringer, the Ohio department head, to act late last week.
"While conclusive evidence cannot link the seismic activity to the well, Zehringer has adopted an approach requiring prudence and caution regarding the site," the natural resources department said Friday in a press release, explaining its decision to shut the first well.
Ben Lupo -- CEO of D&L Energy, an independent natural gas and oil exploration, production and marketing group that oversees the first well that was closed -- recently told CNN affiliate WKBN that there's full cooperation with experts, though he expressed grave doubts that the injection wells were to blame for the quakes.
"We have approximately 1,000 wells between Ohio and Pennsylvania and we've never had a problem ... with an earthquake or spill," Lupo said.
Dr. Won-Young Kim, one of the Columbia University experts asked by the state to examine possible connections between fracking and seismic activity, said that a problem could arise if fluid moves through the ground and affects "a weak fault, waiting to be triggered." He explained the underground waste "slowly migrates" and could cause issues miles away, adding that the danger could persist for some time as the fluid travels and seeps down toward the fault.
"In my opinion, yes," the recent spate of earthquakes around Youngstown is related to a fluid-injection well, Kim stated -- though there has been no definitive determination, by the state or other authorities, indicating as much.
There have been "moderately frequent" reports of earthquakes in northern Ohio since the first recorded one was reported in 1823, the federal agency noted. A 1986 tremor, measuring magnitude 4.8, caused some damage. Another in 1998 measured a 4.5 and was centered in northwest Pennsylvania.
.
CNN's Susan Candiotti and Ross Levitt contributed to this report.
.CNN...
Work halted at 4 more Ohio fluid-injection wells in wake of quake
From... more
-
-
-
CNN...
.
5.8-magnitude quake hits New Zealand
December 22nd, 2011
08:37 PM ET
A 5.8-magnitude earthquake struck near the New Zealand city of Christchurch on Friday, the U.S. Geological Survey said on its website.
.
______________
______________
MAJOR UPDATE:
.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/23/new-zealand-earthquake-christchurch
The Guardian...
.
New Zealand's Christchurch hit by series of earthquakes
The initial quake measured 5.8 magnitude, and prompted the evacuation of public buildings and the airport
guardian.co.uk,
Thursday 22 December 2011 21.00 EST
.
A series of strong earthquakes struck the New Zealand city of Christchurch on Friday, ten months after an earlier quake devastated the city centre.
The US Geological Survey said the initial quake measured 5.8 magnitude but there was no tsunami alert issued and there were no immediate reports of widespread damage in the city.
One person was injured at a city mall and was taken to a hospital, and four people had to be rescued after being trapped by a rock fall, Christchurch police said in a statement.
Local reports suggested the quake rattled buildings, sending goods tumbling from shelves and prompted holiday shoppers to flee into the streets.
The first 5.8-magnitude quake struck Friday afternoon, 16 miles (26 kilometres) north of Christchurch and 2.5 miles (4 kilometres) deep, the US Geological Survey said. Minutes later, a 5.3-magnitude aftershock hit, and about an hour after that, the city was shaken by another 5.8-magnitude temblor. Both aftershocks were less than 3 miles (5 kilometres) deep.
The city's airport was evacuated and all shopping centres shut down as a precaution.
Warwick Isaacs, demolitions manager for the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority, said most buildings had been evacuated "as an emergency measure."
Christchurch is still recovering from the earthquake in February that killed 182 people and destroyed much of the downtown area.
The area has recorded more than 7,000 earthquakes since a magnitude-7 quake rocked the city on 4 September, 2010. That quake did not cause any deaths.
Rock falls had occurred in one area and there was liquefaction when an earthquake forces underground water up through loose soil in several places, Isaacs told New Zealand's National Radio.
"There has been quite a lot of stuff falling out of cupboards, off shelves in shops and that sort of thing, again," he said.
Isaacs said his immediate concern was for demolition workers involved in tearing down buildings wrecked in previous quakes.
"It ... started slow then really got going. It was a big swaying one but not as jolting or as violent as in February," Christchurch resident Rita Langley said.
"Everyone seems fairly chilled, though the traffic buildup sounds like a beehive that has just been kicked as everyone leaves (the) town (centre)."
The shaking was severe in the nearby port town of Lyttelton, the epicentre of the 22 February quake.
"We stayed inside until the shaking stopped. Then most people went out into the street outside," resident Andrew Turner said. "People are emotionally shocked by what happened this afternoon."
About 15,000 homes were reported without power after electricity lines were felled in the city's eastern suburbs. Sewerage services were also cut. Hundreds of miles of sewer and fresh water lines have been repaired in the city since the February quake.
One partly demolished building and a vacant house collapsed after Friday's quakes, police said.
Central City Business Association manager Paul Lonsdale said the quakes came at the worst possible time for retailers, with people rushing to finish their Christmas shopping.
Despite the sizable quakes, there was no visible damage in the central business district, where 28 stores have reopened in shipping containers after their buildings were wrecked by the February quake, he said.
.
______________
______________
.
http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/About/General/2011/12/23/1324610241691/Christchurch-earthquake-006.jpg
.
______________
______________
.
.
SECOND MAJOR UPDATE:
.
Latest updates: Christchurch earthquakes
Updated 4:52 PM Friday Dec 23, 2011
PHOTO: Damaged buildings in central Christchurch. File photo / Mark Mitchell
Large earthquakes have shaken Christchurch this afternoon.
The first hit shortly before 2pm, with a magnitude of 5.8 and a depth of 8km. The second struck at 3.19pm and has been measured at magnitude 6.0, 6km deep.
.
.
______________
______________
.
http://media.nzherald.co.nz/webcontent/image/jpg/201152/SCCZEN_220211NZHMMQUAKE7_460x230.JPGCNN...
.
5.8-magnitude quake hits New Zealand
December 22nd, 2011
08:37 PM ET... more
-
-
Are earthquakes becoming more frequent and more powerful? With only two months to go, we are on pace to have more earthquakes of magnitude-5.0 or greater this year than we have had during any other year over the past decade by far. In fact, as you will see in this article, since the year 2000 there has been a very clear upward trend in the number of major earthquakes. So is this an indication that major earth changes are coming? Is our planet becoming increasingly unstable? We are currently witnessing tremendous political, social and financial upheaval all over the globe. Every week the economic crisis in the United States and elsewhere seems to get even worse. So what is going to happen if the shaking of the earth becomes even more intense and major cities all over the planet start getting leveled? For most of human history we have seriously underestimated the awesome destructive power of natural disasters, and the fact that the number of earthquakes around the world seems to be going up consistently should be a huge wake up call for all of us.Are earthquakes becoming more frequent and more powerful? With only two months to go,... more
-
-
UPDATE AS OF 11/09/11 - 8:27 PM PT:
http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/09/world/turkey-earthquake/index.html?hpt=hp_t2
At least 5 dead in quake in eastern Turkey
By the CNN Wire Staff
updated 10:18 PM EST, Wed November 9, 2011
Click picture to play video
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck eastern Turkey on Wednesday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
More than 100 people are buried under rubble
25 buildings are reported to have collapsed
Two TV reporters buried under rubble are alive
The area was devastated by a magnitude 7.2 temblor in October
.
(CNN) -- At least five people died and more than 100 others were buried under rubble from a magnitude-5.7 earthquake that struck eastern Turkey Wednesday night, officials said.
The death toll came from Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay, who spoke to reporters while visiting the stricken zone. He said the deaths occurred when two hotels collapsed. Another 20 people were rescued from the crumbled structures, he said.
In all, 25 buildings collapsed, but 22 of them had been empty since a 7.2 earthquake devastated parts of eastern Turkey, including the area around Van, on October 23. Last month's quake killed more than 500 people.
Eighteen people were rescued, said CNN Turk, which had a reporter in the area.
The epicenter was 16 kilometers (9 miles) south of the town of Van, the U.S. Geological Survey said, and its depth was 4.8 kilometers (3 miles). The quake struck at 9:23 p.m. (2:23 p.m. ET), it said.
DHA, a CNN partner station in Turkey, reported that two of its reporters were buried under rubble. Its journalists' Twitter messages indicated they were alive.
Video from DHA in Van showed residents and rescuers pulling a man out of the rubble on the stretcher, apparently conscious and wearing an oxygen mask, his arms folded across his chest.
It was not immediately clear whether the man was one of the DHA journalists.
Floodlights bathed the nighttime scene as dozens of people combed through rubble of what appeared to have been a multistory building. A front-end loader pawed through the large piles of smashed concrete.
Five planes were being prepared in Ankara to take rescuers to Van, according to state news agency Anadolu. The agency also reported an aftershock of magnitude 4.4.
Parts of eastern Turkey, including the area around Van, were devastated by a magnitude 7.2 earthquake on October 23, which killed more than 500 people.
CNN's Hande Atay-Alam in Atlanta and Journalist Andrew Finkel in Turkey contributed to this report.
.
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
.
CNN...
.
At least 3 dead in quake in eastern Turkey
By the CNN Wire Staff
updated 5:19 PM EST, Wed November 9, 2011
.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
More than 50 people are buried under rubble
At least 18 buildings have collapsed in Van, authorities say
A television station reports two of its reporters are buried under rubble
The area was devastated by a 7.2-magnitude temblor in October
.
(CNN) -- At least three people died and 50 more remained buried under rubble from a 5.7-magnitude earthquake that struck eastern Turkey Wednesday night, officials said.
Another 11 people were rescued, state-run television TRT said.
The epicenter was 16 kilometers (9 miles) south of the town of Van, the U.S. Geological Survey said, and its depth was 4.8 kilometers (3 miles). The quake struck at 9:23 p.m. (2:23 p.m. ET), it said.
At least 18 buildings have collapsed in Van, including two hotels and one school, TRT said.
DHA, a CNN partner station in Turkey, reported that two of its reporters were buried under rubble.
Video from DHA showed residents and rescuers in a floodlit nighttime search effort combing through rubble of what appeared to have been a multistory building in Van.
Five planes were being prepared in Ankara to take rescuers to Van, according to state news agency Anadolu. The agency also reported an aftershock of 4.4 magnitude.
Parts of eastern Turkey, including the area around Van, were devastated by a 7.2-magnitude earthquake on October 23, which killed more than 500 people.
.UPDATE AS OF 11/09/11 - 8:27 PM PT:... more
-
-
Earlier this evening I felt a considerably strong earthquake that shook the apartment for about a minute and made things fall and break. I've never witnessed a quake that strong before!
-EmperorThan
Crews in central Oklahoma were out early Sunday morning assessing for damage from the largest quake to hit the state since record-keeping began.
The 5.6-magnitude quake struck 4 miles east of Sparks in Lincoln County at 11:53 p.m. ET Saturday.
No major injuries were reported, but the quake caused at least three sections of U.S. Route 62 to buckle, said Aaron Bennett of the Lincoln County 911 and emergency management.
A boulder rolled into a rural county road, blocking it.
Crews also reported some structural damage, including a roof collapse and a damaged ventilation system in a municipal building.
"They're reporting that all the houses look like they've been ransacked," Bennett said of the assessment crews.
At least one person was taken to a hospital in Prague with minor injuries, he said.
The man hit his head against a wall when he tripped and fell while trying to run out of his house, Bennett said.
Some 200 miles away in Garland, Texas, resident Noel Kennedy said he felt the quake.
"I heard stuff rattling. Mirrors were shaking," he said.
The Saturday night quake struck the same area where a 4.7-magnitude quake struck just hours earlier -- at 3:12 a.m. ET Saturday.
By 8 a.m. Saturday, geologists had recorded more than 30 aftershocks from it.
The strongest quake previously reported was of magnitude 5.5 on April 9, 1952, according to the Oklahoma Geological Survey.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/06/us/oklahoma-earthquake/index.html?hpt=hp_t2
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/06/oklahoma-earthquake_n_1078313.html
http://www.kmbc.com/image/29694894/detail.htmlEarlier this evening I felt a considerably strong earthquake that shook the apartment... more
-
-
Trying to keep up with the news at El Hierro in the Canary Islands is hard – the seismicity and tremor has been almost nonstop for 6 months now and over the last few weeks, the submarine eruptions have waxed and waned – but now we seem to have entered another period of strong submarine activity (see above), which might possibly be closer to the ocean surface.
UPDATE 3:15 EDT: It looks like the phreatomagmatic explosive activity is beginning south of El Hierro. Prensa El Hierro tweeted (translated): “Juan Manuel Santana have just announced that produce water columns and ash.” La Restinga is being evacuated as a precaution. Some new video/images of the area shows small explosive plumes/jets from the ocean surface that suggest the eruption is enterting a Surtseyan phase. Here is a live feed of TV from El Hierro with updates.
The current activity is pretty clear from a linear vent on the seafloor (see right) and there are very prominent bubbling areas where the volcanic tephra and gases are rising – with some excellent video to show that activity. This vent, as I’ve mentioned before, is likely to be very similar to what we see at Kilauea during new fissure vent eruptions – albeit that this one is under the sea. At the depths that the material is eruption (few hundred meters), the eruption is likely not highly explosive but plenty of shattered basaltic (or basanitic) glass is being produced as the lava hits the cold ocean water. Now, it does appear that the bubbling is more intense (video) – and more of it – so if these vents do begin to get close enough to the surface to produce ocean-surface explosions, we might expect something like the 2009 Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai activity, also know as Surtseyan eruption. There has been more of the floating, dark pyroclastic material (see below) as well from the renewed activity at El Hierro.
All of this new activity has prompted the PEVOLCA to indefinitely close the tunnel to Frontera after earthquakes as large as M4.4 have occurred on El Hierro. New evacuations have also been called for people living on the southern end of the island due to the renewed eruptive activity. The government and IGN have had to quell rumors that eruptions have started to the north of El Hierro as well but there is no evidence of any activity other than the submarine eruption south of La Restinga. However, IGN “expects” eruptions to propagate northwardTrying to keep up with the news at El Hierro in the Canary Islands is hard – the... more
-
-
CNN BREAKING NEWS...
.
6.9 magnitude earthquake hits Peru
October 28th, 2011
03:15 PM ET
A 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck Peru on Friday, some 32 miles south of Ica, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.
.
Please add updates - thanks!CNN BREAKING NEWS...
.
6.9 magnitude earthquake hits Peru
October 28th, 2011... more
-
-
-
A magnitude-6.9 earthquake rattled most of Nepal Sunday, leaving at least six dead and some 24 seriously injured. The slow response to the quake puts a spotlight on Nepal’s dismal disaster preparedness record, despite a history of devastating earthquakes.
In Nepal, where seismologists have been warning that the region is due for “the big one,” people were relieved to read media reports that described the quake’s impact as relatively mild. The quake, centered in the Indian state of Sikkim, killed more than 50 people across India, Nepal, and Tibet.
“There is scant preparedness for a major quake,” says Suraj Shrestha, a civil engineer associated with National Society for Earthquake Technology – Nepal (NSET), a nongovernmental organization that seeks to build earthquake-safe communities in Nepal by 2020.
Nepal was fortunate because the epicenter was located far enough from major Nepalese cities to prevent more serious damage, Mr. Shrestha says.
Most of the country has been too busy focusing on how to respond to the Maoist insurgency that gripped the country for a decade until 2006. The country has yet to secure long-term peace.
The last time a major quake hit Nepal was in 1988. The magnitude-6.5 quake that hit the country then killed 721 people. Before that, the biggest recorded quake to strike the region was a magnitude-8.3 in 1934 that killed some 8,519 people, according to the government’s National Seismological Center.
Nepal introduced quake-resistant building code for the first time in 2003. But the code covers only a handful of cities, including the capital, Kathmandu. The code was the government’s response to the 1988 quake.
“Enforcement of the code remains very poor,” Shrestha says.
According to an estimate by the NSET, some 80 percent of the buildings in the country are not earthquake resistant.
“The risk is high. Yesterday’s quake was a wake-up call,” added Shrestha, who says he hopes the quake will lead to more stringent enforcement of building codes.
More at the linkA magnitude-6.9 earthquake rattled most of Nepal Sunday, leaving at least six dead and... more
-
-
CNN...
.
Magnitude-6.9 quake kills 21 in India and Nepal
By the CNN Wire Staff
September 19, 2011 2:28 a.m. EDT
PHOTO: A man looks out a collapsed house just southeast of Kathmandu, Nepal, on Monday.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
14 people die in India and seven more lose their lives in Nepal, the officials say
300 civilians, 22 tourists are rescued near India's border with Tibet, an official says
The quakes set off landslides that, with heavy rains, are hampering rescue efforts
A wall of the British Embassy in Kathmandu collapsed due to the quake, killing three
.
New Delhi (CNN) -- The death toll from a magnitude 6.9 earthquake -- and its aftershocks -- along the border of India and Nepal climbed to 21 Monday, officials said.
Fourteen deaths were reported in India with seven others in Nepal, according to each nation's Home Ministry. More than 90 have been injured in India.
The quake struck the northern Indian state of Sikkim, where seven people died, causing damage in West Bengal, Bihar, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya. Five deaths were reported in West Bengal and two others in Bihar.
The dead include three in Nepal's capital of Kathmandu, who died when a wall of the British embassy collapsed, according to Kedar Rijal, Kathmandu police chief. They included an 8-year-old girl, her father and a third person.
The British Foreign Office confirmed a "compound perimeter wall" of the embassy collapsed, adding that its ambassador has met with the community and offered condolences.
Police said in a statement that two more people died in the Nepalese town of Dhara, about 217 miles east of Kathmandu. About a dozen people were injured when they jumped from their houses during the quake, police said.
The locations of the other two fatalities were not immediately available.
Communications to stricken areas are "much better now," Sikkim's chief secretary Karma Gyatso said Monday, adding cell phone connections have also improved in the northern Indian state. He added that rescuers have reached most of the hardest-hit areas, with more emergency crews set to be deployed over the course of the day.
Already, 300 civilians had been rescued in one such effort near Sikkim's border with China, said Indo-Tibetan Border Police spokesman Deepak Kumar Pandey. Some 22 tourists -- all of them Indians -- were also rescued in the same area.
The deaths, damage and recovery efforts came after a total of three quakes struck the region in rapid succession in a mountainous region.
The U.S. Geological Survey initially put the largest quake at 6.8 magnitude, later upgrading it to a 6.9, and the other two at magnitudes 4.8 and 4.6. All three occurred within an hour and 15 minutes, the U.S. agency said. The India Meteorological Department said the quakes were 6.8 magnitude, 5.7 magnitude and 5.3 magnitude.
The quakes set off landslides, which -- along with heavy rains -- were blocking roads and hampering rescue efforts, Pandey said. He expressed fears that the toll, as far as deaths and damage, could be more than is now known, anticipating more will be known once the sun rises Monday.
Authorities have reported power outages and downed phone lines in Sikkim.
Emergency crews were dispatched from different locations to the region, India's home ministry said in an alert to reporters. At least four fighter jets were carrying rescue officers to a neighboring region, where they travel by road to Gangtok, Sikkim's capital, according to the alert.
As for outside help, World Vision announced Sunday that it "has put its emergency response team in India on standby" to provide relief as requested. The nonprofit organization reported that the quake cut off phone communication and electricity in parts of Sikkim and West Bengal provinces.
"The whole earth was shaking and it lasted for two minutes," Paul Mathai from World Vision, who was 130 kilometers (80 miles) from the epicenter, said in a statement from the organization. "We were panicked, but all of us are safe."
That quake's epicenter was about 42 miles from the city of Gangtok and 169 miles east of Kathmandu, according to the geological survey.
.
CNN's Harmeet Singh, Manesh Shrestha and Bharati Naik contributed to this report.
.CNN...
.
Magnitude-6.9 quake kills 21 in India and Nepal
By the CNN Wire Staff... more
-
-
CNN...
.
7.3-magnitude quake strikes in Pacific, near Fiji islands
By the CNN Wire Staff
September 15, 2011 5:42 p.m. EDT
t1larg.fiji.earthquake.map.jpg
.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
The U.S. Geological Survey says its depth was 626 kilometers, or 390 miles
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center says a "destructive tsunami was not generated"
The quake's epicenter was estimated as 74 miles south-southwest of Fiji's Ndoi Island
.
(CNN) -- A 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck early Friday in the Fiji islands region of the Pacific Ocean, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.
According to the U.S.-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, "a destructive tsunami was not generated, based on earthquake and historical tsunami data."
The quake struck at a depth of 626 kilometers, or about 390 miles below the earth's surface, the Geological Survey said on its website. Its epicenter was 74 miles south-southwest of Fiji's Ndoi Island, 281 miles south-southeast of the Fijian capital, Suva, and 264 miles west of Nuku'alofa in Tonga, according to the U.S. agency's estimations.
It happened just after 7:30 a.m. Friday, or 3:30 p.m. ET. Initially, it was reported as 7.2 magnitude.
Besides the U.S.-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, the Japan Meteorological Agency also did not release any tsunami warnings or advisories as a result of the quake.
.CNN...
.
7.3-magnitude quake strikes in Pacific, near Fiji islands
By the CNN... more
-
-
CNN Breaking News:
1:07PM PT
A 6.7-magnitude earthquake struck Vancouver Island, British Columbia, U.S. Geological Survey says.
.
_________________
.
CNN UPDATE...
6.7-magnitude earthquake near Vancouver
September 9th, 2011
04:15 PM ET
A 6.7 magnitude earthquake struck near Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Friday afternoon, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The epicenter was about 175 miles west of the city of Vancouver and nearly 50 miles underground.
There was no immediate danger of a tsunami, authorities said.
.CNN Breaking News:
1:07PM PT
A 6.7-magnitude earthquake struck Vancouver... more
-
-
A controversial method for extracting natural gas — hydraulic fracturing or 'fracking' — is stirring an environmental and property rights debate in South Africa.
The controversy stems from concerns over the safety of the technology, which uses large amounts of clean water mixed with sand and various chemicals to crack the rocks underground to release the gas. Various reports from the United States — where the method has spread widely over the past decade — suggest that the method pollutes water supplies, potentially endangering local environments and people's health.
A group of energy companies — including Royal Dutch Shell and South Africa's SASOL — have leased rights to a huge shale field containing underground gas, promising economic development and energy security.
But their efforts are being contested by environmental groups, such as Greenpeace and Earthlife Africa, leading the South African government to place a moratorium on all further fracking permits.
The field is located in the semi-desert Karoo region, home to the native Khoisan people and unique biodiversity. Some fear that the industry will pollute and deplete already scarce water supplies in the region.
"Karoo comes from a Khoisan word for 'thirsty land'," Lewis Pugh, founder of Treasure the Karoo Action Group, told Yale Environment 360. "Even if the chemicals were safe, and they are not, there just isn't enough water to spare. Water is going to be a source of conflict. Do you think the Karoo farmers are going to let Shell show up and destroy their farms? They're going to grab their rifles."
Shell officials claim that the chemicals used are biodegradable, and say the company has created thousands of jobs. They say the industry promises billions in revenue, much-needed jobs and energy security for all, according to Yale Environment 360.
But the benefits cited by the industry would be short-term, Pugh argues, as many wells would only work for about five years, leaving permanent environmental problems.
In South Africa, farmers and homeowners own the surface of the land, while rights to any minerals or resources that lie underground are the government's to exploit. This means that people in Karoo do not stand directly to earn royalties, as they would in many parts of the United States, causing further furore.
"The bottom line is that the poor people in the Karoo have not been engaged by the Shell environmental management plan," said Muna Lakhani, volunteer branch coordinator in Cape Town for Earthlife Africa. "Shell has made it clear they'll only consider compensation if it can be proved that the contamination came from their wells. Think of someone poor. How on Earth will they be able get justice?"
More at the linkA controversial method for extracting natural gas — hydraulic fracturing or... more
-
-
The U.S. Geological Survey reports that a 7.1 magnitude earthquake has struck the remote Fox and Aleutian Islands off the Alaskan coast.
The quake was recorded at 1:55 a.m. It's not clear if the earthquake caused damage or injuries.
A tsunami warning has been issued for the Alaskan coastline.The U.S. Geological Survey reports that a 7.1 magnitude earthquake has struck the... more
-
