Latest news with #EarthquakeHazardsProgram
Newsweek
2 days ago
- Climate
- Newsweek
Earthquake Hits Alaska: What to Know
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. An area near Petersville, Alaska, was hit with a 4.6 earthquake on Wednesday, according to the United States Geological Survey. Newsweek reached out to the USGS's Earthquake Hazards Program via email for additional comment. Why It Matters Communities along the Pacific, including Alaska and the U.S. West Coast, faced recent warnings after a powerful 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck off Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula last week. The rapid alert responses and evacuation orders demonstrated the possible vulnerability of coastal areas to seismic and tsunami activity, underscoring the continued significance of preparedness for American residents in earthquake-prone zones. This event also revived concerns stemming from previous devastating tsunamis in recent memory. What To Know Wednesday's earthquake hit 23 kilometers WSW of Petersville, the USGS said, around 1:38 p.m. local time. The quake was 84.4 km deep. The coordinates of the earthquake are 62.447°N 151.216°W. The earthquake that took place last week in Russia had an impact felt across the Pacific. The National Weather Service issued tsunami watches, warnings, or advisories for Alaska, Hawaii, California, Oregon and Washington File photo: One of the large cracks on the Tok Cutoff Highway caused by a 7.9 magnitude earthquake in Alaska, on November 4, 2002. File photo: One of the large cracks on the Tok Cutoff Highway caused by a 7.9 magnitude earthquake in Alaska, on November 4, 2002. Alaska DepartmentThis is a developing story that will be updated with additional information.
Time of India
30-07-2025
- Science
- Time of India
Millions at risk: Inside the deadly 'Ring of Fire' that could trigger Earth's next Big disaster
From glittering megacities to quiet mountain villages, a vast swathe of humanity lives on the edge, sometimes quite literally, of geological mayhem. Welcome to the Pacific Ring of Fire , a horseshoe-shaped arc of geological chaos that stretches across 40,000 kilometres, touching countries like New Zealand, Indonesia, Japan, the US, and Chile. It's not a sci-fi term, but a very real region where the planet seems to unleash its fury with volcanic eruptions, powerful earthquakes, and devastating tsunamis. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category Technology MBA Operations Management CXO MCA Product Management Data Analytics Digital Marketing Public Policy PGDM Others Leadership Cybersecurity Project Management Artificial Intelligence Data Science Degree Finance others Data Science Design Thinking healthcare Healthcare Management Skills you'll gain: Duration: 12 Weeks MIT xPRO CERT-MIT XPRO Building AI Prod India Starts on undefined Get Details What is the Ring of Fire? It's not a literal ring and there's no fire visibly burning, but the name fits. The Pacific Ring of Fire is a belt of tectonic plate boundaries, especially subduction zones, where one plate dives under another. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like What If Your Neck Is Causing Your Ear Ringing? Tinnitus Experts Undo 'The Pacific is unique in that it's just completely ringed by boundaries that are very active,' said Michael Blanpied, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey's Earthquake Hazards Program, as quoted by The New York Times. Here, the Earth is constantly reshaping itself. That sounds poetic until you remember it's reshaping by way of ground-shaking quakes and cities-blanketing ash. Live Events Agencies Pacific Ring of Fire Why Should We Care? Because this "ring" has a dangerous memory. Some of the deadliest disasters in modern history were born here: The 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster after a massive earthquake and tsunami The 1960 Great Chilean earthquake, the most powerful ever recorded The 2004 Indian Ocean quake and tsunami that killed over 200,000 people The 1964 Alaska earthquake that redefined disaster planning And scientists warn: the worst may still be ahead. Fault lines in California (San Andreas), Japan (Nankai Trough), and the Pacific Northwest (Cascadia Subduction Zone) are overdue for major activity. Science is Evolving Fast Today, ultra-sensitive seismic sensors across the globe pick up tremors and send alerts within seconds. It's a huge leap forward in hazard preparedness. Yet the key challenge remains: no one can precisely predict the next quake. What researchers can do is look to the past. 'There is a rhythm, so if we knew what happened in the past, we would know more about what would happen in the future,' said Anthony Reid, a Southeast Asia historian, quoted by The New York Times. His work studying ancient tsunami records in Indonesia helped contextualise the massive 2004 event. Given the shared risks, scientists across nations are now teaming up. Earthquake data, models, and strategies are being exchanged in real-time. Anna Kaiser, a seismologist at Earth Sciences New Zealand, told The New York Times: 'It's really important as scientists for us to collaborate and learn from other parts of the world and particularly around the Pacific.' The Ring of Fire doesn't just link nations by geography, it links them by fate. The tectonic plates won't stop moving. The Earth won't stop shifting. But perhaps, with greater knowledge and international collaboration, we can stay one step ahead of the next great quake. Until then, the world watches and waits, quietly walking the fiery line.
Time of India
30-07-2025
- Science
- Time of India
Tsunami: What is the Pacific 'Ring of Fire'?
Hundreds of millions of people live along its path -- in giant metropolises and in isolated mountain towns -- tethered by a common geological fate forged by tectonic forces churning deep beneath their feet. The Pacific " Ring of Fire ," as it has been described for more than a century, is a chain of seismologically and geologically active regions that encircle the Pacific Ocean, where many of the world's biggest earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis occur. It spans a horseshoe-shaped area winding from New Zealand, through parts of Southeast Asia, through Japan, Alaska, down through the west coast of North and South America. Some of the most devastating mass disasters, in recent memory and in distant history, have occurred along the ring: Japan's Fukushima disaster in 2011; the Great Chilean earthquake of 1960; the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami in 2004; and Alaska in 1964. Many of the big future quakes that governments, scientists and emergency responders alike are bracing for are expected in its course -- on California's San Andreas, in Japan's Nankai Trough, and on the Cascadia fault off the Pacific Northwest. Here is what to know about the Pacific Ring of Fire . Live Events The Ring is a collection of plate boundaries, mostly subduction zones. The "Ring of Fire" is more of a convenient, colloquial concept to describe the plate boundaries that surround the Pacific Basin, rather than scientific terminology. It began with geologists' observation that a lot of volcanoes occur along the band -- hence the "fire" -- and only came to be better understood in recent decades with advancements in theories of plate tectonics as to why so much of the world's seismic activity occurred along the Pacific Rim. The ring is formed of boundaries between the Pacific Plate, the largest of the plates that make up the Earth's crust, and smaller neighboring ones. Most of the boundaries are made up of subduction zones, where one plate is being forced under the other, which produce some of the biggest and most hazardous earthquakes, said Michael Blanpied, a geophysicist and associate coordinator of the U.S. Geological Survey's Earthquake Hazards Program. " The Pacific is unique in that it's just completely ringed by boundaries that are very active," he said. Researchers are collaborating across regions to better understand risk. Networks of highly sensitive seismic instruments around the world enable information about earthquakes and ensuing hazards such as tsunamis to be delivered across the world within minutes, if not seconds, vastly improving scientists' ability to monitor and study them almost in real time. The biggest task in studying activity along the Ring of Fire is trying to determine how close the next one may be, to better prepare the public and inform policy decisions. Even if predicting when and where earthquakes will occur with any precision remains difficult, the awareness of the heightened risk for nations along the ring lends itself to collaborations to share information and technology and learn from each seismic activity, big and small, researchers say. " It kind of ties together a lot of the research around the Pacific and also, that presents that common problem," said Anna Kaiser, a seismologist at Earth Sciences New Zealand. "It's really important as scientists for us to collaborate and learn from other parts of the world and particularly around the Pacific ." Past disasters inform our understanding of the major ones to come. A big part of preparing for disasters yet to come along the Ring of Fire is studying past ones, including from centuries past documented to varying degrees. What will determine the enormity of a coming earthquake is the amount of energy stored on a fault since the last major slip, creating the potential for a large scale ground movement. "There is a rhythm, so if we knew what happened in the past, we would know more about what would happen in the future," said Anthony Reid, a historian of Southeast Asia who researched records of past tsunamis in Indonesia after the devastating 2004 earthquake and tsunami. This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
CBC
29-03-2025
- General
- CBC
Myanmar quake death toll rises to nearly 700 as international aid starts to arrive
Chinese rescue team on the ground, Russia and the U.S. also offering aid International aid began to arrive in Myanmar on Saturday as rescuers searched for survivors after a powerful earthquake devastated the Southeast Asian nation, with fears the death toll will soar. Already the number of people reported dead in Myanmar has risen sharply from 144, as reported by state media on Friday, to 694, according to the country's military government. Another 1,670 people are reported injured. "Infrastructure such as roads, bridges, and buildings were affected, leading to casualties and injuries among civilians. Search and rescue operations are currently being carried out in the affected areas," the junta said in a statement issued on state media. The junta leader, General Min Aung Hlaing, had warned on Friday of more deaths and injuries as he invited "any country" to provide help and donations. A Chinese rescue team arrived on Saturday while Russia and the U.S. offered aid in the disaster, which struck at lunchtime on Friday and damaged hundreds of buildings in neighbouring Thailand. The United States Geological Service's (USGS) predictive modelling estimated the death toll could exceed 10,000 people in Myanmar, and that losses could be greater than the value of the country's gross domestic product. Susan Hough, a scientist in the USGS's Earthquake Hazards Program, told Reuters it was difficult to predict an earthquake's death toll, for various reasons including timing. When an earthquake strikes during the daytime, as it did in Myanmar, "people are awake, they have their wits about them, they are better able to respond," she said. Searching for workers in tower rubble Much of the devastation was in Myanmar's second-largest city, Mandalay, close to the epicentre of the quake. In the Thai capital of Bangkok, 1,000 kilometres from the epicentre, a rescue mission was stepped up on Saturday to find construction workers trapped under the rubble of a collapsed 33-storey tower. WATCH | Quake brought down skyscraper under construction: Media Video | Tower collapses after 7.7- magnitude earthquake rocks Myanmar and Thailand Caption: A powerful earthquake rocked Southeast Asia on Friday, killing several people, bringing down a skyscraper under construction in Bangkok and toppling buildings in neighbouring Myanmar, where the ruling junta declared a state of emergency in some areas. Open Full Embed in New Tab Loading external pages may require significantly more data usage than loading CBC Lite story pages. A 37-strong team from China landed in Yangon, Myanmar's former capital, early on Saturday, carrying medicine and equipment to detect signs of life with them, the Chinese embassy said in a Facebook post. Russia said it was sending 120 experienced rescuers as well as doctors and search dogs, state news agency TASS reported. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he had spoken with officials in Myanmar and that his administration would be providing some form of assistance. Hough, who worked in Myanmar on the local seismology network, said the country's mix of modern structures and traditional buildings would also play a role. Traditional buildings "are going to be less potentially deadly than concrete," she said. Thai authorities said nine people had died and 101 were missing in Bangkok, mostly labourers trapped in the rubble of the collapsed tower. "We will do everything, we will not give up on saving lives, we will use all resources," Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said at the site on Saturday, as excavators moved debris and drones scoured the rubble searching for survivors. The Thai capital ground to a halt on Friday and Chadchart said hundreds of people had spent the night in city parks, but he said the situation was improving.
NBC News
29-03-2025
- Politics
- NBC News
Myanmar quake death toll rises sharply to 694
BANGKOK — International aid began to arrive in Myanmar on Saturday as rescuers searched for survivors after a powerful earthquake devastated the Southeast Asian nation amid concerns the number killed would soar. The death toll in Myanmar jumped to 694 with 1,670 injured, the military government said, up sharply from the 144 dead that state media reported on Friday. 'Infrastructure such as roads, bridges, and buildings were affected, leading to casualties and injuries among civilians. Search and rescue operations are currently being carried out in the affected areas,' the junta said in a statement issued on state media. The junta leader, General Min Aung Hlaing, had warned on Friday of more deaths and injuries as he invited 'any country' to provide help and donations. A Chinese rescue team arrived on Saturday while Russia and the U.S. offered aid in the disaster, which struck at lunchtime on Friday and damaged hundreds of buildings in neighboring Thailand. The United States Geological Survey's predictive modeling estimated the death toll could exceed 10,000 people in Myanmar, and that losses could be greater than the value of the country's gross domestic product. Susan Hough, a scientist in the USGS's Earthquake Hazards Program, told Reuters it was difficult to predict an earthquake's death toll, for various reasons including timing. When an earthquake strikes during the daytime, as it did with the 7.7 magnitude quake in Myanmar, 'people are awake, they have their wits about them, they are better able to respond,' she said. Hough, who worked in Myanmar on the local seismology network, said the country's mix of modern structures and traditional buildings would also play a role. Traditional buildings 'are going to be less potentially deadly than concrete,' she said. International aid arrives Much of the devastation was in Myanmar's second-largest city, Mandalay, close to the epicenter of the quake. In the Thai capital Bangkok, 620 miles from the epicenter a rescue mission was stepped up on Saturday to find construction workers trapped under the rubble of a collapsed 33-story tower. A 37-strong team from China landed in Yangon, Myanmar's former capital, early on Saturday, carrying medicine and equipment to detect signs of life with them, the Chinese embassy said in a Facebook post. Russia said it was sending 120 experienced rescuers as well as doctors and search dogs, state news agency TASS reported. President Donald Trump said on Friday he had spoken with officials in Myanmar and that his administration would be providing some form of assistance. Search for survivors in Thailand Thai authorities said nine people had died and 101 were missing in Bangkok, mostly laborers trapped in the rubble of the collapsed tower. 'We will do everything, we will not give up on saving lives, we will use all resources,' Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said at the site on Saturday, as excavators moved debris and drones scoured the rubble searching for survivors. The Thai capital ground to a halt on Friday and Chadchart said hundreds of people had spent the night in city parks, but he said the situation was improving.
