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MOSCOW (AFP)--A major earthquake with a magnitude of 7.5 hit the region of the Sea of Okhotsk early Saturday, the U.S. Geological Survey said, but no casualties were reported. The epicenter of the quake, at a depth of 605 kilometers, was said to be 384 kilometers west-northwest of the Russian far eastern city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy. It occurred at 0212 GMT, the USGS said. No casualties, damage or threat of tsunami was reported, Russian emergency situations ministry officials in Kamchatka said, according to the RIA Novosti news agency. However, tremors were felt in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy, forcing people to briefly leave their homes.

Major quake hits region of Okhotsk Sea 13 minutes ago A major earthquake with a magnitude of 7.5 hit the region of the Sea of Okhotsk early Saturday, the US Geological Survey said, but no casualties were reported. The epicentre of the quake, at a depth of 605 kilometres, was said to be 384 kilometres (239 miles) west-northwest of the Russian far eastern city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy. It occurred at 0212 GMT, the USGS said

It's only a drill - but the earthquake-simulation plan set for November will illustrate a frightening event that would rock our world if it becomes a reality. The ShakeOut Scenario calls for a 7.8 Southern California earthquake that would "kill 1,800 people, injure 50,000, cause $200 billion in damage, and have long-lasting social and economic consequences," according to a U.S. Geological Survey news release. Science predicts the strongest shaking and greatest damage from such a quake would occur near the stretch of the San Andreas Fault that extends through the fastest growing areas of Southern California - including the Coachella...

See my translation below

My initial reaction to these strong anti-corruption measures by the CCP is “Hats off to Beijing!” It would appear that the CCP is taking these widespread allegations, which have existed from almost Day 1, very seriously. My second reaction, however, is a little more cautious. It is incredible to me that the Chinese government was able to investigate over 1000 allegations of corruptions in less than 2 months. Such a process would have taken at least 6 months if not a entire year to be completed in the United States. Hopefully, in its new found zeal to fight corruption in...

Hero porker survives 36 days in China quake rubble Mon Jun 23, 12:31 PM ET A pig that survived for 36 days buried beneath rubble in quake-hit southwest China on a diet of charcoal has been hailed as a symbol of the will to stay alive, state press reported Monday. The pig, who weighed nearly 150 kilograms (330 pounds) at the time of the magnitude-8.0 earthquake on May 12, had lost two thirds of its weight when found last week, the Chongqing Evening Post said. "It didn't look like a pig at all when it was saved. It was as...

The enormous steel ball you see in the photos (and the incredible video below) is the world’s largest ‘tuned mass damper’ and sits near the top of the world’s largest completed skyscraper on earth, taipei 101 in taiwan. the idea behind a tuned mass damper is quite simple: as a building sways (resulting from high winds, earthquakes etc), its tuned mass damper, essentially a finely tuned and ridiculously heavy pendulum, will move in opposition to the structure’s oscillations and minimise any movement. if that makes no sense, watch the crude gif below. due to both the immense size of taipei...

Thursday, June 12, 2008 China keeps secret the quake damage to radioactive facilities China is keeping a tight lid on the extent of damage caused by the recent earthquake to military radioactive sources. The Hong Kong-based Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy reported May 30 that Chinese authorities only announced some damage to sources of nuclear radiation, including small facilities like cement plants. “Because Sichuan is the most important area for China's military nuclear industries and nuclear research, if those sources of radioactivity were to be damaged, they could cause further harm hundreds of thousands of times greater than...

We just had a very strong earthquake which fiercely rocked and rolled the main Island of Honshu in Japan. TV broke with news on all channels IN ADVANCE OF EARTHQUAKE, warning people to "get ready". 8:43 a.m. local time Saturday (just about 10 minutes ago). 7:43 p.m. Friday Eastern Time. Then, sure enough, the long, rolling shaking began, and increased in intensity. I estimate the shaking to have gone on for at least 45 seconds. It hit here at 8:45 a.m. It literally gave us 2 minutes to prepare. I have never experienced an advance earthquake warning. The epicenter is...

Even if Yao Ming had never donated a single jiao to the earthquake effort, the resentment that Chinese people have had for him is largely unjustified. First, it was not China that elevated Yao Ming to his current stardom in the United States. It was his own ’blood and sweat’ that made him into a star. If anything, China has created problems for Yao Ming’s career including a host of CBA regulatory obstacles. Second, Yao Ming has done much more for his country than many Chinese people care to admit or perhaps even know about. He has been involved in...

I'm a Chinese and live in Beijing. You may heard about a massive earthquake stroke Sichuan province last month. In this natural disaster, one my fellow people, exactly a teacher, ran before his students and declared his view of personal liberty and freedom regardless his teacher indentity. His allegation has triggered a extensive discussion on humanity and teacher, as a publice servant,responsibility. I know that personal liberty is well developed and protected in US. But, and the same time, US is a country regarding public responsibility especially for those paid by the taxpayers to do their civil job. I came...

Religious Boom in China after Quake JUNE 10, 2008 08:31 As religious gatherings for the victims of the Sichuan earthquake are being held in large scales, the Chinese Communist Party is worrying about a possible explosive increase in religious population. The party is tolerating such religious events in consideration of public sentiment for now, but is known to be jittery about the possibility of uncontrollable trouble. â–½ Worships and Buddhist service for earthquake victims The Buddhist Association of China held a large-scale service for those who were killed or displaced by the earthquake on May 14, two days after the...

Interview by Wang Yongchen On May 27, 2008, one of China’s most celebrated radio journalists and founder of the environmental organization, Green Earth Volunteers, Wang Yongchen interviewed Fan Xiao, chief engineer of the Regional Geology Investigation Team of the Sichuan Geology and Mineral Bureau about the possibility that the Zipingpu dam induced China’s deadly May 12 earthquake. Wang Yongchen: Now, two weeks after the powerful Wenchuan earthquake, what are your thoughts? Fan Xiao: This earthquake was a Richter scale magnitude 8 and, strictly speaking, it is very unusual for this area. The historic records show that the highest recorded earthquake...

These regulations, like many others that are handed down from Beijing, are important and well-intentioned. However, also not unlike many policies established in the Chinese capital city, these new regulations will be difficult to enforce. In the following months, there will be a reconstruction frenzy as local governments rush to build new housing and revive the tourist industry in Sichuan. Unless Beijing can muster enough resources to ‘breath down the back’ of local contractors and government officials during the reconstruction phase, there is little doubt that time and money, not safe construction standards, will be the top priority. This has...

In an act of moral foolhardiness, Fan Meizhong set out on a blog his guiding principle: in matters of life and death, it's every man for himself. When the quake struck, rather than overseeing an orderly evacuation, he said he just shouted "Stay calm, it's an earthquake!" and ran for it without looking back to see if his pupils were following. "I ran towards the stairs so fast that I stumbled and fell as I went. When I reached the centre of the football pitch, I found I was the first to escape. None of my pupils was with me,"...

China's Netizens Aid Earthquake ReliefChristopher Thomas   06.03.08, 3:30 AM ET A few hours after the devastating earthquake on May 12, a People's Liberation Army rescue helicopter landed on a hillside field near Wenchuan, the epicenter of the earthquake. It was one of the first to arrive as rescue teams made their way to the remote site.The landing site was not chosen from military maps or guided by emergency response teams. Instead, the site was determined from an instant message posted on popular local messaging services Baidu Post Bar and QQ. The poster, a Wenchuan native, gave the location...

FOR three days last month, China’s national flag flew at half-staff in Tiananmen Square to honor the victims of the devastating earthquake in Sichuan. It was the first time in memory that China has publicly commemorated the deaths of ordinary civilians. Crowds were allowed to gather in the square to express sympathy for their compatriots. Despite a death toll that has risen to nearly 70,000, the earthquake has shaken the nation back to life. The Chinese people have rushed to donate blood and money and join the rescue efforts. They have rediscovered their civic responsibility and compassion. Their grief, shock...

Police officers surrounded more than 100 parents protesting Tuesday against shoddy school construction that they say resulted in the deaths of thousands of children during the recent earthquake here. The police dragged away several crying mothers and harassed journalists trying to report on the event, according to witnesses and photos of the protest. The standoff between the parents, many carrying framed photos of their children, and the officers, dressed in black uniforms, lasted for several hours and ended with the parents walking off feeling both intimidated and frustrated, said those involved in the protest. "Because so many police surrounded us,...

An unnamed expert believes that a nuclear explosion caused the recent 8.0 magnitude Sichuan earthquake in China, where three weeks after the catastrophe the death toll has reached 69,000 plus. Overseas Chinese website Boxun News reported that the expert confirmed there was a nuclear explosion near the epicenter, based on witness reports and the discovery of concrete rubble believed to have come from an underground military installation.

Why China's next earthquake might be political The “c” in China has always stood for catastrophe. Whether it has been those of nature, man-made political disasters, or a combination of both, no other civilized society has suffered more down through the centuries than the ancient Chinese polity. That was true in the old, dynastic, traditional China, captured in the melodrama of Pearl S. Buck’s novels which despite their lack of sophistication were a representation of what “the real China” was like. In our own time, the chaos, destruction and loss of life during the two-decade long Japanese invasion and Occupation...

Fatal Mine Collapse Covered 50 Acres ScienceDaily (Jun. 3, 2008) — New calculations show that the deadly Crandall Canyon mine collapse -- which registered as a magnitude-3.9 earthquake -- began near where miners were excavating coal and quickly grew to a 50-acre cave-in, University of Utah seismologists say in a report on the tragedy. The University of Utah Seismograph Stations estimated the size of the collapse is about four times larger than was thought shortly after the time of the Aug. 6, 2007, disaster that resulted in the deaths of six miners and, 10 days later, three rescuers. The seismologists'...

Nuclear device exploded in Sichuan By Boxun Jun 1, 2008 - 6:46:34 PM Lu Shishen, who reported the cover up of the earthquake forecast, said that there was a strong nuclear explosion in Sichuan during the earthquake. Xinhua reported yesterday that an explosion of “volcano was observed in the earthquake”, people said that concrete debris was burst out of the crack during the quake. Experts tested the debris and found it is radioactive, according to Lu Shishen’s report. Full report in Chinese: http://news.boxun.com/news/gb/china/2008/06/200806020720.shtml

The Chinese government has instructed domestic media outlets to rein in coverage of the schools that collapsed during last month’s devastating earthquake in Sichuan province, journalists familiar with the directive have told the Financial Times. A notice was sent to media outlets across the country late last week, following a spate of reports about the collapses that killed thousands of students. Their parents blame sub-standard construction and government negligence, if not corruption, especially in areas where schools were the only structures to fail catastrophically. Last week Southern Weekend, an investigative weekly newspaper from Guangzhou, Guangdong province, ran a report on...

Eight in past week, two of which were in the past hour. Probably just a statistical artifact, but something for the rest of us living on other parts of the Ring of Fire to keep in mind...

Man alive nearly 179 hours after quake YINGCHUAN, Sichuan, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Ma Yuan Jiang, a power plant executive, was rescued at around 00:50 a.m. Tuesday from the rubble in Wenchuan County of southwest China's Sichuan Province, nearly 179 hours after the May 12 earthquake. The 31-year-old survivor was pulled by a Shanghai rescue team from the debris of a flattened power plant, after more than 30 hours' efforts. Rescuers found Ma at afternoon on May 18 at the debris of a flattened office building, when they were digging hole trying to reach Yu Jinhua, a colleague of Ma....

China earthquake death toll rises to 68,977 www.chinaview.cn 2008-05-31 16:06:55 Print Special report: Reconstruction After Earthquake BEIJING, May 31 (Xinhua) -- The death toll in China's major earthquake increased by 119 to 68,977 as of Saturday noon, the Information Office of the State Council said. Another 367,854 people were counted as injured and 17,974 listed as missing in the 8.0-magnitude quake that jolted southwestern Sichuan Province on May 12. A total of 45.55 million people were affected by quake, of whom 15.15 million were relocated, according to the office. Hospitals had treated 89,818 injured survivors as of Saturday noon, of...

TAPEI, Taiwan - Officials say a powerful earthquake has struck at the Pacific Ocean off southeastern Taiwan, but no damage or injuries have been reported. Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau says the magnitude 6.8 quake hit at around 9:57 a.m. on Sunday (0157 GMT Sunday). It was faintly felt in Taiwan.

Devastating China earthquake, Communist Chinese government Add even the earthquake news among China’s tainted products   By Judi McLeod     Wednesday, May 28, 2008 From before it even happened, the coming news of the devastating China earthquake was being managed by the Communist Chinese government. In fact, the cadres of the Earthquake Bureau of Communist China held a major conference in Hangzhou on April 28, 2008—two weeks before the Sichuan earthquake. Suppressing news of earthquakes from the outside world was number one on the Conference agenda.  The title of the conference was “Training Course for Keeping Earthquake Information...

SEOUL, May 31 (Xinhua) -- A magnitude-4.2 earthquake struck South Korea's southern resort island of Jeju on Saturday, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported. The earthquake erupted at 9:22 p.m. (1222 GMT) and left some residents and buildings in the island shaken, it said. There have been no reports of injuries or property damage in the earthquake so far, Yonhap quoted unnamed weather officials as saying. The quake is believed to have originated in the sea 78 km south of the island, South Korean weather officials said.

By GUDJON HELGASON, Associated Press Writer Thu May 29, 4:22 PM ET REYKJAVIK, Iceland - A strong earthquake shook southern Iceland on Thursday, causing more than a dozen injuries as it rocked buildings in the capital, touched off landslides and forced evacuations in outlying towns, officials and local media said. Government officials reported that 15 to 20 people from Selfoss, 30 miles southeast of the capital of Reykjavik, were injured in the quake, none of them seriously. They were taken to a local health center for treatment. The U.S. Geological Survey said Selfoss was near the epicenter of the magnitude...

Imagine that your government forced you to have only one child – under penalty of sterilization, beatings, and/or stiff fines. Imagine further that your one child is crushed to death during an earthquake because that same government allowed your child’s school to be built with shoddy building materials and in violation of numerous building codes.

China earthquake: 80,000 being evacuated from under dam By Richard Spencer in Beijing Last Updated: 1:24AM BST 28/05/2008 Attempts are being made to complete the evacuation of 80,000 Chinese below a natural dam formed by landslides in the Sichuan earthquake. Satellite images show how the Jian valley has filled with water after a landslide blocked the river's flow The blockage, on the Jian river above the devastated town of Beichuan, is one of many that formed when landslides were triggered by the quake two weeks ago. Almost 2,000 soldiers, armed with dynamite and using a mechanical digger landed by helicopter,...

Excavators work at Tangjiashan Lake in Beichuan County in Sichuan Province yesterday. Some 1,800 soldiers, each carrying 10 kilograms of explosives clambered up mountain paths to reach the barrier lake and blast through debris to drain water. Dozens of dams created by landslides during the May 12 earthquake are posing a new threat in the disaster zone. --------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------- Excavators work at Tangjiashan Lake in Beichuan County in Sichuan Province yesterday. Some 1,800 soldiers, each carrying 10 kilograms of explosives clambered up mountain paths to reach the barrier lake and blast through debris to drain water. Dozens of dams created...

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China grappled with backed-up rivers and reservoirs in danger of collapse, along with looming storms that threatened Monday to compound damage from the country's worst earthquake in three decades. Two weeks after the magnitude 7.9 earthquake centered in Sichuan province, the confirmed death toll rose to 65,080 with 23,150 people still missing, the Cabinet said. The government has said the final number of dead is expected to exceed 80,000. Many of the disaster victims were children, prompting officials to clarify the country's strict one-child policy guidelines. The Chengdu Population and Family Planning Committee in the capital of Sichuan province said...

BEIJING: Hundreds of angry parents whose children died under a collapsed Chinese school in this month's earthquake ignored an official pleading with them on his knees and demanded a thorough probe, local media said on Monday. Officials said at least 6,581 of the dead were children and teachers crushed when school buildings collapsed. China has vowed to take severe measures against any state-owned companies found to have built substandard public buildings. Parents have accused authorities of cutting corners and failing to meet safety standards. Last week, the housing minister conceded that cost-cutting may have played a part. The parents of...

"Well you know it was very interesting because at first, you know, I am not happy about the ways the Chinese were treating the Tibetans because I don’t think anyone should be unkind to anyone else. And so I have been very concerned about how to think and what to do about that because I don’t like that."

http://www.breitbart.tv/html/102463.html

Why would the bandits rush radiological equipment and specialist troops into an earthquake disaster area if they were interested in aiding "civilians"? Why is much of the limited PLA earth moving equipment headed for certain "sites" instead of to those civilian areas where it is reported that much of the post digging and rubble clearance is still being done by hand by the survivors?

Oct. 12: This file photo shows couple during a wedding photo shoot at a deserted Catholic seminary in Pengzhou in southwest China's Sichuan province. Five couples were having wedding photos taken when a massive earthquake struck on May 12, destroying the seminary. May 12: Bricks fall from a deserted Catholic seminary as an earthquake strikes during a wedding photo shoot in Pengzhou in southwest China's Sichuan province. Five couples were having wedding photos taken when the earthquake struck, and all escaped without injury. The century-old seminary was destroyed in the quake, which left tens of thousands dead in Sichuan. May...

Global Voices is a non-profit global citizens’ media project founded at Harvard Law School’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society, a research think-tank focused on the Internet’s impact on society. http://www.globalvoicesonline.org/about/ Do you wanna know something about Sichuan earthquake or else in China? Please see it. http://www.globalvoicesonline.org/-/world/east-asia/china/page/2/ Of course you can search other country from this site and get some information about it.

ITN's Bill Neely was given a home video shot just seconds after the quake showing the extent of the devastation. This video is about 7 minutes. http://blog.donews.com/zegna/archive/2008/05/25/1296249.aspx

Chinese environment authorities say they have found fifty hazardous sources of radiation since this month’s earthquake. Senior environment official, Wu Xiaoqing has said the situation is returning to normal after the discovery of thirty five of the radiation sources. The other fifteen had been also been pinpointed but not yet dealt with. He said none of the radiation was accidentally released from nuclear facilities. He said the fifteen unrecovered sources were mostly buried in rubble or in dangerously unstable buildings. The disaster area is home to China's chief nuclear weapons research lab in Mianyang, as well as several secretive atomic...

The massive quake that shook China's Sichuan province this week is one of the worst natural disasters – in terms of lives claimed and property destroyed – that the world has seen in some time. But an earthquake, according to Chinese tradition, is not a mere act of nature, nor is it simply a matter of fate. Traditionally, every earthquake announces profound changes that will affect the entire society. The Chinese still remember – as do I, having been in Beijing at the time – that the great Tangshan quake of 1976, which killed more than 240,000, came just before...

PENGZHOU — Liu Jin was studying law in Shanghai when he heard that an earthquake tore through one of the country's poorest provinces. Moved by scenes of misery, he flew to the disaster zone thousands of miles away to help the victims. Liu, a 22-year-old student in China's richest city, said his parents "thought the government and military could handle the disaster." Instead, he joined tens of thousands of volunteers who may be part of a fundamental shift in the world's most populous nation. In the wake of China's deadliest disaster in a generation, many did not wait for signals...

BOGOTA (Reuters) - A shallow, 5.6-magnitude earthquake hit central Colombia on Saturday, shaking buildings in the capital, Bogota, and sending panicked residents into the streets, witnesses and the U.S. Geological Survey said. Authorities said there were no initial reports of injuries, but Bogota Mayor Samuel Moreno told local radio some buildings in the city were slightly damaged. "The report we have so far is that it was strong and some structures have suffered damage, but there is nothing to lament," Moreno said. One Bogota government building was evacuated after the quake sent a shower of bricks tumbling off one of...

"All Things Considered" hosts Robert Siegel and Melissa Block are in Sichuan Province covering the massive earthquake. They continue to report on the aftermath and recovery efforts. The hosts were in Chengdu with producers Andrea Hsu and Art Silverman when the quake struck. They were preparing for a special week of China coverage that had been planned for next week. Follow this blog for regular updates. ----From http://www.npr.org/blogs/chengdu/

A FOREST police team rescued 40 wild giant pandas in Wolong National Nature Reserve in earthquake-hit Sichuan Province at 11am today, Xinhua news agency reported. The Wolong reserve is a large reserve area for the giant panda, an animal considered a national treasure because it is unique to China. China yesterday said 86 giant pandas at the China Wolong Giant Panda Protection and Research Center, which is near the earthquake's epicenter in Sichuan's Wenchuan County, are safe. All panda cubs had been transported to safety, the Wolong center reported to the State Forestry Administration by satellite telephone after being out...

Disaster Earthquake Scenario Unveiled For Southern CaliforniaShakeMap Intensity of an 7.8--Earthquake. (Credit: USGS)ScienceDaily (May 23, 2008) — Scientists have unveiled a hypothetical Scenario describing how a magnitude 7.8 Southern California earthquake -similar to the recent earthquake in China- would impact the region, causing loss of lives and massive damage to infrastructure, including critical transportation, power, and water systems. In the Scenario, the earthquake would kill 1800 people, injure 50,000, cause $200 billion in damage, and have long-lasting social and economic consequences. This is the most comprehensive analysis ever of what a major Southern California earthquake would mean, and is the...