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Ecuador quake fears after hundreds of tremors hit
Reuters and Alertnet.org ^ | 31 Jan 2005 22:19:00 GMT

Posted on 02/01/2005 2:21:46 AM PST by bd476


Ecuador quake fears after hundreds of tremors hit
31 Jan 2005 22:19:00 GMT
Source: Reuters

QUITO, Ecuador, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Hundreds of earth tremors off the coast of Ecuador in the past 11 days have sparked fears that a bigger quake could strike soon.

"This isn't normal," the director of Geophysics Institute at the National Polytechnic School, Hugo Yepez, told Reuters on Monday, "This area is capable of producing big earthquakes. Very big earthquakes."

About 320 tremors of more than 4.0 on the Richter scale have shaken the Pacific Ocean off the port of Manta since Jan. 20.

So far no one has been reported hurt but some small fishing villages have seen damages. An earthquake measured at 7.9 on the Richter scale battered the Pacific city of Guayaquil in 1942, although fragmentary reports from the time did not mention casualties.

The shape of Ecuador's coastline would prevent the formation of a tsunami like the one which smashed into parts of Asia in December, experts say.



TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: earthquake; ecuador; quake; quakes; quito; swarmofquakes; tremors

1 posted on 02/01/2005 2:21:46 AM PST by bd476
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To: bd476
Magnitude 6.1 - OFF THE COAST OF ECUADOR
2005 January 28 09:26:17 UTC

Preliminary Earthquake Report
U.S. Geological Survey, National Earthquake Information Center
World Data Center for Seismology, Denver

A strong earthquake occurred at 09:26:17 (UTC) on Friday, January 28, 2005. The magnitude 6.1 event has been located OFF THE COAST OF ECUADOR. (This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.)
Small globe showing earthquake

Small map showing earthquake

Magnitude 6.1
Date-Time Friday, January 28, 2005 at 09:26:17 (UTC)
= Coordinated Universal Time
Friday, January 28, 2005 at 4:26:17 AM
= local time at epicenter

Location 1.197°S, 81.188°W
Depth 10 km (6.2 miles) set by location program
Region OFF THE COAST OF ECUADOR
Distances
85 km (50 miles) W of Portoviejo, Ecuador
180 km (110 miles) NW of Guayaquil, Ecuador
250 km (155 miles) WSW of Santo Domingo de los Colorados, Ecuador
320 km (195 miles) WSW of QUITO, Ecuador
Location Uncertainty horizontal +/- 6.5 km (4.0 miles); depth fixed by location program
Parameters Nst=115, Nph=115, Dmin=343.6 km, Rmss=0.88 sec, Gp= 47°,
M-type=teleseismic moment magnitude (Mw), Version=Q
Source USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)

2 posted on 02/01/2005 2:31:49 AM PST by bd476 (God Bless those in harm's way and bring peace to those who have lost loved ones today.)
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To: bd476
Volcanic activity?
3 posted on 02/01/2005 2:34:48 AM PST by DB (©)
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To: bd476
Magnitude 6.2 - OFF THE COAST OF ECUADOR
2005 January 28 15:46:44 UTC

Preliminary Earthquake Report
U.S. Geological Survey, National Earthquake Information Center
World Data Center for Seismology, Denver

A strong earthquake occurred at 15:46:44 (UTC) on Friday, January 28, 2005. The magnitude 6.2 event has been located OFF THE COAST OF ECUADOR. (This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.)
Small globe showing earthquake

Small map showing earthquake

Magnitude 6.2
Date-Time Friday, January 28, 2005 at 15:46:44 (UTC)
= Coordinated Universal Time
Friday, January 28, 2005 at 10:46:44 AM
= local time at epicenter

Location 1.143°S, 81.070°W
Depth 10 km (6.2 miles) set by location program
Region OFF THE COAST OF ECUADOR
Distances
70 km (45 miles) W of Portoviejo, Ecuador
170 km (105 miles) NW of Guayaquil, Ecuador
235 km (145 miles) WSW of Santo Domingo de los Colorados, Ecuador
305 km (190 miles) WSW of QUITO, Ecuador
Location Uncertainty horizontal +/- 7 km (4.3 miles); depth fixed by location program
Parameters Nst=126, Nph=126, Dmin=329.1 km, Rmss=1 sec, Gp= 47°,
M-type=teleseismic moment magnitude (Mw), Version=Q
Source USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Event ID ustvaz

4 posted on 02/01/2005 2:35:00 AM PST by bd476 (God Bless those in harm's way and bring peace to those who have lost loved ones today.)
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To: bd476

IIRC, the largest quake ever in history (recorded history) was a 9.5 off the coast of S. America in 1960, I think.


5 posted on 02/01/2005 2:37:17 AM PST by djf
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To: bd476
Magnitude 5.1 - NEAR THE COAST OF ECUADOR
2005 January 30 07:06:48 UTC

Preliminary Earthquake Report
U.S. Geological Survey, National Earthquake Information Center
World Data Center for Seismology, Denver

A moderate earthquake occurred at 07:06:48 (UTC) on Sunday, January 30, 2005. The magnitude 5.1 event has been located in NEAR THE COAST OF ECUADOR. (This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.)
Small globe showing earthquake

Small map showing earthquake

Magnitude 5.1
Date-Time Sunday, January 30, 2005 at 07:06:48 (UTC)
= Coordinated Universal Time
Sunday, January 30, 2005 at 2:06:48 AM
= local time at epicenter

Location 0.880°S, 80.957°W
Depth 28.6 km (17.8 miles) set by location program
Region NEAR THE COAST OF ECUADOR
Distances
60 km (35 miles) WNW of Portoviejo, Ecuador
185 km (115 miles) NW of Guayaquil, Ecuador
215 km (130 miles) WSW of Santo Domingo de los Colorados, Ecuador
285 km (175 miles) WSW of QUITO, Ecuador
Location Uncertainty horizontal +/- 7.4 km (4.6 miles); depth fixed by location program
Parameters Nst=100, Nph=100, Dmin=304.8 km, Rmss=0.87 sec, Gp=104°,
M-type=body magnitude (Mb), Version=6
Source USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Event ID ustxad

6 posted on 02/01/2005 2:37:38 AM PST by bd476 (God Bless those in harm's way and bring peace to those who have lost loved ones today.)
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To: djf

Yup.

The largest earthquake ever recorded by seismometers (the 1960 Chilean event with 9.5 Mw ) had a seismic moment equivalent to the energy of 9 trillion kilotons of TNT!


7 posted on 02/01/2005 2:39:37 AM PST by djf
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To: DB
That's a good question, DB.

They aren't kidding about hundreds of quakes.


8 posted on 02/01/2005 2:42:47 AM PST by bd476 (God Bless those in harm's way and bring peace to those who have lost loved ones today.)
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To: djf

Good research, DJF. Hopefully these 6.0+ quakes won't lead to anything that large.


9 posted on 02/01/2005 2:44:13 AM PST by bd476 (God Bless those in harm's way and bring peace to those who have lost loved ones today.)
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To: capitan_refugio; lainie; oceanperch; Darksheare; Quilla; SubMareener; Esther Ruth; kimchi lover; ...

Ping.


10 posted on 02/01/2005 2:45:29 AM PST by bd476 (God Bless those in harm's way and bring peace to those who have lost loved ones today.)
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To: bd476

Yup. Decimal points for Dummies tells us that's equivalent to 9.5 billion megatons.

Pretty soon we will have the naysayers showing up telling us that this is all normal activity, nothing to get excited about, it can't possibly be connected, ad nauseum, as nauseum.

Yet the recent 9.0 was the biggest event by far since the 1964 9.2 at Prince William in Alaska. That quake was the second largest in history, in fact 5 or 6 of the ten greatest quakes ever occurred in the 50's and 60's.

So the 9.0, which adds up to about the 4th largest quake ever recorded, could indeed signal a newly awakened period of heightened seismicity.


11 posted on 02/01/2005 2:50:37 AM PST by djf
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To: bd476
The current 7 day California earthquake map has 288 quakes on it...

Is there an equivalent map of California showing all quakes since 1990 (similar to the one you posted)?
12 posted on 02/01/2005 3:08:46 AM PST by DB (©)
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To: djf

Well the only thing I'd say is that we haven't been recording the actual strength of quakes with instruments very long in the scheme of things. With such a short time record it is really hard to know what is "normal". The ring of fire seems pretty active lately though...


13 posted on 02/01/2005 3:15:33 AM PST by DB (©)
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To: bd476

320 in ten days. I would be a nervous wreck, being earthquake phobic and all.

I would be saying "Oh GOD" alot and not in the passionate immoral whoring way.


14 posted on 02/01/2005 3:26:36 AM PST by oceanperch (2005 is going to be an Awesome Year, which way that will go only God knows)
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To: bd476

Is post 4 a second earthquake to the first one you posted or an update on the first on????

I noticed the time diff but not much else.


15 posted on 02/01/2005 3:30:05 AM PST by oceanperch (2005 is going to be an Awesome Year, which way that will go only God knows)
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To: oceanperch
It's a second one. I posted three of the most recent and largest quakes occurring in Ecuador.
16 posted on 02/01/2005 3:33:24 AM PST by bd476 (God Bless those in harm's way and bring peace to those who have lost loved ones today.)
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To: oceanperch

Yep, the 6.0+ quakes would be over the top for me as well. Two of them in one day would not be fun. Sometimes anything over a 5.5 is enough to trigger a case of the eeby jeebies, LOL.


17 posted on 02/01/2005 3:35:03 AM PST by bd476 (God Bless those in harm's way and bring peace to those who have lost loved ones today.)
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To: DB
The ring of fire seems pretty active lately though...

If by "lately" you mean "the last 50 million years."

There hasn't been a Magnitude 7.0+ quake for the entire month of January. Normally there are 18 of those a year, or more than 1 per month.

18 posted on 02/01/2005 4:21:55 AM PST by Strategerist
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