Wednesday, September 20, 2017

History of deadly earthquakes

 Image caption First responders carry a victim out of the disaster zone following the earthquake in Nepal in April 2015 
 
Earthquakes have claimed millions of lives in the last 100 years, and improvements in technology have only slightly reduced the death toll.
24 August 2016
At least 298 people are killed when a magnitude 6 earthquake strikes central Italy. Worst hit is Amatrice, where many of the town's historic buildings collapse.
Italy rushes to help homeless after earthquake
16 April 2016
A powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake strikes Ecuador's coast, killing more than 650 people. More than 16,000 people are hurt and some 7,000 buildings destroyed.
26 October 2015
Almost 400 people are killed when a magnitude 7.5 earthquake strikes north-eastern Afghanistan. Most of those killed are in Pakistan, but the quake is also felt in northern India and Tajikistan.
25 April 2015
A 7.8-magnitude earthquake kills more than 8,000 people and leaves hundreds of thousands homeless, in the worst natural disaster to strike Nepal since 1934. In some parts of the country, the quake flattens 98% of all homes in hillside villages.
3 August 2014
Approximately 600 people are killed in a 6.1-magnitude earthquake that strikes Yunnan province in China. Thousands of houses are destroyed and landslides are triggered. More than 2,400 people are injured.
15 October 2013
More than 200 people are reported to have died after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake strikes centrally-located Bohol and Cebu in the Philippines.
25 September 2013
More than 300 people are killed as a 7.7-magnitude quake flattens entire villages in Pakistan's remote south-western province of Balochistan, mainly in the district of Awaran.
20 April 2013
A powerful 6.6-magnitude earthquake kills at least 160 people and injured at least 5,700 in China's rural south-western Sichuan province.
11 August 2012
At least 250 people are killed and more than 2,000 injured in north-west Iran by two powerful quakes which strikes within minutes of each other near the towns of Tabriz and Ahar.

23 October 2011

More than 200 people are killed and 1,000 are injured in a powerful 7.2-magnitude earthquake which hits south-eastern Turkey; many of the victims are in the town of Ercis, where dozens of buildings collapse.

11 March 2011

A devastating magnitude-8.9 quake strikes Japan, leaving more than 20,000 people dead or missing. The tremor generates a massive tsunami along the Japanese coast and triggers the world's biggest nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986.

22 February 2011

A magnitude-6.3 earthquake shatters the New Zealand city of Christchurch, killing more than 160 people and damaging some 100,000 homes.

14 April 2010

At least 400 people die after a magnitude 6.9 earthquake strikes western China's Qinghai province.

27 February 2010

A magnitude-8.8 earthquake hits central Chile north-east of the second city, Concepcion, killing more than 700 people.

12 January 2010

About 230,000 people die in and around the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince as a 7.0-magnitude earthquake strikes the city.

30 September 2009

More than 1,000 people die after an earthquake strikes the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

6 April 2009

An earthquake hits the historic Italian city of L'Aquila, killing 309 people.
Life after L'Aquila's heart was ripped out

29 October 2008

Up to 300 people are killed in the Pakistani province of Balochistan after an earthquake of 6.4 magnitude strikes 45 miles (70km) north of Quetta.

12 May 2008

Up to 87,000 people are killed or missing and as many as 370,000 injured by an earthquake in just one county in China's south-western Sichuan province.
The tremor, measuring 7.8, struck 57 miles (92km) from the provincial capital Chengdu during the early afternoon.

15 August 2007

At least 519 people are killed in Peru's coastal province of Ica, as a 7.9-magnitude undersea earthquake strikes about 90 miles (145km) south-east of the capital, Lima.

17 July 2006

A 7.7-magnitude undersea earthquake triggers a tsunami that strikes a 125-mile (200km) stretch of the southern coast of Java, killing more than 650 people on the Indonesian island.

27 May 2006

More than 5,700 people die when a magnitude 6.2 quake hits the Indonesian island of Java, devastating the city of Yogyakarta and surrounding areas.

8 October 2005

An earthquake measuring 7.6 strikes northern Pakistan and the disputed Kashmir region, killing more than 73,000 people and leaving millions homeless.

28 March 2005

About 1,300 people are killed in an 8.7-magnitude quake off the coast of the Indonesian island of Nias, west of Sumatra.

22 February 2005

Hundreds die in a 6.4 magnitude quake centred in a remote area near Zarand in Iran's Kerman province.

26 December 2004

Hundreds of thousands are killed across Asia when an earthquake measuring 9.2 triggers sea surges that spread across the region.

24 February 2004

At least 500 people die in an earthquake which strikes towns on Morocco's Mediterranean coast.

26 December 2003

More than 26,000 people are killed when an earthquake destroys the historic city of Bam in southern Iran.

21 May 2003

Algeria suffers its worst earthquake in more than two decades. More than 2,000 people die and more than 8,000 are injured in a quake felt across the sea in Spain.

1 May 2003

More than 160 people are killed, including 83 children in a collapsed dormitory, in south-eastern Turkey.

24 February 2003

More than 260 people die and almost 10,000 homes are destroyed in Xinjiang region, in western China.

31 October 2002

Italy is traumatised by the loss of an entire class of children, killed in the southern village of San Giuliano di Puglia when their school building collapses on them.

26 January 2001

An earthquake measuring magnitude 7.9 devastates much of Gujarat state in north-western India, killing nearly 20,000 people and making more than a million homeless. Bhuj and Ahmedabad are among the towns worst hit.

12 November 1999

About 400 people die when an earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale strikes Ducze, in north-west Turkey.

21 September 1999

Taiwan is hit by a quake measuring 7.6 that kills nearly 2,500 people and causes damage to every town on the island.

17 August 1999

A magnitude-7.4 earthquake rocks the Turkish cities of Izmit and Istanbul, leaving more than 17,000 dead and many more injured.

30 May 1998

Northern Afghanistan is hit by a major earthquake, killing 4,000 people.

May 1997

More than 1,600 are killed in Birjand, eastern Iran, in an earthquake of magnitude 7.1.

27 May 1995

The far eastern island of Sakhalin is hit by a massive earthquake measuring 7.5, which claims the lives of 1,989 Russians.

17 January 1995

The Hyogo quake hits the city of Kobe in Japan, killing 6,430 people.

30 September 1993

About 10,000 villagers are killed in western and southern India.

21 June 1990

About 40,000 people die in a tremor in the northern Iranian province of Gilan.

7 December 1988

An earthquake measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale devastates north-west Armenia, killing 25,000 people.

19 September 1985

Mexico City is shaken by a huge earthquake which razes buildings and kills 10,000 people.

4 March 1977

Some 1,500 people are killed in an earthquake that hit close to the Romanian capital, Bucharest.

28 July 1976

The Chinese city of Tangshan is reduced to rubble in a quake that claims at least 250,000 lives.

23 December 1972

Up to 10,000 people are killed in the Nicaraguan capital Managua by an earthquake that measures 6.5 on the Richter scale. The devastation caused by the earthquake is blamed on badly built high-rise buildings that easily collapsed.

31 May 1970

An earthquake high in the Peruvian Andes triggers a landslide, burying the town of Yungay and killing 66,000 people.

26 July 1963

An earthquake measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale strikes the Macedonian capital of Skopje, killing 1,000 people and leaving 100,000 homeless.

22 May 1960

The world's strongest recorded earthquake devastates Chile, with a reading of 9.5 on the Richter scale. A tsunami 30ft (10m) high eliminates entire villages. Death toll reports vary widely, but many settle on the 2,000 mark.

1 September 1923

The Great Kanto earthquake, with its epicentre just outside Tokyo, claims the lives of 142,800 people in the Japanese capital.

28 December 1908

Earthquake about 7.1 magnitude and subsequent tsunami in Italy's Messina Strait, badly affecting the cities of Messina and Reggio Calabria. Deaths estimated at 70,000-80,000.

18 April 1906

San Francisco is hit by a series of violent shocks which last up to a minute. Between 700 and 3,000 people die either from collapsing buildings or in the subsequent fire.


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Hurricane Maria hits Virgin Islands and bears down on Puerto Rico


Hurricane Maria, the second maximum-strength Atlantic storm of the season, has reached the southernmost Virgin Islands as it heads for Puerto Rico.
The category five hurricane began lashing St Croix in its north-westerly path across the Caribbean.
On Monday it inflicted substantial damage on Dominica and the first aerial images of the island have emerged.
The storm briefly weakened to a four but is now again packing top sustained winds of 280km/h (175mph).
The storm is moving roughly along the same track as Irma, this season's other category five hurricane.
The governor of Puerto Rico, a US territory, has told the island's 3.5 million people to seek shelter with the hurricane poised to make landfall around 8am local time (1300 GMT).
  • PM's Facebook posts detail storm drama
  • Hurricane Maria: What to do before, during and after
Media captionHurricane Maria brought high winds to Guadeloupe
Officials there fear the debris left by Irma earlier this month could now prove extremely dangerous in the winds of Maria.
There are also concerns that heavy rain could cause landslides in some places, and that a predicted storm surge of up to 9 feet (2.7m) could swamp low-lying areas.
Puerto Rico has been a haven for people fleeing other storm-ravaged Caribbean islands in recent weeks.
Hundreds of shelters have been set up by the authorities.

What do we know of the damage on Dominica?

Image copyright AFP
Image caption Hurricane Maria early on Tuesday
The first aerial footage of the island confirms "significant damage", Ronald Jackson of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency says.
It shows flattened buildings, rivers which have burst their banks and a flooded runway.
Dominica has been virtually cut off with telecommunications severed, but local amateur radio operators say more than 90% of properties have been damaged.
The former British colony, which has a population of 72,000 and is less than 50km long and 25km wide, escaped the worst of Hurricane Irma two weeks ago.
But on Monday the eye of the new category five storm passed directly over.
The last communication from the island was from Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit just as the storm struck late on Monday, when he said in a Facebook post that the winds had swept away the roofs of "almost every person I have spoken to or otherwise made contact with."
Media captionHurricane Maria update

Where else has Maria passed?

The French territory of Martinique has been hit by power cuts but is thought to have escaped serious damage.
Media captionFootage from Martinique shows early devastating winds
Images show flooding in the French territory of Guadeloupe, where one person was killed by a falling tree. At least two others were missing after their ship sank near Desirade, the easternmost island in the archipelago.
Officials described weather conditions as "very bad" with violent winds. About 80,000 homes were without power there, a government statement said.
There are reports of flooding, mudslides and power outages in parts of St Lucia.

Where next?

A storm surge - rising seawater coming in from the coast - is expected to bring "life-threatening" swells of up to 9ft (2.7m) above ground in the US and British Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, National Hurricane Center forecasters in the US said.
Heavy rainfall of around 25in (63cm) was expected near Puerto Rico and up to 20in in the US and British Virgin Islands.
Puerto Rico's public safety commissioner, Hector Pesquera, issued a stern warning to island residents.
"You have to evacuate. Otherwise, you're going to die," he said. "I don't know how to make this any clearer."
Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello warned the storm could be "devastating and catastrophic", adding that he expected to lose a lot of infrastructure.
Tropical storm warnings were issued for Antigua and Barbuda, Saba, St Eustatius, St Martin, Anguilla and Martinique.
UK territories prepare for worst

How did Maria gather strength so fast?

Maria jumped from a category three to a top-strength category five within just a few hours on Monday, which was a shock for people in Dominica.
Media captionWhy are there so many hurricanes? The BBC's David Shukman explains
A factor in its rapid development is that local sea surface temperatures are currently anomalously high by a margin of around one to two degrees, says BBC weather forecaster Steve Cleaton.
The elevated sea surface temperature will have contributed to the rapid development of this system, in concert with other very favourable atmospheric conditions within the locale such as low wind shear, our meteorologist adds.

Will Irma relief work be affected?

Some islands in Maria's path escaped the worst of Hurricane Irma and have been used as bases to distribute relief to places that were not so fortunate.
Now there are concerns that this work could be jeopardised if they are badly hit, too.
Image copyright AFP / Getty Images
Image caption Puerto Ricans have been preparing in the capital, San Juan
Guadeloupe has been a bridgehead for aid going to Irma-hit French territories, while Puerto Rico has also been offering crucial assistance to its neighbours.
  • Hurricane Irma's damage mapped

Overseas forces mobilise

Britain, France, the US and the Netherlands all have overseas territories in the Caribbean.
The British government said more than 1,300 troops were staying put in the region and an additional military team had been deployed. A 42-strong military resilience team has also been deployed to the British Virgin Islands.
Media captionWatch: The islanders caught between hurricanes
French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb told AFP that 110 more soldiers would be sent to the region to reinforce about 3,000 people already there.
The Dutch navy tweeted that troops were heading to Saba and St Eustatius to bolster security amid fears of potential looting.
US President Donald Trump has declared a state of emergency for Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, where the US military has been evacuating personnel.

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Mexico: Huge earthquake topples buildings, killing more than 200







A strong earthquake has struck central Mexico, killing more than 200 people and toppling dozens of buildings in the capital, Mexico City.
President Enrique Peña Nieto said more than 20 children had died and 30 were missing after a school collapsed.
The 7.1 magnitude quake also caused major damage in neighbouring states.
The tremor struck shortly after many people had taken part in an earthquake drill, exactly 32 years after a quake killed thousands in Mexico City.
The country is prone to earthquakes and earlier this month an 8.1 magnitude tremor in the south left at least 90 dead.
  • Live updates
  • In pictures: Huge earthquake

What is the death toll across Mexico?

The epicentre of the latest quake was near Atencingo in Puebla state, about 120km (75 miles) from Mexico City, with a depth of 51km, the US Geological Survey said.
An earlier death toll of nearly 250 was lowered to 216 by the country's national co-ordinator for civil protection:
  • Morelos state: 71 dead
  • Puebla state: 43 dead
  • Mexico City: 86 dead
  • Mexico state: 12 dead
  • Guerrero: 3 dead
  • Oaxaca: 1
President Peña Nieto said more than 20 children and two adults had been found dead at the collapsed Enrique Rebsamen school in Mexico City's southern Coapa district. He said another 30 children and eight adults were missing.

Image copyright AFP
Image caption Many are still feared trapped beneath the Enrique Rebsamen school

What about survivors?

Emergency workers, aided by volunteers, are working through the night to search the rubble of collapsed buildings for trapped people.
Mexico City Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera told TV network Televisa that buildings at 44 locations had collapsed or were badly damaged. These are said to include a six-storey blocks of flats, a supermarket and a factory.

Image copyright Getty Images
Image caption Volunteers worked frantically to find survivors beneath the rubble
About two million people in the capital were without electricity and phone lines were down. Officials warned residents not to smoke on the streets as gas mains could have been ruptured.
In a televised address, the president said an emergency had been declared for the affected areas and the military was being drafted in to help with the response.
Across Mexico City, teams of rescue workers and volunteers clawed through the rubble with picks, shovels and their bare hands.

Image copyright AFP
Image caption Rescuers and volunteers tried to find survivors under the debris of collapsed buildings
Image copyright AFP
Image caption The rescue operation continued into the night
"My wife is there. I haven't been able to communicate with her," said Juan Jesus Garcia, 33, choking back tears next to a collapsed building.
"She is not answering and now they are telling us we have to turn off our mobile phones because there is a gas leak."
The prolonged tremor hit at 13:14 local time (18:14 GMT) and sent thousands of residents into the streets.


Media captionThe strong quake was felt in the capital, Mexico City
Jennifer Swaddle, a teacher at the British International School in Mexico City, told the BBC that part of her classroom collapsed after the earthquake hit.
"As we were leaving, the outside of my classroom wall fell, so there was a big pile of rubble. Luckily, fantastically, nobody was hurt, but it was incredibly frightening," she said.

What happened in 1985?

An earthquake drill was being held in Mexico City on Tuesday to mark the 32nd anniversary of a magnitude 8 quake that killed up to 10,000 people and left 30,000 others injured.
The severe tremor caused serious damage to Mexico City and its surrounding areas, with more than 400 buildings collapsed and thousands more damaged.
Correspondents say that residents may have mistaken earthquake alarms for part of the day of drills in the wake of the 1985 quake.
Mexico City is one of the most densely populated cities in the world, with more than 20 million people living in the metropolitan area.

Why is Mexico so prone to earthquakes?

Mexico is one of the most seismically active regions in the world, sitting on top of three of the Earth's largest tectonic plates - the North American, Cocos and Pacific plates.
The latest tremor occurred near the boundary between the North American and Cocos plates, where the latter slides beneath the former.
According to the US Geological Survey, the country has seen 19 earthquakes of at least 6.5 magnitude within 155 miles of the epicentre of Tuesday's quake over the past century.
A stronger earthquake (8.1) on 8 September is not thought to be linked to Tuesday's as the epicentres lie about 400 miles apart and it is unusual for an aftershock to appear so long after a major quake, the Verge reports.

Panic on the streets

By Juan Paullier, BBC News, Mexico City
Mexico City is a city all too used to earthquakes. But this tremor, on the anniversary of another one that left thousands dead in 1985, was especially powerful.
It sent thousands of people into the streets, trembling, shaking, crying and trying to reach their loved ones by phone.
As time passes it is becoming clear that there are going to be many victims. In the capital alone, about 30 buildings collapsed.
In one of the worst-affected areas I saw dozens of people desperately removing rubble because they believed someone was trapped.

What has the reaction been?

Alfredo del Mazo Maza, governor of the State of Mexico, said schools would be closed on Wednesday. He also ordered all public transport to operate services for free so that people could travel home.
Foreign leaders sent messages of support to Mexico as the scale of the disaster became clear.



Image copyright AFP
Image caption It is feared the death toll will rise further
US President Donald Trump, who has courted controversy with his plans for a border wall with Mexico, tweeted: "God bless the people of Mexico City. We are with you and will be there for you."
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also tweeted his support following the "devastating news".
Costa Rican President Luis Guillermo Solis, in New York for the UN General Assembly, expressed his "solidarity" with the Mexican people.
  • History of deadly earthquakes
  • Can earthquakes be predicted?
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