MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

This is the second time this week we’ve witnessed a powerful 7.0+ magnitude earthquake …

The Australian – “A LARGE earthquake, initially reported as 7.2, has been recorded in the islands north of Japan.

The USGS report placed the quake at a depth of 10km in the Kuril Islands, 258km east-north-east of Kuril’sk.

The initial report of 7.0 has since been revised upwards to 7.2.

The quake was felt in Hokkaido and much of the northern island of Japan. It was also reportedly felt in Tokyo.

No reports of injuries or tsunami have yet been made.

The Tsunami Information centre in the Hawaiian Islands reports that, based on past history of earthquakes in that area, a major tsunami is not likely.” Read more.

By Rusty Surette, News 9 – “Several earthquakes shook central Oklahoma in the early morning hours of Tuesday, including one that hit while News 9 was on the air.

News 9 received hundreds of phone calls, emails, Facebook and Twitter messages soon after the first earthquake hit.

The first quake was reported around 1:45 a.m. about three miles west of Chandler. The United State Geological Survey says it had a magnitude of 3.0.

Fifteen minutes later, the strongest earthquake of the morning hit the Oklahoma City metro area. The 4.3 quake was centered near Luther, 29 miles east and northeast of Oklahoma City. This earthquake awakened many residents and shook buildings from Oklahoma City to Stillwater.

The USGS reported a third quake at 2:15 a.m. near Boley, Oklahoma. This one had a magnitude of 2.8. One minute later, a fourth early-morning quake shook the area of Luther and Choctaw. The USGS says this one had a magnitude of 3.3.

At 5:16 a.m., a fifth earthquake measuring 4.2 was recorded four miles east northeast of Luther. This one struck while News 9 Meteorologist Jed Castles was on the air sharing the forecast, but he was so focused Stan Miller and Bobbie Miller had to interrupt him and point out the lights in the studio were swinging because of the latest earthquake.

There have been some reports of minor damage from Tuesday morning’s earthquakes, but no reports of injuries.” Source – News 9.

By Jason Burke and Saeed Kamali Dehghan, The Guardian – “A huge earthquake has hit the border regions between Iran and Pakistan, with reports of casualties currently confused.

Communications to the region around the epicentre, in a remote corner of the south-east of Iran, appear to be cut off.

Tremors were felt across the Gulf region, across Pakistan and well into north-west India on Tuesday, when the earthquake struck at 10.44am GMT.

The US Geological Survey said it had measured the earthquake at magnitude 7.8 and gave its location at 50 miles east-south-east of the town of Khash, in Iran. It is the biggest earthquake to strike Iran for 40 years.

Though the area is largely desert and mountains, there are several major cities, including Zahedan, only 125 miles away, which has more than half a million inhabitants.

One Iranian told The Guardian that the small town of Hiduj, which had a population of around 1,000 according to a national census conducted in 2006, had been badly damaged.

The Iranian semi-official news agency Fars quoted Tehran University’s geophysics centre as saying the quake had hit the south-eastern city of Saravan in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchistan province, at 3.14pm local time and reported that it had killed at least 40 people, according to some of their sources. At least seven villages near Saravan had been affected, the agency said.

But Fars also quoted Fariborz Rashedi, the head of medical emergencies for Sistan and Baluchistan province as saying the situation in his province was ‘normal’, with only three people injured.

On the Pakistan side, the situation seemed just as confused.” Read more.

Hundreds Feared Dead – “Iran has been hit by its most powerful earthquake for nearly 40 years and there is confusion over the number of casualities. Iranian crisis centre official Morteza Akbarpour told the ISNA news agency that the earthquake had so far,’not caused any fatalities’. ‘The epicentre of the quake was located in the desert and population centres do not surround it. There were no fatalities in the towns around the epicentre,’ he said. However, another official was quoted by a news agency as saying he feared hundreds had died.” Read more.

By Kendall Downing, WPSD – “On shaky ground. Two tremors in the New Madrid Seismic Zone this week have people wondering if a big earthquake could be coming.

The two are considered minor. No damage has been reported from either.

Thursday night’s quake struck around 7:27 local time. It was centered about six miles northeast of Caruthersville, Missouri and measured a 2.7 on the Richter Scale. Tuesday night a similar quake hit near Portageville, Missouri.

The U.S. Geological Survey considers the New Madrid Seismic Zone the most active in North America east of the Rockies.

But it’s been about 100 years since a major earthquake hit this area. Still, the two recent quakes are leaving behind some rattled nerves.

The only thing getting shaken Friday in Caruthersville, Missouri is the salad at Grandad’s Deli.

‘It’s a scary thought,’ said Sharon Russell, owner.

Russell said they were busy Thursday night and didn’t notice the tremor.

‘We were kind of rocking in this little place last night, so we didn’t feel it,’ she said.

But now, the week’s two tremors are the talk of the town. Alexis Avis shook with the first.

‘The first one I felt, I was in bed. And I thought I could tell it was an earthquake,’ she said.

Avis said the two so close together put her on alert.” Read more.

Fox News – “Three earthquakes have shaken Southern California, Reuters reports, citing the U.S. Geological Survey.

The USGS’s monitoring system places the epicenter of the earthquakes in the desert near Anza, about 100 miles southeast of Los Angeles.

One quake struck at 9:55 a.m. Monday and was initially estimated at magnitude 5.1 but that was quickly downgraded to 4.7. The other two were magnitude 4.6 and 3.0, according to the USGS.

The earthquakes were felt sharply in the local area and also rolled through downtown Los Angeles, San Diego and in Orange County.

Palms Springs police Sgt. Harvey Reed says the department has received no reports of damage or injuries.

There are no other immediate reports of damage in the region.” Source – Fox News.

Today’s Quakes ‘Could Be The Foreshock Of Something Larger’ – “It happened along the San Jacinto fault between the San Andreas and the Elsinore faults.This is a fault famous for big earthquakes according to retired geology professor Pat Abbott, Ph.D. ‘There’s always that slight chance – slight chance now – that this could be the foreshock of something larger. Probably not. Usually this is just an event all by itself,’ Abbot said. ‘It doesn’t hurt to keep it in mind, in the next 72 hours in particular,’ he said. ‘If a larger one is going to occur it would probably be during that three-day period.'” Read more.

By Chana Ya’ar, INN – “At least 700 families lost their homes in an earthquake that rocked Yunnan province in southwest China at 1:41 p.m. local time on Sunday.

Another 2,500 homes were damaged in the quake, which struck 51 kilometers (32 miles) from Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, close to the Maynmar border.

The epicenter of the quake was detected at a depth of nine kilometers, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency. The quake registered as deep as 33 kilometers below the surface of the planet, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

More than 20 people were hurt in the temblor, which registered at 5.5 on the Richter scale. Three of the injured sustained serious wounds.

Last September, twin earthquakes in the same province triggered landslides that killed at least 80 people. The region is prone to earthquakes.

The area in which the quake occurred in considered fairly remote.

Although Jews travel to China on business, they are generally not found in such remote areas, and none were reported injured or missing in the quake.” Source – INN.

AFP – “A 6.8 magnitude quake struck Friday in the Pacific in the Kuril island chain off Russia’s far east, the US Geological Survey reported.

The US agency said the quake’s epicenter was 161 kilometers south-west of Severo-Kuril’sk, Russia in the Kuril Islands that extends south of the Kamchatka peninsula.

The quake, which struck at about 6.30pm local time, occurred at a depth of 4.9km, the USGS said in an advisory.

The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said ‘a destructive Pacific-wide tsunami is not expected and there is no Tsunami threat to Hawaii’.

To check out a map and for more technical information visit the US Geological Survey website here.” Source – The New Zealand Herald.

This is hot off the heels of yesterday’s strong 6.1 magnitude earthquake in Chile …

LiveScience – “An earthquake of preliminary magnitude 6.0 struck early today in southern Mexico, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

The temblor’s epicenter was 6 miles (9 km) east of Tlalchapa, Mexico, and 107 miles (173 km) southwest of Mexico City. It originated 38 miles (60 km) deep and struck at 2:20 a.m. local time (0920 UTC), the USGS reports.

Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard and the governors of Mexican states surrounding the quake’s epicenter posted messages on Twitter saying there were no reports of major damage.

Earthquakes of this size can cause significant damage, especially with poorly built structures. Even well designed buildings can be damaged or, in some cases, destroyed depending on the severity of the quake and a building’s proximity to the epicenter. Earthquakes of this size are sometimes followed by significant aftershocks.” Read more.

CTV News, AP – “GUATEMALA CITY — A 6.5-magnitude earthquake shook Guatemala’s Pacific coastline on Sunday, four days after a major quake killed dozens in the Central American country.

People fled buildings and homes in panic in various cities along Guatemala’s Pacific coast near its border with Mexico on Sunday, but there were no immediate reports of deaths or major damage.

Eddy Sanchez, director of Guatemala’s National Institute of Seismology, Vulcanology and Hydrology, urged residents to avoid returning to buildings and homes with structural damage from the last quake.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake’s epicenter was 30 kilometres west-southwest of Champerico, Guatemala, and 185 kilometres southwest of Guatemala City. It had a depth of 27 kilometres and was centred off the country’s coast.

Seismologists say it was the strongest aftershock yet from a 7.4-magnitude earthquake that killed 52 people in western Guatemala on Wednesday.

That quake, the country’s strongest in 36 years, left thousands of people without homes, electricity or water; and emotionally devastated one small town by wiping out almost an entire family.

It was felt as far as Mexico City. It affected as many as 1.2 million Guatemalans and was followed by 70 aftershocks in the first 24 hours.” Read more.