Deadly Earthquake Strikes Java, Indonesia

Powerful earthquake measuring at least 7.3 Mw strikes off the coast of Java, Indonesia.

FEWW ‘EarthModel’ estimated the magnitude as 7.6 Mw, while the quake was recorded by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Center as a magnitude 7.3Mw (±0.4 )

More than 20 people have been killed according to the initial reports, with  hundreds of structures destroyed or damaged in the city of Tasikmalaya and town of Sukabumi west of Java. Thousands of people have been evacuated, taking refuge in open areas, including the grounds of a military base.

Dozens more people were injured, including up to 50 people in Jakarta, about 190km from the epicenter, officials said.

Magnitude 7.6Mw destroyed or damaged many buildings in the city of Tasikmalaya west of the island of Java. Photo: AFP. Image may be subject to copyright.

The quake struck offshore, with the epicenter about 115km west-southwest of Tasikmalaya city (190 km SSE of the Capital Jakarta), at a depth of about 60 km.

The mainshock was followed by at least 4 aftershocks, with 2 of the shocks measuring 5.6 and  5.2. Local tsunami warnings automatically issued after the quake have now been withdrawn. Local seismologists reported small  sea levels rises near the west coast of Java.

Summary of Earthquake details as reported by
European-Mediterranean Seismological Center

Magnitude:  7.3 Mw (±0.4 )
Region:  JAVA, INDONESIA

Date and time: 2009-09-02 at 07:55:03.8 UTC
Location: 7.84 S ; 107.35 E
Depth: 70 km
Distances:

• 91 km S Banjaran (pop 164,952 ; local time 14:55 2009-09-02)
• 72 km S Banjar (pop 37,263 ; local time 14:55 2009-09-02

Automatic GEOFON Global Seismic Monitor

© Helmholtz-Zentrum Potsdam Deutsches GeoForschungsZentrum – GFZ

GFZ Potsdam – Earthquake Bulletin

• Region: Java, Indonesia
• Time: 2009-09-02 07:55:02.7 UTC
• Magnitude: 7.4
• Epicenter: 107.34°E 8.00°S
• Depth: 62 km
• Status: manually revised

USGS/EHP
In line with their current practice of downsizing nearly all their EQ reports in 2009, USGS Earthquake Hazard Program downgraded the quake to a magnitude 7.0 Mw.

FEWW Earthquake Forecast For Java/Bali Region:

• Region: Java/Bali, Indonesia
• Date of Occurrence: September to Late December 2009
• Magnitude: 8.4+
• Epicenter: 10°40’31.43″S 114°55’33.81″E
• Depth: 40 km

Related Links:

• Magnitude 6.8 EQ Strikes BANDA SEA
• Earthquake Forecast: Timor Sea
• Australian Oil Disaster May Get a Lot Worse
• FEWW Earthquake Links

Alaska Earthquake Forecast: Update 3

See:

Alaska Earthquake Forecast: Update 2

New estimate for Alska earthquke forecast

• NEW Magnitude: 8.4 ~ 9.2
• Probability of occurrence: 0.8
• Estimated date of occurrence: November 19, 2009
  
• Date uncertainty: +/- 90 days.
• NEW Estimated Location: 60°56’37.03″N 150°12’7.37″W
• Location uncertainty: Radius of about 35 km from the estimated epicenter
  • About 70.4 km NNW of the previous estimate.
    
• NEW Estimated depth: 12km [+/-3.2km]

Strong Quake Strikes Near Shizuoka, Japan

Magnitude 6.4 Quake strikes Near Shizuoka, the South Coast of Honshu, Japan

A strong earthquake measuring 6.4Mw occurred about 30km SSW of Shizuoka, Japan, USGS reported, striking at a depth of 30km at 20:07:07 UTC on Monday.

The mainshock was followed by a cluster of a dozen aftershocks, the largest of which has measured about 3.9 so far.

Japan’s broadcaster, NHK, reported that the quake had rattled buildings in Tokyo, and that bullet train services had been halted pending track inspection.

10-degree Map Centered at 35°N,140°E

Earthquake Location Map. Source: USGS

Earthquake Details

• Magnitude: 6.4
• Date-Time:
  • Monday, August 10, 2009 at 20:07:07 UTC
  • Tuesday, August 11, 2009 at 05:07:07 AM at epicenter
• Location: 34.727°N, 138.278°E
• Depth: 26.8 km (16.7 miles)
• Region: NEAR THE SOUTH COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
• Distances
  • 30 km (20 miles) SSW of Shizuoka, Honshu, Japan
  • 55 km (35 miles) E of Hamamatsu, Honshu, Japan
  • 110 km (70 miles) SSW of Kofu, Honshu, Japan
  • 170 km (105 miles) SW of TOKYO, Japan
• Location Uncertainty: horizontal +/- 9.7 km (6.0 miles); depth +/- 3.6 km (2.2 miles)
• Parameters: NST= 74, Nph= 75, Dmin=708 km, Rmss=1.24 sec, Gp= 50°,  M-type=body wave magnitude (Mb), Version=6
• Source:  USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
• Event: ID us2009kdb4

Japan Meteorological Agency seismic intensity scale

The map shows the regions where the maximum observed Seismic Intensity was 3 or greater [see date and time.] JMA Seismic Intensity scale is divided into 10 categories: Scales  0 to 4, 5 lower, 5 upper, 6 lower, 6 upper and 7. For an explanation of the intensity see: Japan Meteorological Agency seismic intensity scale. Image Copyright Japan Meteorological Agency.

Tsunami Advisory

Japan’s Meteorological agency, which registered the quake as 6.6, issued an initial tsunami advisory based on its observation at on august 111, 2009 at 07:13 local time, and reported up to 60cm waves at Yaizu. The initial tsunami advisory was  canceled soon after. No tsunami damage was reported.

Initial Tsunami Observation

Copyright Japan Meteorological Agency

Maximum Tsunami Observation –Tsunami Information NUMBER 6
Issued at 06:22 JST 11 Aug 2009

Copyright Japan Meteorological Agency

A Seismically Intense Day or So!

In a 35-hr period between August 9,  2009,  at 10:55:56  and August 10,  at 20:07:08  5 strong to powerful earthquake struck the Pacific Ring of Fire and Andaman Islands.

Items listed are in order of  L to R:)   Magnitude, Date, Time, Latitude (degrees), Longitude (degrees), Depth, Locatoion

• 7.1   2009/08/09   10:55:56    33.144   138.040   303.1     IZU ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION
• 6.6   2009/08/10   04:06:32    -11.596   166.093   42.8      SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
• 5.7   2009/08/10   17:46:28    -3.127     143.179    35.0      NEAR NORTH COAST OF NEW GUINEA, P.N.G.
• 7.6   2009/08/10   19:55:39    14.013    92.923       33.1      ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION
• 6.4   2009/08/10   20:07:08   34.727   138.278    26.8       NEAR THE SOUTH COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

Source: USGS/WSJ on line. The map doesn’t include the Mag 7.1 Izu Isles quake

Related Links:

• Powerful Earthquake Strikes Near Izu Islands, Japan

• Earthquakes [Links Page]
• Earthquake Forecast: Tokyo, Japan
• M 6.4 Quake Strikes SW Ryukkyu Isls, Japan
• Magnitude 6.3 quake strikes Taiwan region

More Aftershocks Strike Gulf of Calif, NZ

Another strong aftershock Strikes Gulf of California

A strong aftershock measuring 5.5Mw struck the Gulf of California on Wednesday, August 5, at 09:13:13 UTC, USGS reported.

The latest aftershock was the third one reported by USGS, which had earlier upgraded a previous aftershock, the largest to date, to a magnitude 6.2 [from 5.9 Mw.]

A powerful mainshock measuring 6.9 shook the Gulf of California on Monday.

10-degree Map Centered at 30°N,115°W

Earthquake Location Map. USGS

Location: 29.615°N, 113.850°W
Depth: 10km
Event ID: us2009jwbr

A powerful aftershock strikes off west coast of the South Island, NZ

Meanwhile, a much stronger aftershock measuring 6.1Mw struck off west coast of the South Island, New Zealand.

Location: 45.472°S, 166.336°E
Depth: 10km
Event ID: us2009jyaw

Click on the link for details of the mainshock:
Powerful 7.8 M Quake Strikes New Zealand Region

Related Links

• California Earthquake Forecast 2009 – UPDATE
• Magnitude 6.9 Quake Strikes Gulf of California
• Powerful 7.8 M Quake Strikes New Zealand Region
• California Earthquake Forecast 2009 [See also the comments section]
• FEWW Earthquake Links

• Magnitude 7 Earthquake Hits Kermadec Islands
• Magnitude 6.8 Quake strikes Kermadec Isls Region

• New Zealand Hit by another Quake
• Mag 5.3 Earthquake Rattles North Island, NZ
• Earthquake Cluster Zone Closing in on New Zealand
• Magnitude 7 Earthquake Hits Kermadec Islands
• Mt Ruapehu Eruption Alert [See also the comments section]

Earthquake Cluster Hits Yellowstone National Park

More than two dozen earthquakes magnitude 2.5 and larger strike Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

FEWW Forecast: There could be as much as 37 percent more earthquakes in the United States in 2009;  some may occur in areas not prone to quakes, e.g., north, northeast, south and central U.S.

Magnitude 3.5 quake strikes  YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, WYOMING

Source: USGS

This Earthquake
Magnitude: 3.5

Date-Time:

• Wednesday, December 31, 2008 at 09:02:28 UTC
• Wednesday, December 31, 2008 at 02:02:28 AM at epicenter

Location: 44.523°N, 110.362°W
Depth: 0.4 km (~0.2 mile) (poorly constrained)
Region: YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, WYOMING
Distances:

• 61 km (38 miles) ESE (104°) from West Yellowstone, MT
• 64 km (40 miles) SSE (154°) from Gardiner, MT
• 64 km (40 miles) SSW (211°) from Cooke City-Silver Gate, MT
• 437 km (272 miles) NNE (16°) from Salt Lake City, UT

Location Uncertainty: horizontal +/- 0.5 km (0.3 miles); depth +/- 7.9 km (4.9 miles)
Source: University of Utah Seismograph Stations [via USGS]
Event ID: uu00002649

FEWW Team will provide a more definitive earthquake forecast for the US in 2009 once it’s had a chance to re-examine the data to confirm the preliminary analysis.

Earthquake Forecast 2009

Earthquake Forecast 2009 – country in focus: Japan

2009 Earthquake Forecast by FEWW / CASF – Release Date: December 18, 2008. [All data are subject to updates and changes.]

Historic Japan earthquakes: 2008 [as of  December 18, 2008]

See Also:

• Magnitude MW 5.7 Quake Hits Southern Alaska [Anchorage Quake Forecast]
  
• 2009 US Quake Forecast
• Earthquakes [Links Page]

[Earthquakes of magnitude 6.5 or greater or ones that caused fatalities, injuries or substantial damage. Source: Data Compiled by Pamela J. Benfield and NEIC Operations Staff.]

• 2008 09 11 – Hokkaido, Japan region – M 6.8
  
• 2008 07 23 – Eastern Honshu, Japan – M 6.8 Fatalities 1
• 2008 07 19 – Off the East Coast of Honshu, Japan – M 7.0

• 2008 07 05 – Sea of Okhotsk – M 7.7
• 2008 06 13 – Eastern Honshu, Japan – M 6.9 Fatalities 13
• 2008 05 07 – Near the East Coast of Honshu, Japan – M 6.8

Historic japan earthquake: 2007

• 2007 07 16 – Sea of Japan – M 6.8
• 2007 07 16 – Near the west coast of Honshu, Japan – M 6.6 Fatalities 9
• 2007 03 25 – Near the West Coast of Honshu,Japan – M 6.7 Fatalities 1

Earthquake Density Map of Japan [USGS]

Seismicity Map

Credit: USGS

Seismic Hazard Map of Japan

Credit: USGS

Notable Earthquakes in Japan [USGS]

• 1891 10 27 – Mino-Owari, Japan – M 8.0 Fatalities 7,273
• 1896 06 15 – Sanriku, Japan – M 8.5 Fatalities 27,000
• 1923 09 01 – Kanto (Kwanto), Japan – M 7.9 Fatalities 143,000
• 1927 03 07 – Tango, Japan – M 7.6 Fatalities 3,020
• 1933 03 02 – Sanriku, Japan – M 8.4 Fatalities 2,990
• 1943 09 10 – Tottori, Japan – M 7.4 Fatalities 1,190
• 1944 12 07 – Tonankai, Japan – M 8.1 Fatalities 998
• 1945 01 12 – Mikawa, Japan – M 7.1 Fatalities 1,961
• 1946 12 20 – Nankaido, Japan – M 8.1 Fatalities 1,330
• 1948 06 28 – Fukui, Japan – M 7.3 Fatalities 3,769
• 1964 06 16 – Niigata, Japan – M 7.5 Fatalities 26
• 1995 01 16 – Kobe, Japan – M 6.9 Fatalities 5,502
• 2000 10 06 – Western Honshu, Japan – M 6.7
• 2003 05 26 – Near the East Coast of Honshu, Japan – M 7.0
• 2003 09 25 – Hokkaido, Japan Region – M 8.3
• 2003 10 08 – Hokkaido, Japan Region – M 6.7
• 2003 10 31 – Off the East Coast of Honshu, Japan – M 7.0
• 2004 05 29 – Off the East Coast of Honshu, Japan – M 6.5
• 2004 09 05 – Near the South Coast of Western Honshu, Japan – M 7.2
• 2004 09 05 – Near the South Coast of Honshu, Japan – M 7.4
• 2004 09 06 – Near the South Coast of Honshu, Japan – M 6.6
• 2004 10 23 – Near the West Coast of Honshu, Japan – M 6.6 Fatalities 40
• 2004 11 28 – Hokkaido, Japan Region – M 7.0
• 2004 12 06 – Hokkaido, Japan Region – M 6.8
• 2005 03 20 – Kyushu, Japan – M 6.6 Fatalities 1
• 2005 07 23 – Near the South Coast of Honshu, Japan – M 5.9
• 2005 08 16 – Near the East Coast of Honshu, Japan – M 7.2
• 2005 10 19 – Near the East Coast of Honshu, Japan – M 6.3
• 2005 11 14 – Off the East Coast of Honshu, Japan – M 7.0
• 2005 12 02 – Near the East Coast of Honshu, Japan – M 6.5
• 2006 06 11 – Kyushu, Japan – M 6.3
• 2007 03 25 – Near the West Coast of Honshu,Japan – M 6.7 Fatalities 1
• 2007 07 16 – Near the west coast of Honshu, Japan – M 6.6 Fatalities 9
• 2008 05 07 – Near the East Coast of Honshu, Japan – M 6.8
• 2008 06 13 – Eastern Honshu, Japan – M 6.9 Fatalities 13
• 2008 07 23 – Eastern Honshu, Japan – M 6.8 Fatalities 1
• 2008 09 11 – Hokkaido, Japan region – M 6.8

Source: USGS

Source: USGS

Related Links:

• Magnitude MW 5.7 Quake Hits Southern Alaska
• 2009 US Quake Forecast
• Earthquakes [Links Page]