Global Disasters/ Significant Events – 25 April 2013

Another two million dead and Texas would have named a town after Bush

Mr Obama will help dedicate the George W. Bush Presidential ‘Lie-Bury’ and Museum on Thursday. He is on record as saying “the failed policies of George W. Bush” wiped away a budget surplus.  Mr. Bush put two wars “on a credit card,” led the country away “from our values” and “crashed the economy.”

• Ironically, Mr Bush, 66, has read little more than about half dozen books in his entire life.
• He raised more than $500 million for his presidential center, which will occupy 23 acres on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.

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Spain unemployment hits record high

Total number of unemployed people in Spain has now topped 6.2 million, a new record of 27.2 percent of the nation’s workforce, according to the official data.

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Death Toll Rises in Bangladesh Building Collapse

At least 228 people were killed and up to 2,000 others injured when a building collapsed in a suburb of the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka.

• More than 2,000 people were in the Rana Plaza building in Savar, about 30km outside Dhaka, when it collapsed on Wednesday.
• It’s not known how many people are still trapped in the rubble.
• The factory owners, who have gone into hiding, had ignored warnings after cracks were noticed on Tuesday, Police said.

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China: Death toll in Lushan quake reaches 196

Death toll from M7.0 earthquake that hit Lushan County, Sichuan Province, on Saturday has climbed to 196, with at least 21 people reported as missing, and about 12,000 people injured.

• Meantime, two dozen people were reportedly injured when two quakes hit Yibin City, about 500 km from Lushan County.
• “Two successive earthquakes measuring 4.8 and 4.2 magnitude jolted , southwest China’s Sichuan Province, on Thursday morning, leaving 24 people injured and thousands of houses damaged.” said a report.
  

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Afghanistan: Earthquake and flooding kill 40 people

Death toll from a 5.6Mw earthquake that struck NW of Jalalabad, Afghanistan on Wednesday has climbed to at least 20, with more than 150 other injured.

• The quake left hundreds of homes destroyed or damaged.

Meantime, ongoping flash floods in the northern province of Balkh have left at least 20 people dead and thousands of houses destroyed or damaged.

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IRAQ: Clashes between army and Sunni militants kill more than 100

Iraq continues to plunge deeper into sectarian violence after two days of fighting between government forces and Sunni militants left at least 100 people dead and scores of others injured.

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DISASTER CALENDAR – April 25, 2013 —  SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,052 Days Left 

Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.

• SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,052 Days Left to ‘Worst Day’ in the brief Human  History
• The countdown began on May 15, 2011 …

GLOBAL WARNINGS

• WARNING: Human impact 2.85 x Earth’s diminishing carrying capacity
• WARNING: RAPID PLANETARY DECLINE IN PROGRESS!
• Europe: The First Phase of Collapse Has Started 
• United States: The First Phase of Collapse Has Begun

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Mass Die-offs

Hindu Kush Rattled by Another Strong Quake

Strong quake measuring up to 6.3 magnitude shook Hindu Kush Region, Afghanistan

The event was consistent with FEWW Forecast

The quake struck about 18 km WSW of another strong quake which struck the region a week ago.

10-degree Map Centered at 40°N,70°E

Earthquake Location Map. Source: USGS/EHP. Map enhanced by FEWW.

Earthquake Details

• Magnitude: 6.0 [Maximum quake magnitude estimated by FEWW at 6.3 Mw]
• Date-Time: Thursday, October 29, 2009 at 17:44:31 UTC
  [Thursday, October 29, 2009 at 10:14:31 PM at epicenter]
• Location: 36.434°N, 70.731°E
• Depth: 205.6 km (127.8 miles)
• Region:  HINDU KUSH, AFGHANISTAN
• Distances:
  • 75 km (45 miles) SSE of Feyzabad, Afghanistan
  • 130 km (80 miles) WNW of Chitral, Pakistan
  • 140 km (90 miles) SSW of Khorugh, Tajikistan
  • 255 km (160 miles) NNE of KABUL, Afghanistan
• Location Uncertainty:  horizontal +/- 4.5 km (2.8 miles); depth +/- 7 km (4.3 miles)
• Source: USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
• Event ID:  us2009niba

Earthquake Location Map. Source: USGS/EHP. Map enhanced by FEWW.

After an earlier event in the area, a magnitude 6.4 quake which struck close to today’s epicenter almost exactly a week ago, FEWW forecast:

“ Further seismicity in the region should be expected in the coming days and weeks. An earthquake measuring up to 8.4 may occur in the region with a probability of 60 percent.”

Historic Seismicity Map

Major Tectonic Boundaries: Subduction Zones -purple, Ridges -red and Transform Faults -green- (Source: USGS/EHP)

Related Links:

• Strong Earthquake Rattles Hindu Kush, Afghanistan
• The Largest Earthquake
• Earthquakes [Main Index Page]

Strong Earthquake Rattles Hindu Kush, Afghanistan

Strong Quake Measuring as Large as M6.5 Rattles Hindu Kush, Afghanistan

An earthquake measuring as strong as 6.5Mw struck the Hindu Kush region, shaking northern Afghanistan and Pakistan early Friday, local time.

The epicenter was located at 36.471°N, 70.925°E  in the Hindu Kush mountain range about 75 km (50 miles) SSE of Feyzabad, Afghanistan, striking at a depth of about 197 km.

There have been no immediate reports of casualties or structural damage, however, news from the remote mountainous areas may take some time to reach the outside world.. However, frightened locals were reportedly seen escaping into the open areas in Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar and Rawalpindi and other major cities in the region. A news report said buildings in Kabul (the Afghan capital) shook during the earthquake.

10-degree Map Centered at 35°N,70°E

Earthquake Location Map. Source: USGS/EHP. Map enhanced by FEWW.

Historic Seismicity

More than a dozen EQs measuring 5.0 to 6.0 Mw have struck the immediate region since August 2008. The latest quake occurred about  240 km southeast of a major quake measuring more than 8.0Mw, which struck the region 102 years earlier almost to the date,  on October 21, 1907 at 04:23 UTC at a depth of 35 km.

Other quakes in the region:

• Magnitude 6.5, on December 12, 2005 at 21:47:46 UTC –  Location 36.332°N, 71.130°E – Depth 225.4 km  – Distances: 95 km (60 miles) NW of Chitral, Pakistan; 95 km (60 miles) SSE of Feyzabad, Afghanistan; 135 km (85 miles) SSW of Khorugh, Tajikistan; 350 km (220 miles) NNW of ISLAMABAD, Pakistan. (5 people killed, another 28 injured.)

• Magnitude 6.6, Monday, April 5, 2004 at 21:24:04 (UTC); Location 36.527°N, 71.028°E;  Depth 191.4 km – Distances: 75 km (45 miles) SSE of Feyzabad, Afghanistan; 110 km (70 miles) NW of Chitral, Pakistan; 120 km (75 miles) SSW of Khorugh, Tajikistan; 280 km (175 miles) NE of KABUL, Afghanistan. (3 people killed, at least a dozen injured.)

• Magnitude 6.1,  25 March 25,  2002 at 14:56:33 UTC; Location 36.06N 69.31E; Depth 8.0 kilometers – Distances 160 km (100 miles) SW of Feyzabad, Afghanistan; 170 km (105 miles) SE of Shaartuz, Tajikistanl; 170 km (105 miles) N of KABUL, Afghanistan; ;  210 km (130 miles) NNW of Jalalabad, Afghanistan.
  Remarks: At least 1,000 people killed, several hundred injured and several thousand homeless in Baghlan Province. At least 1,500 houses destroyed or damaged at Nahrin and several hundred more in other areas of Baghlan Province. Landslides blocked many roads in the epicentral area. Felt strongly in much of northern Afghanistan. Also felt in the Islamabad-Peshawar area, Pakistan and at Dushanbe, Tajikistan. [Source: USGS/EHP]

• Magnitude 7.4, March 3,  2002 at 12:08:19 UTC; Location 36.50N 70.48E; Depth 225.0 kilometers – Distances: 65 km (40 miles) S of Feyzabad, Afghanistan; 150 km (90 miles) SW of Khorugh, Tajikistan; 150 km (95 miles) WNW of Chitral, Pakistan; 250 km (155 miles) NNE of KABUL, Afghanistan.
  Remarks: At least 166 people killed, several injured and 400 houses damaged or destroyed by a landslide that dammed and flooded Surkundara Valley, Samangan Province. At least 13 people killed at Kabul and Rostaq and 3 people killed in Bajaur, Pakistan. At least 300 houses destroyed in Badakhshan and Takhar Provinces. A 45 meter wide fissure opened in Xiker Reservoir in Xinjiang, China. Felt in much of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Felt (VI) at Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Felt (V) at Qarshi, Samarqand and Tashkent; (IV) at Andijon and Namangan, Uzbekistan. Felt (V) at Osh; (IV) at Batken and Sufi- Kurgan; (III) at Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Felt (III) at Shymkent, Taraz and Zhambyl, Kazakhstan. Also felt in India and Xinjiang, China. [Source: USGS/EHP]

• Magnitude 7.8, March 14,  1965 AT 15:53:06 UTC  [NO FURTHER DETAILS AVAILABLE.] Remarks: Two people were injured at Peshawar, Pakistan. Slight damage occurred in Afghanistan and western Pakistan. The shock was felt as far away as New Delhi, India and Tashkent, Uzbekistan (Uzbek SSR, USSR).

FEWW Forecast:

Further seismicity in the region should be expected in the coming days and weeks. An earthquake measuring up to 8.4 may occur in the region with a probability of 60 percent.

This Earthquake

• Magnitude:   6.2 [possibly as high as 6.5 Mw]
• Date-Time:  Thursday, October 22, 2009 at 19:51:28 UTC   [Friday, October 23, 2009 at 12:21:28 AM at epicenter]
• Location: 36.471°N, 70.925°E
• Depth: 196.5 km (122.1 miles)
• Region: HINDU KUSH REGION, AFGHANISTAN
• Distances:
  • 75 km (50 miles) SSE of Feyzabad, Afghanistan
  • 115 km (70 miles) NW of Chitral, Pakistan
  • 130 km (80 miles) SSW of Khorugh, Tajikistan
  • 270 km (165 miles) NE of KABUL, Afghanistan
• Location Uncertainty: horizontal +/- 7.3 km (4.5 miles); depth +/- 28.6 km (17.8 miles)
• Source: USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
• Event ID:  us2009nbbf

Historic Seismicity Map

Major Tectonic Boundaries: Subduction Zones -purple, Ridges -red and Transform Faults -green- (Source: USGS/EHP)

Related Links:

• The Largest Earthquake
• Earthquakes [Main Index Page]