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EARTHQUAKE

Magnitude 6.3 earthquake jolts Greek island of Crete

ATHENS, Greece — (AP) — A strong earthquake has jolted the Greek island of Crete, three weeks after another temblor killed a man on the island and damaged hundreds of buildings. The Geodynamic Institute in Athens said the earthquake that struck Tuesday morning had a preliminary magnitude of 6.3 and occurred undersea off the eastern coast of the island. There were no immediate reports of damage or injury. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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Magnitude 6.3 earthquake hits Croatia; 1 death reported

Soldiers inspect the remains of a building damaged in an earthquake, in Petrinja, Croatia, Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2020. A strong earthquake has hit central Croatia and caused major damage and at least one death in a town southeast of the capital. The European Mediterranean Seismological Center said the magnitude 6.3 quake hit 46 kilometers (28 miles) southeast of Zagreb just before 12:20 p.m. local time. The last strong quake struck in the 1990s when the picturesque Adriatic coast village of Ston was destroyed. The power plant is jointly owned by Slovenia and Croatia and located near their border.

‘Miracle:’ 2 girls pulled from rubble three days after Turkey earthquake

IZMIR – When firefighter Muammer Celik reached a 3-year-old girl trapped for three days under the rubble of a deadly earthquake in a Turkish coastal city, his heart sank. But as Celik extended his arm to wipe her face, the child opened her eyes and grabbed hold of his thumb. It was the second dramatic rescue Monday after a 14-year-old was also pulled out alive. Officials said 147 quake survivors were still hospitalized, and three of them were in serious condition. The tremors were felt across western Turkey, including in Istanbul as well as in the Greek capital of Athens.

Strong earthquake topples buildings in Turkey

Members of rescue services search in the debris of a collapsed building for survivors in Izmir, Turkey, early Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020. A strong earthquake struck Friday in the Aegean Sea between the Turkish coast and the Greek island of Samos, killing several people and injuring hundreds amid collapsed buildings and flooding. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)ISTANBUL – A strong earthquake struck Friday in the Aegean Sea between the Turkish coast and the Greek island of Samos, killing at least 19 people and injuring over 700 amid collapsed buildings and flooding, officials said. At least 17 people were killed in Izmir, Turkey’s third-largest city, including one who drowned, and 709 were injured, according to Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency, or AFAD. Clouds of dust or smoke rose from several spots as buildings collapsed in the quake.

Must watch: Family sees rocket explode over Alaska and their reaction is adorable

After weeks of bad weather, an Earthquake and other delays, private space startup Astra launched its orbital rocket on the first of three tests from Alaska last week. On Sept. 11, Rocket 3.1 launched from the Pacific Spaceport Complex in Kodiak, Alaska. That triggered a shutdown of the engines by the flight safety system and the rocket broke apart, tumbling back down in a fiery explosion. “I don’t think that’s supposed to happen,” someone says, and then when the explosion can be seen from the launch site, “holy moly!”Culton and her viewing party were worried about the Astra launch operators. Rocket 3.1's orbital launch attempt pic.twitter.com/nm1bDewdl5 — Astra (@Astra) September 12, 2020The next rocket, called 3.2 is ready for Astra’s second orbital launch test, according to the company.

Earthquake in Florida? Yep, it happened

MOUNT CARMEL, Fla. No damage was reported after a weak earthquake occurred Thursday morning along the Alabama-Florida line. The U.S. Geological Survey reported that a magnitude 4.0 quake happened just after 10 a.m. north of Mount Carmel, Florida, mostly a forested area southwest of Brewton, Alabama. The Escambia County Sheriffs Office said it had not received any calls about damage, but some area residents reported feeling the quake in response to a question posed by the area National Weather Service office on its Facebook page. The earthquake occurred more than 6 miles beneath the surface, according to the Geological Survey.

Magnitude 4.2 earthquake shakes Los Angeles, but no damage

LOS ANGELES – A magnitude 4.2 earthquake gave the Los Angeles region a predawn wake-up call Thursday, triggering local alerts from the state's new quake warning system but resulting in no reports of significant damage. The Los Angeles Fire Department found no damage or injuries in a survey by ground and air units, a standard procedure after earthquakes in the nation's second-largest city. “Good morning Los Angeles. Yes, we felt it too," Los Angeles police tweeted, noting that 911 and other systems were not impacted. Thursday's quakes were “garden variety," according to former USGS seismologist Lucy Jones, who now leads a center focusing on making communities disaster-resilient.

Powerful 7.8 earthquake hits Alaska; tsunami threat over

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A powerful earthquake off Alaska’s southern coast shook sparsely populated coastal communities late Tuesday and prompted some residents to briefly flee to higher ground because of tsunami fears. There were no immediate reports of damage in the Alaska Peninsula and the tsunami warning was canceled after the magnitude 7.8 quake offshore created a wave of a less than a foot (30 centimeters). The tsunami warning prompted coastal residents to evacuate to higher ground, with social media posts showing long lines of people fleeing towns like Homer and Kodiak as tsunami sirens wailed. Tuesday’s quake was more powerful than the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that caused damage in the Anchorage area in November 2018. More than a dozen aftershocks of magnitude 4.0 or higher were reported immediately after the earthquake, he said from the Alaska Earthquake Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Nevada highway damaged by largest area quake in 65 years

TONOPAH, Nev. – The cracked main highway between Las Vegas and Reno reopened Friday, 10 hours after a predawn magnitude 6.5 earthquake that a researcher called the largest to strike the remote area of western Nevada in 65 years. Nevada Highway Patrol photos showed cracks on U.S. 95 before crews repaired them about 35 miles (56 kilometers) west of Tonopah. The vast open range east of the snow-capped Sierra Nevada is seismically active, said Graham Kent, director of the Nevada Seismological Lab at the University of Nevada, Reno. The U.S. Geological Survey reported Friday's temblor struck just east of the Sierra Nevada. “”However, we have learned that other than obvious earthquake damage some damage is discovered later."

Damage reported as 5.4-magnitude quake strikes Puerto Rico

SAN JUAN – A 5.4-magnitude earthquake struck near southern Puerto Rico on Saturday, briefly knocking out power and forcing the relocation of at least 50 families on an island where some people still remain in shelters from previous quakes earlier this year. Most of the damage was reported in Ponce, where officials were still going neighborhood by neighborhood to assess damage as rescue crews fanned out across the region. “The infrastructure is already weak.”Several aftershocks hit Puerto Rico's southern region, including a 4.9-magnitude one. Nerves are already frayed in many parts of the island as Puerto Rico continues to recover from Hurricane Maria, a string of strong earthquakes and the coronavirus. Silvestre Alicea, a 67-year-old man who moved back to Puerto Rico from New York upon retiring, lost his home in January's earthquake and is still living with his sister in Guanica.

Mag 7.7 quake hits between Cuba and Jamaica, but no injuries

The quake was centered 139 kilometers (86 miles) northwest of Montego Bay, Jamaica, and 140 kilometers (87 miles) west-southwest of Niquero, Cuba, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The Cayman Islands were rocked by several of the strong aftershocks that followed in the area, including one measured at magnitude 6.1. In the Cayman Islands, the quake left cracked roads and what appeared to be sewage spilling from cracked mains. There were no reports of injuries or more severe damage, said Kevin Morales, editor-in-chief of the Cayman Compass newspaper. Mexico’s National Seismological Service reported that the quake was felt in five states including as far away as Veracruz, on the country’s Gulf Coast.

Magnitude 5.2 earthquake rocks Puerto Rico

GUANICA, PUERTO RICO – Another earthquake has hit the island of Puerto Rico, registering magnitude 5.2 on Wednesday. Scientists at the United States Geologic Survey placed the center of the earthquake west-southwest of the town of Guanica. More than 1,280 earthquakes have hit Puerto Rico’s southern region since Dec. 28, more than two dozen of them magnitude 4.5 or greater, according to the USGS. Among them was a 6.4 magnitude quake that hit on Jan. 7, killing one person and injuring nine others, and a 5.9 magnitude aftershock that occurred Saturday, causing further damage. Scientists say they don’t yet know much about the faults causing the quakes, although some experts believe at least three faults are involved, including the Punta Montalva one in southwest Puerto Rico that students and professors at the University of Puerto Rico in Mayaguez discovered in the early 2000s.

More harm than good: Compassion is noble, but what does Haiti really need, 10 years after quake?

“Deep down, I know there was an element of trying to get a pat on the back,” Albert said. “That’s when they completely blew me away with their response.”What the community leaders essentially told Albert and Zelaya was this: Thanks for your efforts and compassion, but you actually did more harm than good. The experience was such an eye-opener that it led Albert and Zelaya to a greater purpose and mission. “That goes back to the negative aid that is undermining the natural development of the Haitian people,” Albert said. The two discovered that nearly 80% of Haitian teachers haven’t been properly trained, and 60% of kids dropped out of classes during elementary school.

5.8 magnitude quake strikes Puerto Rico, damaging homes

SAN JUAN – A 5.8 magnitude quake hit Puerto Rico before dawn Monday, unleashing small landslides, causing power outages and collapsing some homes, as well as a famed tourist attraction. In the southern town of Guanica, Mayor Santos Seda told The Associated Press that five homes collapsed, but only one of them was inhabited. Previous quakes of lesser magnitudes in recent days have cracked homes and knocked goods off supermarket shelves. He said the quakes overall come as the North American plate and the Caribbean plate squeeze Puerto Rico, and that more earthquakes and aftershocks are expected, although officials expect them to eventually taper off. One of the largest and most damaging earthquakes to hit Puerto Rico occurred in October 1918, when a magnitude 7.3 quake struck near the island’s northwest coast, unleashing a tsunami and killing 116 people.