-

Magnitude 6.4 Earthquake Near Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia followed by a series of smaller quakes Rocks the Region

Series of strong earthquakes near Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia

A series of strong earthquakes hit near the Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia on October 16, 2018. The sequence started with M6.3, registered by the USGS at 00:28 UTC.
The quake was followed by M6.4 at 01:03 UTC and 14 quakes over the next 6 hours with magnitudes between 4.8 and 5.8. All of them struck at a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles).
The epicenter was located 167 km (104 miles) W of Tadine (population 7 492), New Caledonia and 243 km (151 miles) SSE of Isangel (population 1 437), Vanuatu.
The quakes did not produce a tsunami.
There are no people living within 100 km (62 miles).
Some 9 000 people are estimated to have felt light shaking and 352 000 weak.
The USGS issued a green alert for shaking-related fatalities and economic losses.
Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are highly vulnerable to earthquake shaking, though some resistant structures exist. The predominant vulnerable building types are unknown/miscellaneous types and wood construction.

Estimated population exposure to earthquake shaking

Selected cities exposed

Regional seismicity

Featured image credit: USGS/EMSC

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

-
Image
Elizabeth Warren's DNA reveal backfires, angers Democrats Developing now, Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2018 Democrats are not thrilled that Sen. Elizabeth Warren has released DNA tests to prove her Native American ancestry and fear the controversy throws the party off-message before the midterm elections The family of a missing Saudi activist has called for an international, independent commission to investigate his presumed death as the Saudi government reportedly mulls issuing a statement saying Jamal Khashoggi was mistakenly killed. Secretary of State Pompeo landed in Saudi Arabia early Tuesday for talks with the Saudi king. Porn star Stormy Daniels' defamation suit against President Trump was tossed by a federal judge on Monday; her lawyer Michael Avenatti has vowed to appeal Glenn Simpson, the co-founder of the firm behind the infamous anti-Trump dossier, will invoke the Fifth Amendment not to testify when he appears on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, his lawyer says. Two other...
Read more

Homeland Security asks Pentagon to keep troops at the border through January

-
Image
  The Department of Homeland Security has asked the Pentagon to keep U.S. troops stationed at the southern border through the end of January. That would mean a 45-day extension of troops at the border, although it's unclear whether the same troops will stay or if there will be a rotation, CBS News correspondent David Martin notes.  The troops are stationed at the border to help U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials and other federal personnel. "Given the ongoing threat at our Southern border – today the Department of Homeland Security submitted a request for assistance to the Department of Defense to extend its support through January 31, 2019," DHS told reporters. "This request refines support to ensure it remains aligned with the current situation, the nature of the mission, and CBP operational requirements."  As of last week, Secretary of Defense James Mattis said more than 5,700 troops were stationed at the southern border. Presid...
Read more
-
Image
From Harvey to Michael: How America's year of major hurricanes unfolded The past year has been marked by storms of record ferocity, apocalyptic damage and thousands of deaths Just two years after  Hurricane Matthew  forced her to flee her home temporarily, Adrienne Kennedy has again had to pack her bags and leave.  Hurricane Florence , which drenched the Carolinas last month, punched holes in Kennedy’s roof, causing it to collapse. “You do get kind of hopeless,” said Kennedy, who is renting a place 30 miles away. It may take a year to return safely home to Lumberton, North Carolina. “I was born and raised there. I don’t see myself living anywhere else. You have to be proactive. But it’s all up in the air,” she said. Kennedy, who has turned into a local organizer for climate resilience and disaster recovery, is far from the only person to suffer repeated hurricanes. Remnants of  Hurricane Michael , which roared over Florida’s panhandle and other states...
Read more

REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE FOR MINNESOTA HOUSE SEAT PUNCHED IN THE FACE

-
Image
REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE FOR MINNESOTA HOUSE SEAT PUNCHED IN THE FACE BENTON COUNTY, Minn. (KMSP)  – A Republican candidate running for a seat in the Minnesota House of Representatives was punched in the face at a restaurant in St. George Township, Minnesota, according to the Benton County sheriff’s office. Shane Mekeland is running for Minnesota Representative of District 15B, which was vacated by Republican Jim Newberger, who is running against Senator Amy Klobuchar. According to officials, Mekeland was at a bar Friday evening from about 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. During that time, he had a conversation with a man about politics. The discussion started as “amicable,” but the man appeared to take offense when Mekeland made a comment about the “middle class.” The man allegedly punched Mekeland in the face without warning. In a post on his campaign Facebook page, Mekeland said he suffered a concussion and felt the man’s actions were “politically motivated.” ...
Read more
-
Image
Saudi missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi: Explanation expected from Saudi Arabia as Mike Pompeo arrives Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived Tuesday morning in Saudi Arabia amid expectations that the oil-rich, ultra-conservative Islamic kingdom was  about to present its version of events  surrounding the disappearance and alleged murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Pompeo was dispatched on Monday, immediately after President Donald Trump had a phone call with the Saudi king, whom he said denied any knowledge of Khashoggi's fate. Speaking to journalists after that phone call, Mr. Trump offered a possible explanation to counter Turkish officials' assertion that a team of 15 Saudi operatives arrived at their consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2 and killed and dismembered the Saudi writer. It could have been  "rogue killers," Mr. Trump suggested . But after two weeks of flat denials from the Saudi regime of any role in Khashoggi's disappearance -- continuin...
Read more

Alaska recovers from shock of earthquakes that rattled buildings and tore up roads

-
  ANCHORAGE  -- Several strong aftershocks left many Alaskans on edge Saturday morning after powerful back-to-back earthquakes struck on Friday. It happened seven miles northwest of Anchorage, the state's largest city. The two earthquakes measured Magnitude 7 and 5.7 on the Richter scale -- easily  powerful enough to shake buildings,  collapsing roads and generate a brief tsunami warning. CBS News correspondent Carter Evans reports that despite the damage, there were no fatalities reported. President Trump said the federal government "will spare no expense" on the recovery. Evans stood on Saturday morning next to a highway off-ramp in Anchorage that crumbled as the powerful earthquakes struck. There were cars on the road at the time, but everyone escaped.  On Saturday morning the clean-up and repair effort began. Alaska Governor Bill Walker told CBS News on Friday night that the state was just beginning to evaluate the extent of the damage. ...
Read more

Pompeo arrives in Riyadh as Saudis claim they killed Khashoggi in “interrogation gone wrong”

-
Image
Pompeo arrives in Riyadh as Saudis claim they killed Khashoggi in “interrogation gone wrong” The media is portraying Khashoggi as a saint and martyr, as well as (of course) a victim of President Trump. In reality, he was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood and a friend of Osama bin Laden. In  The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright (thanks to  Daniel Greenfield ), there is this: “‘We were hoping to establish an Islamic state anywhere,’ said Jamal Khashoggi, a friend of bin Laden’s who joined the Brotherhood at about the same time. ‘We believed that the first one would lead to another, and that would have a domino effect which could reverse the history of mankind.'” Nonetheless, Khashoggi was an opponent of the Saudi regime, and now the Saudis have shown us yet again why they are no real friend or ally of the United States. There needs to be a reconfiguration of our international alliances based on the realities of the global jihad. US Secretary of State Mike Pompe...
Read more

Germany releases 9/11 terrorist

-
Image
Germany releases 9/11 Terrorist Apparently, in Merkelistan, less than 15 years of prison dawah and jihad recruitment is sufficient punishment for the deadliest act of war on American soil in U.S. history. Motassadek has spent almost 15 years in prison for his part in the deaths of passengers aboard the highjacked airplanes used in the attacks. He has served almost his entire sentence and is being sent to Morocco. He has always denied being involved in the 9/11 plot but admitted to being friends with those who did. German authorities are transporting him under heavy guard. Photographs taken on Monday showed Motassadek wearing a blindfold and with his hands bound, being taken from prison by helicopter. Motassadek was the first person convicted in connection with the 11 September attacks against the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon, in which nearly 3,000 people died. German website Der Spiegel reports that Morocco had insisted Motassadek fly on a regular comme...
Read more
-
Image
Keith Ellison's lead vanishing amid domestic abuse allegations Embattled Democrat Rep. Keith Ellison’s lead in the Minnesota Attorney General election appears to be vanishing amid allegations of domestic violence against his ex-girlfriend. The congressman’s bid to become the top law enforcement official in the blue state was supposed to be an easy task for a popular Democrat who holds one of the top positions within the Democratic National Committee (DNC). But Ellison’s lead has taken a dramatic cut since Karen Monahan  came forward  with her story in August detailing the physical and emotional abuse she suffered allegedly at the hands of Ellison. Ellison has denied all the allegations and allowed the party to review Monahan’s allegations. The state Democratic Party hired Democratic Party-affiliated lawyer Susan Ellingstad whose draft report cleared him of wrongdoing. “An allegation standing alone is not necessarily sufficient to conclude that conduct ...
Read more