WORLD Major Earthquake Strikes Iran Iran has been struck by its most powerful earthquake for more than 50 years, with tremors felt across Pakistan, India, and the Middle East. The 7.8-magnitude quake struck the city of Khash. Discussion Ideas: Walk through our “Forces of Nature” interactive, which explains what earthquakes are, where they occur, and how they develop. Choose the earthquake layer—the far right icon … Continue reading Major Earthquake Strikes Iran
In the last six weeks, two major earthquakes struck the Western Hemisphere. The first leveled the city of Port-au-Prince, Haiti on January 12. The second occurred off the coast of Concepcion, Chile on February 27. While both of these events were life-altering for local residents and many others around the world, why does it appear that Chile’s earthquake had less of a devastating impact, even … Continue reading Earthquakes in the Western Hemisphere
A magnitude-5.4 earthquake hit the Los Angeles metropolitan area midday
yesterday, the strongest to strike the region in an urban area since the 1994 Northridge
quake. The epicenter was southeast
of LA, two miles from the city of Chino Hills in San Bernardino County. Chino Hills lies near the San Andreas Fault, which runs from the San
Francisco bay area to south of Temecula, CA. Earthquakes strike often along the system of faults that lies under the
state, due to the movement of tectonic plates. Yesterday’s quake was caused by pressure at the intersection of the Chino and Whittier fault lines. Luckily, Chino Hill’s
infrastructure was constructed with earthquake-resistant technology,
so no serious damage or injury was reported in the area, but skyscrapers swayed
in downtown Los Angeles for several seconds and many buildings were evacuated. Other minor inconveniences occurred as
objects were knocked from shelves, as depicted in this scene at a Chino Hills
grocery store (below).
Image courtesy Washington Post
Continue reading “‘Moderate’ Earthquake Rocks Southern California”
