Category Archives: Earth Stuff

News of Earth Changes, climate shifts, weather anomalies, volcanoes, etc

Fireball Graces Bay Area

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BAY AREA FIREBALL: Last night, Oct. 17th, many people near San Francisco saw a slow-moving fireball exploding in the sky around 07:45 pm PDT. Witnesses report bright flashes of light and sonic booms that shook houses. Using a wide-field camera, Wes Jones caught the meteor disappearing behind the trees in the city of Belmont:

“We don’t know yet if the end point [of the meteor’s flight] was over land or water,” says meteor expert Peter Jenniskens of the NASA Ames Research Center. Jenniskens operates a network of Cameras for All-sky Meteor Surveillance (CAMS) near the Bay Area. “Data from the CAMS system should give us an answer [about landfall]. We’re analyzing the data now.” Stay tuned.

Note: Although Earth is nearing a stream of debris from Halley’s Comet, source of the Orionid meteor shower, this fireball was probably not an Orionid. The timing and direction of the meteor do not seem to match the Orionids.

fr/Spaceweather.com

Indian Ocean Tectonic Breakup

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Unusual Indian Ocean earthquakes hint at tectonic breakup

April 2012 quakes occurred away from plate edges, suggesting formation of a new boundary.

At least four faults within the Indo-Australian plate ruptured simultaneously in April 2012, resulting in two magnitude-8 earthquakes within two hours. (Red stars indicate the epicentres.)

Keith Koper, University of Utah Seismograph Stations

Geological stresses rending the Indo-Australian plate apart are likely to have caused the magnitude-8.6 and magnitude-8.2 quakes, which broke along numerous faults and unleashed aftershocks for 6 days afterwards, according to three papers published online today in Nature1–3.

Seismologists have suspected since the 1980s4 that the Indo-Australian plate may be breaking up. But the 11 April earthquakes represent “the most spectacular example” of that process in action, says Matthias Delescluse, a geophysicist at the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris and lead author of the first paper1. Worldwide, “it’s the clearest example of newly formed plate boundaries,” he says.

According to prevailing theories of plate tectonics, the Indo-Australian plate began to deform internally about 10 million years ago. As the plate moved northwards, the region near India crunched against the Eurasian plate, thrusting the Himalayas up and slowing India down. Most scientists think that the Australian portion forged ahead, creating twisting tensions that are splitting the plate apart in the Indian Ocean.

Delescluse and his team inferred the presence of these seismic stresses by modelling stress changes from shortly before the 2012 earthquakes. They found that two earlier earthquakes along the eastern plate boundary — the magnitude-9.1 tremor in 2004 that unleashed a massive tsunami across the Indian Ocean, and another quake in 2005 — probably triggered the 2012 event by adding to pent-up stresses in the plate’s middle region.

Gregory Beroza, a seismologist at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, says that the model is a likely explanation. “The 2004 and 2005 earthquakes by themselves would not have caused this other earthquake. There had to be other stresses,” he says.

Slip-sliding away

Most large earthquakes occur when two plates collide at their boundaries, and one plate slides beneath the other. By contrast, when plates or portions of plates slip horizontally along a fault line, this usually results in smaller, ‘strike-slip’ earthquakes.

However, the first 11 April event defied expectations as the largest strike-slip earthquake on record, and one of the strongest to occur away from any conventional plate boundaries.

In the second study2, researchers found that the accumulated stresses spread over the plate’s interior broke free in the first 11 April event, resulting in one of the most complex fault patterns ever observed. Unlike most earthquakes that shake along a single fault, this one ruptured along four faults, one of which slipped as much as 20–30 metres.

“This earthquake, it was a ‘gee whiz’,” says study author Thorne Lay, a seismologist at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Previous work had already identified multiple strike-slip faults for the magnitude-8.6 earthquake5, but no other study had analysed the slip amounts in such detail. Beroza says that Lay and his team “do a splendid job of picking apart this very important earthquake” in their paper.

Lasting impressions

Although much attention has focused on how the earthquakes played out, some researchers are also studying the after-effects of the giant tremor. In a third study3, scientists found that for six days following the event, earthquakes of magnitude 5.5 and greater occurred at almost five times their normal rate all around the world.

“Aftershocks are usually restricted to the immediate vicinity of a main shock,” says lead author Fred Pollitz, a geophysicist at the US Geological Survey in Menlo Park, California. He says that the 11 April example should challenge conventional definitions of how soon and how close aftershocks can occur to large earthquakes.

“Every earthquake is important to study, but this earthquake is rather unique,” says Hiroo Kanamori, a seismologist at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. With so many unusual characteristics to examine, the 11 April earthquake sequence may continue for some time to expand researchers’ ideas of how earthquakes can occur.

from:    http://www.nature.com/news/unusual-indian-ocean-earthquakes-hint-at-tectonic-breakup-1.11487

 

 

Orionid Meteor Showers

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The Orionid Meteor Shower

Oct. 12, 2012:  Usually, waking up before sunrise is a good way to get a head start on the day. On Oct. 21st, waking up early could stop you in your tracks.

Blame Halley’s Comet.  Every year in mid-to-late October, Earth passes through a stream of dusty debris from Comet Halley, and the pre-dawn sky lights up with a pretty display of shooting stars.

“We expect to see about 25 meteors per hour when the shower peaks on Sunday morning, Oct 21st,” says Bill Cooke, the head of NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office.  “With no Moon to spoil the show, observing conditions should be ideal.”

Orionids (splash)

A new ScienceCast video explores the Orionid meteor shower. Play it

Because these meteors streak out of the constellation Orion, astronomers call them “Orionids.”

“The Orionid meteor shower isn’t the strongest, but it is one of the most beautiful showers of the year,” notes Cooke.

The reason is its setting: The shower is framed by some of the brightest stars and planets in the heavens. Constellations such as Taurus, Gemini and Orion provide a glittering backdrop for the display. But that’s not all.  This year, Venus and Jupiter have moved into position with Sirius, the Dog Star, to form a bright triangle in the eastern pre-dawn sky.  On the morning of Oct 21st, blazing pieces of Halley’s Comet will cut straight through the heart of this celestial triad.

To see the show, Cooke suggests going outside one to two hours before sunrise when the sky is dark and the constellation Orion is high overhead. Lie down on a blanket with a broad view of the heavens.  Although Orionids emerge from a small area near the shoulder of Orion, they will spray across the entire sky.

“Be prepared for speed,” he adds.  “Meteoroids from Halley’s Comet strike Earth’s atmosphere traveling 148,000 mph.  Only the November Leonids are faster.”

Speed is important because fast meteors have a tendency to explode.  Occasionally, Orionid fireballs will leave incandescent streams of debris in their wake that linger for minutes. Such filaments of meteor smoke twisted by upper atmospheric winds into convoluted shapes can be even prettier than the meteors themselves.

“It really is a wonderful morning to be awake,” says Cooke.  “Just don’t plan on going anywhere in a hurry.”

fr/spaceweather.com

Ongoing Geo-Magnetic Storm

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GEOMAGNETIC STORM UNDERWAY: A G1-class geomagnetic storm is underway on Oct. 13th. Reports of bright auroras have been received from Scandinavia, Greenland, Canada and several northern-tier US states. Colin Chatfield sends this picture from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan:

“This is from my backyard around 5:00a.m. this morning,” says Chatfield. “Never have I seen the auroras so bright, especially from within the city. They were astounding, with purple visible to the naked eye.”

The ongoing storm was triggered by a knot of south-pointing magnetism from the sun. During the early hours of Oct. 13th, the knot bumped into Earth’s magnetic field, opening a crack in our planet’s magnetosphere. Solar wind poured in to fuel the auroras.

More auroras are in the offing. NOAA forecasters estimate a 40% chance of strong polar geomagnetic storms on Oct. 14th when a solar wind stream is expected to blow past Earth

from:    spaceweather.com

Papua New Guinea Area Earthquake

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Very strong earthquake out of the coast of P.N.G

Last update: October 12, 2012 at 2:06 pm by By

–Very strong earthquake out of the South Coast of Papua
 A Very strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.7 struck 103km of Dobo, Indonesia at a depth of 25km. This earthquake, if preliminary reports are confirmed, should not be dangerous creating a max. shaking of IV (light shaking) for at least 206,000 people.
Tsunami statement from the PTWC (Pacific Tsunami Warning Center):

A DESTRUCTIVE WIDESPREAD TSUNAMI THREAT DOES NOT EXIST BASED ON
 HISTORICAL EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI DATA.

 HOWEVER - THERE IS A VERY SMALL POSSIBILITY OF A LOCAL TSUNAMI
 THAT COULD AFFECT COASTS LOCATED USUALLY NO MORE THAN A HUNDRED
 KILOMETERS FROM THE EARTHQUAKE EPICENTER.
from:    http://earthquake-report.com/2012/10/11/major-earthquakes-list-october-12-2012/

On Crop Circles & Their Makers

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Art With Malice: The Human Circlemakers

Discernment: the quality of being able to grasp and comprehend what is obscure.

After watching this film (below) ask yourself why no one has been arrested in over 25 years of producing many thousands of crop circles through acts of blatant crop vandalism in the crop fields of the U.K., yet those involved in these destructive acts have a well known website (www.circlemakers.com), and their names can be easily known to anyone interested enough to look. It is because those who are directing this charade very well know those who are carrying out these nefarious acts. Not only do those authorities allow this vandalism to continue, but they encourage it, as they know that the human-made crop circles represent their most effective means to discredit the Crop circle phenomenon in the eyes of mankind. What a shame that our world is so constructed.

In this film you will learn how and why British and U.S. military and intelligence agencies have essentially destroyed the credibility of the Crop Circle phenomenon through a program deliberately designed to relegate the Crop Circles to your mind’s round file of silly fantasies and acts of human mischief. These base and misguided efforts have been enormously successful at discrediting what were intended to be a beautiful as well as non-threatening greeting to mankind from the universe. Through their malicious “artistic” efforts in the crop fields, John Lundberg, Rob Irving, and their co-conspirators (the human Circlemakers) have done more to retard the awakening of the human race to a new and wonderous reality – that we are not alone in this universe – than they can possibly imagine. How long before they realize the extent of the damage that they have done? How long before they listen to their conscience and tell the world the truth about the genuine Crop Circles and their efforts to discredit this important phenomenon?

Researchers Robert Hulse, David Cayton, and Roy Dutton have been studying the Crop circle phenomenon since the early 1990′s. Upon close inspection of a crop circle, on their hands and knees, they have developed the ability to identify crop circles which are produced by human beings through the mechanical stomping down of crop utilizing a rope and board. They look for marks left by the edge of the board where it contacts the plants and leaves a telltale scar upon the plant’s stem surface. Yet they also acknowledge that some crop circles, the Genuine Crop Circles, do not exhibit these marks, are more graceful and flowing, reveal the presence of blown-out nodes, and are very likely produced by a non-human intelligence. These researchers tell us that they have not encountered what they believe to be a Genuine Crop Circle since 2005! Let us hope that the Genuine Circle Makers have not simply given up on the human race as a species which is completely unapproachable due to our demonstrated inability to deal with an unknown in an honest and forthright manner.

CCRF extends our gratitude to Richard D. Hall, the producer of this film
(www.richplanet.net), Robert Hulse, David Cayton, and Roy Dutton for the many hours they have personally contributed toward trying to help mankind understand the truth.

CCRF extends our deepest sympathy to John Lundberg, Rob Irving, Mark Pilkington and the Circlemakers for their loss of their sense of responsibility toward their fellow man and their apparent inability to conduct themselves like human beings. They label themselves as artists, but are in fact simply vandals who have sold their souls to the highest bidder. We invite them to finally do the right thing and reveal to the world what they know to be true about the genuine Crop Circles. It is not yet too late for redemption.

To the British and U.S. military and intelligence personnel charged with the task of discrediting the Genuine Crop Circle phenomenon, we can only say that these people operate on the dark side, they seem to know only how to destroy, their acts are despicable and will be only temporarily effective. Disclosure of the truth is inevitable and one way or another, despite their efforts, it will eventually happen.

from:    http://cropcirclesresearchfoundation.org/?p=1952

CHECK OUT THE VIDEO HERE:    http://www.richplanet.net/detail.php?dbi

Dr. Jeff Masters on Nadine, New Tropical Depression

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TD 15 forms; tropical storm warnings in the Azores for Nadine
Published: 4:12 PM GMT on October 03, 2012
The first new tropical depression in the Atlantic since September 11 is here, Tropical Depression Fifteen. TD 15 is destined for a short life, though, and will not be a threat to any land areas. The storm is already showing signs that moderate wind shear of 10 – 20 knots is interfering with development, with most of the storm’s heavy thunderstorms displaced away from the center of circulation. Wind shear is expected to rise to the high range, above 20 knots, on Thursday and Friday as the storm turns north and then northeast. Ocean temperatures will cool from 28°C today to 25°C by Saturday, and all of the computer models show TD 15 ceasing to exist by Saturday, as the storm becomes absorbed by a large extratropical storm. TD 15 is a classic example of a weak, short-lived tropical cyclone that would have gotten missed before satellites came around. If TD 15 strengthens, it will be called Tropical Storm Oscar.


Figure 1. MODIS satellite image of TD 15 taken at 8:52 am EDT Wednesday, October 3, 2012. At the time, TD 15 was just forming and had top winds of 35 mph. Image credit: Navy Research Lab, Monterey.

Nadine touring the Azores Islands–again
I’m-not-dead-yet Tropical Storm Nadine is back for a second tour of the Azores Islands, where tropical storm warnings are up for the storm’s expected arrival tonight. Nadine is struggling with cool 21 – 22°C waters and high wind shear of 20 – 30 knots, and could transition to an extratropical storm later today or on Thursday as it heads east at 14 mph. Nadine is up to 21 days as a tropical or subtropical cyclone as of 2 pm today, making it the fifth longest-lived Atlantic tropical cyclone of all-time (tropical cyclones include tropical depressions, tropical storms, and hurricanes, but not extratropical storms.) According to the official HURDAT Atlantic database, which goes back to 1851, only five previous Atlantic tropical cyclones have lasted 21 days or longer (thanks go to Brian McNoldy for these stats):

1) San Ciriaco Hurricane of 1899: 28 days
2) Ginger, 1971: 27.25 days
3) Inga, 1969: 24.75 days
4) Kyle, 2002: 22 days
5) Nadine, 2012: 21 days
5) Hurricane Four, 1926: 21 days

According to the Hurricane FAQ, the all-time world record is held by Hurricane John in the Eastern Pacific, which lasted 31 days as it traveled both the Northeast and Northwest Pacific basins during August and September 1994. (It formed in the Northeast Pacific, reached hurricane force there, moved across the dateline and was renamed Typhoon John, and then finally recurved back across the dateline and renamed Hurricane John again.) Of course, there may have been some longer-lived storms prior to 1961 that we didn’t observe, due to the lack of satellite data.


Figure 2. MODIS satellite image of Hurricane Nadine taken at 8:45 am EDT Wednesday, October 3, 2012. At the time, Nadine had top winds of 50 mph. Image credit: NASA.

Jeff Masters

from:    http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/article.html?entrynum=2248

Monsanto Frankenseed Corn Suspended in Russia

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The Tide Turns: Monsanto’s GM Corn Suspended In Russia

2nd October 2012

By Sayer Ji

Contributing Writer for Wake Up World

In a bold and encouraging move, Russian authorities suspended the import of Monsanto’s genetically-modified corn over cancer fears spurred by an alarming long-term animal feeding study performed by French researchers at the University of Caen and published in the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology late last month.

According to Russia Today:

“The Russia’s consumer-rights regulator Rospotrebnadzor asked scientists at the country’s Institute of Nutrition to review the study. The watchdog has also contacted to European Commission’s Directorate General for Health & Consumers to explain the EU’s position on GM corn.”

 

The temporary suspension will immediately affect American imports of corn. The government of France has already embarked upon investigation as to the safety issues surrounding its use, and actions of this sort could soon be followed by other nations.

Previous feeding studies on both GM corn and glyphosate, the active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup, involved feeding the rats for no longer than 90 days, and were conducted exclusively by biotech corporations with a vested interest in finding safe results. The new French study was conducted on rats for two years, the equivalent of a human lifespan, and resulted in dramatically shortened life spans due to organ damage and failure, as well as massive tumors, most notably mammary tumors in female rats. Most of the gross abnormalities appeared after the first 90 days of their life, explaining why previous 90 day studies found little of concern.

Increasingly, among research not directly funded by Monsanto, or the biotech industry as a whole, evidence is accumulating that GM-produced food crops are extremely dangerous to human health and the environment. The NK603 Roundup tolerant GM maize Russia suspended imports of is designed to be sprayed with Roundup (glyphosate) and therefore contains residues of both the herbicide and its toxic metabolites. The French researchers also raised concern that the transgene within the maize that makes it resistant to Roundup is promoting organ damage by preventing the production of natural Roundup-detoxifying phenolic compounds such as ferulic and caffeic acid within those who consume it.

The GreenMedInfo database has indexed peer-reviewed research on over 30 adverse health effects linked to glyphosate exposure, including:

  • Lymphoma
  • DNA Damage
  • Hormone Disruption
  • Brain Damage
  • Liver Cancer
  • Infertility
  • Kidney Damage

To learn more about the devastating health effects associated with GM-produced food visit our GMO Research page.

feeding study

Image of the rats from the French study fed GMO maize, GMO mazie + Roundup, and Roundup alone.

About the Author

sayerji

Sayer Ji is the founder and director of GreenMedInfo.com and co-author of the book The Cancer Killers: The Cause Is The Cure with New York Times best-seller Dr. Ben Lerner and Dr. Charles Majors. His writings and research have been published in the Wellbeing Journal, the Journal of Gluten Sensitivity, and have been featured on Mercola.com, NaturalNews.com, Reuters.com, GaryNull.com, and Care2.com.

from:    http://wakeup-world.com/2012/10/02/the-tide-turns-monsantos-gm-corn-suspended-in-russia/

Colombia/Ecuador Earthquake

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Massive deep earthquake felt all over Colombia and Ecuador – October 1 update

Last update: October 1, 2012 at 8:04 am by ByArmand Vervaeck and James Daniell

Earthquake overview : A massive subduction earthquake occurred below the Colombian Andes at 11:31 local time. Due to the very deep hypocenter, this earthquake will probably not lead to damage or inju

Update Oct. 1 – 07:30 UTC :
– The village of Timbiqui (Cauca) has been the most affected during this earthquake. 15 to 20 houses have been damaged. The damage was reported rather late as there was no communication and is it was difficult to reach it by road. Timbique is located in the coastal flat area and has apparently a soft soil. Nobody has been reported injured.
– In Cali 2 hospitals reported slight damage as the plaster and parts of the ceiling came down. Some patients were moved to other rooms as a precaution for eventual aftershocks.
– The video below shows the gentle swaying of this earthquake in Cali, Colombia.

Peak velocity image courtesy USGS

Update 21:47 UTC : Colombian reports are maintaining the GREEN status = NO damage or injuries.

Update 20:05 UTC : As expected in the beginning of this article, some minor damage was reported at some official buildings like fallen plaster from walls and ceilings, fallen objects, etc. Nothing really serious that people should leaving the building because of a danger of collapse. We continue to follow up the situation and will report when new reports are being published.

Update 20:01 UTC : The rumor that 2 people were killed in the Esmeraldas province was DENIED by the authorities. This rumor circulated on twitter. There is really nothing reported so far the official said.

Update 18:48 UTC : Good preliminary news from inside Colombia (intermediate report as a lot of villages near the epicenter have still to be visited) : NO serious damage or injuries

Update 18:48 UTC : The Colombia National System of Risk Management had indicated that the earthquake has been felt in the following departments : Cauca, Valle del Cauca, Huila , Risaralda, Quindío, Santander, Antioquia, Caldas, Tolima, Chocó y Cundinamarca.

Update 18:40 UTC : The Colombian Civil defence services (FOPAE) are currently assessing the situation in the many villages closest to the epicenter.
As could be expected people fled to streets when the shaking started (instead of staying inside and following the advise of the specialised services). Running outside to an open space can better be done when the shaking stops.

Update 18:21 UTC : USGS has changed his Pager color from Green to Yellow, a move we do not like at all. This indicates that there is certainly a chance on fatalities from secondary effects like landslides and Rockfall. We do not expect any shaking fatalities as the max. shaking reported is a V MMI (moderate shaking)

Update 17:52 UTC : The massive earthquake wave is now travelling around the world and will be noticed on every seismograph worldwide. A good example is the below graph at El Hierro, Canary Islands, Spain. The wave departed at the epicenter at 16:31:34 UTC and arrived at El Hierro at 16:42. It took the earthquake wave only 11 minutes to travel this huge distance from Colombia to the Canary Islands

Seismogram at El Hierro, Canary Islands, Spain – The strong amplitude is the Colombian earthquake arriving at El Hierro

Update 17:45 UTC : USGS has updates Magnitude and depth again (complicated calculations) and report now a Magnitude of M7.3 at a depth of 162 km.
Update 17:38 UTC : We would not be surprised that some Central American countries may have felt this earthquake too, especially Panama and Costa Rica. When you live in Panama or in Costa Rica, please tell us with the form below when you have felt some shaking
Update
Update 17:33 UTC : To understand todays earthquake one should imagine that a huge explosion takes place at a distance of 150 km, the impact will be considerable but normally not damaging. If in such a case the depth would have been at 15 km, this earthquake would have been normally a very devastating one as the same explosion would have arrived as a destructive wave.
Update 17:20 UTC : Popoyan, a Colombian city close to the epicenter is reporting a light MMI IV shaking, which is a good sign
Update 17:17 UTC : Distance from the epicenter to the capitals of the 2 neighbouring countries Colombia and Ecuador is about the same (Bogota and Quito).
Update 17:12 UTC : We do repeat that deep earthquakes who do originate in the solid hot mantle of the earth are mostly harmless. As every earthquake is different such an expectation is based on numbers only. Secondary effects like Rockfall and landslides may always cause damage and injuries (mainly depending on the weather conditions)
Update 17:08 UTC : Most important cities near the epicenter and their (probable) experienced shaking values
Moderate MMI V shaking : San Agustin 9000 people, Isnos 5000, Saladoblanco 1000,  Pitalito 53000, Palestina 2000 and Elias 1000
Update 17:01 UTC :
* 2 million people are expected to have felt a moderate shaking
* 14.5 million people a light shaking and 10 million people a weak shaking. These 3 shaking values are normally NOT generating any damage. Small cracks in walls and falling objects are often experienced though.

USGS shaking map based on a M7.1 magnitude and a depth of 150 km

Important Update 16:57 UTC : USGS has just decreased the Magnitude from M7.4 to M7.1 at a depth of 150 km. These are very good numbers which confirm the incoming intensity (shaking) values
Update 16:54 UTC : First incoming reports are talking about a weak to very weak shaking, which is exactly what we did expect. In some cases a moderate shaking may be experienced, but we are quiet sure that this earthquake will not generate serious damage or injuries.
Update 16:49 UTC : A tsunami is NOT possible because of the epicenter who is located below land (far inland)
Update 16:46 UTC : Please omit the depth of Geofon in the listings. 10 km in in many cases reported as a “we do not know it yet” depth. Both USGS and EMSC are reporting a very weakening 168 and 140 km depth. This depth is normal as this is clearly a subduction earthquake generated by a moving Nazca plate who did hang below the continental South American Plate.
Update 16:43 UTC : Biggest city in the greater epicenter area : Popoyan  Epicenter is located on the stateline in between Cauca and Huila.
Update 16:42 UTC : Preliminary data are reporting an epicenter at 23 km from La Vega, Colombia. Preliminary Magnitude is M7.4 !
Update 16:38 UTC : This earthquake, which is not extremely dangerous if the preliminary data are correct (depth +150 km), will be felt ina very wide radius of hundreds of km. We do not have yet official data.
Based on the number of visitors joining us from Colombia, we believe that an earthquake occurred in Colombia
When you have felt an earthquake a little while ago, please write us what you have felt as soon as possible

Most important Earthquake Data:
Magnitude : Mw 7.3
UTC Time : 2012-09-30 16:31:35 UTC
Local time at epicenter : 2012-09-30 11:31:35
Depth (Hypocenter) : 162.1 km
Geo-location(s) :
10km (6mi) WNW of Isnos, Colombia
34km (21mi) WNW of Pitalito, Colombia
60km (37mi) SSE of Popayan, Colombia

from:    http://earthquake-report.com/2012/09/30/massive-deep-earthquake-felt-all-over-colombia-and-ecuador/

Irving, Texas Earthquake

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Earthquake in Irving, Texas

Last update: September 30, 2012 at 11:49 am by By

Earthquake in Irving, Texas
The epicenter was only 3 km from Irving, Texas. The extremely shallow depth of 5 km resulted in a very strong experience, even with a relatively weak Magnitude. A max. MMI of IV has been reported by the USGS (light shaking).
The earthquake happened at 23:05 local time.
The reason of the earthquake will have to be researched by seismologists.  Texas had multiple small to moderate earthquakes the last couple of years. Today’s earthquake is one of the weaker ones.
Some people even felt the shaking in Ennis, which is relatively far away from the epicenter.
We can confirm that the epicenter is below Irving as most on the people online in this site are coming from Irving.
The mainshock was followed by a lower intensity aftershock about 5 minutes later.
We appreciate the many I Have Felt It reports from people who have felt the shaking.
Earthquake-Report.com does not expect any serious damage or injuries from this earthquake, however small cracks in walls and falling objects will certainly have happened here and there.
Update 04:54 UTC : Aftershocks can be expected as the earth layers are looking for a balance. These aftershocks are rarely bigger than than the first shock. The night may be disturbed by such events. They will normally only be felt very close to the epicenter,  in this case Irving.
Update 05:05 UTC : Luckily and as expected, we could not detect any damage so far
Update 05:21 UTC : USGS listed the epicenter at 32.847°N, 96.956°W.. That’s just southwest of Las Colinas Country Club near North McArthur Blvd. and West Rochelle Road. It was southeast of DFW International Airport. However, this has to be taken with a serious error margin. Seismology is a very complex science and in this case the horizontal error margin was set at 11.7 km and the vertical one at 3.1 km. The exact epicenter will only be located later on.
Update 05:34 UTC : We will have to wait until tomorrow morning before a final assessment has taken place. Hopefully all of you will have an undisturbed sleep.
Update 11:42 UTC : 6 hours after our latest update, we can now confirm that local authorities did not receive any report of damage or injuries. In addition to what we have told so far, we also mention that the greater area has been hit by a number of similar quakes since 2008.

from:    http://earthquake-report.com/2012/09/29/complete-earthquakes-list-september-30-2012/