earthquakes

Two earthquakes hit New Caledonia

A 6.9 magnitude at the depth of 10 kilometres and was located 279km southeast of the Loyalty Islands around 8am local time.

A second 4.5 magnitude earthquake struck about an hour and a half later, 263km southeast of the Loyalty Islands.

No tsunami alert has been launched and no injuries or damage has been reported.

The first earthquake was originally reported to be a 6.7 magnitude earthquake but the USGS upgraded it to a 6.9 not long after.

     

Vanuatu records 465 earthquake events in a week

The Vanuatu Meteorology and Geohazard Department said people on Efate have been experiencing a swarm of earthquakes this week.

At the beginning of the month, there were two seismic swarms recorded in the country.

One of the earthquakes happened South of Matthew and Hunter after a major event that triggered a tsunami, which travelled to the northern islands.

However, the shaking of that earthquake was not felt by the locals and the tsunami did not cause any damage or casualties to any lives.

Students sent home after Tuesday earthquakes

The Deputy Principal, Valeriane Sam, said although a tsunami warning was not issued but school management has decided to send home its students for their safety during lunch time yesterday.

The National Disaster Management Office said there was an earthquake of 5.8 around midday. It was one of a series of aftershocks from a tremor which struck on Monday.

Suango is situated at Vanuatu's biggest village, Mele which had over 5,000 inhabitants.

Infrastructure concerns in Solomons after latest quake

Another powerful quake struck near Kirakira this morning - a 6.7 magnitude quake at a depth of 33km.

The undersea quake hit 71km west of the city of Kirakira, which is on the country's biggest island, Makira.

National Disaster Management Office director Loti Yates said there was no tsunami threat from this morning's quake but he was expecting more reports of damage.

Mr Yates said multiple quakes of magnitude 5 and above have hampered relief operations still under way in the Makira area.

'Catastrophe' in central Italy on day of four big quakes

Luca Ceriscioli said quakes and snow had caused landslides and thousands of families were suffering power cuts, with some villages left isolated.

A man was killed and another reported missing in the nearby Abruzzo region.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker vowed EU solidarity with Italy after the tremors.

Marche was one of the regions worst hit by the earthquake of 24 August, with 46 of its 298 victims losing their lives in a single mountain village there, Pescara del Tronto.

Deadly quake shakes southern Japan

The Kyodo news agency says about 40 people are being treated at a hospital in Kumamoto, some of them seriously injured, and the government says at least 19 buildings have collapsed. At least two deaths occurred in the town of Mashiki, where the shaking was most severe. The town lies 15km east of Kumamoto.

New app uses smartphones to detect earthquakes

MyShake, available on Android phones, links users to become an all-in-one earthquake warning system; it records quake-type rumblings, ties a critical number of users to a location, and could eventually provide a countdown to the start of shaking.