Swarm of strong earthquakes – Kuril Islands

For the seventh day in a row a swarm of earthquakes continues near Kuril Islands, Russia/Japan. The latest one was measured with magnitude 5.5 according to EMSC – July 15, 2012, 14:34 UTC. Recorded depth was 80km. USGS recorded magnitude 5.3 for the same earthquake and depth of 64.2 km (39.9 miles).

The epicenter was located 168 km (104 miles) ENE (78°) from Kushiro, Hokkaido, Japan and 248 km (154 miles) SSW (208°) from Kuril’sk, Kuril Islands at 43.264°N, 146.428°E.

 

Magnitude 5+ Kuril Islands earthquake list for last three days – Update time = Sunday, July 15, 15:00:04 UTC 2012 – (USGS)

MAG	UTC DATE/TIME	LAT	LON	DEPTH	Region
5.3	2012/07/15 14:34:47	43.264	146.428	64.2	KURIL ISLANDS
5.1	2012/07/14 04:31:04	45.547	151.338	48.0	KURIL ISLANDS
5.2	2012/07/14 03:44:04	45.577	151.336	48.4	KURIL ISLANDS
5.0	2012/07/13 22:37:24	45.289	151.853	8.8	KURIL ISLANDS
5.7	2012/07/12 12:52:03	45.456	151.691	34.9	KURIL ISLANDS

On July 8, 2012 at 11:33 UTC EMSC recorded magnitude 6.0 earthquake with reported depth of only 10km!

 

Magnitude 2.5+ Global earthquake list for July 12 – July 15, 2012 – Update time = Sunday, July 15, 15:21:37 UTC 2012 – (USGS)

MAG	UTC DATE-TIME	LAT	LON	DEPTH	Region
5.3	2012/07/15 14:34:47	43.264	146.428	64.2	KURIL ISLANDS
4.7	2012/07/15 14:10:56	-3.032	139.631	67.6	PAPUA, INDONESIA
4.5	2012/07/15 14:08:08	44.865	142.367	35.0	HOKKAIDO, JAPAN REGION
4.6	2012/07/15 13:02:43	71.313	-9.733	10.0	JAN MAYEN ISLAND REGION
2.9	2012/07/15 12:52:28	18.535	-64.766	7.0	VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
2.5	2012/07/15 12:51:24	17.980	-66.515	7.0	PUERTO RICO REGION
2.7	2012/07/15 11:20:48	32.156	-115.219	18.8	BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
4.7	2012/07/15 09:50:35	46.263	151.273	47.9	KURIL ISLANDS
4.6	2012/07/15 08:23:24	-33.524	-67.544	189.9	MENDOZA, ARGENTINA
3.2	2012/07/15 08:06:10	18.319	-64.038	37.0	VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
2.9	2012/07/15 07:57:25	59.961	-152.704	102.2	SOUTHERN ALASKA
4.5	2012/07/15 06:51:24	-1.479	-77.635	184.6	ECUADOR
2.7	2012/07/15 05:52:42	31.712	-115.932	0.4	BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
3.1	2012/07/15 05:44:55	31.697	-115.926	5.5	BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
4.5	2012/07/15 02:13:39	71.388	-9.345	10.2	JAN MAYEN ISLAND REGION
3.4	2012/07/15 01:34:26	60.008	-152.757	91.3	SOUTHERN ALASKA
4.3	2012/07/15 01:22:16	53.069	-165.593	28.8	FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA

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MAG	UTC DATE-TIME	LAT	LON	DEPTH	Region
3.2	2012/07/14 23:59:01	19.699	-64.686	8.0	VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
2.5	2012/07/14 23:32:27	44.756	-111.111	9.3	WESTERN MONTANA
4.8	2012/07/14 22:34:41	-36.104	-70.855	20.0	MAULE, CHILE
2.6	2012/07/14 22:24:08	32.189	-115.293	12.2	BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
3.7	2012/07/14 21:24:57	63.052	-149.801	100.6	CENTRAL ALASKA
4.9	2012/07/14 20:12:13	14.892	119.766	35.4	LUZON, PHILIPPINES
5.6	2012/07/14 19:55:12	25.437	94.496	6.5	MYANMAR-INDIA BORDER REGION
4.8	2012/07/14 18:48:32	45.314	151.898	12.0	KURIL ISLANDS
5.0	2012/07/14 17:36:25	45.409	151.861	21.4	KURIL ISLANDS
2.9	2012/07/14 17:26:18	19.128	-64.482	49.0	VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
2.9	2012/07/14 17:08:51	19.114	-64.670	61.0	VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
3.1	2012/07/14 16:44:57	18.888	-64.379	77.0	VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
3.4	2012/07/14 16:10:11	63.493	-151.239	20.4	CENTRAL ALASKA
2.7	2012/07/14 15:32:49	31.739	-115.928	6.5	BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
5.0	2012/07/14 14:22:23	-49.071	124.698	10.0	WESTERN INDIAN-ANTARCTIC RIDGE
3.4	2012/07/14 13:26:36	19.150	-64.516	64.0	VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
4.6	2012/07/14 12:52:07	42.663	23.067	6.1	BULGARIA
4.8	2012/07/14 12:46:39	2.862	128.369	59.8	HALMAHERA, INDONESIA
4.6	2012/07/14 12:14:23	4.780	126.823	65.8	KEPULAUAN TALAUD, INDONESIA
4.4	2012/07/14 10:30:19	12.115	-86.400	204.6	NICARAGUA
2.8	2012/07/14 09:29:34	18.120	-66.621	21.0	PUERTO RICO
4.8	2012/07/14 08:05:28	-16.218	-177.706	405.4	FIJI REGION
4.6	2012/07/14 07:58:46	45.531	151.459	49.4	KURIL ISLANDS
4.9	2012/07/14 06:51:42	45.482	151.434	43.7	KURIL ISLANDS
5.1	2012/07/14 04:31:04	45.547	151.338	48.0	KURIL ISLANDS
4.7	2012/07/14 04:11:32	45.349	151.782	24.3	KURIL ISLANDS
2.7	2012/07/14 03:56:53	18.229	-65.456	14.0	PUERTO RICO REGION
5.2	2012/07/14 03:44:04	45.577	151.336	48.4	KURIL ISLANDS
2.9	2012/07/14 03:35:29	18.953	-65.278	30.0	PUERTO RICO REGION
4.7	2012/07/14 03:09:13	12.417	144.070	30.1	GUAM REGION
4.6	2012/07/14 00:55:02	34.445	47.508	10.0	WESTERN IRAN
4.5	2012/07/14 00:13:14	50.396	156.726	60.5	KURIL ISLANDS

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MAG	UTC DATE-TIME	LAT	LON	DEPTH	Region
5.0	2012/07/13 22:37:24	45.289	151.853	8.8	KURIL ISLANDS
4.6	2012/07/13 22:32:50	44.326	151.139	10.1	EAST OF THE KURIL ISLANDS
5.1	2012/07/13 21:26:14	-15.283	-73.251	98.2	SOUTHERN PERU
3.5	2012/07/13 19:53:17	41.901	-111.916	2.5	UTAH
4.9	2012/07/13 17:57:06	-7.999	109.063	69.8	JAVA, INDONESIA
2.5	2012/07/13 17:22:55	62.049	-149.480	20.4	CENTRAL ALASKA
2.7	2012/07/13 15:00:44	40.740	-123.695	29.4	NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
3.0	2012/07/13 13:48:45	18.988	-64.469	12.0	VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
2.7	2012/07/13 12:27:54	32.312	-97.542	5.0	NORTHERN TEXAS
2.9	2012/07/13 12:09:55	17.944	-66.100	13.0	PUERTO RICO REGION
2.6	2012/07/13 11:37:15	17.963	-66.110	18.0	PUERTO RICO
4.3	2012/07/13 10:17:56	-8.461	-74.131	148.3	CENTRAL PERU
2.9	2012/07/13 10:13:18	61.912	-150.450	41.3	SOUTHERN ALASKA
4.2	2012/07/13 05:31:32	6.751	-73.064	163.6	NORTHERN COLOMBIA
4.9	2012/07/13 05:18:03	0.394	123.822	192.0	MINAHASA, SULAWESI, INDONESIA
4.6	2012/07/13 05:14:25	38.999	142.342	35.9	NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
3.1	2012/07/13 05:06:42	18.055	-68.495	89.0	DOMINICAN REPUBLIC REGION
5.1	2012/07/13 04:50:43	-18.238	-178.453	620.8	FIJI REGION
2.8	2012/07/13 03:03:12	60.473	-152.026	100.1	SOUTHERN ALASKA
3.0	2012/07/13 02:45:59	18.853	-64.180	37.0	VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
4.7	2012/07/13 02:41:37	55.349	-164.157	190.8	UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
2.6	2012/07/13 01:14:06	17.924	-66.093	12.0	PUERTO RICO REGION
4.8	2012/07/13 00:38:24	-56.298	-27.502	93.3	SOUTH SANDWICH ISLANDS REGION

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MAG	UTC DATE-TIME	LAT	LON	DEPTH	Region
4.5	2012/07/12 23:33:58	26.902	59.437	14.9	SOUTHEASTERN IRAN
4.1	2012/07/12 21:23:02	40.605	13.605	427.3	TYRRHENIAN SEA
4.5	2012/07/12 21:18:34	27.094	55.035	36.3	SOUTHERN IRAN
2.5	2012/07/12 20:19:10	53.987	-164.047	42.5	UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
3.7	2012/07/12 20:17:25	62.875	-151.169	117.6	CENTRAL ALASKA
2.6	2012/07/12 17:55:24	34.090	-116.393	11.7	SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
3.9	2012/07/12 17:54:29	34.090	-116.392	10.2	SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
2.6	2012/07/12 17:44:13	51.638	-176.793	52.6	ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
2.8	2012/07/12 17:39:20	55.183	-156.717	25.2	SOUTH OF ALASKA
2.7	2012/07/12 17:30:14	62.732	-149.374	74.9	CENTRAL ALASKA
2.6	2012/07/12 17:22:54	49.397	-120.518	0.0	BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA
4.9	2012/07/12 16:25:48	-29.054	74.933	16.2	MID-INDIAN RIDGE
4.5	2012/07/12 16:13:09	58.237	-32.055	13.5	REYKJANES RIDGE
2.6	2012/07/12 15:55:15	54.355	-166.239	179.0	FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
5.5	2012/07/12 15:40:13	-2.811	129.345	9.9	SERAM, INDONESIA
4.7	2012/07/12 14:44:56	36.464	71.052	174.7	HINDU KUSH REGION, AFGHANISTAN
5.8	2012/07/12 14:00:34	36.502	70.875	190.2	HINDU KUSH REGION, AFGHANISTAN
5.7	2012/07/12 12:52:03	45.456	151.691	34.9	KURIL ISLANDS
2.5	2012/07/12 12:27:10	40.246	-124.173	9.9	NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
4.5	2012/07/12 11:17:13	41.533	143.713	47.2	HOKKAIDO, JAPAN REGION
3.3	2012/07/12 11:01:24	19.238	-64.868	81.0	VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
4.0	2012/07/12 10:39:08	40.747	-123.679	30.4	NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
3.4	2012/07/12 08:49:45	32.196	-115.288	10.0	BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
4.7	2012/07/12 07:05:36	-36.613	-179.481	60.0	EAST OF THE NORTH ISLAND, NEW ZEALAND
2.7	2012/07/12 06:42:46	69.210	-166.773	17.0	CHUKCHI SEA
2.8	2012/07/12 06:40:31	51.235	178.486	13.8	RAT ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
3.1	2012/07/12 05:03:44	19.514	-65.038	28.0	VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
2.9	2012/07/12 05:01:37	19.201	-64.942	33.0	VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
4.5	2012/07/12 04:54:47	36.106	139.922	43.3	EASTERN HONSHU, JAPAN
5.2	2012/07/12 04:11:20	-10.779	165.914	158.9	SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
5.0	2012/07/12 04:04:13	-0.478	-19.826	10.0	CENTRAL MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
2.5	2012/07/12 03:32:31	53.644	-162.774	37.5	SOUTH OF ALASKA
2.6	2012/07/12 02:56:32	39.904	-120.783	6.1	NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
4.3	2012/07/12 02:20:24	45.701	26.508	109.4	ROMANIA
3.8	2012/07/12 02:11:37	19.279	-64.936	14.0	VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
5.3	2012/07/12 01:43:04	14.884	-90.885	215.2	GUATEMALA
3.4	2012/07/12 01:36:55	19.295	-64.927	68.0	VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
4.9	2012/07/12 01:22:17	-49.397	121.466	10.1	WESTERN INDIAN-ANTARCTIC RIDGE
3.2	2012/07/12 00:35:07	18.911	-67.250	42.0	PUERTO RICO REGION
4.6	2012/07/12 00:09:31	17.318	120.861	61.8	LUZON, PHILIPPINES
3.1	2012/07/12 00:01:18	19.237	-64.948	62.0	VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION

 

The Kuril Islands form part of the ring of tectonic instability encircling the Pacific ocean referred to as the Ring of Fire. The islands themselves are summits of stratovolcanoes that are a direct result of the subduction of the Pacific Plate under the Okhotsk Plate, which forms the Kuril Trench some 200 kilometres (120 mi) east of the islands. The chain has around 100 volcanoes, some 40 of which are active, and many hot springs and fumaroles. There is frequent seismic activity, including a magnitude 8.5 earthquake in 1963 and one of magnitude 8.3 recorded on November 15, 2006, which resulted in tsunami waves up to 5 feet (1.5 m) reaching the California coast.

Geophysical center of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) counted 27 strong earthquakes in the region of Kuril Islands in last 7 days.

“Imminent threat” of a “major” to “catastrophic” earthquake by Russian Academy of Sciences

Intrestingly enough, on July 14, 2012, The International Institute of Earthquake Prediction Theory and Mathematical Geophysics (MITPAN) department of the Russian Academy of Sciences reported to President Putin that our world faces the “imminent threat” of a “major” to “catastrophic” earthquake to occur within the fortnight due to an “extreme” solar storm that has begun hitting Earth’s atmosphere.

According to MITPAN scientists, on 12 July the Sun exploded an X1.4-class solar flare from giant Sunspot 1520 hurling it directly towards Earth at a velocity where it began hitting our planets upper atmosphere in late hours of July 14th.

US scientists from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) confirmed the findings of their MITPAN counterparts warning that this geomagnetic storm is “strong to severe”, Earth-orbiting satellites could get disoriented, the electrical grid could experience “widespread voltage control problems” among other issues, and the aurora may be able to be seen as far south as Alabama and northern California. Read complete warning here.