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Most pples will say that SG is safe from earthquakes but ......... yahoo news: Earthquake: Is Singapore in danger? A second 7.4 magnitude quake hit Nepal on Tuesday, just three weeks after a deadly earthquake struck Kathmandu in Nepal and killed over 8,000 people. Early Wednesday morning, a 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of northeastern Japan. The string of deadly quakes came as a surprise to many, but scientists say that the phenomenon of earthquakes was actually a result of a disaster that started about 50 million years ago. A lot of quakes are reported in the Ring of Fire, however, Singapore residents need not worry too much. According to the National Environment Agency, Singapore is in a fairly safe zone where earthquakes are concerned, as it is located about 400 km from the nearest known earthquake source. The closest experience to an earthquake in Singapore come from the weak tremors felt by some as a result of shock waves that travel from distant earthquakes, mainly those that strike Sumatra. Nevertheless, a report citing a study conducted by researchers at Nanyang Technological University in the 1990s states that there is still risk of an earthquake, albeit a small one, based on incidents of ground motions in Singapore between 1833 and 1995. To break it down, there are four types of earthquakes – tectonic, volcanic, collapse and explosion. The most common form of earthquake is the tectonic earthquake, which happens when rocks against the earth’s crust breaks due to forces created by movement of the tectonic plates. Volcanic earthquakes, as the name explains, occur in conjunction with volcanic activity. Collapse earthquakes are small quakes that happen underground, while explosion earthquakes are a result of the explosion of nuclear and chemical devices. The quake Nepal experienced was a manifestation of the ongoing convergence between the Indo-Australian and Asian tectonic plates that built the Himalayas. Earthquakes manifested by the same tectonic plates in the past include the Bihar 8.2 magnitude quake in 1934 that killed 10,000 people and the 7.5 magnitude quake in Kashmir in 2005 that killed around 80,000 people. While seismologists have come up with many ways of predicting earthquakes, none have been accurate. The probability and rough estimate of the location of an earthquake can be calculated but only mother nature can be sure of the exact time and location. link: https://sg.news.yahoo.com/earthquake--is-singapore-in-danger-----065221150.html

didn't know it was quite this bad. this is very sad for a beautiful place like NZ. guess visiting NZ this year would be out of the question. ----- Jul 18, 2011 7,500 earthquakes hit shattered New Zealand city CHRISTCHURCH - It's been 10 months since the first big earthquake struck New Zealand's second-largest city. It's been nearly five months since a far more devastating one killed 181 people and crippled the downtown. But it's been just a few hours since yet another aftershock startled Christchurch residents during the night. 'I stop breathing,' said Sheridan Cattermole, a bartender and a mom. 'I get pins and needles all over. I either freeze or run. I just want things to be back to what they were like this time last year. I had my vege garden, and my sunflowers.' Seismologists have recorded 7,500 earthquakes in Christchurch since September - an average of more than 20 a day. The rumblings are rattling the psyche of the still-battered city. They have left the land under thousands of homes unsafe to build on. Some people have left town entirely. Yet many have proven resilient, and some now see a reconstruction boom on the horizon. Christchurch is the disaster that the world forgot. When the deadly quake toppled the iconic Cathedral spire and flattened buildings in this city of 390,000, people around the globe paid attention. But two weeks later, the massive earthquake and tsunami that killed more than 20,000 in Japan took centre stage. -- AP

Every 2 or 3 years, one major quake will happen in China ........ R.I.P. to those deads .... CNA : Death toll from southwest China quake rises to 373 BEIJING: A total of 373 people reportedly died and nearly 2,000 were injured when a strong earthquake hit southwest China's mountainous Yunnan province on Sunday (August 3), bringing homes crashing to the ground and sparking a massive relief operation. CCTV News and People's Daily China reported on Monday on their Twitter accounts that the death toll has risen to 373. People's Daily China also reported that Premier Li Keqiang rushed to quake-stricken areas on Monday morning. The quake in Zhaotong prefecture, in the province's northeast, toppled buildings and left rescue teams and residents to pull survivors from beneath the rubble, images on social media showed. The US Geological Survey (USGS) reported the quake at a magnitude of 6.1 and said it struck at a relatively shallow depth of 10 kilometres at 4:30 pm (0830 GMT). "Too many buildings were damaged and we are collecting data on deaths and injuries," Xinhua quoted local official Chen Guoyong as saying in the township of Longtoushan, which sits at the epicentre. State television broadcast footage of people running from their homes and gathering in the streets, as witnesses described the devastation on social networks. "The walls of several buildings crumbled, and water pipes were ruptured. The electricity was cut off," wrote a user in Ludian county, 23 kilometres from the epicentre, on China's Twitter-like Weibo. The user's message was accompanied by images of cracked walls and a pile of bricks strewn across the road. Another Ludian resident described the scene as resembling a "battlefield after bombardment", telling Xinhua: "I have never felt (such) strong tremors before. What I can see are all ruins." Ludian was the worst hit with 296 residents killed there while 60 died in Qiaojia county, according to Xinhua who cited local officials. Some 10 people were killed in the Huize area of Qujing city and there was another death in the Zhaoyang district of Zhaotong, the news agency added. A second quake of 4.1 magnitude was registered just two-and-a-half hours later, 18 kilometres south of Zhaotong city, USGS said. Heavy rain was posing a challenge to rescuers. USGS had warned that people in the region lived in structures "highly vulnerable to earthquake shaking". Complicating matters, the road leading to Longtoushan was damaged in a landslide before the quake. Chinese state media put the magnitude of the first earthquake at 6.5, citing the China Earthquake Networks Centre. Southwest China lies where the Eurasian and Indian plates meet and is prone to earthquakes. In 1974, a 6.8-magnitude quake in the same area killed more than 1,500 people. In September 2012, 80 people were killed when twin earthquakes struck the mountainous border area of Yunnan and Guizhou. In May 2008, an 8.0-magnitude quake rocked Sichuan, which neighbours Yunnan, killing tens of thousands of people and flattening swathes of the province. more stories, link: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/death-toll-from-southwest/1295220.html

Friday Humor! Got off SBF It might be well to be a bit knowledgeable about earthquakes in case someone asks or wants to know more about them. Since science was my chosen profession for 35 years, I might be a bit more able than most to explain it. In hopes of a "knowing" society, I present this. What's the difference between an oscillatory and a trepidatory earthquake? 1. This calculation is just for engineers: This is a trepidatory earthquake: This is an oscillatory earthquake: And this is a combination of both: (trepidatory and oscillatory) Science is beautiful when it is well explained... I am sure you would like some privacy to study this subject in greater detail. Disclaimer: Taken off SBF and is an excellent educational article. Pity the chewren go back to school

Quakes blamed on 'immodest women' Women who wear revealing clothing and behave promiscuously are to blame for earthquakes, an Iranian cleric says. Hojjat ol-eslam Kazem Sediqi, the acting Friday prayer leader in Tehran, said women should stick to strict codes of modesty to protect themselves. "Many women who do not dress modestly lead young men astray and spread adultery in society which increases earthquakes," he explained. Tens of thousands of people have died in Iran earthquakes in the last decade. Mr Sediqi was delivering a televised sermon at the Tehran University campus mosque last Friday on the need for a "general repentance" by Iranians when he warned of a "prevalence of degeneracy". "What can we do to avoid being buried under the rubble? There is no other solution but to take refuge in religion and to adapt our lives to Islam's moral codes," he said. 'Disappoint God' Correspondents say many young Iranians sometimes push the boundaries of how they can dress, showing hair under their headscarves or wearing tight-fitting clothes. Mr Sediqi also described the violence following last year's disputed presidential election - the result of which prompted thousands of people to hold mass protests - as a "political earthquake". "Now if a natural earthquake hits Tehran, no one will be able to confront such a calamity but God's power, only God's power. So lets not disappoint God." More than 25,000 people died when a powerful earthquake hit the ancient city of Bam in 2003. Seismologists have warned that the capital, Tehran, is situated on a large number of tectonic fault lines and could be hit by a devastating earthquake soon. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said many of Tehran's 12 million inhabitants should relocate. There are plans to build a purpose built new capital near Qom. Sources: BBCNews (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8631775.stm)