Magnitude-7.7 earthquake hits Myanmar

People take pictures of the site where the building collapsed. Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP/Getty Images

Myanmar was hit Friday by a powerful 7.7-magnitude quake, with tremors felt across Thailand, as well as in neighboring Chinese provinces.

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Earthquake Helmet Chair

In Japan, the need for immediate, effective protection from earthquakes is great. Designer Kota Nezu offers this chair to help. When the ground begins shaking, remove the back and put it on your head to protect your skull and spine.

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A Year After the Zagreb Earthquake

Today is a year since the earthquake that hit Zagreb and its surroundings, and most of the damaged buildings have not yet been rebuilt. That Sunday morning, March 22, will be long remembered by the citizens of Zagreb and its surroundings. At 6 hours and 24 minutes, many were awakened by a magnitude 5.5 earthquake. Two more powerful earthquakes soon followed.

 Every single person living in Zagreb can tell you their story of the potres of 2020.

 Here's a story by Iva Tatić, told through the lens of one building, on the corner of Đorđićeva and Petrinjska street.

Everyone here is so tired.

Icelanders are yearning for some undisturbed shut-eye after tremors from tens of thousands of earthquakes have rattled their sleep for weeks in what scientists call an unprecedented seismic event, which might well end in a spectacular volcanic eruption. Grindavik lies in the southern part of the Reykjanes peninsula, a volcanic and seismic hotspot, where more than 40,000 earthquakes have occurred since 24 February – exceeding the total number of earthquakes registered there last year.

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Indonesia earthquake

Rescuers are searching through the rubble of a partially-collapsed Indonesian hospital after an earthquake struck the island of Sulawesi, leaving at least 34 dead. 

 The 6.2-magnitude quake on Friday morning came just hours after an earlier, smaller tremor. Hundreds of people were injured and thousands displaced by the quake.

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Enough is enough!

Croatia’s Seismological Survey registered an earthquake at 6.01 p.m. on Wednesday measuring 5.0 on the Richter scale with the epicentre near Petrinja, 45 km southeast of Zagreb.

 The tremor was felt in central Croatia, including in the capital Zagreb and in neighbouring countries.

 Our nerves are on edge we can't stand any more quakes.

 

Ah Shit, Here We Go Again

An earthquake measuring 2.7 on the Richter scale shook Zagreb at 0919 hours Sunday, the Croatian Seismological Survey said on Sunday morning. The epicentre of the quake was in the northern residential area of Remete, and the intensity in the epicentre was III-IV degrees on the EMS scale.

 

Day of Mourning in Croatia

On Saturday, a national day of mourning for the seven killed in Tuesday’s devastating earthquake, Petrinja Mayor Darinko Dumbovic and associates laid a wreath and lit candles where 13-year-old Laura Cvijic was killed. Besides the girl killed in the town of Petrinja, five people were killed in the village of Majske Poljane and an organist in a church in the village of Zazina.

 According to current estimates, more than 2,000 buildings have been damaged. The centre of Petrinja sustained the biggest damage. Many people in Petrinja, Sisak, Glina and nearby villages have lost their homes. 

The earthquake has also caused damage in Zagreb and Krapina-Zagorje counties as well as in the City of Zagreb.

 Access to Petrinja today has almost been jammed due to relief convoys arriving from everywhere, including from abroad. Construction crews are still cleaning up the effects of the tremors, while dozens of construction engineers are inspecting buildings.

 Famous Croatian chefs are helping too by preparing thousands of meals a day.

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When it's hardest, Croats show their best side.

Zagreb,Darko Tomas/Cropix

 

Split,Jakov Prkic/Cropix

 

Zadar, Luka Gerlanc/Cropix

Two more strong earthquakes struck Croatia on Wednesday morning, the first measuring 4.7 and the second 4.8 on the Richter scale, with the epicentre in the Petrinja area.

 

Village outside Glina Worst Hit by Petrinja Earthquake

Majske Poljane, a village outside Glina, about 70 kilometres south of Zagreb, was worst hit by the 6.2-magnitude earthquake on Tuesday, the deputy mayor of Glina, Branka Baksic Mitic, said.

 "There are hardly 10 percent of houses here that have been left intact. People are still being pulled out from under the rubble. Glinsko Novo Selo was also hit severely, but there are no casualties there.

 The largest number of casualties are here," Baksic Mitic told the Index.hr news website. 

 She said that tents were being set up on a football field in Glina for people who have been left homeless by the earthquake. She appealed for shipping containers to use them for accommodation. "It's winter and these people have nowhere to stay," she said. Baksic Mitic confirmed that four people had been found dead buried underneath the rubble. Glina Primary School said it had opened the doors of its gym to people without shelter.

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Buildings in Zagreb damaged by latest quake, no casualties reported

Photo Iva Mišur

 The United States Geological Survey’s Earthquake Hazards Program said that the tremor had been felt in Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia. 

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Petrinja quake: Six killed, at least six seriously injured

The Interior Ministry said on Tuesday that six people have been killed in a 6.2 earthquake whose epicentre was near Petrinja and that at least six have sustained serious injuries while the search under the rubble is still under way. The head of Croatia's Seismological Survey, Ines Ivancic, said on Tuesday that many weaker aftershocks ensured after a magnitude 6.2 earthquake that struck Petrinja at 12.19 a.m. today.

 

Powerful earthquake rocks Turkish coast and Greek islands

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Zagreb’s healing heart

Zagreb’s healing heart (Voona for Okolo // Around festival, photo Borut Planinc) 

The earthquake that hit the Croatian capital last Sunday, the biggest in 140 years, amidst the coronavirus pandemic crisis has left Zagreb citizens shocked, scared and frightened.
While volunteers, authorities, civil protection, military and ordinary citizens organised to help their fellow residents in need, messages of support from Croatia and all over the world flooded social media, but one in particular stood out and quickly became the symbol of hope and healing for Zagreb residents – a patched wool heart covering a cracked facade of an old Zagreb building.
 The healing heart originally was conceived last August as a street art intervention by Zagreb based artist & designer Ivona (Voona Design) as a part of a street art project Okolo // Around.
 The heart-shaped wool piece placed on top of a wall crack was exhibited in Habdeliceva 1 on Zagreb’s Upper Town during the project and remains there until this day.
 The original idea behind the art had nothing to do with the catastrophe, the artist revealed – it was to show imperfections as something unique and not ugly but authentic and alive.
 But after Sunday, March 22 a new layer of meaning has been added to her art piece – people saw it as a message of hope for their wounded town and Ivona commented on her Instagram: Sadly, many Zagreb residents have lost their homes – the first informal estimates say around 7000 objects were struck and the reparations will last 2 to 7 years.
 Zagreb bounced back after the devastating 1880 earthquake and will bounce back again thanks to the spirit and unity of the people.
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Can Animals Predict Earthquakes?

Humans have a longstanding attachment to the belief that animals know a quake is on the way. Throughout history—starting in ancient Greece—animals have reportedly been observed fleeing an area that subsequently had an earthquake. The observations, however, were recalled in hindsight, after the quake. It’s hard to document—before a quake happens—that animal behavior changed, especially since quakes happen without warning. The USGS sponsored a project in the late 1970s to continuously observe lab rodents in southern California to see if there was a burst of activity just before a quake. Unfortunately, there were no quakes during the study’s duration. Jim Berkland, a San Francisco Bay Area geologist, made a name for himself by accurately predicting Northern California’s 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. His forecast relied, in part, on combing the classified ads for local newspapers, which he said demonstrated that a larger than usual number of household pets were listed as missing in the week or so before the 6.9 magnitude quake. Berkland was not the only one to claim that missing pets indicated something afoot.
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