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We were surrounded by geologic upheaval Wednesday.
Indonesia’s 8.6 magnitude was the 11th largest in the world since 1900. The quake was followed by a significant aftershock of 8.2.
The type of quake shouldn’t draw this much power: A strike-slip, or blocks of rocks along the fault lines that slide horizontally past each other versus plates shifting beneath each other.
“A week ago, we wouldn’t have thought we could have a strike-slip earthquake of this size. This is very, very large,” said Kevin Furlong, a professor of Geo-sciences at Penn State University.
Early indicators show the fault lines slipping 70 feet past each other; for comparison, the 1906 San Francisco strike-slip event shifted 15 feet to create a 7.8 temblor.
With dozens of aftershocks, the major quakes appear to have caused very little damage or injuries, and all tsunami warnings were lifted by early afternoon Eastern time.
This afternoon local time, a 5.9 quake struck off the coast of Oregon, followed quickly by a 6.5 magnitude near Michoacán, Mexico.
Mexico is still shaking.
Multiple aftershocks were felt Wednesday following the strong 7.4 magnitude earthquake that struck central and southern Mexico on Tuesday.
The main temblor was long and intense and could be felt hundreds of miles from the epicenter; buildings swayed and over 800 homes were destroyed. Thankfully, there were limited causalities and no fatalities reported.
At least 20 aftershocks have been felt across the region so far, ranging from 4.0 to 5.3, and Tuesday’s big quake was one of the strongest in nearly 30 years.
The city of Tapachula, Mexico is counting down to doomsday.
On December 21, tourism officials installed an 8-foot digital countdown clock in the city center to kickoff a year-long celebration of Maya heritage.
Located along the Guatemalan border, Tapachula is on the southernmost tip of Mexico, and part of a five state Maya region.
While doomsday theorists prepare for a year of turmoil and destruction, Mexico is planning to celebrate and profit from curiosity seekers.
In fact the country’s tourism agency expects to draw 52 million visitors next year to just the five states associated with Maya history.
Comparatively, the remainder of Mexico is expected to receive approximately 22 million tourists.
Tourists in Acapulco, Mexico were greeted by a sizable earthquake on Saturday.
Originally reported as a 6.8 magnitude, the quake was later downgraded to a 6.5 temblor.
The USGS said the quake occurred at 6:47 PM local time at a depth of 40.3 miles, which lessened the damage, although there were reports of injuries and several casualties.
The quake was felt in at least 9 Mexican states, centered about 100 miles south of Mexico City. Acapulco is about 90 miles from the quake’s epicenter.
In another weekend shaker, the USGS reported that a strong 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck early Sunday in the South Sandwich Islands, a remote British territory near Antarctica.
