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A powerful 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck near Bologna, Italy on Sunday morning.
At least six people were killed and dozens more were injured. Thousands were forced to leave their homes for shelter.
Farmlands and small towns took the brunt of the quake as many historic buildings were damaged or destroyed.
Although Italy is prone to earthquakes the temblor struck in the Padania plains, an area that had not appeared risky in the past.
Over the course of Sunday multiple aftershocks continued to cause damage. The aftershocks are expected to continue over the next several days and weeks.
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Animals continue to die off the coast of South America, and scientists are blaming climate change.
Over the past week, at least 2,300 dead birds were found along the coast of Chile. Dozens of types of birds washed ashore, with many captured in fisherman’s nets.
Just last week we reported the deaths of over 1,400 pelicans along the shores of Peru. Reported numbers have now surpassed 5,000, and Peruvian authorities are also blaming warmer than normal waters.
Peruvian authorities state there is an abundance of warm water running through marine currents across the globe, altering the marine ecosystem.
And, on Monday morning, Chile and Peru started the week with a 6.2 magnitude earthquake along their border. Related?
Earthquakes are increasing dramatically across the continental U.S.
Is fracking to blame? The average number of quakes per year of magnitude 3 or greater has increased by six-fold in 2011:
- 1970-2000: 213 - 30 year total
- 2001-2008: 293 - 7 year total
- 2009: 50
- 2010: 87
- 2011: 134
Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a process that creates fractures in rock to better extract oil and natural gas.
Currently, scientists say there is no conclusive examples linking fracking activity to the triggering of notable earthquakes, even when located near a known fault.
So then, what is causing the increase in earthquakes?
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.
