A powerful magnitude-7.6 earthquake struck off the northwest coast of Hihifo Island, Tonga, in the South Pacific Ocean around 05:02 TOT May 11. 

The Alaska National Guard recently tested their emergency response strategies in the case of a significant earthquake and many tsunamis slamming southern Alaska and coastal villages during a continuity of operations exercise. The drill scenario comprised transferring the joint operations center from Anchorage to Fairbanks, Alaska, and responding to a 9.2 magnitude earthquake in southern Alaska that had disrupted public utilities and caused extensive infrastructure damage.

Participating in a project to evaluate the performance of a 10-story building composed completely of wood during an earthquake simulation are researchers from the University of Washington. At the University of California, San Diego, the structure will be put to the test on a huge shaking table, with back-to-back shake testing starting at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, PT. The structure is the tallest timber construction that has ever undergone such testing. Both the magnitude 6.7 Northridge earthquake in California in 1994 and the magnitude 7.7 Chi Chi earthquake in Taiwan in 1999 are intended to be simulated by the experiments. But this time, the scene is in Seattle's Capitol Hill district.

A powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 6.5 has hit Ishikawa Prefecture on the Sea of Japan coast, leaving one man dead. The Japan Meteorological Agency has warned of another potential earthquake with an upper 6 intensity. The earthquake caused buildings to collapse, and long tremors were felt, causing difficulty for people to remain standing.

Aid officials report that living conditions remain dire in Syria's northwest, three months after a massive earthquake hit the region, and funding for the humanitarian response plan is only 7% funded.

Not every CSZ megathrust quake is a magnitude 9+. Magnitude is basically a function of rupture length. The longer the ‘unzipping’, the larger the magnitude.

When natural disasters strike, the size of the impacted area can affect how prepared you need to be for the aftermath. Let’s consider a worst-case scenario for the Western US.

We often hear there is a “37% chance of a major Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ) earthquake in the next 50 years”.

New laboratory research emphasizes the part played by rock roughness in the production of earthquake aftershocks. Researchers used granite cylinders to model sliding motions along a fault and discovered that fractures with greater roughness generated more aftershocks. This finding suggests that fault surface roughness may be a critical factor in the production of aftershocks after a major earthquake event.

Building Safety Month to be celebrated in May 2023 as proclaimed by Mayor Bruce Harrell in support of a national event sponsored by the International Code Council. In line with this, SDCI Community Engagement is hosting two online lectures in collaboration with the One Seattle Day of Service to help people be more prepared for unexpected events.

Late Wednesday, a magnitude 5.0 earthquake hit the southwestern Muğla province of Türkiye, as reported by the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD). According to the statement, the quake occurred at 11 p.m. local time (8 p.m. GMT) and had a depth of 54 kilometers (33.5 miles), near the Aegean Sea off the coast of Datça.