MyShake is a free app for Android phones that has the ability to recognize earthquake shaking using the sensors in every smartphone.
The new app can sense an earthquake even when the phone is being carried in a pocket or a bag.
It turns a smartphone into a mobile seismometer.
The researchers want users to download MyShake app, in the first instance, to help test and improve its capabilities.
Ultimately the idea is that recruited phones will be part of a network that not only gathers data but also issues alerts.
Destructive ground motions take time to move out from the epicenter of a large quake, meaning people at more distant locations could receive several seconds’ vital warning on their phones.
“Just a few seconds’ warning is all you need to <<drop, take cover and hold on>>,” said Prof. Richard Allen from the UC Berkeley Seismological Laboratory.
Prof. Richard Allen has a paper about MyShake in this week’s Science Advances journal, but he has also been demonstrating it here in Washington DC at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
MyShake relies on a sophisticated algorithm to analyze all the different vibrations picked up by a phone’s onboard accelerometer.
This algorithm has been “trained” to distinguish between everyday human motions and those specific to an earthquake.
The achieved sensitivity is for a Magnitude 5 event at a distance of 10km (6.2 miles) from the epicenter.
In simulations, the app detects a quake correctly in 93% of cases.
All this is done in the background – much like health apps that monitor the fitness activity of the phone user.
Once triggered, MyShake sends a message to a central server over the mobile network. The hub then calculates the location and size of the quake.
False positives are filtered out because the server is connected to existing seismic and GPS monitoring stations, and – if the public take up MyShake – thousands of other phones.
MyShake is available for Android devices; an iOS version is very likely to come in the future.
Nepal has been hit by a 7.9-magnitude earthquake in an area between the capital Kathmandu and the city of Pokhara, the US Geological Survey said.
The earthquake caused extensive damage to buildings and some injuries, eyewitnesses say.
Tremors were felt as far away as the Indian capital Delhi and other cities in northern India, which borders Nepal.
Photo AP
Several buildings, including temples are reported to have been reduced to rubble in Kathmandu.
Injured people have been brought to the main hospital. There has been no estimate yet on the number of deaths, but Reuters news agency reported that two people had died, one in Nepal, one in northern India.
Indian PM Narendra Modi wrote on Twitter: “We are in the process of finding more information and are working to reach out to those affected, both at home and in Nepal.”
Aftershocks could still be felt across the region sometime after the initial quake.
Kathmandu was all but destroyed in the devastating earthquake of 1934.
A 6.3- magnitude earthquake has hit eastern Mexico, with no immediate reports of damage or injury.
A 6.3- magnitude earthquake has hit eastern Mexico, with no immediate reports of damage or injury
According to the US Geological Survey, the quake was centered in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz, about 260 miles east-southeast of Mexico City. The epicenter was relatively deep, 59 miles below the surface.
Local news media in Veracruz reported the 5:46 AM quake was felt strongly there, and it rocked buildings at least as far away as Mexico City.
The Solomon Islands have been hit by a second earthquake of 7.5-magnitude, less than a day after a similar strength tremor.
A tsunami warning was in effect in the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea, although it was not known whether a tsunami had been generated.
The latest quake was registered at a depth of 12 miles below the seabed, the US Geological Survey said.
There were no reports of major damage or casualties after the first quake early Sunday local time.
A 7.5 earthquake has struck off the Solomon Islands, less than a day after a similar strength tremor
The first tremor woke people in the Solomon Islands, striking at 07:14 local time, and was followed by a 5.9 magnitude aftershock.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre reported indications of a small tsunami which may have caused some damage hear the epicenter 200 miles southeast of the capital, Honiara.
The Solomon Islands lies in a zone prone to frequent earthquakes and volcanic activity.
In February, several people were killed after a tsunami triggered by a magnitude 8.0 quake struck near the Santa Cruz islands – part of the Solomon Islands nation.
The latest quakes come only a week after the Solomon Islands were hit by severe flooding, which left more than 20 people dead.
A second 7.6-magnitude earthquake has rocked northern Chile, just over 24 hours after an 8.2 tremor killed six people, destroyed 2,600 houses and led to mass evacuations.
A tsunami alert in Chile and Peru was again issued, but was later lifted after waves of 2.4ft hit coastal areas.
Chile’s President Michelle Bachelet was among those evacuated on Thursday.
The quake is the strongest of several aftershocks following Tuesday’s tremor.
There have been no reports of damage from the latest quake.
The aftershock caused buildings to wobble and people to run into the streets in the port of Iquique, which was one of the cities hit by Tuesday night’s quake.
The latest quake was centered 14 miles south of Iquique.
A second 7.6-magnitude earthquake has rocked northern Chile, just over 24 hours after an 8.2 tremor killed six people, destroyed 2,600 houses and led to mass evacuations (photo AFP)
The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the aftershock had a depth of 12 miles and was felt across the border in southern Peru, where people in the cities of Tacna and Arequipa also fled buildings.
President Michelle Bachelet had earlier praised the “calm behavior” of residents following Tuesday evening’s quake.
Nearly a million people were evacuated across the country after the authorities issued a tsunami warning.
“I think you have shown us all a tremendous example,” Michelle Bachelet said during a visit to the worst affected areas.
Michelle Bachelet declared northern provinces – Arica and Parinacota, and Tarapaca – disaster areas.
Tuesday’s quake struck at 20:46 local time 52 miles north-west of the city of Iquique, a mining area,
“We are here to recognize the calm behavior of the people of Iquique, who showed great civic responsibility, as did those of Arica,” said Michelle Bachelet.
Fires destroyed some businesses in the area and fishermen found their boats sunken and damaged in Iquique harbor.
Michelle Bachelet called on residents to “work together now” to repair the damage caused by the quake.
Waves of up to 6ft hit some areas.
Some 40,000 people in Tarapaca remain without power, said Ricardo Toro of Chile’s National Emergency Office (Onemi).
Hours after the first major earthquake, Chile’s army was deployed to Iquique after 293 inmates escaped from a women’s jail.
Ricardo Toro said that 131 had now returned voluntarily.
Chile is one of the most seismically active countries in the world.
Chile has deployed military forces to the northern city of Iquique after more than 300 inmates escaped from a women’s jail following last night’s 8.2-magnitude earthquake.
Officials said about 26 had so far been captured since the quake at 20:46 local time on Tuesday.
Chile’s President Michelle Bachelet has declared disaster areas in the northern regions of Arica and Parinacota and Tarapaca, and will visit them later.
At least six people are known to have died and tens of thousands evacuated.
There have been power cuts, fires and landslides as dozens of aftershocks – including a 6.2 tremor – continued through the night.
Chile has deployed military forces to the northern city of Iquique after more than 300 inmates escaped from a women’s jail following last night’s 8.2-magnitude earthquake
But although waves of up to about 6ft hit some areas tsunami warnings in several areas have now been lifted.
It was not clear exactly how the women inmates escaped from the prison in Iquique.
But Interior Minister Rodrigo Penailillo said a military plane of 100 anti-riot police was being flown to work alongside 300 soldiers already operating in the city.
They will be tracking down the prisoners as well as preventing “looting and disorder”, Chilean authorities said.
The quake struck about 52 miles north-west of Iquique, a mining area.
The tremors set off landslides that blocked roads, hit power supplies, damaged a number of homes and caused fires in some businesses.
Officials said the dead included people who were crushed by collapsing walls or died of heart attacks.
Iquique Governor Gonzalo Prieto told local media that in addition to those who died, several people had been seriously injured.
The tsunami alert sent tens of thousands fleeing coastal areas of Chile. Television pictures showed traffic jams as people tried to head for safer areas.
Three of the Chilean northern regions have been declared disaster areas after being hit by last night’s 8.2-magnitude earthquake.
At least five people are known to have died and tens of thousands of people have been evacuated.
The quake struck at 20:46 local time about 52 miles north-west of the mining area of Iquique, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.
Waves of up to 6ft have hit some areas and there have been power cuts, fires and landslides.
The government said the declaration of a disaster in the Arica, Parinacota and Tarapaca regions was aimed at “avoiding instances of looting and disorder”.
Three of the Chilean northern regions have been declared disaster areas after being hit by last night’s 8.2-magnitude earthquake
President Michelle Bachelet said Chile had “faced the emergency well” and called on those in affected regions “to keep calm and follow instructions from the authorities”.
She is due to visit the affected areas later.
Chilean TV broadcast pictures of traffic jams as people tried to leave the affected areas.
Officials said the dead included people who were crushed by collapsing walls or died of heart attacks.
Iquique Governor Gonzalo Prieto told local media that in addition to those killed, several people had been seriously injured.
While the government said it had no reports of significant damage to coastal areas, a number of homes were reported destroyed in Arica.
Northern Chile has been hit by an 8.2-magnitude earthquake, triggering a tsunami alert and killing at least five people.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake struck at 20:46 local time about 52 miles north-west of the mining area of Iquique.
Waves of up to 6ft have hit some areas in Chile, and there have been power cuts, fires and landslides.
Tens of thousands of people were evacuated in affected areas, where a state of emergency has been declared.
Chilean TV broadcast pictures of traffic jams as people tried to leave.
Officials said the dead included people who were crushed by collapsing walls or died of heart attacks.
Iquique Governor Gonzalo Prieto told local media that in addition to those killed, several people had been seriously injured.
While the government said it had no reports of significant damage to coastal areas, a number of adobe homes were reported destroyed in Arica.
Chile has been hit by an 8.2-magnitude earthquake, triggering a tsunami alert and killing at least five people (photo ABC News)
Further damage may not be known until dawn. The tsunami warning in Chile will last at least until 05:00 local time.
The quake shook modern buildings in Peru and in Bolivia’s high altitude capital of La Paz – more than 290 miles from Iquique.
At least eight strong aftershocks followed in the few hours after the quake, including a 6.2 tremor.
Interior Minister Rodrigo Penailillo told Chilean TV that some 300 women inmates had escaped from a prison in Iquique. The authorities are reported to have deployed a planeload of special forces to guard against looting.
He said President Michelle Bachelet was being kept informed. She is to travel to the affected area.
“We have taken action to ensure public order in the case of Iquique, where we’ve had a massive escape of more than 300 female prisoners, so that the armed forces and police can coordinate and provide security to the residents,” Rodrigo Penailillo said.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (TWC) issued an initial warning for Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Panama.
However, all warnings, watches and alerts were later lifted except for Chile and Peru.
Tsunami watches – in which the danger of tidal waves is deemed to be less serious – had been in place for Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico and Honduras.
“Everyone along our coast should be alert and ready,” Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa said on Twitter.
Ecuador later reduced its alert but maintained a high level of vigilance for the Galapagos Islands.
High waves hit parts of the Chilean coast within 45 minutes of the quake. Pisagua, Patache and Iquique all saw big waves.
“We have asked citizens to evacuate the entire coast,” Chilean home office minister Mahmud Aleuy said.
Evacuations were also ordered in Peru, where waves 6.5ft above normal forced about 200 people to leave the seaside town of Boca del Rio near the Chilean border, police said.
The area close to the epicentre is mineral rich, but none of the major copper companies reported any break in production.
Chile is one of the most seismically active countries in the world.
A 4.4-magnitude earthquake struck 5.6 miles from the Los Angeles neighborhood of Westwood at 06:25 a.m. local time, US officials said.
The quake has been strongly felt near Los Angeles rattling nerves but so far causing no major damage or injury or deaths
It was the strongest earthquake in Los Angeles since the last aftershocks from the 1994 Northridge quake, a government scientist said.
The earthquake struck 5.6 miles from the Los Angeles neighborhood of Westwood
Dr. Lucy Jones of the US Geological Survey (USGS) told the local CBS broadcaster there was a 5% chance another strong quake would strike within the next three days.
USGS seismologist Robert Graves said it was unusual for a quake of that magnitude to strike a large population centre.
“This is reminder we live in earthquake country,” he said.
There were no immediate reports of injuries, though many Los Angeles area residents said the quake had frightened them out of bed.
The San Andreas fault, on the edge of the Pacific tectonic plate, runs directly through California, and the western US state has long braced for a devastating quake.
A 6.7-magnitude earthquake hit off the northern coast of Chile on Sunday evening, prompting a brief evacuation of part of a coastal area but not causing any injuries or significant damage.
The strong quake – originally measured as a 7.0 – was centered 37 miles west-northwest of Iquique and struck at a depth of 12.4 miles, the US Geological Survey said Sunday. It hit at 6.16 p.m. local time.
A 6.7-magnitude earthquake hit off the northern coast of Chile on Sunday evening
An emergency office said there was no major damage resulting from the quake, except for two small roadside rock falls in the Arica and Parinacota region.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said no tsunami was expected.
A second quake, a 5.1 at almost the exact same location, followed 10 minutes later. An aftershock at 6.2 followed about six hours later.
The US Geological Survey reported that a 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Northern California on Sunday night.
The epicenter was 48 miles west-northwest of Ferndale and 50 miles west of Eureka at a depth of 4.3 miles, the USGS said.
The quake, which occurred at 1:18 a.m. ET, was initially reported as magnitude 6.1 on the Richter scale, but seismologists revised it upward to 6.9. It was followed by about a half-dozen aftershocks, including one of magnitude 4.6.
There were no reports of any damage or injuries though the quake was felt widely and strongly, according sheriff’s and fire officials in Humboldt County, which includes most of the populated areas near the epicenter.
The earthquake epicenter was 48 miles west-northwest of Ferndale and 50 miles west of Eureka at a depth of 4.3 miles
Police in Eureka said the shaking lasted between 20 and 30 seconds.
Earthquakes are very common in Eureka, a city of about 27,000 people about 270 miles northwest of San Francisco and 100 miles south of the Oregon state line.
The probability of a “strong and possibly damaging aftershock” of magnitude 5.0 or greater in the next seven days was 90 percent, the USGS warned, adding that there was a 5 percent to 10 percent of another quake as large as or larger than the initial one in the next week.
No destructive tsunami was expected, and no tsunami advisory was issued, The West Coast/Alaska and Pacific Tsunami Warning Centers said.
The death toll from the 7.2-magnitude earthquake that hit Philippines yesterday continues to rise.
At least 99 people died in the quake, which hit the central Philippines on Tuesday, a national holiday.
Residents have described ongoing aftershocks on Wednesday morning, with many afraid to return to their homes.
The earthquake struck below the island of Bohol, where the most casualties were reported.
Philippines earthquake struck below the island of Bohol, where the most casualties were reported
People were also killed in the province of Cebu, and historic churches, as well as roads, markets and buildings, were reported damaged on both islands.
The air force was carrying 24,000 lb of relief supplies to affected residents in Bohol province, Reuters news agency reported, citing a military spokesman.
Minda Morante, civil defense chief for the central islands, told AFP news agency that she expected the death toll to rise.
“We expect the number to increase considering there are still areas that need search and rescue [personnel] and there are areas where they need more aid,” Minda Morante said.
Philippines President Benigno Aquino is expected to visit the affected areas on Wednesday.
A 7.2-magnitude earthquake has hit the central Philippines, killing at least 20 people, reports say.
The US Geological Survey said the quake struck underneath the island of Bohol, in a region popular with tourists.
People were killed as buildings and markets collapsed in Bohol and nearby Cebu province. Several buildings and churches were damaged by the quake.
The quake struck at 08:12 on a national holiday in Philippines.
Officials say that most of those killed were in Cebu, considered the second major city in the country.
At least five people died when part of a fishing port collapsed, reports the Associated Press (AP) news agency. Two more people died and others were injured when a roof at a market fell, AP adds.
Neil Sanchez, head of the Cebu disaster management office, told broadcaster ABS-CBN that they were trying to confirm reports that a school had collapsed.
Several buildings and churches were damaged by the Philippines earthquake
“Communication lines are quite difficult here,” he said.
“Even the disaster risk reduction management office has been damaged. We had to move elsewhere.”
The tremor triggered power outages in parts of Bohol, Cebu and neighboring areas, reports cited Philippines’ disaster management agency as saying.
Edgardo Chatto, the governor of Bohol, said that a church and a city hall building were damaged.
At least four people have been reported killed in Bohol and one on neighboring Siquijor island, reports say.
British man David Venables, who has lived in Cebu for seven years, said it was the strongest quake he had experienced.
“It’s a very strange and frightening experience when the very foundations of the house and surrounding area shake uncontrollably,” he said.
There were reports of aftershocks following the quake.
Cebu province, with a population of more than 2.6 million, is about an hour away by plane from Manila. Neighboring Bohol, a favorite of tourists because of its sandy beaches, is a short boat ride away from Cebu.
A new 6.8-magnitude earthquake has struck Pakistani province Balochistan, where at least 400 people died in a quake earlier this week.
Reports said the new quake hit remote Awaran district, killing at least 12 people and burying others under rubble.
An official told Pakistan television that communications already damaged by last Tuesday’s quake had been cut off.
Efforts to help thousands left homeless by the first earthquake have struggled against poor roads and separatists.
The US Geological Survey said Saturday’s tremor measured 6.8-magnitude and could be felt across Balochistan province.
Pakistan’s Meteorological Department classed it as an aftershock measuring 7.2 magnitude.
Abdul Rasheed Baloch, the deputy commissioner of Awaran district, told Pakistani television that one village, Nokjo, had suffered damage to most of its buildings, leaving people trapped under debris.
A new 6.8-magnitude earthquake has struck Pakistani province Balochistan, where at least 400 people died in a quake earlier this week
“The telephone system has been damaged and we are not able to talk to someone and find out the exact information about the losses… but we have reports of severe losses in that area,” he said, according to Associated Press.
Eight of those who died in Saturday’s tremor were from Nokjo, officials said, with another four killed in the Mashkay area.
An AFP reporter in Awaran said hundreds of patients being treated after the last quake fled a hospital in panic as the latest tremor struck.
Saturday’s quake was felt as far away as Karachi.
An office worker there described his chair shaking: “At first I thought it was a delusion or a false feeling. But all my colleagues ran out of the office. The shakes were heavy.”
Officials have estimated that about 300,000 people were affected by the earlier, 7.7-magnitude quake which leveled mud and homemade brick homes, injuring hundreds.
Many survivors have been sleeping in the open air or in tents.
Rescue and relief efforts after the earlier quake have been hampered by the region’s poor road network.
Officials have appealed to separatist military groups operating in the area following attacks on army units involved in providing assistance.
Pakistan’s official paramilitary force, the Frontier Corps, has been leading rescue and relief operations.
It already had thousands of soldiers deployed in the area because it is fighting a long-running separatist insurgency by Baloch nationalist rebels.
The violent force of Tuesday’s 7.7-magnitude quake caused the creation of a new 56ft long island off the coast of Pakistan near the port of Gwadar.
Rescue teams in China are struggling to reach survivors of a powerful 6.6-magnitude earthquake that killed 203 and injured some 11,500 in remote hill villages in Sichuan province.
Emergency workers dressed in bright orange uniforms were making their way to remote areas on foot after roads were blocked by landslides.
Soldiers worked all night to search villages and treat the injured, while local people slept in shelters or cars.
Among the injured were 960 people who were seriously wounded.
Chinese PM Li Keqiang is overseeing relief efforts, and told reporters the rescue effort was “our first duty”.
Rescue teams in China are struggling to reach survivors of 6.6-magnitude earthquake that killed 203 and injured some 11,500 in Sichuan province
Li Keqiang, who arrived on Saturday afternoon by helicopter to direct rescue efforts, visited hospitals and tents, and climbed on a pile of rubble to view the devastation.
Villages close to the epicentre in Lushan county were left in ruins.
A number of aftershocks followed the quake, which struck at 08:02 local time on Saturday.
“It was as if the mountain was alive,” a 68-year-old woman with a broken arm, who had lost her home, told AFP news agency.
China has received offers of help from countries including Japan, which is currently embroiled in a territorial dispute with Beijing over an island grouping in the East China Sea.
Beijing said overseas help was not needed at the moment, but added that it would contact Tokyo if that changed.
Chen Yong, the vice-director of the Ya’an city government earthquake response office, said the death toll may not rise much more.
“We understand the situation in most areas. Most of the casualties have been reported,” he said.
“In some remote mountain areas, it is possible that we don’t fully understand the situation.”
Ambulances, fire engines and military lorries piled high with supplies were waiting in long lines along blocked roads in the province on Sunday.
Correspondents say the hill villages, where farmers grow rice, vegetables and corn on terraced plots, were hit the hardest.
Kevin Xia of the Red Cross said: “Supplies have had difficulty getting into the region because of the traffic jams. Most of our supplies are still on the way.”
In Longmen village in Baoxing county nearly all the buildings were destroyed, officials said.
Rescuers were forced to dynamite boulders that had fallen across some roads, while overnight rain slowed rescue work.
A military vehicle carrying 17 soldiers came off the road, killing one soldier and injuring others.
Tens of thousands of people spent the night in tents or cars, unable to return home or too afraid to go back because of the aftershocks.
Sichuan province was devastated by a massive quake five years ago. Tens of thousands of people were killed and five million lost their homes.
Many of the collapsed buildings were schools and nurseries, leading to widespread criticism of local government’s planning policies.
However, Chen Yong said that this had not happened this time.
“The Chinese government has put a lot of money into building schools and hospitals. I can guarantee that no schools collapsed,” he said.
A powerful earthquake hit China’s south-western province of Sichuan killing at least 46 people and injuring at least 400, state TV reports.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake, which had a 6.6 magnitude, was centred 31 miles west of the town of Linqiong.
The tremor occurred at a depth of 7.4 miles.
There are fears the death toll could rise further.
An 8.0 magnitude quake in Sichuan in May 2008 killed nearly 90,000 people.
An 8.0 magnitude earthquake in Sichuan in May 2008 killed nearly 90,000 people
The latest quake – initially reported as a 7.0 magnitude, and then at 6.9 – struck at 08:02 local time, the USGS said.
The earthquake was felt 71 miles away in the provincial capital, Chengdu, according to China’s state news agency Xinhua.
People ran into the streets wrapped in blankets, according to photos posted online. Other pictures showed buildings that had collapsed.
A resident in Chengdu told Xinhua he had been on the 13th floor of a building when he felt the quake. The building shook for about 20 seconds and he saw tiles fall from nearby buildings.
Electrical and water supplies have reportedly been cut to the affected area.
Telephone lines are also believed to be down.
Xinhua said 2,000 soldiers had been dispatched to the area to help with rescue efforts.
The city of Ya’an, close to the epicentre, has a population of 1.5 million.
The USGS noted that “significant” casualties were likely and that “extensive damage is probable and disaster is likely widespread”.
“Past events with this alert level have required a national or international level response,” it added.
The 2008 disaster in Sichuan left 5 million people homeless.
At least 30 people have been killed and other 800 have been injured after a 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck Bushehr province in south-west Iran, officials say.
Rescue teams have been sent to the affected area, but darkness is hampering rescue operations.
The quake struck 90 km (60 miles) south of Iran’s only nuclear power station in Bushehr, the US Geological Survey (USGS) says.
At least 30 people have been killed and other 800 have been injured after a 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck Bushehr province in south-west Iran
However, the nuclear plant has not been affected and is working normally, officials have said.
The quake was felt across the Gulf in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain.
Some 10,000 people are thought to live in the affected area in more than 50 villages, two of which have reportedly been completely leveled.
The governor’s office has sent generators to the area so rescue operation can continue overnight.
Seismologists said the quake struck at 16:22 local time at a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles) near the town of Kaki, south of Bushehr – a Gulf port city that is home to Iran’s first and only nuclear power plant.
Iran’s seismological centre in Bushehr province, linked to Tehran University, registered the quake at a magnitude of 6.1.
Tens of aftershocks – the strongest measuring a magnitude of 5.4 – struck within an hour, sending many people into the streets for safety.
One resident in Bushehr told Reuters news agency that they could “clearly feel the earthquake” but there was no damage.
State media reported that phone lines had been brought down by the quake and its aftershocks.
The earthquake shook buildings across the Gulf.
The governor of Bushehr, Fereydoun Hassanvand, told Iranian state TV that the nuclear plant was not damaged.
An official with the Russian firm Atomstroyexport told Russian media that the quake “in no way affected the normal situation at the reactor”.
“Personnel continue to work in the normal regime and radiation levels are fully within the norm,” the official was quoted by Russian state news agency Ria as saying.
Iran’s nuclear programme has roused concern among major powers that Tehran wants to build nuclear weapons – a charge Iran strongly denies.
Iran straddles a major geological fault line, making it prone to seismic activity. In 2003, an earthquake in the city of Bam left more than 25,000 people dead.
The 6-magnitude earthquake that hit northern Italy this morning has killed at least six people and caused serious damage to buildings in several towns, local officials say.
The quake struck in the middle of the night, about 35 km (22 miles) north of the city of Bologna.
The tremor caused “significant damage to the cultural heritage” of Emilia Romagna region, the government said.
Later on Sunday, a magnitude-5.1 aftershock hit the region, causing more buildings to collapse.
The 6-magnitude earthquake that hit northern Italy this morning has killed at least six people and caused serious damage to buildings in several towns
The aftershock destroyed a clock tower and made a firefighter fall from a wall in the town of Finale Emilia, near the epicentre of the first tremor.
Sunday’s quake was the worst to hit the country since the L’Aquila tremor killed nearly 300 people in central Italy in 2009.
The earthquake struck at a relatively shallow depth of 10km just after 04:00 a.m. local time.
It was felt across a large swathe of northern Italy, including the cities of Bologna, Ferrara, Verona and Mantua and as far away as Milan and Venice.
The tremor forced many terrified residents into the streets.
Two people were killed in Sant’Agostino when a ceramics factory collapsed.
The mother of one of the victims told local media that “he wasn’t supposed to be there. He changed shifts with a friend”.
Another person – believed to be a Moroccan national – was killed in Ponte Rodoni do Bondeno.
In Tecopress di Dosso, one worker died when the roof of a foundry collapsed, Rai News24 reports.
Local media also say a woman died near Bologna, with reports suggesting that she may have had a heart attack. Another victim was an elderly woman in Sant-Agostino.
About 50 people were injured – but no-one seriously.
More than 3,000 people were later evacuated from their homes amid fears of fresh tremors.
One local resident told Ansa: “I heard a big bang and I ran on the terrace, I was afraid of falling.”
TV footage later showed people inspecting damaged houses, offices and historic buildings. Parts of a castle in Finale Emilia collapsed.
Emergency officials ordered the evacuation of patients from hospitals as a precautionary measure.
Northern Italy is frequently rocked by minor earthquakes, but the country is well-prepared to deal with them.
In January, a magnitude-5.3 quake hit northern Italy but caused no injuries.
A 6.5 magnitude earthquake shook Mexico on Saturday killing at least two people and knocking out power in the capital.
The quake, which struck the western state of Guerrero at 19:47 local time, was strongly felt in Mexico City.
At least two people have died in the state, but reports suggest the country has escaped major damage.
An 18-year-old man was killed when a roof collapsed in Iguala, a small city between the capital and the tourist resort of Acapulco.
A second man, aged 25 was killed when a rock fell on a small van on the Mexico City-Acapulco highway, according to Reuters news agency.
The epicenter of the quake was 28 miles from Iguala in Guerrero and the tremor was 40 miles (65km) deep, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. The quake, originally reported as 6.7 on the magnitude scale, was also felt in other states including Michoacan, Puebla and Hidalgo, local media reported.
“I was dreadfully afraid, I thought it was never going to end,” Laura Gonzalez, who was in a bar in the capital at the time of the quake which lasted 40 seconds, told Reuters.
A severe earthquake in 1985 killed thousands of people and wrecked parts of Mexico City, and many residents live with the fear of a repeat.
Shoppers at a popular department store in Condesa rushed out to the street, some of them crying and shouting, and traffic lights were out at several intersections, causing traffic jams.
“The most damage was in Iguala because the epicenter was very close to there,” a spokesman for Guerrero emergency services told Reuters.
Landslides had closed highways in the Pacific coast state but the duty fire officer in Acapulco said that while residents of the port city felt the earthquake and telephone services were down, there were no reports of major damage.
Power was knocked out in many districts of the capital and one building was evacuated, but Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard said water services,
the subway and the airport were working normally.
“The city center is fine, there are people skating on the ice rink,” Mexico City emergency services spokesman Manuel Mondragon said of the winter entertainment facility set up in the central Zocalo square.
“At the moment, there is no reason for concern,” he told Reuters.
A source from phone operator Telcel said services went out briefly in some sections of the city as the mobile network was overloaded with people trying to call family and friends.
A 5.6 magnitude earthquake struck Oklahoma at 10:53 p.m. local time Saturday (03:53 GMT), according to U.S. Geological Survey.
The seismic monitoring agency said the quake was centered about 44 mile east-northeast of Oklahoma City.
It had initially reported the temblor as a 5.2 magnitude quake.
The tremor was one of the biggest earthquake in Oklahoma history and caused significant damage.
Chimneys collapsed through roofs of homes in Lincoln County – 50 miles from Oklahoma City.
Damage to the Prague library included collapsed air conditioning ducts and a collapsed wall.
Several roadways have buckled, including Highway 62 and other county roads, according to KJRH radio.
A 5.6 magnitude earthquake struck Oklahoma at 10.53 pm local time Saturday, according to U.S. Geological Survey
The quake – the biggest of four that shook the centre of the state – rattled a college football stadium 50 miles away and sent shudders through buildings and homes in distant communities and cities.
Emergency authorities had no immediate reports of injuries but one county’s sheriff’s office said it was responding to numerous calls and checking for any damages.
It said the quake struck near the community of Sparks — in eastern Oklahoma between Oklahoma City and Tulsa.
The temblor shook the stadium at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater near the end of the school’s football game with Kansas State.
The quake was one of several to rattle the state Saturday, including a magnitude 4.7 earthquake that shook the same area early Saturday.
Michelann Ooten, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management, said no injuries were reported to emergency management officials and that there had been no reports of injuries.
If the intensity of the Saturday night quake is confirmed, it would be the state’s strongest on record. USGS records show that a 5.5 magnitude earthquake struck El Reno, just west of Oklahoma City, in 1952 and, before Oklahoma became a state in 1907, a quake of similar magnitude 5.5 struck in northeastern Indian Territory in 1882.
The quake was felt as far away as Tennessee and Wisconsin, according to reports received by the USGS.
Saturday’s earlier temblor, which hit at 2:12 a.m., woke people and pets as it shook an area that stretched from Texas to Missouri. Its epicenter was 6 miles north of Prague in Lincoln County, in the rolling hills about 50 miles east of Oklahoma City.
A 3.4 magnitude aftershock was reported at 2:27 a.m. from the same location, as well as a 2.7 magnitude aftershock at 2:44 a.m.
Oklahoma Geological Survey researcher Austin Holland told Oklahoma City television station KOTV that the earthquake and aftershocks occurred on a known fault line.
Ferhat Tokay, a 13-year-old boy has been pulled alive from the rubble in Ercis after 108 hours since earthquake hit the south-eastern Turkey.
Ferhat Tokay was rescued from a collapsed building in Ercis.
Only few hours before the boy has been rescued, another man was freed from a flattened apartment block and taken to hospital.
According to Turkish authorities, 570 people are known to have died in Sunday’s 7.2-magnitude quake and more than 2,500 were injured.
Up to now, 187 people have been rescued, but hundreds are still missing and hopes are fading of finding any more survivors.
Meanwhile, rain and snow are hindering the rescue and relief effort.
Ferhat Tokay, a 13-year-old boy has been pulled alive from the rubble in Ercis after 108 hours since earthquake hit the south-eastern Turkey
Ferhat Tokay, the rescued 13-year-old boy was found alive late on Thursday and pulled out by search teams early in the morning.
“He was taken to hospital in Sahra and his health appears good,” said a rescue official.
Rescue workers are continuing to dig through the debris in some places, but at other sites they have stopped work and attention is turning to the needs of the survivors.
Authorities delivered tents and other aid supplies are being after some initial criticism that the response was too slow.
People in Ercis, the hardest-hit town, have formed long queues to try to get hold of tents but many have been told there are none left.
“Everyone is getting sick and wet,” said Fetih Zengin, 38, whose house was badly damaged.
“We have been waiting in line for four days and still nothing.”
Zeki Yatkin, who lost his father in the quake, said:
“They say we will get prefabricated houses in one-and-a-half months.
“We can’t tolerate the cold, but what else can we do?”
Yesterday, the south-eastern Turkey was hit again by another 5.2-magnitude aftershock, but there are no reports of any further casualties.
Turkish PM Recep Erdogan had initially said country did not need any help from abroad, but later changed his mind.
Turkish government accepted an offer of clothes, blankets and other supplies from Israel, despite the recent deterioration in their relationship.
There are also reports saying that prefabricated homes from Israel have been sent to Van province.
The United Nations says it is sending thousands of tents as well as blankets and mattresses.
Aid from several other countries is starting to arrive in Turkey too.
Baby Azra Karaduman, a 14-day-old infant was pulled alive from the rubble of the Turkish earthquake at almost 48 hours after the disaster struck.
Baby Azra Karaduman miraculously survived despite being naked in freezing conditions. The little baby mother and grandmother were later plucked alive from the same collapsed building.
A rescuer cradled baby Azra, who was then wrapped in a blanket and handed over to a medic amid a scrum of emergency workers and journalists.
She was said to be in good health but was flown to a hospital in Ankara.
Wednesday afternoon, a ten-year-old boy was pulled alive from the rubble after an incredible 54 hours.
Baby Azra Karaduman, a 14-day-old infant was pulled alive from the rubble of the Turkish earthquake at almost 48 hours after the disaster struck
According to Turkish authorities, yesterday the death toll had risen to at least 432 in Ercis and the provincial capital, Van, as a result of the 7.2-magnitude quake on Sunday.
The rescue teams worked against the time to free dozens trapped inside mounds of concrete, twisted steel and construction debris.
At least nine people were rescued on Wednesday, although many more bodies were discovered.
Authorities have warned survivors not to enter damaged buildings.
Thousands spent a fourth night outdoors in cars or tents in near-freezing conditions, afraid to return to their homes.
Baby Azra’s mother, Semiha, and grandmother, Gulsaadet, were huddled together with the baby clinging to her mother’s shoulder when rescuers found them, emergency worker Kadir Direk said.
There was a bakery at the ground floor of the building, which may have kept them warm, he added.
Kadir Direk said baby Azra’s mother was semi-conscious but woke when he reached her.
Baby Azra’s uncle Senol Yigit watched the rescue from outside, sobbing:
“It’s a miracle!”
“I’m so happy. What can I say? We had lost hope when we first saw the building.”
But rescuers could not find the baby Azra’s father and there were no other signs of life in the shattered building.
Baby Azra’s family lives in Sivas, central Turkey, but was visiting the girl’s grandmother and grandfather.
A 9-year-old boy, Oguz Isler was also rescued along with his sister and cousin, but last night he was waiting at the foot of the same pile of debris that was his aunt’s apartment block for news of his parents who remain buried inside.
Little Azra, a two weeks old baby girl, has been rescued this morning from the shattered ruins of a building in the city of Ercis, after she miraculously lived more than 47 hours trapped.
Baby Azra was found naked in the rubble, making her survival all the more remarkable because of the freezing temperatures in the region.
Azra was immediately rushed to a medical unit.
Little Azra, a two weeks old baby girl, has been rescued this morning from the shattered ruins of a building in the city of Ercis, after she miraculously lived more than 47 hours trapped
Thousands of people spent a second night under tents, in cars or huddled round small fires in towns affected by the massive earthquake that hit eastern Turkey on Sunday.
The earthquake death toll has risen to 366 overnight, and hundreds more are still missing after the quake and more than 200 aftershocks.
The town of Ercis and the provincial capital Van are by far the most affected areas after the 7.2 magnitude earthquake.
Seven people were rescued overnight.
Mesut Ozan Yilmaz, 18, who survived for 32 hours under the rubble of a tea house where he had been passing time with friends, said it seemed like the end of the world.
“It was like the judgment day.”
Mesut Ozan Yilmaz told CNN Turk how he survived by diving under a table.
“The space we had was so narrow. People were fighting for more space to survive. I rested my head on a dead man’s foot. I know I would be dead now if I had let myself go psychologically.”
Crowds of residents gathered around collapsed buildings in the city, falling into silence as each person strained to hear even the faintest signs of life under the crumbled concrete and twisted steel.
According to Disaster and Emergency Administration, 1,301 people had been injured and 2,262 buildings had collapsed.
Up to now, the Turkish Red Crescent distributed up to 13,000 tents, and was preparing to provide temporary shelter for about 40,000 people, although there were no reliable estimates of the number of people left destitute.
Ahmet Arikes, 60, from Amik, a village outside Van that was reduced to rubble, said:
“We were sent 25 tents for 150 homes. Everybody is waiting outside, we’ve got small children, we’ve got nothing left.”
Soon after, the Turkish Red Crescent announced that 12,000 more tents would be delivered to Van today.
Van, usually a vibrant city with a large population, resembled a ghost town with no lights in the streets or buildings.
In Ercis, thousands of people, mostly men, paced the streets, stopping to look at the destruction or whenever there was some commotion at a rescue operation site.
At least 366 people are now known to have died and over 1,300 injured after the Sunday’s deadly earthquake in the eastern Turkey.
Turkish government said 12,000 more tents would be delivered to the cities of Ercis and Van and also to nearby villages affected by the 7.2-magnitude earthquake.
The government has been accused of failing to help some of the most needy people, who spent the second night in freezing conditions without heating and tents.
At least 366 people are now known to have died and over 1,300 injured after the Sunday's deadly earthquake in the eastern Turkey
On Tuesday, the Disaster and Emergency Administration said that more than 2,000 houses collapsed due to the quake.
Rescue teams with sniffer dogs continued through the night to search for survivors under the rubble of hundreds of collapsed buildings.
Cranes and other heavy equipment have been lifting slabs of concrete, and many residents have been joining in the rescue effort, digging with shovels.
It was reported that hopes of finding more survivors are fading, with no-one being pulled alive in the last seven to eight hours.
In one building there are fears that up to 50 are missing – buried under the rubble.
Authorities are now warning that the death toll is expected to rise further.
Besir Atalay,Turkish Deputy Prime Minister, who is in charge of the relief operation, said late on Monday that “from today there will be nothing our people lack”.
Authorities were also setting up more field hospitals and kitchens to help the thousands left homeless or too afraid to return to their homes amid continuing aftershocks.
However, survivors complained that not enough help was reaching them.
“We spent the night under freezing temperature. We shivered all night long, nobody provided us any blankets or heaters, we don’t even have a toilet,” one woman said.
“People are getting sick. It is very dirty here.”
A resident of Van said that even tents were in short supply.
“All the nylon tents are on the black market now,” Ibrahim Baydar, a 40-year-old tradesman from Van.
“We cannot find any. People are queuing for them. No tents were given to us whatsoever.”
Opposition politicians earlier decried what they called “a lack of crisis management”, saying that many people still lacked food, heating and tents.
Opposition also said Ankara was wrong to refuse offers of foreign aid.
The 75,000 population of Ercis town, which has been the worst hit, has dozens of collapsed buildings.
Most of those destroyed buildings in Ercis are apartment blocks with dozens of people missing at each site.
Ercis and Van, about 100km (60 miles) to the south, lie on a high plateau surrounded by snow-capped mountains.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s office visited the area on Sunday and said many villages made of mud brick had been almost completely destroyed.
Hurriyet Daily News reported that some of the rescue workers have complained of a lack of adequate equipment.
“We are working with primitive tools, we have no equipment,” one rescuer said.
Five people were pulled from the ruins of one collapsed building in Ercis on Monday after one of them called for help on his mobile phone, Anatolia news agency said.
Another man was rescued later on Monday, some 30 hours after the earthquake struck.
The earthquake struck at 13:41 (10:41 GMT) on Sunday at a depth of 20km (12 miles), with its epicenter 16km north-east of Van in eastern Turkey, according to US Geological Survey.
About 200 aftershocks have hit the region, it added, including one of magnitude 6.0 late on Sunday.
Turkey is particularly vulnerable to earthquakes because it sits on major geological fault lines.
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