Category Archives: focal mechanisms

M 7.2 earthquake near Van, eastern Turkey

Posted on October 23, 2011 by Chris Rowan

Earlier this morning, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake hit near the city of Van on the eastern border of Turkey. The BBC reports that at least 45 people have died as buildings collapsed close to the rupture. The most well-known seismic … Continue reading →

Categories: earthquakes, focal mechanisms, geohazards, tectonics

Friday Focal Mechanisms: the Hayward Fault shows up to the Shakeout Party

Posted on October 21, 2011 by Chris Rowan

Yesterday, several million Californians participated in the 2011 Great California ShakeOut – a simulated earthquake drill, held close to the anniversary of the 1989 Loma Preita earthquake, that aims not only to raise awareness of the ever-present risk of a … Continue reading →

Categories: earthquakes, focal mechanisms, geohazards

Friday focal mechanism: mountain building in Argentina

Posted on October 7, 2011 by Chris Rowan

Yesterday a magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck in the Jujuy province of northwestern Argentina, in the western foothills of the Andes. What few news reports there are indicate strong shaking but little damage in what seems to be a remote and … Continue reading →

Categories: earthquakes, focal mechanisms, geohazards, structures

Seismo-volcanism in Eritrea

Posted on June 22, 2011 by Chris Rowan

The Great Rift Valley marks where East Africa is slowly attempting to break away from the rest of the African continent, at a rate of less than a centimetre a year. At the north-eastern end of the rift, where it … Continue reading →

Categories: earthquakes, focal mechanisms, tectonics