China Again with 232 Earthquakes Hit This Week!

On August 30th, China experienced another earthquake totaling 232 earthquakes around the world for this week alone. The location of this latest earthquake in China is in the southwest part of the country - Sichuan and Yunnan. The USGA put the magnitude to 5.7 on the Richter scale; however Chinese officials said it was closer to 6.1. It registered six miles deep! After shockwaves came 24 hours later registering at 5.1. So far 100,000 homes have been damaged with 25 dead.

Unfortunately for this area, this is the second time in three months, when another more powerful earthquake hit Sichuan on May 12, 2008 - registering 8.0 on the Richter scale - where thousands of people died and 45 million people were affected.

Between the years 2002-2007, there were several scientific articles published predicting that a high probability of a large earthquake affecting the Sichuan-Yunnan region in the near future. Yet, according to their State Council Information Office, no prediction notification was received before the earthquake in May.

I came across this interesting site that shows earthquakes around the world given in a weekly summary. I was surprised to hear there were 232 earthquakes just this week alone. If you click "Here" you can see how where these earthquakes were hit and their degree of magnitude. Now, if you click, "Here" you can see out of that total of 232, 160 earthquakes were in the United States, concentration being California and Alaska. If you'd like to see "Today Earthquakes in History", click, "Here."

Facts on Earthquakes

The strongest recorded earthquake in the United States registered a magnitude 9.2 that hit the Prince William Sound, Alaska on Good Friday, March 28, 1964.

The strongest recorded earthquake in the world was on a magnitude 9.5 in Chile in 1960.

The earliest reported earthquake in California was said to have been felt in 1769 by the exploring expedition of Gaspar de Portola while the group was camping about 30 miles southeast of Los Angeles.

Moonquakes ("earthquakes" on the moon) do also occur. However, they happen less frequently and have smaller magnitudes than earthquakes on the Earth. It appears they are related to the tidal stresses associated with the varying distance between the Earth and Moon. They also occur at great depth, about halfway between the surface and the center of the moon. By the way, China's earthquake happened on a new moon which can be a period when earthquakes occur as well as full moons because gravitational forces are at a maximum, especially when the bodies are close together.