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INGILTERE
'DE MAG 5.2 DEPREM MEYDANA GELDI Magnitude
mb 5.2 Last
Updated: 27/02/2008 06:26 An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.2 shook parts of Britain today but officials said there were no reports of anyone being killed or serious damage. The quake struck about an hour after midnight and many people in the capital London and other areas said they had been woken up by the tremors. Quakes are uncommon in Britain and today's was the strongest for nearly quarter of a century. In the northern English town of Barnsley, a man was injured in the pelvis when a chimney collapsed and plunged through the roof of his bedroom, said an ambulance service spokeswoman. The man was taken to hospital. Soon after the quake occurred the US Geological Survey (USGS) estimated the magnitude at 4.7, but the British Geological Survey later raised the figure to 5.3 before settling on 5.2. The USGS said on its website the quake's epicenter was 205 km (127 miles) north of London and 80 km (50 miles) east of the major northern English city of Sheffield. "We have no reports of injuries (in London)," said a police spokesman in the capital. Police in the English county of Lincolnshire said some people had reported minor damage to their homes. The quake was the largest to hit Britain since one with a magnitude of 5.4 in 1984. "This is a significant earthquake for the UK and will have been widely felt across England and Wales," said seismologist Brian Baptie of the British Geological Survey. Earthquake
Felt Across Parts of England MANCHESTER, England (AP) — An earthquake struck Britain early Wednesday and was felt across large parts of the country. Police reported some minor damage to homes but no injuries. The British Geological Survey said it was a 5.3-magnitude quake but the U.S. Geological Survey earlier put the magnitude at 4.7. The tembor struck at about 1 a.m. and was centered about 125 miles north of London. "It was scary," David Somerset told The Associated Press by telephone from Driffield, around 60 miles from the epicenter. He was working on the computer at the time. "It was a strange sensation as the room, ornaments and chest of drawers started wobbling and making a loud rumbling noise," he said. Many other people in southern, central and northern England reported feeling their homes shaken by the earthquake in a country where such tremors are uncommon. Lincolnshire police said they had received dozens of phone calls about the temblor and that some minor damage to homes had been reported. "This is a moderate earthquake," Rafael Abreu of the U.S. Geological Survey told Sky News from the United States. He described the tremor as a shallow interplate earthquake, and said his U.S.-based group would likely adopt the 5.3-magnitude rating from his British counterparts. The epicenter was reported to be in Market Rasen in Licolnshire, a small market town known for its racecourse. "I was in bed at the time and suddenly there was quite a big bang and shaking that woke us up," said Laura Bocock, who lives close to Market Rasen in northeast England. "It sounded like someone had hit the bungalow and (I) was quite frightened. "I couldn't get back to sleep because I was scared it could happen again." The North West Ambulance service said its crews had also reported feeling the quake but had received "no actual calls from the public," said a spokeswoman, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with the service's policy. John Jenkin of Bourne said the jolt knocked objects from the shelves of his home. "I was woken up. It was hell," he said. A woman in Notting Hill, a wealthy section of London, reported that her radio was bumping up and down on a shelf for several seconds. A
quake of magnitude 5 is capable of causing considerable damage. Britain
is hit annually with up to 200 quakes but only 10 percent are strong
enough to be felt. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Indonesian Homes Damaged as 6.6 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes By Karima Anjani Feb. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Dozens of homes were damaged and a health clinic was leveled when an earthquake measuring 6.6 hit near the Indonesian island of Sumatra today, officials said. The quake, which struck the Mentawai islands region at 4:02 a.m. local time, was the third to hit the area in about 12 hours, the U.S. Geological Survey said on its Web site. ``Fortunately the worst-hit area has a small population,'' Rustam S. Pakaya, head of crisis management at Indonesia's Health Ministry, said by telephone. ``Workers are combing the area and so far there haven't been any reports of casualties.'' The earthquake struck 150 kilometers (95 miles) south- southwest of Padang on Sumatra at a depth of 39 kilometers, according to the USGS. The U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center and the Japan Meteorological Agency said in e-mailed alerts there was a ``very small possibility'' of a ``destructive local tsunami'' in the Indian Ocean. Residents whose homes were damaged in Sikakap on the Mentawai islands were offered temporary shelter, Pakaya said, adding communication with the area was disrupted. The USGS earlier said the quake was magnitude 6.9. A magnitude 7 earthquake struck at 3:36 p.m. local time yesterday and a temblor measuring 6.3 hit at 1:06 a.m. today. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties from those quakes, Indonesia's Meteorology and Geophysics Office said. There have been hundreds of earthquakes in Indonesia since a 9.1 temblor in 2004 caused a tsunami that swept across the Indian Ocean, devastating coastal communities and leaving more than 220,000 people dead or missing in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and other countries. The Indonesian archipelago lies in a region where tectonic plates are constantly shifting. Yesterday's quake hit an area 165 kilometers southwest of Muko-muko, in Bengkulu province, at a depth of 10 kilometers, the Indonesian agency said. The temblor sparked panic in Bengkulu and the west of Sumatra, sending people into the streets, Jakarta-based ElShinta radio reported. Tremors also rocked buildings in downtown Singapore, located 587 kilometers from the epicenter. To contact the reporter on this story: Karima Anjani in Jakarta at kanjani@bloomberg.net Magnitude 7.2 Earthquake Strikes Indonesia's Sumatra (Update2) By Karima Anjani Feb. 25 (Bloomberg) -- A 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck near the Indonesian island of Sumatra at 3:36 p.m. local time with no immediate reports of damage or casualties, the country's Meteorology and Geophysics Office said. A second temblor struck the same region 10 hours later measuring 6.7 magnitude, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. There were no immediate reports of damage. The larger quake hit an area 165 kilometers (102 miles) southwest of Muko-muko, in Bengkulu province, at a depth of 10 kilometers, the Indonesian agency said in a text message. The U.S. Geological Survey measured the quake at 7.0, revising from 7.3 earlier. The quake had a depth of 35 kilometers. No casualties have been reported, an official said. An earlier tsunami warning was lifted, the Indonesian office said. The temblor sparked panic in Bengkulu and the west of Sumatra, sending people into the streets, Jakarta-based ElShinta radio reported. Tremors also rocked buildings in downtown Singapore, located 365 miles from the epicenter. There have been hundreds of earthquakes in Indonesia since a 9.1 quake in 2004 caused a tsunami that swept across the Indian Ocean, devastating coastlines and leaving more than 220,000 people dead or missing in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and other countries. The Indonesian archipelago lies in a region where tectonic plates are constantly shifting. The 6.7 quake struck 164 kilometers southwest of Padang, Sumatra, at 1:06 a.m. local time Tuesday, at a depth of 35 kilometers, the USGS said. There were no casualties so far from today's earthquake, Rustam S. Pakaya, head of crisis management at Indonesia's Health Ministry, said in a text message. Authorities will continue to monitor developments on damages and casualties. A magnitude 7.5 quake hit the west of Sumatra on Feb. 20, killing at least three people. To contact the reporter on this story: Karima Anjani in Jakarta at kanjani@bloomberg.net Last Updated: February 25, 2008 13:49 EST
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