Very strong earthquake at +600 km from the Mariana Islands did not happen

Last update: February 16, 2013 at 10:41 am by By

Important update 08:42 UTC : What we expected has finally become reality : This earthquake report was a HOAX. EMSC, one of the agencies reporting this earthquake, hos no longer a listing. HOAX earthquake reports are occurring now and then. Todays real time reports are machine generated and disturbances as well as malfunctioning are the reason that suddenly a false earthquake report gets published. After a review by a seismologist, the error is detected and the earthquake will be deleted. Normally the agencies are not mentioning these hoaxes. At earthquake Report we almost immediately detect these hoaxes as we monitor our readers numbers as well as the area where they come from.

Update 06:36 UTC :  Very strong earthquakes from this Magnitude are normally felt in a very wide area but as we have a lot of readers on Guam, and as nobody reported shaking at Guam, we are convinced that the waves did not reach Guam. This can be explained by the shallow depth (deeper earthquakes generate shaking over a wider area) and by the ocean who also weakens the shaking.

Strange earthquake. Only EMSC and GFZ have reported about this earthquake. USGS did not which is strange for such a powerful earthquake.
The distance to Guam, the nearest islands is +600 km.
The epicenter is close to a number of deep submarine volcanoes who will probably emerge as islands withing a couple of million years.

Distances from the epicenter to populated islands following the EMSC data :
1892 km S Yokohama (pop 3,574,443 ; local time 14:23:02.8 2013-02-16)
1789 km SE Okinawa (pop 125,483 ; local time 14:23:02.8 2013-02-16)
611 km NW Tamuning (pop 11,254 ; local time 15:23:02.8 2013-02-16)

Most important Earthquake Data:

Magnitude : 6.6

Local Time (conversion only below land) : Unknown

GMT/UTC Time : 2013-02-16 05:23:05

Depth (Hypocenter)  : 10 km

Depth and Magnitude updates in the list below.

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SRC Location UTC Date/time M D INFORMATION
GEOFON Mariana Islands Region (deleted) Feb 16 05:23 AM 6.6 10 MAP I Felt It INFO
EMSC Mariana Islands Region (deleted) Feb 16 05:23 AM 6.6 10 MAP I Felt It

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SHARE YOUR EARTHQUAKE EXPERIENCE WITH US

Enter Email (not compulsory)
City/Village where you felt the earthquake
MMI II (Very weak shaking) ?
People :
Felt by persons at rest, on upper floors or favorably placed.
MMI III (Weak shaking) ?
People :
Felt indoors; hanging objects may swing, vibration similar to passing of light trucks, duration may be estimated, may not be recognized as an earthquake.
MMI IV (Light shaking) ?
People :
Generally noticed indoors but not outside. Light sleepers may be awakened. Vibration may be likened to the passing of heavy traffic, or to the jolt of a heavy object falling or striking the building.
Fittings :
Doors and windows rattle. Glassware and crockery rattle. Liquids in open vessels may be slightly disturbed. Standing motorcars may rock.
Structures :
Walls and frames of buildings, and partitions and suspended ceilings in commercial buildings, may be heard to creak.
MMI V (Moderate shaking) ?
People :
Generally felt outside, and by almost everyone indoors. Most sleepers awakened. A few people alarmed.
Fittings :
Small unstable objects are displaced or upset. Some glassware and crockery may be broken. Hanging pictures knock against the wall. Open doors may swing. Cupboard doors secured by magnetic catches may open. Pendulum clocks stop, start, or change rate.
Structures :
Some large display windows cracked. A few earthenware toilet fixtures cracked.
MMI VI (Strong shaking) ?
People Felt by all. People and animals alarmed. Many run outside. Difficulty experienced in walking steadily.
Fittings :
Objects fall from shelves. Pictures fall from walls. Some furniture moved on smooth floors, some unsecured free-standing fireplaces moved. Glassware and crockery broken. Very unstable furniture overturned. Small church and school bells ring. Appliances move on bench or table tops. Filing cabinets or "easy glide" drawers may open (or shut).
Structures :
Slight damage to buildings with low standard. Some stucco or cement plaster falls. Large display windows broken. Damage to a few weak domestic chimneys, some may fall.
Environment :
Trees and bushes shake, or are heard to rustle. Loose material may be dislodged from sloping ground, e.g. existing slides, talus slopes, shingle slides.
MMI VII (Very strong shaking) ?
People
General alarm. Difficulty experienced in standing. Noticed by motorcar drivers who may stop.
Fittings :
Large bells ring. Furniture moves on smooth floors, may move on carpeted floors. Substantial damage to fragile contents of buildings.
Structures :
Unreinforced stone and brick walls cracked. Low standard buildings cracked with some minor masonry falls. A few instances of damage to buildings of ordinary workmanship. Unbraced parapets, unbraced brick gables, and architectural ornaments fall. Roofing tiles, especially ridge tiles may be dislodged. Many unreinforced domestic chimneys damaged, often falling from roof-line. Water tanks Type I burst. A few instances of damage to brick veneers and plaster or cement-based linings. Unrestrained water cylinders (hot-water cylinders) may move and leak. Some common windows cracked. Suspended ceilings damaged.
Environment :
Water made turbid by stirred up mud. Small slides such as falls of sand and gravel banks, and small rock-falls from steep slopes and cuttings. Instances of settlement of unconsolidated or wet, or weak soils. Some fine cracks appear in sloping ground. A few instances of liquefaction (i.e. small water and sand ejections).
MMI VIII (Severe shaking) ?
People Alarm may approach panic. Steering of motorcars greatly affected. Structures : Low standard buildings heavily damaged, some collapse. ordinary workmanship buildings damaged, some with partial collapse. Reinforced masonry or concrete buildings damaged in some cases. A few instances of damage to buildings and bridges designed and built to resist earthquakes. Monuments and pre-1976 elevated tanks and factory stacks twisted or brought down. Some pre-1965 infill masonry panels damaged. A few post-1980 brick veneers damaged. Decayed timber piles of houses damaged. Houses not secured to foundations may move. Most unreinforced domestic chimneys damaged, some below roof-line, many brought down. Environment : Cracks appear on steep slopes and in wet ground. Small to moderate slides in roadside cuttings and unsupported excavations. Small water and sand ejections and localized lateral spreading adjacent to streams, canals, lakes, etc.
MMI IX (Violent shaking) ?
Structures Many low standard buildings destroyed. Ordinary workmanship buildings heavily damaged, some collapse. Reinforced masonry or concrete buildings damaged, some with partial collapse. Buildings and bridges designed and built to resist earthquakes damaged in some cases, some with flexible frames seriously damaged. Damage or permanent distortion to some buildings and bridges, designed and built to normal use standards. Houses not secured to foundations shifted off. Brick veneers fall and expose frames. Environment : Cracking of ground conspicuous. Landsliding general on steep slopes. Liquefaction effects intensified and more widespread, with large lateral spreading and flow sliding adjacent to streams, canals, lakes, etc.
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