KABUL (Reuters) -One of Afghanistan&#8217;s worst earthquakes killed more than 800 people and injured at least 2,800, authorities said on Monday, as rescuers struggled to reach remote areas due to rough mountainous terrain and inclement weather.
The disaster will further stretch the resources of the war-torn nation&#8217;s Taliban, already grappling with crises ranging from a sharp drop in foreign aid to deportations of hundreds of thousands of Afghans by neighbouring countries.
Sharafat Zaman, spokesperson for the health ministry in Kabul, called for international aid to tackle the devastation wrought by the quake of magnitude 6 that struck around midnight local time, at a depth of 10 km (6 miles).
&#8220;We need it because here lots of people lost their lives and houses,&#8221; he told Reuters.
The quake killed 812 people in the eastern provinces of Kunar and Nangarhar, administration spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said.
Ziaul Haq Mohammadi, a student at Al-Falah University in the eastern city of Jalalabad, was studying in his room at home when the quake struck. He said he tried to stand up but was knocked over by the power of the tremor.
&#8220;We spent the whole night in fear and anxiety because at any moment another earthquake could happen,&#8221; Mohammadi said.
Rescuers were battling to reach remote mountainous areas cut off from mobile networks along the Pakistani border, where mudbrick homes dotting the slopes collapsed in the quake.
&#8220;The area of the earthquake was affected by heavy rain in the last 24-48 hours as well, so the risk of landslides and rock slides is also quite significant &#8211; that is why many of the roads are impassable,&#8221; Kate Carey, an officer at the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), told Reuters.
Rescue teams and authorities are trying to dispose of animal carcasses quickly so as to minimise the risk of contamination to water resources, Carey said.
Casualties could rise as rescue teams access more isolated locations, authorities said.
&#8220;All our &#8230; teams have been mobilised to accelerate assistance, so that comprehensive and full support can be provided,&#8221; said health ministry spokesperson Abdul Maten Qanee, citing efforts in areas from security to food and health.
Reuters Television images showed helicopters ferrying out the affected, while residents helped security forces and medics carry the wounded to ambulances in an area with a long history of earthquakes and floods.
Military rescue teams fanned out across the region, the defence ministry said in a statement, with 40 flights carrying away 420 wounded and dead.
The quake razed three villages in Kunar, with substantial damage in many others, authorities said. At least 610 people were killed in Kunar with 12 dead in Nangarhar, they added.
It was Afghanistan&#8217;s third major deadly quake since the Taliban took over in 2021 as foreign forces withdrew, triggering a cut to the international funding that formed the bulk of government finances.
Diplomats and aid officials say crises elsewhere in the world, along with donor frustration over the Taliban&#8217;s policies towards women, including curbs on those who are aid workers, have spurred the cuts in funding.
Even humanitarian aid, aimed at bypassing political institutions to serve urgent needs, has shrunk to $767 million this year, down from $3.8 billion in 2022.
APPEALS FOR FUNDING
Humanitarian agencies say they are fighting a forgotten crisis in Afghanistan, where the United Nations estimates more than half the population is in urgent need of humanitarian aid.
&#8220;So far, no foreign governments have reached out to provide support for rescue or relief work,&#8221; a spokesperson of Afghanistan&#8217;s foreign office said on Monday.
Later, a spokesperson for China&#8217;s foreign ministry said it was ready to provide disaster relief assistance &#8220;according to Afghanistan&#8217;s needs and within its capacity&#8221;.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar of India said it had delivered 1,000 family tents to Kabul and was moving 15 tonnes of food material to Kunar, with more relief material to be sent from India starting Tuesday.
U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres said its mission in Afghanistan was preparing to help those in areas devastated by the quake. Pope Leo also sent condolences for the dead.
A 6.1-magnitude earthquake that killed 1,000 people in the eastern region in 2022 was the first major natural disaster faced by the Taliban government.
Humanitarian officials and locals say almost two years after a powerful tremor hit the western city of Herat, many villages are still recovering and living in temporary structures.
Afghanistan is prone to deadly earthquakes, particularly in the Hindu Kush mountain range, where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet.
Quakes in Afghanistan tend to be so deadly because of building construction that is often vulnerable to shaking, and the number of people living in the Hindu Kush, said Richard Walker, professor of tectonics at the University of Oxford.
(Reporting by Mohammad Yunus Yawar in Kabul, Saeed Shah and Charlotte Greenfield in Islamabad, Mrinmay Dey and Hritam Mukherjee; writing by Ariba Shahid, Sudipto Ganguly and Shilpa Jamkhandikar; editing by Clarence Fernandez and Mark Heinrich)

Aftermath of deadly magnitude-6 earthquake in Afghanistan

Afghanistan Earthquake Kills 800, Injures Thousands As Taliban Seeks Global Aid

Afghanistan

earthquake

Natural Disaster

Taliban

World

A magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off Russia&#8217;s Far Eastern Kamchatka Peninsula on Wednesday, generating a tsunami of up to 4 metres (13 feet), damaging buildings and prompting evacuation warnings in the area and across most of Japan&#8217;s east coast, officials said.
&#8220;Today&#8217;s earthquake was serious and the strongest in decades of tremors,&#8221; Kamchatka Governor Vladimir Solodov said in a video posted on the Telegram messaging app, adding that a kindergarten was damaged.
A tsunami with a height of 3-4 metres (10-13 feet) was recorded in parts of Kamchatka, Sergei Lebedev, regional minister for emergency situations said, urging people to move away from the shoreline of the peninsula.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake was shallow at a depth of 19.3 km (12 miles), and was centred 126 km (80 miles) east-southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, a city of 165,000 along the coast of Avacha Bay. It revised the magnitude up from 8.0 earlier.
The Japan Weather Agency upgraded its warning, saying it expected tsunami waves of up to 3 metres (10 feet) to reach large coastal areas starting around 0100 GMT. Broadcast NHK said evacuation orders had been issued by the government for some areas.
Factory workers and residents in Japan&#8217;s northern Hokkaido evacuated to a hill overlooking the ocean, footage from broadcaster TBS showed.
&#8220;Please evacuate quickly. If you can move quickly to higher ground and away from the coast,&#8221; a newscaster on Japanese public broadcaster NHK said.
The U.S. Tsunami Warning System also issued a warning of &#8220;hazardous tsunami waves&#8221; within the next three hours along some coasts of Russia, Japan, Alaska and Hawaii. A tsunami watch was also in effect for the U.S. island territory of Guam and other islands of Micronesia.
Hawaii ordered evacuations from some coastal areas. &#8220;Take Action! Destructive tsunami waves expected,&#8221; the Honolulu Department of Emergency Management said on X.
An evacuation order for the small town of Severo-Kurilsk, south of the Kamchatka peninsula, was declared due to the tsunami threat, Sakhalin Governor Valery Limarenko said on Telegram.
Several people sought medical assistance following the quake, Oleg Melnikov, regional health minister told Russia’s TASS state news agency.
&#8220;Unfortunately, there are some people injured during the seismic event. Some were hurt while running outside, and one patient jumped out of a window. A woman was also injured inside the new airport terminal,” Melnikov said.
“All patients are currently in satisfactory condition, and no serious injuries have been reported so far.”
The Kamchatka branch of the Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences said it was a very powerful earthquake.
&#8220;However, due to certain characteristics of the epicentre, the shaking intensity was not as high &#8230; as one might expect from such a magnitude,&#8221; it said in a video on Telegram.
“Aftershocks are currently ongoing &#8230; Their intensity will remain fairly high. However, stronger tremors are not expected in the near future. The situation is under control.”
Kamchatka and Russia&#8217;s Far East sit on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a geologically active region that is prone to major earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
(Reporting by Anusha Shah Nilutpal Timsina and Mrinmay Dey in Bengaluru, Lidia Kelly in Melbourne and Satoshi Sugiyama in Tokyo; Writing by Lincoln Feast; Editing by Stephen Coates)

Hawaii tsunami evacuation area sign

Powerful Quake Causes Tsunami, Endangering U.S., Russia, And Japan

Alaska

Hawaii

Japan

Russia

U.S.

A tsunami advisory is in effect for parts of the Alaska Peninsula following a large, underwater earthquake.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration initially issued a warning for coastal areas from Kennedy Entrance, about 40 miles southwest of Homer, to Unimak Pass, about 80 miles northeast of Unalaska. The warning has been downgraded to an advisory.
The warning came after a magnitude 7.3 earthquake hit about 54 miles south of Sand Point, Alaska, <a href="https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us7000qd1y/executive">according</a> to the U.S. Geological Survey. A major earthquake capable of &#8220;serious damage&#8221; is a quake of magnitude 7.0 to 7.9.
Earlier in the day, a magnitude 5.0 earthquake hit 45 miles southeast of Atka Village, Alaska.
&#8220;Coastal Alaska communities live with the most serious tsunami risk in the United States,&#8221; <a href="https://earthquake.alaska.edu/about-tsunamis-alaska">according</a> to the Alaska Earthquake Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Tsunamis can be caused by &#8220;any large movement of land in or near the ocean,&#8221; including earthquakes, landslides, and volcanic eruptions, the center&#8217;s website says. There have been more than 15,000 earthquakes reported in Alaska this year.
Magnitude 7 to 8 earthquakes happen about once per year, <a href="https://seagrant.uaf.edu/topics/environmental-hazards-alaskas-coasts/earthquakes-tsunamis/">according</a> to Sea Grant Alaska.
The NOAA issues tsunami warnings for any seismic activity greater than magnitude 7.0, <a href="https://www.weather.gov/media/ajk/brochures/Alaska_Tsunamis.pdf">according</a> to a NOAA informational sheet.
&#8220;Warnings are issued when the earthquake information or tsunami forecasts indicate that a wave over one meter in amplitude is expected, possible, or ongoing,&#8221; the info sheet said.
According to the NOAA&#8217;s U.S. Tsunami Warning System, &#8220;Tsunamis that cause damage or deaths near their source occur approximately twice per year. Tsunamis that cause damage or deaths on distant shores (more than 1,000 kilometers, 620 miles, away) occur about twice per decade.&#8221;

ANWR

Alaska Under Tsunami Advisory After Large Earthquake

A 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar and Thailand earlier today, killing at least 154 people as President Trump pledged U.S. assistance to the devastated region.
&#8220;The death toll and injuries are expected to increase,&#8221; stated Myanmar&#8217;s military ruler Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing during a television broadcast, confirming 144 fatalities and 730 wounded in his nation.
According to a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/thailand-earthquake-bangkok-4fce87aced74b1fc0cf260fb5454d353">report</a> by the Associated Press, Thai officials documented 10 deaths, 16 injuries, and 101 missing persons from three construction sites in Bangkok, including one collapsed high-rise.
The tremor hit at midday near Mandalay, Myanmar&#8217;s second-largest city, with multiple aftershocks following, including one measuring 6.4 magnitude.
United States Geological Survey experts estimated that casualties could ultimately exceed 1,000 throughout the region.
Myanmar&#8217;s military regime, which seized power in a 2021 coup, issued urgent calls for blood donations and expressed willingness to accept foreign assistance. The United Nations immediately allocated $5 million for initial relief efforts.
President Donald Trump pledged American aid to the earthquake-ravaged region on Friday, saying, “We’re going to be helping. We’ve already alerted the people. Yeah, it’s terrible what happened.”
Rescue operations face enormous obstacles in Myanmar, which is already suffering from devastating civil conflict, not to mention the now-collapsed bridges and cracked roads as a result of the earthquake.
&#8220;We fear it may be weeks before we understand the full extent of destruction,&#8221; warned Mohammed Riyas, International Rescue Committee&#8217;s Myanmar director.
State media reported building collapses across five urban areas and the destruction of two bridges, including one on a crucial highway connecting major cities. A dam failure in Mandalay has reportedly caused flooding in the surrounding lowlands.
In Bangkok, witnesses captured footage of a 33-story construction project crumbling near the city&#8217;s famous Chatuchak market.
&#8220;It&#8217;s a great tragedy,&#8221; remarked Thailand&#8217;s Deputy Prime Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit after visiting the remains of the city.
&#8220;Even before this heartbreaking earthquake, conflict and displacement has left countless people in real need,&#8221; said Julie Mehigan, who oversees Christian Aid&#8217;s work in Asia.
According to United Nations data, nearly 20 million people in Myanmar were already in desperate need of humanitarian assistance prior to the earthquake.

Tremors from Myanmar Earthquake Are Felt In Bangkok

Death Toll Rises To Over 150 In Myanmar-Thailand Earthquake; Trump Commits American Support

Donald Trump

FEMA

United Nations

A tsunami warning went into effect for much of the Caribbean after a 7.6 magnitude <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/natural-disaster" target="_blank" rel="noopener">earthquake</a> struck in the middle of the Caribbean Sea on Saturday evening.
The earthquake struck midway between Georgetown in the Cayman Islands and Honduras, according to the <a href="https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us7000pcdl/executive?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_campaign=realtime" target="_blank" rel="noopener">U.S. Geological Survey</a>. The tremors hit at a depth of roughly six miles.
The quake caused a threat warning for potential tsunamis across a slate of countries in and around the Caribbean Sea. The warnings did not reach the U.S. mainland, though advisories were issued for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, according to <a href="https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/cayman-islands-earthquake/1743000" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AccuWeather</a>.
No damage was reported from the earthquake, the epicenter of which was about 100 miles southwest of George Town, according to <a href="https://www.foxweather.com/extreme-weather/major-earthquake-shakes-caribbean-islands-watching-tsunami-potential" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fox Weather</a>. Light shaking may have been felt in areas across the region, however. Authorities warned that waves generated by the quake may pose a threat to boats and beachgoers.
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Pool water sloshing around on Grand Cayman Island during the 7.6 earthquake earlier. Video via Myrtle Beach resident Scott Thompson. <a href="https://t.co/LcaPfIy5gs">pic.twitter.com/LcaPfIy5gs</a>
&mdash; Ed Piotrowski (@EdPiotrowski) <a href="https://twitter.com/EdPiotrowski/status/1888410553812427176?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 9, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
While earthquakes are common, tsunamis from earthquakes are rare in the Caribbean, with only ten having been recorded in the region during the past five centuries, according to the <a href="https://uwiseismic.com/tsunamis/caribbean-tsunamis/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of the West Indies</a>.
Earthquakes have caused at times severe damage, such as the 7.2 magnitude earthquake that rocked Haiti in 2021. In 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit Haiti and <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/01/1109632" target="_blank" rel="noopener">killed</a> an estimated 220,000 people.

Grand Cayman

7.6 Magnitude Earthquake Rocks Caribbean, Tsunami Warnings Issued

Haiti

Puerto Rico

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/taylor-swift">Taylor Swift</a> fans attending her concerts in Edinburgh, Scotland, for her massively popular Eras Tour danced so hard that they registered as seismic activity during each of her three shows.
The British Geological Survey (BGS) confirmed that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/earthquake">earthquake</a> readings could be detected up to 6 km (around 4 miles) away from Swift&#8217;s concerts last weekend at Murrayfield Stadium, per <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/taylor-swift-concerts-earthquake-edinburgh-scotland-seismic-activity-eras-tour-fans-dancing/">CBS News</a>. 
The outlet noted that BGS said the most seismic activity occurred during Swift&#8217;s performance of three songs:  &#8220;…Ready For It?&#8221; &#8220;Cruel Summer&#8221; and &#8220;champagne problems.&#8221; 
“Dancing in time to the music and reached its peak at 160 beats per minute (bpm) during ‘…Ready For It?’, where the crowd was transmitting approximately 80 kW of power (equivalent to around 10 to16 car batteries),” the BGS noted. The loud bass in that song and the dancing generated the activity.
Scientists referred to the event as “ground shaking,” noting that Swift’s Friday night show caused the most seismic activity, delivering 23.4 nanometres (nm) of movement. The crowd and music on Saturday generated 22.8 nm, while it was 23.3 nm on Sunday.
The report noted that the fans attending the shows were likely the only ones to notice the shaking. 
This is not the first time seismic activity has been detected from a crowd. CBS noted that the same phenomenon happened at Swift’s stop in Seattle last summer. At the time, it was dubbed a “Swift Quake.”
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Seismologist Jackie Caplan-Auerbach told <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2023/07/27/entertainment/taylor-swift-seismic-activity/index.html">CNN</a> at the time that the seismic activity was &#8220;equivalent [to] a 2.3 magnitude earthquake.”
&#8220;I grabbed the data from both nights of the concert and quickly noticed they were clearly the same pattern of signals,&#8221; Caplan-Auerback told the outlet. &#8220;If I overlay them on top of each other, they&#8217;re nearly identical.&#8221;
Ground shaking from large crowds of fans expressing enthusiasm is not limited to concerts. According to CBS, seismic activity occurred during a 2011 NFL playoff game at Qwest Field when the Seattle Seahawks hosted the New Orleans Saints. This was spurred by a huge fan reaction to a play made by Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch. 
The resulting shaking earned Lynch the nickname “Beast Quake.”

Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift Fans Created Seismic Activity In Scotland With Their Dancing

Entertainment

Music

Scotland

A new <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adl3198">study</a> of the Cascadia Subduction Zone — a fault line that runs from southern Canada to northern California — suggests that the zone could trigger a horrific earthquake more severe than previously imagined.
The study released on Friday examined the 600-mile fault line in far more precise detail than had been done before, showing the fault, instead of being one continuous strip, actually separated into four distinct segments, thus permitting the tectonic plates to slide under each other potentially resulting in more devastating earthquakes, even one as massive as a 9.0 or greater earthquake, which could trigger a 100-foot-tall tsunami. The techniques used to map the subduction zone involved sending sound to the ocean floor from a boat equipped with 1,200 hydrophones to record the echoes.
“The Cascadia subduction zone (CSZ) has hosted giant earthquakes of moment magnitude &gt;8.5 in the past and poses a major geohazard to populations of the Pacific Northwest,” the study notes.
“We have the potential for earthquakes and tsunamis as large as the biggest ones we’ve experienced on the planet,” Harold Tobin, a co-author of the paper, <a href="applewebdata://A74E8EDF-F8FF-4DA4-A59E-D80299356F73/v">stated</a>. “Cascadia seems capable of generating a magnitude 9 or a little smaller or a little bigger.”
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Research scientist Kelin Wang from the Geological Survey of Canada said his team is using data collected by the study, remarking, “The accuracy and this resolution is truly unprecedented. And it’s an amazing data set. It just allows us to do a better job to assess the risk and have information for the building codes and zoning.”
“If an earthquake of over 9 magnitude struck the West Coast US it could generate tsunamis reaching 100 feet high or more, kill more than 10,000 people and cause over $80 billion in damages in just Oregon and Washington alone,” The Daily Mail <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-13513943/underwater-fault-line-west-coast.html">reported, </a>adding that many long-term deaths could result from exposure to dead bodies and animals as well as contaminated water and Hazmat spills.

Seattle Skyline and Space Needle

Giant 9+ Earthquake Could Hit Pacific Northwest, New Study Claims

Pacific Northwest

Co-hosts on ABC News&#8217; &#8220;The View&#8221; were forced to correct leftist Sunny Hostin this week after she falsely claimed that climate change caused the solar eclipse on Monday and an earthquake on the East Coast last week.
Hostin made the remarks after co-host Alyssa Farrah Griffin claimed that the epicenter for the earthquake was Bedminster, New Jersey, where former President Donald Trump has a golf club.
&#8220;I know, right? I have to say, one of our wonderful makeup artists…when the earthquake was happening, she put her coat on and she was, like, Jesus is coming. I’m out. I’m leaving. We got a solar eclipse. We’ve got an earthquake. She ran down the hallway,&#8221; Hostin said in mocking Christians. &#8220;The Rapture is here.&#8221;
&#8220;Also, I learned that the cicadas are coming. For the first time in a hundred years,&#8221; she continued. &#8220;This is for the first time in many, many years.&#8221;
A few moments later, Hostin said: &#8220;All those things together, would maybe lead one to believe that either climate change exists, or something is really going on.&#8221;
It was at that point that leftist co-host Joy Behar interjected: &#8220;Earthquakes are not at the mercy of climate change. It’s underground.&#8221;
Co-host Whoopi Goldberg, who is also a leftist, added: &#8220;The eclipse, and they’ve known about the eclipse coming because eclipses happen and they actually can say when these things are going to happen.&#8221;
WATCH:
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&quot;That&#39;s not what I read.&quot; The View spreads end-of-the-world doomsday conspiracy theories about earthquakes, the solar eclipse, and the cicadas. Sunny Hostin suggests it&#39;s all due to &quot;climate change.&quot; This show is an ABC News product. <a href="https://t.co/OQan942v9M">pic.twitter.com/OQan942v9M</a>
&mdash; Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) <a href="https://twitter.com/NickFondacaro/status/1777354241595601396?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 8, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Hostin was widely mocked online for her remarks.
&#8220;Sunny Hostin is an incredibly stupid person,&#8221; said commentator Ian Miles Cheong.
Podcast host Tomi Lahren said, &#8220;Maybe the earth is signaling it’s time for Joe Biden to retire.&#8221;
&#8220;My rule never fails: The dumber a person is, the louder they scream about climate change,&#8221; said radio host Gerry Callahan.
&#8220;Sunny Hostin is legitimately insane,&#8221; added Red State writer Bonchie. &#8220;And she’s on national TV.&#8221;

2023 Tribeca Festival – “Common Ground”

‘Legitimately Insane’ Sunny Hostin Mocked For Suggesting Climate Change Behind Solar Eclipse, Earthquakes

Sunny Hostin

The View

A powerful earthquake hit off the coast of eastern Taiwan on Wednesday morning, leading officials to say at least <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/04/03/taiwan-japan-earthquake-tsunami-warning-74/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">at least nine</a> people were killed and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/03/world/asia/taiwan-earthquake.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hundreds</a> of others were injured due to the natural disaster.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) <a href="https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us7000m9g4/executive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">measured</a> the earthquake at 7.4 magnitude, while Taiwan&#8217;s monitoring agency pegged it at 7.2, which would make it the strongest tremor to rock the island in 25 years, according to the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/taiwan-earthquake-tsunami-f086aac0c3082036d1ca77c01828fb28" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Associated Press</a>.
News reports said buildings suffered damage, and dozens of people became stuck or lost in places such as <a href="https://apnews.com/article/taiwan-earthquake-tsunami-f086aac0c3082036d1ca77c01828fb28" target="_blank" rel="noopener">quarries</a> and national parks. Search-and-rescue teams have been deployed to reach people who are trapped or stranded.
Multiple aftershocks followed the original quake, which led to tsunami warnings in places such as Japan and the Philippines. As reported by <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/04/03/taiwan-japan-earthquake-tsunami-warning-74/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Washington Post</a>, Shanghai and China&#8217;s southeastern provinces even felt the earthquake.
&#8220;Disaster response is underway following this morning’s 7.2 earthquake and aftershocks,&#8221; Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen <a href="https://twitter.com/iingwen/status/1775424526404538734" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a post to X. &#8220;I’m deeply grateful for the messages of support we have received from around the world, and to our first responders for their life-saving work.&#8221;
Tsai added, &#8220;My heart is with everyone affected. Please keep in touch with loved ones, and stay safe.&#8221;
Images and videos posted to social media showed bridges shaking, debris falling, and even water from swimming pools raining down from towers.
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Taiwan was struck by its strongest earthquake in 25 years on Wednesday.
Scenes of water cascading down the side of buildings and debris falling onto the streets below were captured. ⁣ <a href="https://t.co/my5Rkn16uB">pic.twitter.com/my5Rkn16uB</a>
&mdash; AccuWeather (@accuweather) <a href="https://twitter.com/accuweather/status/1775517766373589447?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 3, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson released a <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/04/03/statement-from-national-security-council-spokesperson-adrienne-watson-on-the-earthquake-impacting-taiwan/">statement</a> that said officials at the White House are &#8220;monitoring reports of the earthquake impacting Taiwan and continue to monitor its potential impact on Japan.&#8221;
She went on, &#8220;The United States stands ready to provide any necessary assistance. All those affected are in our prayers.&#8221;
The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/03/world/asia/taiwan-earthquake.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted</a> Taiwan has been working to improve its early warning system and roll out new building codes to reinforce buildings over the years.
The island is regularly shaken by tremors given that it is situated in the <a href="https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/ring-fire/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pacific &#8220;Ring of Fire&#8221;</a> known for active volcanoes and frequent earthquakes.
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CNN <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/02/asia/taiwan-earthquake-tsunami-warning-intl-hnk/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> a 6.2 magnitude earthquake that hit in 2018 near the same area where the tremor happened on Wednesday, Hualien County, killing at least 17 people and injuring more than 300 others.
In September of 1999, a 7.7 magnitude earthquake hit Taiwan that killed more than 2,400 people, injured 100,000 more, and caused <a href="https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/earthquake-kills-thousands-in-taiwan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">billions of dollars</a> in damage.
USGS <a href="https://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/today/index.php?month=4&amp;day=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">says</a> one of the world&#8217;s deadliest earthquakes shook Taiwan in April of 1935, leading to 3,270 deaths, 12,000 injuries, and 39,000 rooms destroyed or severely damaged.

Taiwan’s largest earthquake in 25 years leaves 4 dead, hundreds injured

Strong Earthquake Hits Taiwan, Killing At Least 9 People

Taiwan

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/taylor-swift">Taylor Swift</a> fans got the ground to shake literally during one of the concerts in Los Angeles last year causing a small earthquake, seismologists have recently concluded.
A study conducted by UCLA and Caltech looked at the shaking of the ground caused by the jumping and dancing of the 34-year-old singer’s fans at SoFi Stadium in August and found that one night of “The Eras Tour” created a magnitude 2 earthquake on the Richter scale, <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2024/03/21/taylor-swift-fans-caused-earthquake-los-angeles-eras-tour/?adid=social-tmzlikeshop-ig">TMZ</a> reported.
The data showed that on August 5, Swift’s concert &#8211; with some 70,000 fans in attendance &#8211; made the needle move and showed notable seismic activity, Seismologist Gabrielle Tepp noted.
The group’s monitoring stations, which were within 5.6 miles of the stadium, watched to see how much the ground shook during each song played during the “Blank Space” hitmaker’s 3 ½ hour-long music set.
Tepp and her group found that the highest the needle moved was when Swift sang &#8220;Shake It Off,” which reached a peak magnitude of 0.851.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Quake it off! Taylor Swift fans caused an EARTHQUAKE by dancing so hard in Los Angeles during star&#8217;s Eras Tour <a href="https://t.co/wcafydyJq3">https://t.co/wcafydyJq3</a> <a href="https://t.co/r8AyeGx2Ng">pic.twitter.com/r8AyeGx2Ng</a>
— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) <a href="https://twitter.com/MailOnline/status/1770866055197474949?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 21, 2024</a></blockquote>
The next highest point the group noted happened when the music superstar sang “Love Story,” which they said made another notable movement on the meter.
It wasn’t the first time the “August” hitmaker and fans have caused the ground to shake. During Swift’s stop in Washington last year at “The Eras Tour” in Seattle, the fans moved the needle and caused seismic activity of a 2.3 magnitude earthquake, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/27/entertainment/taylor-swift-seismic-activity/index.html">CNN</a> noted.
“I grabbed the data from both nights of the concert and quickly noticed they were clearly the same pattern of signals,” Seismologist Jackie Caplan-Auerbach told the outlet. “If I overlay them on top of each other, they’re nearly identical.”
“For Taylor Swift, I collected about 10 hours of data where rhythm controlled the behavior,” she added. “The music, the speakers, the beat. All that energy can drive into the ground and shake it.”
“What I love is to be able to share that this is science,” she added. “It doesn’t have to happen in a lab with a white coat. Everyday observations and experiences are science.”
Swift herself called her tour nights in Seattle “genuinely one of my favorite weekends ever,” in an <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CvGRdQZumMJ/?img_index=1">Instagram</a> post later.
“Thank you for everything. All the cheering, screaming, jumping, dancing, singing at the top of your lungs,” she added.

Taylor Swift Fans Cause Earthquake During LA Concert, Seismologists Find

Celebrities

concert

Fans

Los Angeles

Dozens of people have been confirmed dead in Japan as rescuers continue to search for survivors after a 7.6 magnitude earthquake <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/japan-hit-by-7-6-magnitude-earthquake-sparking-tsunami-warnings" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rocked Japan</a> on New Year’s Day. 
Authorities in Japan’s Ishikawa Prefecture, the nearest region to the quake’s epicenter, confirmed that at least 48 people had died in the disaster, Tokyo-based news outlet NHK <a href="https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/backstories/2938/">reported</a>. Fire department officials in Wajima City said that at least 25 buildings had collapsed, and firefighters were attempting to rescue people still trapped inside 14 of the buildings. Additionally, officials believe around 200 buildings burned down on a popular tourist street in Wajima City after fires broke out as a result of the earthquake.  
Footage <a href="https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/backstories/2938/">captured</a> by a helicopter flying over the devastation showed numerous buildings leveled and some on fire. Many of the roads leading into the city were reportedly left impassable after the quake, making it difficult for officials and relief workers to get to the affected areas. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
NHK staff flew over central Wajima City in a helicopter at around 7 a.m. on Tuesday. Flames were coming out from several places. For more news from Japan visit our live page: <a href="https://t.co/gWrQ60IXoF">https://t.co/gWrQ60IXoF</a> <a href="https://t.co/DgzCH0YzMl">pic.twitter.com/DgzCH0YzMl</a>
&mdash; NHK WORLD News (@NHKWORLD_News) <a href="https://twitter.com/NHKWORLD_News/status/1742080643347914867?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 2, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
More than a dozen earthquakes were reported in the Sea of Japan late Monday night local time, the largest of which collapsed buildings and started a fire in Wajima, the city closest to the earthquake’s epicenter. Following the earthquakes, Japanese authorities issued a “major tsunami warning” — the highest-level warning before downgrading the alert to a “tsunami warning” and later a “tsunami advisory.” Japanese authorities have now lifted all tsunami advisories. 
Rescuers are now rushing to save any survivors as the Japan Meteorological Agency warned that more earthquakes — potentially reaching around magnitude 7 — could hit the Japanese coast in the coming days. 
Nearly 60,000 people have been evacuated from their homes, <a href="https://www.axios.com/2024/01/01/japan-earthquake-tsunami-warnings-updates">according</a> to Japanese government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi. Around 30,000 households lost power following the earthquake and 20,000 homes don’t have running water, Hayashi added, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/02/world/asia/japan-earthquake.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to The New York Times. 
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After the earthquakes, a fire reportedly broke out at a nuclear power plant in Ishikawa, but plant operators quickly extinguished it and said there was no impact on the plant, according to Hayashi. No nuclear facilities have reported any increases in radiation levels since the quake.

Japan Earthquake

Death Toll Rises After Japan Earthquake As Rescuers Rush To Find Survivors

Disasters

Residents of Japanese coastal areas were told to evacuate their homes Monday as the country braces for a tsunami after a 7.6 magnitude earthquake shook the country&#8217;s western coast. Authorities later downgraded the tsunami warnings to advisories while still urging residents to take caution.
More than a dozen earthquakes were reported in the Sea of Japan late Monday night local time, the largest of which <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/01/01/japan-earthquake-tsunami-warning/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">collapsed buildings</a> and started a fire in Wajima, the city closest to the earthquake’s epicenter, Japanese news outlet NHK reported. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/01/01/japan-earthquake-tsunami-warning/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">According</a> to The Washington Post, at least six people were &#8220;buried alive&#8221; under rubble when buildings collapsed, citing Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi. 
Immediately following the earthquakes, Japan issued a “major tsunami warning” — the highest-level warning. The Japan Meteorological Agency has now <a href="https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20240101_151/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">downgraded</a> that alert to a “tsunami warning” as people in the affected areas are still being told to evacuate and seek higher ground. The warning was then downgraded to a &#8220;tsunami advisory&#8221; for &#8220;all prefectures along the Sea of Japan,&#8221; NHK <a href="https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20240102_08/#:~:text=Japan's%20Meteorological%20Agency%20has%20downgraded,Ishikawa%20Prefecture%20on%20Monday%20afternoon" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. Residents in affected areas are still urged to evacuate &#8220;until all advisories are lifted.&#8221;
NHK warned that Japanese residents could see rising water levels of up to 16.5 feet, Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/world/japan-issues-tsunami-warnings-orders-evacuations-earthquakes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. The Japan Meteorological Agency also warned that more earthquakes — potentially reaching around magnitude 7 — could hit the Japanese coast in the coming days. 
<div id="attachment_674525" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-674525" class="size-medium wp-image-674525" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/01/Japan-Earthquake-300x266.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="266" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/01/Japan-Earthquake-300x266.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/01/Japan-Earthquake-649x576.jpg 649w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/01/Japan-Earthquake-768x682.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/01/Japan-Earthquake-1536x1364.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/01/Japan-Earthquake-2048x1818.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Photo by Muhammed Ali Yigit/Anadolu via Getty Images</div>
More than 30,000 households have lost power, and mobile phone communications are also down for many people, Hayashi said. The chief cabinet secretary stressed the urgency of Japanese residents in affected areas to get to higher ground. 
“Every minute counts. Please evacuate to a safe area immediately,” he said.
At least one person has been <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/japan/magnitude-74-earthquake-strikes-japan-tsunami-warning-issued-2024-01-01/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> dead from the earthquakes, and multiple others sustained injuries from objects falling on them. After the earthquakes, a fire reportedly broke out at a nuclear power plant in Ishikawa, but plant operators quickly extinguished it and said there was no impact on the plant, according to Hayashi. No nuclear facilities have reported any increases in radiation levels since the quake.
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The last major earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in 2011 killed around 20,000 people and resulted in a major nuclear disaster that caused explosions and released radioactive material.

JAPAN-QUAKE

Japan Hit By 7.6 Magnitude Earthquake, Sparking Tsunami Warnings

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