Tag: earthquake news

Magnitude 7.6 Earthquake in Philippines; Triggers Tsunami Warnings

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Earthquake in Philippines

BOSTON, Aug. 31, 2012 – According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide, a major earthquake struck off the town of Guiuan (population 44,000) in Samar province at 12:47 UTC today. The USGS had initially issued a magnitude of 7.9 for the event but later downgraded the estimate to 7.6. Depth is issued at 34.9 kilometers. Because today’s event occurred off the coast of Philippines and take-up rates in the affected region are low, insured losses resulting from this event are expected to be minimal. According to AIR, Immediately after the…

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Magnitude 6.0 Earthquake Strikes Italy’s Emilia Romagna Region: AIR

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Italy Earthquake

According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide, in the early morning hours (2:03 UTC) of Sunday, May 20, an earthquake struck the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. The US Geological Survey issued a moment magnitude estimate of 6.0 for the event. Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) reported a local magnitude of 5.9. Focal depth is estimated at between 6.3 km (by INGV) and 10 km (USGS), making this a shallow event. Indeed, the shallowness of today’s earthquake will likely exacerbate the damage. The largest aftershock reported so…

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Insurance woes spark fires in New Zealand

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Christchurch New Zealand Insurance earthquake court

Christchurch the home of rising insurance fraud New Zealand’s Christchurch continues to wrangle with ongoing insurance troubles amidst persistent aftershocks stemming from a major earthquake disaster in late 2010. The quake caused extensive damage throughout the Christchurch region and caused a large exodus of many of the country’s insurance providers. This flight of insurers left much of the region without insurance, which led to various government initiatives aimed at providing some amount of stability to those that still lived in the area. Now, however, a new trend has emerged within…

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Magnitude 8.6 Earthquake Off Sumatra Triggers Tsunami Warning But Causes Little Damage

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BOSTON, April 11, 2012 – According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide, this morning, a M8.6 earthquake struck off the west coast of Northern Sumatra, approximately 434 km southwest of Banda Aceh, the closest population center. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the earthquake occurred at 2:38 PM local time (8:38:37 UTC) and struck at a depth of 22.9 kilometers. The main shock was followed by a series of moderate aftershocks until a little more than two hours later, when a M8.2 aftershock struck 618 km south-southwest of…

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Strong Earthquake Strikes Central Chile; No Tsunami or Significant Damage Reported

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According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide, yesterday evening, a M7.1 earthquake struck central Chile approximately 27 kilometers north-northwest of the city of Talca (approximate population of 200,000). According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the earthquake occurred at 7:37 PM local time (22:37:06 UTC) and struck at a depth of 34.8 kilometers. “The earthquake occurred on the subduction zone that was partially ruptured by the 2010 earthquake; it can therefore be considered another aftershock of the 2010 earthquake,” said Dr. Tao Lai, principal engineer at AIR Worldwide. “It…

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