Results tagged “earthquake”

Yesterday, a 8.3 magnitude earthquake occurred in the South Pacific, triggering a tsunami; the death toll for Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga is now at 111. President Barack Obama declared a "major disaster" for America Samoa and ordered aid to be sent to the area, while the Australian government pledged aid to Samoa. Samoa's prime minister said in spite of the toll, "Had it happened in darkness, there could have been more disaster in terms of the number of those who died or are missing."

After an earthquake in central Italy has left over 200 dead, injured hundreds, and made thousands homeless, New York's Italian-American community is mobilizing to lend a hand. Queens College's Maria Fosco told NY1, "The towns there are very old towns, medieval towns. These are old Roman cities, they're not equipped to handle earthquakes," which is why Italian-American Museum president Dr. Joseph Scelsa said, "They will be devastated. The housing will not hold up. We know that people will be homeless as they were in 1980. I worked on the relief fund with Mario Cuomo at the time when he was lieutenant governor. We sent aid over to Italy and we know we're going to have to do that again." (NY1 has details on donations to the IAM.) According to the American Red Cross, it is "ready to provide further assistance if requested. The Italian Red Cross has not yet asked for international assistance."

Around 1:42 a.m., a 2.3 magnitude earthquake occurred just outside Dover, NJ. This is the third earthquake since February 2 in Morris County—on February 2, there was a 3.0 outside of Morristown and this past Saturday there was a 2.4 near Montville. According to the Star-Ledger, this morning "was felt mostly by people in Denville and Randolph." No injuries or damage were reported either. Here are more details about the quake from the U.S. Geological Survey.

At 5:22 p.m. yesterday afternoon, a 2.4 magnitude earthquake slightly shook a few towns in Morris County. Montville Township emergency management coordinator Rudy Appelmann told the Star-Ledger, "It was kind of a rolling rumble, like a long, extended thunder. Basically a lot of things shook, and a lot of phones rang." More calls were from residents who thought there was an explosion. Twelve days ago, there was a 3.0 magnitude earthquake in Morristown, NJ. More details about yesterday's earthquake at the U.S. Geological Survey.

Last night, at 10.34 p.m., a 3.0 magnitude earthquake was felt a few miles from Morristown, NJ. The Star-Ledger reports, "It sounded like an explosion, houses shook and dogs started barking." Other residents said it felt like a "bomb" and one man told WCBS 2, "I was upstairs on my computer, and all of a sudden I hear a boom, boom, boom, then a bang, bang, bang. My monitor almost fell off of my computer desk. So I immediately went downstairs to check on my grandma and ask her if she was alright or if she fell." A US Geological Survey geophysicist explained, "This is what's considered a micro-size quake. However, it is widely felt in this area. But usually a quake of this size is not going to be very damaging." The last recorded earthquake in NJ was a 2.1 last summer while the largest since 1974 was a 4.0 in 1985.

A new study from Columbia University's Earth Institute says there is a "substantially greater" risk for an earthquake in the NYC area than previously thought. Per LiveScience, "A pattern of subtle but active faults is known to exist in the region, and now new faults have been found. The scientists say that among other things, the Indian Point nuclear power plants, 24 miles north of the city, sit astride the previously unidentified intersection of two active seismic zones. ."

At 11:42 a.m. PST, a "moderate" earthquake, measuring 5.4, struck Southern California in the Chino Hills area. Chino Hills is 29 miles southeast of downtown LA. There have been a number of aftershocks, and so far, some damage to homes near the epicenter, but no immediate damage within LA. The NYC Office of Emergency Management says earthquakes are "uncommon in NYC, [but] tremors occasionally occur." Here's a list of the biggest earthquakes in the NYC area--the most recent were 2.6 magnitude tremors felt on the UWS of Manhattan and in Queens.

Some cute news: A panda who survived the May earthquake in Sichuan has now given birth to twins. Panda Guo Guo was relocated from the Wolong panda research center to another nearby city and was the first panda to give birth this year. While staffers could weigh the elder of the twins (6 ounces), the other was left unweighed because Guo Guo was cuddling it--aww!

With the death toll over 13,000 and still tens of thousands missing or buried under debris, plus aftershocks near the epicenter today, the 7.9 magnitude earthquake that devastated the Sichuan province of China has prompted New York City's Chinese community to react. Many groups have received donations and City Councilman John Liu said:

"As always in the past, anytime there has been a tragedy of this kind of proportion anywhere in the world, New Yorkers have always stepped up to the plate. And they've already flooded my offices with offers of help and assistance. We truly thank all of New York and all of America for their offers of assistance."

At 125 years old, it's time for the Brooklyn Bridge to undergo a little fix-up work. The Dept. of Transportation is about to begin a multi-year series of projects to shore up Roebling's bridge structurally, as well as give it a cosmetic touch-up. Popular Mechanics recently named the Brooklyn Bridge one of the top ten pieces of national infrastructure most in need of repair, although those concerns were primarily directed at the on- and off-ramps to the span.

A look at some of this week's noteworthy television:

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a person under a train at Prospect Park and Windsor Pl. in Brooklyn, an attempted bank robbery on Jerome Ave. in the Bronx, and a successful bank robbery on East 23rd St. in Manhattan.
• The Fire Dept. is responding to a scaffolding fire that broke out at the Deutsche Bank building, which is being deconstructed on Liberty St. downtown. One firefighter has already been evacuated from the building and being given CPR.
• Nicole Richie and Joel Madden of the band Good Charlotte were spotted at Penn Station yesterday, hopping a train bound for Washington, DC's Union Station.
• New York's Peruvian community is worrying and organizing in the wake of a massive earthquake that killed hundreds of people in Peru. NY1 has contact information on how to donate to an earthquake relief fund established to aid survivors.
• A group of Brooklyn parrots have reportedly migrated (probably from Green-Wood Cemetary) to Park Slope's 8th Ave. and 14th St.
• Police arrested 24-year-old Rodolfo Godinez and a teenage companion in suburban Maryland today in connection to the execution-style killings of three young people in Newark, NJ.
• Dept. of Health inspectors are patrolling the Red Hook ballfields this weekend, making sure that food vendors possess the proper permits and checking food preparation methods.
• Today is the 50th anniversary of the death of Joe Gould, who died in a Long Island psychiatric facility. The NY Times' remembrance of the man includes a literary spoiler, so we recommend just picking up a copy of Joseph Mitchell's twin anthology of "Professor Sea Gull" and "Joe Gould's Secret" to read the story of two true New Yorkers.

Londonist are starting to think their city is getting just a little bit too expensive, when even Christian Slater can't afford to go out there. And there's no escaping, as local singer Lily Allen discovered when she was barred entry to the US. The British mapping agency caused further bad karma, by blocking a 3-D representation of London in Google Earth. But the smiles returned to Londonist's faces as they interviewed Baroness von Reichardt, who has completely covered her house in mosaic tiles.

This week ended with the launch of the seventh and final Harry Potter installation. But while the world was consumed with Pottermania, it's important to remember that there were more serious things going on in the world, too - two of them in -Ist cities.

WABC’s Bill Evans is the latest local news talent to author a disaster novel about the city with his book “Category 7”, which he co-authored with Marianna Jameson. The book is the story about a man made hurricane heading towards New York. The book shouldn’t be confused with the 2005 made for TV movie Category 7: The End of the World, which was also about a deadly storm. Evans will be doing a book signing Tuesday at 1 p.m. at the Lincoln Center Barnes and Noble, just a couple blocks away from WABC.

- Penelope Cruz - Cellar Can Blau - Sexy, Spanish with lots of shiny diamonds on the dress. Soft, velvety and beautiful underneath.3 - 6 p.m.; free tastings. 5 West 19th Street; 212-929-2323.

Even though it came out in 1984, Ghostbusters remains one of those movies that people revisit again and again, especially New Yorkers. From The NY Times: