Recent Earthquake Teachable Moments

What Are Teachable Moments?

May 23, 2013 (17:19:04 UTC)

Quake Location

Magnitude 7.4 Tonga

A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck 255 km (158 miles) southwest of Tonga, according to the US Geological Survey, but there were no reports of damage. The earthquake hit at 5:19 am local time and was centered 282 km (175 miles) southwest of Tonga's capital Nuku'alofa at 171 km (106 miles) deep.

Teachable Moment Presentation

5 slide Powerpoint presentation (zipped ppt/animation 3.68 MB / pdf 662 kB)

Animations and Visualizations

Wave Propagation (mp4 1.36 MB / YouTube)

En Español

Presentación en Español (zipped ppt MB / pdf MB)

USGS Resources

Earthquake Information


May 14, 2013 (00:32:25 UTC)

Quake Location

Magnitude 6.8 Mariana Islands

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center says there is no threat of a destructive tsunami from a strong, deep earthquake, with a magnitude of 6.8, near the Mariana Islands.

Teachable Moment Presentation

6 slide Powerpoint presentation (zipped ppt 1.74 MB / pdf 1.49 MB)

En Español

Presentación en Español (zipped ppt 1.69 MB / pdf 1.44 MB)

USGS Resources

Earthquake Information


April 19, 2013 (03:05:53 UTC)

Quake Location

Magnitude 7.2 Kuril Islands

An earthquake has occurred in the Kuril Islands north of Japan and was felt 1490 km (925 miles) away in Tokyo, Japan. There have been no reports of damage or injuries. This earthquake was at a depth of 122 km (76 miles), too deep to displace the ocean floor and generate a tsunami.

Teachable Moment Presentation

11 slide Powerpoint presentation (zipped ppt 3.07 MB / pdf 1.24 MB)

En Español

Presentación en Español (zipped ppt 3.08 MB / pdf 1.25 MB)

USGS Resources

Earthquake Information


April 16, 2013 (10:44:20 UTC)

Quake Location

Magnitude 7.8 Iran

A powerful earthquake rocked Iran and Pakistan on Tuesday at 3:44 pm local time, collapsing buildings and killing at least 38 people. The magnitude 7.8 earthquake was centered about 50 miles east of the city of Khash, Iran, but shook tall buildings as far away as New Delhi, nearly 1,500 miles away.

Teachable Moment Presentation

updated 9 slide Powerpoint presentation (zipped ppt 3.00 MB / pdf 1.49 MB)

En Español

Presentación en Español (zipped ppt 2.95 MB / pdf 1.43 MB)

USGS Resources

Earthquake Information


April 6, 2013 (04:42:36 UTC)

Quake Location

Magnitude 7.0 Papua, Indonesia

A 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck eastern Indonesia's mountainous West Papua province on Saturday but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. The region is sparsely populated.

Teachable Moment Presentation

9 slide Powerpoint presentation (zipped ppt 2.63 MB / pdf 1.26 MB)

En Español

Presentación en Español (zipped ppt 2.64 MB / pdf 1.27 MB)

USGS Resources

Earthquake Information


February 15, 2013 (03:20:26 UTC)

Quake Location

Magnitude 0.0 Russia

A meteor entered the Earth’s atmosphere and blew apart over the city of Chelyabinsk, 1500 kilometers (930 miles) east of Moscow on Friday, February 15. The explosion caused a massive shock wave that damaged hundreds of buildings and injured more than 1,000 people in the Chelyabinsk region. There was no advance warning before the meteor appeared in the sky.

Teachable Moment Presentation

13 slide Powerpoint presentation (zipped ppt/animation 5.35 MB / pdf 3.37 MB)

En Español

Presentación en Español (zipped ppt 5.47 MB / pdf 3.21 MB)

Additional Resources

IRIS DMC Special Events Page

Animations and Visualizations

CTBTO:  How the International Monitoring System Works

CTBTO:  The seismic network and how it works

CTBTO:  The infrasound network and how it works


February 12, 2013 (02:57:51 UTC)

Quake Location

Magnitude 5.1 North Korea

At 02:57:51 UTC on February 12, 2013, monitoring stations of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) and many other stations around the world detected a shallow seismic event with explosion-like characteristics in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).

Teachable Moment Presentation

UPDATED 10 slide Powerpoint presentation (zipped ppt/animation 13.7 MB / pdf 688 kB)

En Español

Presentación en Español (zipped ppt13.7 MB / pdf 712 kB)

Additional Resources

IRIS DMC Special Events Page

Animations and Visualizations

CTBTO:  How the International Monitoring System Works

CTBTO:  The seismic network and how it works

CTBTO:  The infrasound network and how it works

CTBTO:  The hydroacoustic network and how it works

CTBTO:  The radionuclide network and how it works


February 6, 2013 (01:12:27 UTC)

Quake Location

Magnitude 8.0 Solomon Islands

A  8.0 magnitude earthquake struck offshore in the Solomon Islands.  The earthquake occurred at a depth of 28.7 km (17.8 miles) and a tsunami warning was issued for the region.

Teachable Moment Presentation

10 slide Powerpoint presentation (zipped ppt/animation 11.7 MB / pdf 1.32 MB)

NEW 8 slide Powerpoint update (zipped ppt 2.87 MB / pdf 1.76 MB)

En Español

Presentación en Español (zipped ppt/animación 11.7 MB / pdf 1.28 MB)

NEW Información actualizada en Español (zipped ppt 2.87 MB / pdf 1.77 MB)

Animations and Visualizations

USArray Ground Motion Visualization (mpeg-4 9.23 MB  / More Info)

USGS Resources

Earthquake Information


January 5, 2013 (08:58:19 UTC)

Quake Location

Magnitude 7.5 Southeastern Alaska

A major 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck at approximately midnight local time off the west coast of southeastern Alaska.  There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.  This earthquake occurred as a result of shallow strike-slip faulting on or near the plate boundary between the Pacific and North America plates.

Teachable Moment Presentation

10 slide Powerpoint presentation (zipped ppt/animation 8.93 MB / pdf 1.83 MB)

En Español

Presentación en Español (zipped ppt 8.93 MB / pdf 1.78 MB)

Animations and Visualizations

USArray Ground Motion Visualization (mpeg-4 6.73 MB / More Info)

USGS Resources

Earthquake Information


December 10, 2012 (16:53:09 UTC)

Quake Location

Magnitude 7.1 Banda Sea

A 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck offshore Tuesday morning (1:53 am local time) with the epicenter 236 km (147 miles) northwest of the city of Saumlaki. The earthquake was reported at a depth of 159.3 km (99 miles).

Teachable Moment Presentation

6 slide Powerpoint presentation (zipped ppt 1.6 MB / pdf 901 kB)

En Español

Presentación en Español (zipped ppt 1.6 MB / pdf 920 kB)

USGS Resources

Earthquake Information
 


View All Recent Earthquake Teachable Moments