May 23, 2013 (17:19:04 UTC)
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
May 14, 2013 (00:32:25 UTC)
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
April 19, 2013 (03:05:53 UTC)
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
April 16, 2013 (10:44:20 UTC)
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
April 6, 2013 (04:42:36 UTC)
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
February 15, 2013 (03:20:26 UTC)
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
Animations and Visualizations
CTBTO: How the International Monitoring System Works
February 12, 2013 (02:57:51 UTC)
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
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 6, 2013 (01:12:27 UTC)
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
January 5, 2013 (08:58:19 UTC)
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
December 10, 2012 (16:53:09 UTC)
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)
