Aftershock interrupts Haiti earthquake rescues

[Call Me Wesley]

Source: Associated Press

1 hr 1 min ago

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – A strongly felt aftershock has shaken Haiti's capital, briefly interrupting efforts to rescue victims of Tuesday's big quake.

Searchers trying to free survivors believed trapped under the Montana hotel withdrew from the mountain of rubble when the tremor hit Saturday morning. But they were back at it five minutes later, trying to reach voices they believe they have heard beneath the rubble.

The U.S. Geological Survey says the aftershock was measured at magnitude-4.5.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100116/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/cb_haiti_earthquake_aftershock

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. Those will continue for a while...

Still, it must be very scary for all concerned. Yikes. Heartbreaking all around...

:hi: CMW!

[Call Me Wesley]

3. My German sources said that

people were panicking again, so that rescue efforts came shortly to a halt.

[msongs]

2. had a 4.3 last night 20 miles from here in so cal...slept right thru it tho nt

[Call Me Wesley]

4. I know, it doesn't sound as much,

but after the 7.0 initial damage overall, even a 4.5 may collapse unstable buildings in Port-au-Prince.

[Heidi]

5. EDITED: Lucky you aren't t living with the impact of a 7.0 in parallel with a 4.3 aftershock, huh?

Glad you slept soundly. Easy enough, I guess, though, since assistance is so easily accessible to you and all.

Edited: 7.3 to 7.0 (which doesn't matter too much when assistance is near.)

[itsrobert]

6. 7.3 now?

I thought it was a 7.0?

[Heidi]

7. We've seen various reports in the international media. I tend to think 7.0 might be closer to true,

but I'm no scientist.

[Call Me Wesley]

8. German source said 7.3,

but most say 7.0, so I edited.

[Karenina]

13. In the aftermath of '94 in L.A. (6.8)*

it was the aftershocks that made me nuts. So much so, that the rumble of the baggage conveyor at the airport in Seattle caused me a mini-freak as I crossed a causeway. My heart goes out to the people of Haiti and the Diaspora.

*The Richter Scale is EXPONENTIAL. That word and the concepts it embodies are crucial to comprehend in light of the challenges that face us...

[Jamastiene]

17. How deep was it?

That makes a difference.

[TeeYiYi]

9. Best active earthquake resource...

http://www.iris.edu/seismon/

TYY

[Call Me Wesley]

11. Thanks for the info. (nt)

[TeeYiYi]

12. YW... It's interesting to see the...

... number of earthquakes happening in that region in the past week. Central America around Nicaragua and South America along the Northern tip, including Venezuela and Columbia.

I know there are other earthquake websites out there, but this one is my favorite because it is so visual.

Everything in red is from TODAY. Orange is from yesterday and yellow means within the past 2 weeks.

Repeat of the link: http://www.iris.edu/seismon/

TYY

[GliderGuider]

10. There have been 47 aftershocks since the main quake - most in the range of 4.5 to 5.0

All at about the same location in the crust.
From http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Maps/region/N_America_eqs.php:

MAG  	    DATE-TIME     LAT   LONG   DEPTH
4.5	1/16/2010 15:59	18.455	-72.539	10
4.7	1/15/2010 21:04	18.012	-72.333	10
4.6	1/15/2010 20:04	18.439	-72.856	10
4.6	1/15/2010 13:41	18.401	-72.816	10
4.7	1/15/2010 8:56	18.47	-73.02	10
4.8	1/14/2010 12:39	18.418	-72.782	10
4.5	1/14/2010 10:32	18.48	-72.611	10`
4.7	1/14/2010 8:15	18.33	-72.765	10
4.4	1/14/2010 5:03	18.476	-72.873	10
4.9	1/13/2010 22:21	18.359	-72.51	10
4.8	1/13/2010 21:26	18.519	-72.457	10
4.6	1/13/2010 18:54	18.447	-72.607	10
5.3	1/13/2010 14:43	18.453	-72.922	10
4.7	1/13/2010 12:41	18.411	-72.814	10
4.5	1/13/2010 12:28	18.409	-72.728	10
5	1/13/2010 7:23	18.355	-72.884	10
4.5	1/13/2010 6:58	18.346	-73.062	10
4.5	1/13/2010 6:48	18.379	-72.876	10
4.6	1/13/2010 6:24	18.339	-73.059	10
4.7	1/13/2010 5:49	18.431	-73.019	10
4.9	1/13/2010 5:24	18.438	-72.837	10
5.2	1/13/2010 5:18	18.386	-72.905	10
5.8	1/13/2010 5:02	18.375	-72.96	10
4.7	1/13/2010 3:31	18.254	-72.922	10
4.6	1/13/2010 3:17	18.398	-72.997	10
4.6	1/13/2010 2:54	18.393	-72.974	10
4.7	1/13/2010 2:43	18.484	-72.984	10
4.8	1/13/2010 2:26	18.47	-72.836	10
4.7	1/13/2010 2:17	18.451	-72.956	10
4.9	1/13/2010 2:11	18.445	-73.026	10
5.4	1/13/2010 1:57	18.459	-72.924	10
5	1/13/2010 1:55	18.397	-72.824	10
5.5	1/13/2010 1:36	18.363	-72.832	10
5.3	1/13/2010 1:32	18.384	-72.95	10
4.7	1/13/2010 1:24	18.494	-72.811	10
5.1	1/13/2010 1:16	18.431	-72.856	10
4.6	1/13/2010 1:05	18.537	-72.666	10
5.2	1/13/2010 0:59	18.257	-72.914	10
5	1/13/2010 0:43	18.541	-72.486	10
4.8	1/13/2010 0:23	18.41	-72.716	10
4.5	1/12/2010 23:47	18.471	-72.851	10
4.5	1/12/2010 23:35	18.437	-72.811	10
4.8	1/12/2010 23:27	18.454	-72.808	10
5.1	1/12/2010 23:12	18.386	-72.555	10
4.6	1/12/2010 23:07	18.496	-72.629	10
5.5	1/12/2010 22:12	18.485	-72.556	10
5.9	1/12/2010 22:00	18.369	-72.823	10
7	1/12/2010 21:53	18.457	-72.533	13

[Call Me Wesley]

14. Very interesting!

Which I mean regarding the media. Haven't seen stories of all the ones before; which leads me to believe that it's only news (after four days,) if the rescue officials notice it.

[Warpy]

15. Aftershocks happen frequently and for a long time after a big quake

and have been ongoing in this one. I think the strongest one was 5.9, a quake that would have been newsworthy had the big one not just occurred.

That's part of what makes rescue such a ticklish operation. Not only do they have to be careful not to collapse the rest of the building onto a person in a small space, they have to be able to run at a second's notice every time there's an aftershock. A dead rescuer is no good to anyone.

[Call Me Wesley]

16. I agree about the difficulty of any rescue operation,

and these aftershocks sure aren't helpful.

[mnhtnbb]

18. A friend of mine has lost a colleague who was in the Hotel Montana when

the quake struck. The colleague has been confirmed dead.