The Caribbean Could be in Trouble- 5.1 just hit, Among Expanding, Vast Swarm of Quakes

A 5.1 quake just hit north of the DR, in what seems to be an expanding swarm of quakes north of Puerto Rico.

earthquake.usgs.gov...

It has been expanding west, towards the Dominican Republic. Last thirty days of activity:



Note it takes a bit before quakes are passed over to the 30 day list, so the 5.0 is not visible on that map yet.
EDIT: It just showed up on the 30-day list, so I replaced the pic so you can see.

ALSO- that depth profile does not fit the typical depth profile for the area, as historic seismicity shows typical depths of 70 km+ for that spot where this 5.0 occurred. This quake was only at 5 km depth!

Historical

But the Puerto Rico trench, where this swarm is occurring, has the potential to produce very large quakes, 8.0+.

After Japan, I don't trust the words of just about any geologist who says otherwise. And same goes for Central America. Very bad things could happen there too. But right now, with that quake, we'd better keep an eye out on the Caribbean.

Advisory for the northeastern part of the DR, for sure- that seems at risk to me at the moment.

Im sorry, but this is ridiculous. Earthquakes are natural!!! This swarm is natural. This was a 5.0, very natural. To say that the Caribbean could "be in trouble", is WAY too dramatic of a thread title. No disrespect, but this is something you would expect out of a noob Must be a SLOWWWWW news day to make a thread about this non-story.

A non story to YOU, perhaps, cause maybe you haven't been paying attention to this never-ending swarm there, and watching it expand like I have. I have another thread about this floating around somewhere. Star to the first person to dig it up.

And yup I'm a noob:
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Nice catch, TA. I have followed your threads a while, and I know you know what you are talking about.

Thanks for the heads up, I will keep an eye on the thread to see what happens. When you get swarms like that, you have proven it is usually a foreteller.

Originally posted by TrueAmerican
A non story to YOU, perhaps, cause maybe you haven't been paying attention to this never-ending swarm there, and watching it expand like I have. I have another thread about this floating around somewhere. Star to the first person to dig it up.

And yup I'm a noob:
www.abovetopsecret.com...

I did not say you WERE a noob. I said I would expect a sensationalistic title out of a noob. I have kept an eye on the earth seismic activity for years, so I do know better that this is NOT a big event, not the 5.0, nor the quake swarm. My point was more to the fact that you state the Caribbean could be in trouble. That is like saying the earth could be in trouble because there are earthquakes around the world every day.

reply to post by Libertygal


Thanks. Well not always a foreteller, but I don't like the way this is going, for sure. What was a relatively contained area of quakes has been expanding in the last weeks, no doubt. And that means that stress redistributions have the potential to trigger new quakes. As we see here with this 5.0. Problem is, we don't know what other other locked stress points may be triggered, from that very quake. Entering new territory, is the point.

EDIT: ALSO- that depth profile does not fit the typical depth profile for the area, as historic seismicity show typical depths of 70 km+. This quake was only at 5 km depth!

Historical

I think most of us here will go with TA on this, given his track record. There are a few people who post on this site, like TA, PM and Muzzy and when they say something is up, something is very likely up.

Click here for more information.

But for all the ground movement, experts said there is no evidence the earthquake swarms were a precursor to much larger quakes on longer, more dangerous faults. And scientists don't see any immediate signs of added pressure to the San Andreas fault, which is not far from the location of the earthquake swarm.

This points out that swarms are NOT a precursor to a bigger quake.
articles.latimes.com...

Originally posted by DAVID64
He's is not trying to predict quakes, he's trying to bring attention to potential trouble spots. Instead of ridicule, why not try to contribute.

Exactly correct. And because of that quake, and its shallow depth, where it should have been MUCH deeper, yeah, it is a potential trouble spot. It appears to have occurred directly on a transform fault.

Don't worry about the detractors. I have every right to bring up something and start a thread if I feel it is warranted. He was probably one of those people that said a 9+ could never happen where it DID in Japan.

Yawn.


And furthermore, where are the mods. We're supposed to be talking about the subject matter, not about each other.

Originally posted by TrueAmerican
A non story to YOU, perhaps, cause maybe you haven't been paying attention to this never-ending swarm there, and watching it expand like I have. I have another thread about this floating around somewhere. Star to the first person to dig it up.

And yup I'm a noob:
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Don't let the trolls dissuade you. A large number of us here, I feel safe in saying, have come to enjoy and learn from your well written and researched posts about natural events.

Sure... THIS quake may be little, if taken in isolation and by itself (Although the Dominican Republic may disagree a bit) but as you note, this isn't in isolation and the globe has been a bit busy in starting out the New Year. At the rate this has been going, we'll have our averages for a normal YEAR of quakes inside the first 6 months. Odd times.

reply to post by TrueAmerican


Hey, TA what do you think about suspicious observer (3 min news), and his track record on major quakes? Just curious, he has called another major quake watch until March 3rd.

Victor Huerfano, director of the Puerto Rico Seismic Network, confirmed that the increase in earthquake activity is a swarm of tremors, a phenomenon that occurs four or five times a year in different parts of the Caribbean region, according to VITEMA. A swarm is defined as three or more earthquakes occurring within an hour, and the Puerto Rico Seismic Network has been recording these instances since Saturday. "It is normal but we cannot say what it means," Huerfano said. "It is more important that we make sure we are calm and prepared, and that emergency systems are in place in case a major earthquake hap

Here you go. this article was from last August, 2012. It is very normal, at least three to five times per year.

virginislandsdailynews.com...

Alright. Enough of the personal jabs. If it isn't clear now I'll spell it out. Any further attacks will be met with posting bans.