Zoo mystery: How did apes and birds know quake was coming?

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By Joel Achenbach, washingtonpost.com / Thursday, August 25, 6:45 AM.

Her name is Iris, and with her straight, elegant, red-orange hair she is beyond dispute the prettiest orangutan at the National Zoo. She’s calm, quiet, unflappable. “Iris lives the life of a queen,” says great-ape keeper Amanda Bania.

On Tuesday afternoon, the queen lost her cool.

It happened a little before 2 p.m. Primate keeper K.C. Braesch was standing just a few feet away when Iris emitted a loud, guttural cry, known to scientists as belch-vocalizing. Iris then scrambled to the top of her enclosure.

Braesch stepped back and scanned the enclosure to see what might have agitated the ape. Was it Kiko, the male? Although generally a lump, Kiko can turn into a hothead and throw things. But no, Kiko was lounging.

Then — all this had happened within about five seconds — Braesch felt the earthquake.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/zoo-mystery-how-did-apes-and-birds-know-quake-was-coming/2011/08/24/gIQAZrXQcJ_story.html?hpid=z2

     

U.S. EARTH QUAKE: 4-Inch Crack Found in Washington Monument!

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nbcwashington.com / Wednesday, Aug 24, 2011 / Updated 12:48 PM EDT.

Cracking was found in the stones at the top of the Washington Monument Tuesday evening, the National Park Service reported.

The crack was located in one of the triangular faces at the top of the monument.  It runs at an angle, and measures approximately 4 inches.

The cracking in the Monument was discovered during a secondary inspection, conducted by a helicopter crew on Tuesday. Engineers on Wednesday morning were working to determine the severity of the damage.

""An outside engineering team will take whatever amount of time they need," NPS spokesperson Bill Line said, "they are going to do a structural analysis of the crack."

Although the grounds near the Monument reopened on Tuesday, the interior is closed to visitor until further notice.  Authorities put up a fence creating a 150-foot perimeter at the Monument's base.

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http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Major-Monuments-Closed-in-DC-for-Quake-128275528.html?four

           

U.S. NATURAL CALAMITY: Washington’s Earthquake Farce!

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Howard Kurtz, thedailybeast.com / Aug 23, 2011 11:50 PM EDT.

The earth shook briefly. Some buildings swayed. People were puzzled. And the TV crews pounced. Howard Kurtz on why an earthquake blip in the Washington area got the crisis treatment.

It was a dramatic day on the world stage.

A ragtag group of Libyan rebels had fought their way to the center of Tripoli and were on the verge of breaking a brutal dictator’s four-decade rule. They had broken through Muammar Gaddafi’s heavily fortified compound; nobody knew whether he was inside. As in Tunisia, as in Egypt, what had long seemed impossible was on the verge of becoming reality.

And then: the ground shook in the Washington area for about 15 seconds.

Goodbye, rebels. Hello, pandemonium.

And thereby hangs a tale of media behavior and public attention spans that may carry a lesson beyond the oddity of an East Coast tremor.

At the beginning of August, the country’s attention was riveted by a man-made Washington disaster that brought the government to the brink of default for no reason other than endless political squabbling.

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http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/08/23/earthquake-farce-in-washington-as-media-overhypes-minor-tremor.html

         

Quake rattles Washington, felt in New York!

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The Associated Press / NDTV / Updated: August 24, 2011 00:19 IST.

Washington:  A 5.9 magnitude earthquake centered northwest of Richmond, Va., shook much of Washington, D.C., and was felt as far north as Rhode Island, New York City and Martha's Vineyard, Mass., where President Barack Obama is vacationing.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake was half a mile deep. Shaking was felt at the White House and all over the East Coast, as far south as Chapel Hill, N.C. Parts of the Pentagon, White House and Capitol were evacuated. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

It was centered near Louisa, Va., which is northwest of Richmond and south of Washington. Obama and many of the nation's leaders were out of town on August vacation when the quake struck at 1:51 p.m. EDT. The shaking was felt on the Martha's Vineyard golf course as Obama was just starting a round.

The East Coast gets earthquakes, but usually smaller ones and is less prepared than California or Alaska for shaking.

At Reagan National Airport outside Washington, ceiling tiles fell during a few seconds of shaking. Authorities announced it was an earthquake and all flights were put on hold.

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http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/quake-rattles-washington-felt-in-new-york-128511

                          

CBS NEWS VIDEO: Colorado jolted by magnitude 5.3 earthquake!

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cbsnews.com / August 23, 2011 7:37 AM.

(AP)  TRINIDAD, Colo. - The largest earthquake to strike Colorado in almost 40 years has shaken hundreds of people near the New Mexico border.

The magnitude 5.3 earthquake was recorded at about 11:46 p.m. MDT Monday about nine miles southwest of Trinidad, Colo., and about 180 miles south of Denver, according to the National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colo. The quake followed two smaller ones that hit the area earlier in the day.

The quake is the largest in Colorado since a magnitude 5.7 was recorded in 1973, U.S. Geological Service geophysicist Amy Vaughn said. That one was centered in the northwestern part of the state — about 50 miles north of Grand Junction, she said.

A few homes have been damaged and deputies were investigating reports of rockslides along a highway, a Las Animas County Sheriff's Office dispatcher said.

"I thought maybe a car had hit my house," 70-year-old Trinidad resident Nadine Baca said. "Then I called to my son and he said it was the third (quake) today."

Rest at,

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/08/23/national/main20095864.shtml


         

NATURE's FURY CONTINUES: Strong quake hits northern Japan!

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July 23, 2011 / AFP, Tokyo / DC.

File photo - A view of the quake-hit Japan - AFP.

A strong 6.5-magnitude earthquake hit northern Japan on Saturday, but there was no danger of a tsunami, the weather agency said.

The quake happened at 1:34 p.m. (0434 GMT) off the Pacific coast of Miyagi prefecture, around the same area as the giant March 11 earthquake and tsunami, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

The depth of the quake was 40 kilometres (25 miles), it said.

Full Story at,

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/world/asia/strong-quake-hits-northern-japan-425

NATURAL CALAMITIES: 7.3-magnitude earthquake strikes Japan again!

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Associated Press, NDTV: Updated: July 10, 2011 09:32 IST.

Tokyo:  A strong earthquake with a magnitude of 7.3 hit Japan's northeastern coast on Sunday, prompting a brief tsunami warning for the area still recovering from a devastating quake and killer wave four months ago.

Residents in coastal areas were warned to evacuate for about two hours after the quake, but there were no immediate reports of damage.

The quake hit at 9:57 local time (0057 GMT), and a warning of a tsunami was issued for most of the northeastern coastline. The epicenter of the quake was in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Japan's main island, Honshu, at a depth of about 20 miles (30 kilometers).

Japanese officials predicted the quake could generate tsunami of up to 20 inches (50 centimeters), but the initial waves were only about 4 inches (10 centimeters). The tsunami warning was lifted after the forecast arrival time of the waves passed in most areas without any tsunami being recorded.

Japan's Meteorological agency at first estimated the strength of the quake at 7.1, but later revised that to 7.3. It also revised the depth estimate from 10 to 30 kilometers.

Full Story at,

http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/strong-earthquake-rocks-northeastern-japan-118064

Japan, New Calamity: 5.9 quake strikes eastern Japan!

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• June 18, 2011 
• AFP 
• Tokyo / DC.

A girl places a chrysanthemum on an altar to offer prayers at a ceremony to mark 100 days since the March 11 massive earthquake which killed over 15,000 people at Ishinomaki city in Miyagi prefecture - AFP.

A 5.9 magnitude earthquake struck eastern Japan on Saturday, seismologists said, rattling one of the areas hardest hit by the March 11 quake and tsunami disasters.

The quake hit at 8:31pm (1131 GMT) about 110 kilometres (70 miles) east of Fukushima near the east coast of Honshu at a depth of 30 kilometres, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

No tsunami warnings were in effect and there were no immediate reports of damage.

Full Story at,

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/world/asia/59-quake-strikes-eastern-japan-256