Tectonic Activity

(Newser) - Some 900 students were buried when a school collapsed in today's earthquake in China, state media reported, and the death climbed past 3,000 in just one county. Two other school collapses killed at least 5 children in a province adjacent to Sichuan province, where the quake occurred. Little else is yet known because phone communication is out in the epicenter about 60 miles from Chengdu, home of some 10 million people. More »

(Newser) - A major 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked central China today, with shaking felt a thousand miles away in Beijing, and in Thailand and Vietnam. Exact damage or injuries were not known, but the quake hit about 60 miles from Chengdu, a city of 10 million in China's Sichuan province, reports CNN. "This is a very dangerous earthquake," said a geophysicist with the US Geological Survey. Five people are reported dead, with 100 injured. More »

(Newser) - A gigantic sinkhole is gobbling up a small East Texas town, the New York Times reports. The hole—dubbed "Sinkhole de Mayo" by the residents of Daisetta—opened up suddenly, and quickly grew to the size of several football fields, swallowing trees and trucks. Many of the town's thousand residents have already packed their bags. The hole opened when an underground salt dome collapsed, possibly due to increased saltwater from nearby oil drilling. More »

(Newser) - A mammoth plume of ash and smoke from a newly erupted volcano in Chile is slowly working its way across South America and now poses a health risk to the 8 million residents of Beunos Aires, AFP reports. Thousands of residents of southern Chile were evacuated Tuesday, with ash coating city streets and health officials urging people to don masks. More »

(Newser) - The southern Chilean town of Chaiten has been totally evacuated after a volcano, active since Friday, belched molten lava and ash more than 12 miles high, the AP reports. Around 4,000 people have already left the area since the volcano—believed dormant for thousands of years—began acting up, and navy ships evacuated any that remained today. More »

(Newser) - In another of a troubling series of earthquakes to hit the US, a 6.5 magnitude shaker has struck Alaska, Reuters reports. The quake hit a sparsely inhabited section of the Aleutian island chain, and so far there have been no reports of injuries. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the earthquake was not large enough to pose a tsunami risk. A spasm of quakes have rattled California and Nevada in recent weeks. More »

(Newser) - The latest in a series of shakers to rattle the West was a 5.2 magnitude earthquake that struck a rural area 190 miles northwest of Sacramento last night. No injuries or damage were immediately reported. Quakes have recently rattled Los Angeles, Lake Tahoe, and Reno, where a swarm of hundreds of tremors building in strength the past six weeks are making scientists—and residents—jittery. More »

(Newser) - A 5.8 magnitude earthquake shook Mexico yesterday, but no major damage or injuries were reported, AP reports. The rumble, centered 96 miles north of Acapulco, rattled buildings in Mexico City and sent many scurrying into the streets. "It scared us. It was strong," remarked one resident who recalled the 1985 quake that killed thousands. “We’re just waiting for an earthquake that strong to hit again.” More »

(Newser) - A magnitude 4.5 earthquake rattled southern Illinois early this morning in the strongest aftershock since the area was shaken by Friday’s 5