Shaken Up

Eight days after a massive 7.0 magnitude earthquake devastated Haiti, setting in motion a human tragedy that has left tens of thousands of people dead, another quake rattled Haiti this morning. The U.S. Geological Survey reports that a magnitude 5.9 quake hit the country roughly 35 miles from the capital Port-au-Prince. The quake caused fear in Haiti and more damage.

The spate of quakes in the Caribbean and elsewhere have led some bloggers to raise the idea that the earthquakes are harbingers of 2012 doomsday. While we're not sure about that, and while the science of predicting earthquakes is uncertain, the USGS notes that earthquakes aren't very rare. In fact, there's "a 100 percent chance of an earthquake today." "Though millions of persons may never experience an earthquake, they are very common occurrences on this planet. So today -- somewhere -- an earthquake will occur," according to the USGS. "It may be so light that only sensitive instruments will perceive its motion; it may shake houses, rattle windows, and displace small objects; or it may be sufficiently strong to cause property damage, death, and injury."

 

Still, there have been quite a number of earthquakes, leading some watchers to ponder whether they possess the right lighting-quick, damn-you-I-will-survive-this driving and flying skills of John Cusack's character in the flim, "2012." A magnitude 4.0 earthquake struck Oklahoma on Jan. 15 and on Jan. 10 a 6.5 magnitude quake was measured offshore of  Northern California. Three days before that quake, a 4.1 magnitude earthquake struck the San Francisco Bay area.

Meanwhile, researchers in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming are tracking a swarm of small quakes. The quakes not unusual to the area, which was created by an enormous volcano eruption some 640,000 years ago. However, as of Monday, hundreds of tiny earthquakes have been tracked on the western side of Yellowstone and bordering states Idaho and Montana.

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