Microearthquakes occur 8,000 times a day

Microearthquakes occur 8,000 times per day. These tiny tremors register below 2.0 on the Richter Scale - the universal measurement system of earthquakes which assigns a number to each quake based on the seismic energy it releases.




On January 12, at around 5 PM EST a 7.0 earthquake shook southern Haiti. The massive quake only lasted 30 seconds, but the damage was devastating. CNN reports that the capital city of Haiti, Port-au-Prince lays in ruins, with many buildings and homes completely collapsed, including a hospital. There is no total number of fatalities at this point, but a representative U.S. State Department expects there will be a "serious loss of life."

The dust has not yet settled in Haiti to reveal the full extent of damage, but there are already ways to help those effected by this disaster. Haiti is the poorest nation in the western hemisphere, and much help will be needed to rebuild and restore.

Below is a list of just a few non-profit organizations you can get involved with to help the victims of today's earthquake:

• HandsOn Network
• Yéle Haiti - Text "Yele" to 501501 to dontate $5.
• American Red Cross - Text "HAITI" to 90999 to donate $10.
• Save the Children
• UNICEF USA
• International Medical Corps
• Ben Stiller's Stillerstrong
• Partners In Health
• Direct Relief
• Oxfam

Earthquakes in New Jersey are Ramapo's Fault

There are earthquakes in New Jersey.

Tonight at 10:34 pm EST a 2.9 earthquake shook Morris County, NJ (around the same time, coincidentally, my dog flipped out like John Travolta in Phenomenon). The earthquake was caused by movement around the Ramapo Fault (I have lived in NJ my whole life and didn't know it existed).


According to the Earth Institute at Columbia University,

"The Ramapo Fault is part of a system of north-east striking, southeast-dipping faults, which are mapped from southeastern New York to eastern Pennsylvania and beyond. These faults were active at different times during the evolution of the Appalachians, especially in the Mesozoic when they served as border faults to the Newark Basin and other extensional basins formed by the opening of the Atlantic Ocean approximately 200 million years ago."

I can't find News 12 on my TV, so I'm not sure the extent of any damage caused by the quake, but I hope that everyone is alright.

For instructions on what to do during an earthquake, visit the FEMA website.