USGS Release: = Earthquakes claim 709 lives in 2007 (1/3/2008 4:50:18 PM)

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Earthquakes=20 claim 709 lives in 2007

USGS=20 and NOAA Install High Tech Equipment to Monitor Canyons for=20 Post-Fire Flash Flood and Debris Flow Hazards

Gasoline=20 Additive MTBE Widespread in New Hampshire=92s Ground = Water=20

Earthquakes claim 709 lives in=20 2007
Released: 1/3/2008 = 4:50:18 PM

Contact=20 Information:
U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. = Geological Survey
Office of Communication
119 National = Center
Reston, VA 20192

Heidi Koontz
Phone: 303-202-4763=20

At least 709 deaths resulted from earthquake = activity=20 worldwide in 2007, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) = and=20 confirmed by the United Nations Office for Coordination of = Humanitarian=20 Affairs (OCHA). This is the fewest number of = casualties=20 from earthquakes in a year since 2000, when only 231 people were = killed.=20 Most of the fatalities for the year, at least 514, occurred when a = magnitude 8.0 earthquake hit Pisco, Peru on Aug. 15. An additional = number=20 of at least 4256 people were injured by earthquakes during the = year.

Earthquakes caused casualties or damage in 23 countries during = 2007,=20 including the United States. Other countries affected were = Barbados,=20 Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Ecuador, France (Martinique), = Guatemala,=20 India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, = Peru,=20 Russia, Solomon Islands, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Turkey, United = Kingdom and=20 Vanuatu.

Once again, the largest earthquake of the year was in Sumatra,=20 Indonesia, where a magnitude 8.4 event struck on Sept.12, causing = 25=20 fatalities and severe damage. A magnitude 8.1 quake hit the = Solomon=20 Islands on April 2 (April 1 UTC), causing 54 fatalities, and = another=20 magnitude 8.1 event occurred east of the Kuril Islands (Russia) on = Jan.=20 13. Because of the sparse population on those islands, there were = no=20 casualties and only minor damage occurred, showing that the = location of=20 the earthquake is as important as magnitude in determining how = destructive=20 it might be.

The largest earthquake of the year in the U.S. was a magnitude = 7.2=20 event which struck the Andreanof Islands of Alaska on Dec.18 (Dec. = 19=20 UTC). Because of the sparse population of the islands, no damage = or=20 casualties occurred. The largest quake in the contiguous U.S. was = a=20 magnitude 5.4 event that struck near Alum Rock, Calif. on Oct. 30 = (Oct. 31=20 UTC) and caused slight damage in the San Jose area. It was felt in = a wide=20 area of central and northern California.

Although it is very unusual to have four earthquakes in a = single year=20 of magnitude 8 or greater (the average is one), there have been = only 13=20 events this year in the magnitude 7.0 to 7.9 range, compared to an = average=20 annual number of 17. The USGS's National Earthquake Information = Center=20 locates about 30,000 earthquakes per year worldwide, or about 80 = per day.=20 About 10,000 of those events have magnitudes of 4.5 or greater. = Several=20 million earthquakes occur in the world each year, but many go = undetected=20 because they occur in remote areas or have very small magnitudes. = For its=20 worldwide earthquake monitoring, the NEIC relies on the = 138-station Global=20 Seismographic Network, which is jointly supported by USGS and the = National=20 Science Foundation and operated by USGS in partnership with the = IRIS=20 Consortium of universities.

In the U.S., the USGS and its partners in the multi-agency = National=20 Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program are working to improve = earthquake=20 monitoring and reporting capabilities to speed earthquake response = efforts=20 while at the same time minimize economic impact and enhance = business=20 continuity. Central to this goal is construction of the USGS = Advanced=20 National Seismic System (ANSS), designed to improve earthquake = monitoring=20 and reporting infrastructure. This effort has resulted in the = installation=20 of over 700 new earthquake-monitoring instruments in vulnerable = urban=20 areas including San Francisco, Seattle, Salt Lake City, Anchorage, = Reno,=20 Las Vegas, and Memphis. Full implementation of the ANSS will = result in=20 7,000 new instruments on the ground and in structures. Where = deployed, the=20 ANSS provides emergency response personnel with real-time (within = 5-10=20 minutes of an event) information on the intensity and distribution = of=20 ground shaking that can be used to guide emergency response = efforts and=20 rapidly estimate casualties and economic loss. Information on = building=20 shaking will equip engineers with the data they need to improve = building=20 designs in the future.

Although significant progress has been achieved in earthquake = research=20 and mitigation, earthquake risk is still high, especially in = places in the=20 world where population growth and lack of earthquake-resistant = structural=20 design standards have put more and more people at risk. In = the U.S.,=20 earthquakes pose significant risk to 75 million people in 39 = states.=20 Additional details about earthquakes can be found at the USGS Earthquake Hazards = Program Web=20 site.

USGS provides science for a changing world. For more = information, visit=20 http://www.usgs.gov/.

Subscribe to USGS News Releases via our electronic = mailing=20 list or RSS=20 feed.

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Links and contacts within this release are valid at the time of = publication.

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