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OHIO FEELS EFFECTS OF MASSIVE ASIAN EARTHQUAKES
Ohio Seismic Network takes “off the chart” readings
COLUMBUS, OH - Eighteen minutes after the first of a series of large earthquakes struck Southeast Asia at 7:58 p.m. (E.S.T.) on Saturday, the ground beneath Ohio began to shudder and move, according to scientists with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR).
Of course, Ohioans living on the surface never felt the undulating beneath their feet, but the delicate instruments of the Ohio Seismic Network (OhioSeis) recorded the subterranean action for at least six hours after the last quake stopped at 6:05 a.m. Sunday.
“The waves were huge and actually exceeded the response capabilities of our instruments,” said Michael Hansen, Ph.D., who coordinates OhioSeis, which is supported by ODNR. “In other words, this quake was literally ‘off the charts.’”
Hansen and his fellow earthquake specialists in Ohio have been monitoring the many aftershocks that accompanied Saturday’s big quake. Some have reached as much as 7.0 on the Richter scale.
“After the earth moves in such a dramatic way, it takes a while for the waves to subside,” Hansen said. “These aftershocks may go on for months.”
Scientists calculate the earth moved for about 600 miles along a fault line beneath the Pacific Ocean on Saturday. Hansen said the U.S. Geological Survey will use measurements taken by the OhioSeis to calculate the overall size and scope of the weekend’s earthquakes, calling attention to the magnitude of the situation.
OhioSeis consists of 24 volunteer, cooperative seismograph stations throughout Ohio located at colleges, universities and other institutions, including the ODNR central office at 2045 Morse Road in Columbus. The ODNR Division of Geological Survey oversees the network. Operations are managed from the Ohio Earthquake Information Center at the division’s facility at Alum Creek State Park in Delaware County. Each seismic station in the network continuously records ground motion for detection and location of local and regional earthquakes. All stations are connected to the Internet for real-time data access by researchers.
Ohio has felt more than 175 earthquakes since 1776 and 15 of them have caused damage. Ohio’s most seismically active regions are northeast Ohio along Lake Erie in Lake and Ashtabula counties as well as western Ohio, including Shelby and Auglaize counties. The largest earthquake in Ohio was a 5.4 magnitude event on March 9, 1937. It caused considerable damage in the Village of Anna in Shelby County.
Anyone who feels an earthquake is encouraged to report it on the OhioSeis web site at ohiodnr.com/ohioseis or call 740-548-5979.
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