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By The Associated Press – 59 minutes ago
A look at some of the deadliest natural disasters around the world in the past 40 years:
_ May 2008: Earthquake (magnitude 7.9) hits Sichuan province in central China. Thousands are killed.
_ May 2008: Cyclone Nargis strikes Myanmar, killing more than 30,000 and leaving an additional 30,000 missing.
_ October 2005: Northern Pakistan earthquake (magnitude 7.6) kills about 78,000 people.
_ August 2005: U.S. Gulf Coast Hurricane Katrina kills at least 1,600 people in Louisiana and Mississippi.
_ December 2004: Indian Ocean tsunami (triggered by magnitude 9.0 earthquake) kills 230,000 in a dozen countries.
_ December 2003: Southeastern Iran earthquake (magnitude 6.5) kills 26,000.
_ August 1999: Western Turkey earthquake (magnitude 7.4) kills 17,000.
_ October 1998: Central America Hurricane Mitch kills 9,000.
_ April 1991: Bangladesh cyclone kills 140,000.
_ June 1990: Northwestern Iran earthquake (magnitude 7.7) kills 50,000.
_ July 1976: Northeastern China earthquake (magnitude 8.2) kills 240,000, with some estimates at 655,000.
_ November 1970: Bangladesh cyclone kills 300,000. World’s deadliest cyclone on record.

ap.google.com

Janet Clem, 37, looks at the damage to her home in Mt. Carmel, Ill. Friday morning April 18, 2008 after the 5.2 early morning earth quake.(AP Photo/Daniel R. Patmore)
WEST SALEM, Ill. (AP) — Residents across the Midwest were awakened Friday by a 5.2 magnitude earthquake that rattled skyscrapers in Chicago’s Loop and homes in Cincinnati but appeared to cause no major injuries or damage. Dozens of aftershocks followed, one with a magnitude of 4.5.

ap.google.com

Chicago officials say there was no damage detected here from the quake.
However, some 200 city inspectors were dispatched to check “key locations” such as the Navy Pier Ferris wheel and construction cranes.
Janet Clem, 37, looks at the damage to her home in Mt. Carmel, Ill. Friday morning April 18, 2008 after the 5.2 early morning earth quake. The quake is believed to have involved the Wabash fault, about six miles north of Mount Carmel.
The city’s Department of Transportation also examined bridges and viaducts but reported no damage. The CTA inspected its rail lines and reported no damage.
In Chicago, city operators fielded about 300 calls from concerned residents.
City officials recommended that homeowners examine foundations, basements and walls for cracks or any other signs of damage.

suntimes.com

ScienceDaily (Feb. 29, 2008) — On January 26, 1700, at about 9 p.m. local time, the Juan de Fuca plate beneath the ocean in the Pacific Northwest suddenly moved, slipping some 60 feet eastward beneath the North American plate in a monster quake of approximately magnitude 9, setting in motion large tsunamis that struck the coast of North America and traveled to the shores of Japan.
Since then, the earth beneath the region – which includes the cities of Vancouver, Seattle and Portland — has been relatively quiet. But scientists believe that earthquakes with magnitudes greater than 8, so-called “megathrust events,” occur along this fault on average every 400 to 500 years.
To help prepare for the next megathrust earthquake, a team of researchers led by seismologist Kim Olsen of San Diego State University (SDSU) used a supercomputer-powered “virtual earthquake” program to calculate for the first time realistic three-dimensional simulations that describe the possible impacts of megathrust quakes on the Pacific Northwest region. Also participating in the study were researchers from the San Diego Supercomputer Center at UC San Diego and the U.S. Geological Survey.
What the scientists learned from this simulation is not reassuring, as reported in the Journal of Seismology, particularly for residents of downtown Seattle.
With a rupture scenario beginning in the north and propagating toward the south along the 600-mile long Cascadia Subduction Zone, the ground moved about 1 ½ feet per second in Seattle; nearly 6 inches per second in Tacoma, Olympia and Vancouver; and 3 inches in Portland, Oregon. Additional simulations, especially of earthquakes that begin in the southern part of the rupture zone, suggest that the ground motion under some conditions can be up to twice as large.
“We also found that these high ground velocities were accompanied by significant low-frequency shaking, like what you feel in a roller coaster, that lasted as long as five minutes – and that’s a long time,” said Olsen.

sciencedaily.com