Earthquake | featured news

The earthquake that shook American Samoa nearly knocked John Newton out of bed. Within minutes he knew a tsunami had hit.

The 6.9 magnitude struck at 08:52 a.m. local time Thursday on Sumatra island, about 180 miles from the epicenter of a more powerful quake on Wednesday. Rescue workers used excavators Thursday to pull out victims, some screaming in pain, from the heavy rubble of buildings felled by a powerful earthquake that killed at least 531 people. The death toll was expected to rise.

National Weather Service forecasters in California said they believe rising ocean levels caused by the massive American Samoa earthquake will be mostly felt along the Central Coast, roughly from the Monterey Bay sound to Point Conception in Santa Barbara County.

A powerful 8.0 magnitude earthquake in the Pacific off the Samoa islands region generated a tsunami and waves of more than five feet had already been observed, U.S. government agencies said on Tuesday.

Two strong earthquakes hit between Japan's southernmost islands and the coast of Taiwan on Monday, both briefly prompting tsunami warnings, the Japanese Meteorological Agency said.

A 7.0-magnitude quake struck off the western coast of Indonesia's Sumatra Island on Sunday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

A massive magnitude 7.6 quake struck in the Indian Ocean off India's Andaman Islands, triggering a tsunami watch for India, Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand and Bangladesh, the U.S. Geological Survey reported on Monday.

A 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck off Baja California in Mexico on Monday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

New Zealand was moved 12 inches closer to Australia by a major earthquake last week scientists have said.

New Zealand and Australia canceled tsunami warnings on Wednesday after an earthquake struck the south of New Zealand, causing minor damage but no injuries. Australia's weather bureau said a small tsunami had been recorded ...