Colombian earthquake part of string of strong jolts

This is one in a string of strong earthquakes in the past week 

Powerful 7.3 earthquake strikes along the coast of Colombia: the fifth 7.0 magnitude quake to strike in 45 days

Extinction Protocol,

30 September, 2012

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A strong 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck along the coast of Colombia at a depth of 162.1 km (100.7 miles). The epicenter of the earthquake was 62 km (39 miles) S (176°) from Popayan, Colombia and 345 km (214 miles) from QUITO, Ecuador.

According to USGS statistics, about fifteen 7.0 magnitude earthquakes occur each year but there have been five such high intensity earthquakes reported across the planet in the last 45 days, provided the USGS does not downgrade today’s quake further.

On August 14, a 7.7 magnitude earthquake was reported in Sea of Okhotsk near NE Russia; on August 27, a 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of El Salvador; on August 31, a 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck near the Philippine Islands, and on September 5, a 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Costa Rica.

Today’s earthquake was originally registered as a 7.4 by the USGS.

The director of Colombia’s disaster relief service, Carlos Ivan Marquez, said that there were only reports of minor damage to homes in one village.

The temblor shook buildings and rattled windows in 10 central and western provinces, but despite police and firefighters reported no damage.

The quake also shook Ecuador’s capital Quito and other parts of the country for about 30 seconds, and was felt particularly in tall buildings in the capital.

See also Sumatran quakes in April were part of tectonic plate breakup

40 families remain without water almost one month after quake