Ranong Fault Revived, and more earthquakes

Hay peoples, not sure if you really want to hear all these tsunami and earthquake news... But here are the links for those who are interested....



Tsunami revives passive Ranong fault near Phuket:
A one-kilometre crack has opened in the ocean floor north of Phuket, Thailand, sparking fears that the dormant Ranong fault has been revived following the Dec 26 undersea earthquake, reports Xinhua.

At Tambon Ratchagrud in Ranong district, north of Phuket, villagers have found a one-km crack on the ocean floor from which a steady stream of air bubbles are surfacing 500 metres offshore in Laem Son Bay.

The area is near the passive Ranong fault that has been inactive for years, said district chief Chanat Kaewbamrung.


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No need for concern, earthquake swarm it s a coincidence


Very contradictory statement came from seismologists in New Zealand: no need for concern, but keep a survival kit at hand .... Hem......

" A swarm of earthquakes that shook the lower North Island of New Zealand on Tuesday does not indicate a massive tremor is around the corner, the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences (GNS) has said"

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Earthquake in China

An earthquake measuring 4.7 on the Richter scale hit Wensu county in Aksu prefecture of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, at 14:28 Tuesday, according to an official with the regional seismological bureau.

　　The Epicenter of the quake is 40 km north to Wensu county, which is 1,100 km away from Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang. No casualty was reported at the press time. Enditem




5.4-MAGNITUDE EARTHQUAKE JOLTS SOUTHERN TAIWAN

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Mechanisms necessary to ensure human rights in Aid Efforts

The Role of Human Rights in the Wake of the Earthquake and Tsunami:
A Briefing for Members of the Consultative Group on Indonesia
19 – 20 January 2005


In response to the earthquake and tsunami which devastated large parts of the province of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD) and surrounding areas, the international donor community has pledged unprecedented levels of support and commitment to both immediate relief efforts and longer term reconstruction of affected communities. Amnesty International welcomes this recognition of global responsibility to those in need. In addition to urging donors to honour their pledges, Amnesty International also calls on the donor community to ensure that relief and reconstruction efforts are conducted within a framework that protects and promotes human rights. This requires meaningful support for, and insistence upon, mechanisms which ensure the implementation of relevant human rights principles.

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No help for the 'untouchables'?

KEEZHAIVANAGIRI, India -- Muthu Vellaithevan, a farm laborer who is part of India's untouchable caste, lost seven goats and a cow when massive waves lashed at his coastal village on Dec. 26. The water also swept away his thatch-roofed mud hut.

But he said his real problems began after the water receded, when he and his people found themselves the targets of aid discrimination by the fishermen of his village.

"Forty families from my community took shelter in a school building outside the village," recalled Vellaithevan, 35, a father of three. "But in two days, the fishermen's families at the shelter began troubling us. They did not allow us to sleep and eat with them. They did not want to be under the same roof with us. We were forced to leave. Our homes were destroyed and our children were hungry. Where could we go?"


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Japan issuesTsunami Warning, withdraws it half an hour later

Tsunami Warning for Japan

Reuters

According to press sources, the alert was withdrawn shortly afterwards
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Follows a week of minor earthquakes worldwide, among which:

Afganistan

Earthquake Measuring 4.4 in Magnitude Registered In
North-western Iran



Minor earthquake in BajhangNEPAL

A minor tremor measuring 5 on the Richter scale was recorded in Bajhang district at 2:28 p.m. on Sunday.

Acording to the Department of Mines and Geology, National Seismic Center, the tremor was around Surama lake of the district. nepalnews.com pd Jan 18 05

Caymans?

Corruption threatens Indian mercy

By Ranjit Devraj

NEW DELHI: India is a country notorious for middlemen who specialize in siphoning away development funds. And voluntary agencies are struggling to ensure that the deluge of monetary aid pouring in for the survivors of the Asian tsunami actually reach the ones most in need.

"We are trying to chalk up a methodology to ensure that the money we are collecting gets to the most marginalised people, especially women, children and Dalits (people outside the Hindu caste hierarchy)," said Swapnil Srivastava, speaking to IPS on behalf of 38 voluntary groups in New Delhi that have banded together - under the umbrella of the Indian Social Institute - for the relief effort.

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