The magnitude 8.8 earthquake that struck Chile on February 27 was recently established to be the fifth-strongest in recorded history, and also one of the most interesting to study, from a geological perspective. It would appear that planetary scientists have a great deal to learn from it, and also from the changes that it caused to the planet. As we were telling you earlier, it apparently nudged our planet's figure axis off-course by a few inches, and experts now reveal that it also shifted entire cities several meters in specific directions.

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A strong earthquake killed 17 people in villages in eastern Turkey early on Monday and rescuers were working to free survivors trapped under the rubble, officials said. Turkey's Kandilli earthquake observatory said the quake measured 6.0 magnitude and had its epicentre at Basyurt in Elazig province. It struck at 4:32 am local time (0232 GMT). Quakes of magnitude 6 and higher can cause severe damage.

Hospital workers and relatives carried casualties from cars and ambulances into the state hospital in the nearby town of Kovancilar as concerned locals looked on. More than 20 people were injured. In nearby villages, locals lit fires to keep warm on the streets after rushing out of their houses in panic before dawn as the quake struck.

The state emergency administration said in a statement 17 people had died in the three villages of Okcular, Yukari Kanatli and Kayali, state-run Anatolian news agency reported. Among eight people killed in Okcular four were children, broadcaster CNN Turk said.

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A powerful earthquake, with a preliminary magnitude of 6 on the Richter scale, struck the eastern part of the country on the morning of March 8, killing dozens, international media reported.

The epicentre was near the village of Basyurt, about 500 km east of the capital, Ankara, and it occurred at 4.32am Bulgarian time, while many people were sleeping.

According to the Turkish Kandilli Observatory seismology centre, there were more than 20 aftershocks, the strongest measuring 4.1.

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A strong earthquake measuring 6.5 on the Richter scale struck the western coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra on Friday night, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The quake struck shortly after 11 pm local time at a shallow depth of 13.7 miles, with its epicenter located some 100 miles west of Bengkulu in Sumatra.

Though the quake spread panic among local residents in the coastal town of Bengkulu, no injuries or damages have been reported so far. No tsunami warning has been issued after the quake, with the Indonesian Meteorological and Geophysics Agency stating that the quake was not strong enough to generate a tsunami.

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Last month its in Haiti taking live of thousands and 5 days back  it  hits Chile killing 800 people. People are still in the shock and panic of Chile. And now a powerful 6.4-magnitude earthquake rocked southern Taiwan on Thursday morning, causing buildings to sway in the county of Kaohsiung. No deaths were reported yet except some injuries. Kaohsiung is about 400 kilometres south of the capital Taipei.  Power lines were brought down and the island’s high-speed rail service was immediately suspended.

No tsunami alert was issued. The quake was centered in the same mountainous region of rural Kaohsiung County that endured the brunt of the damage from Typhoon Morakot, a devastating storm that killed about 700 people last August.

The devastating 8.8 magnitude earthquake while turned over two million homes into rubble in Chile has reportedly claimed as many as 795 lives. Chilean President Michelle Bachelet announced the latest the death toll figure while in Curico. Curico is one of the worst affected areas. The national emergency office which estimated the damages also said the quake spread 1,600 kilometres across Chile.

The earthquake also triggered off a Tsunami sending thousands of people searching for higher grounds. The relief operations are hindered as the roads, and ports are completely destroyed. There is no electricity, water supply or even telephone services.

On Thursday, an earthquake measuring at 5.1-magnitude struck the southwest region of Yunnan in China, according to the United States Geological Survey. The earthquake’s depth was measured at 24.4 miles and was located 60 miles of northwest of Kunming and 1,300 miles southwest of Beijing.

Xinhua reports that local authorities announced there were 23 people injured as dozens of houses collapsed but no damages to heritage sites have been reported. Lufeng, Yunnan is known as the largest source of dinosaur bones in all of China.

The Yunnan Provincial Red Cross Society and provincial authorities have sent relief efforts and relief supplies, including quilts, tents, clothes and other vital items to the area, reports People’s Daily Online. Vice Governor of Yunnan, Cao Jianfang, said.

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A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck China's southwestern province of Yunnan on Thursday. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The quake struck at 12:56 p.m. local time (0456 GMT) in Chuxiong prefecture, about 60 miles (95 kilometers) northwest of the provincial capital of Kunming, the national earthquake monitoring center reported. The U.S. Geographical Survey gave the quake's magnitude as 5.0.

A Chuxiong official reached by phone said workers were inspecting for damage but hadn't yet reported back.In May 2008, a massive 7.9-magnitude temblor struck Sichuan province just north of Yunnan, leaving 90,000 dead or missing and another 5 million homeless.

The death toll from Haiti's devastating earthquake has topped 222,500, the United Nations said, after President Rene Preval said the number could eventually reach 300,000.

Haiti's civil protection agency "estimates that 222,517 people died following the January 12 earthquake, an increase of 5,000 people since the last estimate given a week ago," the UN's humanitarian affairs coordination body said yesterday.

With the new figures, the earthquake toll surpasses the death toll of the 2004 Asian tsunami, widely held to be at least 220,000.

Preval said Sunday in an appeal for international aid at a summit of Caribbean leaders that the toll could reach 300,000 in what some experts say could be the worst natural disaster in modern history. Some 1.2 million were left homeless by the 7.0-magnitude quake.

Kazakhstan Today - The number of the earthquake victims in Haiti can reach 300 thousand people. The President of the country, Rene Preval, informed at the regional summit in Mexico, the agency reports citing RIA RosBusinessConsulting (RBC). According to the President, not all victims have been rescued from blockages. According to the official data, as of today, the quantity of victims has been 230 thousand people.

Though, at present, there is no hope that there are alive people under rubbles, periodically mass media write about stories of wonderful rescue of people who have survived under blockages. Two weeks before, a 28-year-old Evan Munsi was found and rescued from the destroyed market. He remained under rubble for 27 days. Physicians assure that nothing threatens his life.

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