7.8 Earthquake strikes Pakistan, possibly raising New Island!!!

[TheLastOne36]

(Reuters) - A major earthquake hit a remote part of western Pakistan on Tuesday, killing at least 45 people and prompting a new island to rise from the sea just off the country's southern coast.

Tremors were felt as far away as the Indian capital of New Delhi, hundreds of miles to the east, where buildings shook, as well as the sprawling port city of Karachi in Pakistan.

The United States Geological Survey said the 7.8 magnitude quake struck 145 miles southeast of Dalbandin in Pakistan's quake-prone province of Baluchistan, which borders Iran.

The earthquake was so powerful that it caused the seabed to rise and create a small, mountain-like island about 600 meters (yards) off Pakistan's Gwadar coastline in the Arabian Sea.

Television channels showed images of a stretch of rocky terrain rising above the sea level, with a crowd of bewildered people gathering on the shore to witness the rare phenomenon.

- http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/24/us-pakistan-quake-idUSBRE98N0HJ20130924

Early reports claim the new island is between 350 feet (110 m) to 1 mile (1.6 km) from the shore, with a height of 20-40 ft (6-12m) and about 100 feet (30 m) wide.

And here are some shots of the new island:





This is a pretty big event, is it not? I can't think of any other time in recorded history where an island (especially one so big) has jutted itself out of the sea!

 

[Cutlass]

Well, not that we saw, maybe. But I'm sure it's happened a few times in the last several billion years....

 

[Bamspeedy]

Well, not that we saw, maybe. But I'm sure it's happened a few times in the last several billion years....

Two years ago...?

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/12/29/eruption-creates-new-island-in-red-sea/

Article says it happens every few years, but many don't last.

 

[Cutlass]

Two years ago...?

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/12/29/eruption-creates-new-island-in-red-sea/

Article says it happens every few years, but many don't last.

I did recall an incident not that long ago, don't recall the year, in which a volcanic island appeared from the sea. But the cooled lava was so soft and spongy that the ocean washed it away fairly rapidly.

 

[TheLastOne36]

I'm far from an expert, but I believe there is a significant difference between a volcanic made island and an earthquake jutting a part of the seabed above the waterline.

Also, wikipedia has stats on the size of the new island (added to OP):

Early reports claim the new island is between 350 feet (110 m) to 1 mile (1.6 km) from the shore, with a height of 20-40 ft (6-12m) and about 100 feet (30 m) wide.

 

[warpus]

That's pretty cool. I wonder what would happen had this island popped up right on the maritime border between two countries, say Pakistan and Iran?

Are there any international laws that would determine who the island would belong to or how it would split up?

 

[cybrxkhan]

I wonder what would happen if an island suddenly popped up in one of those oceans or seas in East or Southeast Asia. Bet someone'd get in a fight with them Chinese.

 

[Takhisis]

Surtseyistan!

 

[Antilogic]

I thought you'd name the island Takhistan?

 

[Takhisis]

Not until I've established my undisputed right over it.

 

[Kyriakos]

Well, let's just say that if one went to that island created by the earthquake, and found some old monolith depicting ancient fish-men, he would be better-off not staying to find out what might suddently rise from the abyss to embrace that monolith

 

[MagisterCultuum]

This reminds me of an episode of the Kali (3 part) episode of Sanctuary, as well as the Terry Pratchett novel Jingo.

 

[Lord Baal]

An island rose out of the sea between Bangladesh and India last decade. Both claimed it. It then, hilariously, sank again. India and Bangladesh were reported to be most confused by this outcome.

An island being formed by an earthquake is considerably rarer than a volcanic island. I look forward to India establishing a listening post on it.

 

[peter grimes]

An island rising out of the sea? This must confirm some religious myth as true.

Seriously, though, did the island's sudden rise cause a tsunami?

 

[Cutlass]

Probably. But not a big enough one to make the news.

 

[gangleri2001]

Link to video.

QUETTA, Pakistan | Tue Sep 24, 2013 3:16pm EDT

(Reuters) - A major earthquake hit a remote part of western Pakistan on Tuesday, killing at least 45 people and prompting a new island to rise from the sea just off the country's southern coast.

Tremors were felt as far away as the Indian capital of New Delhi, hundreds of miles to the east, where buildings shook, as well as the sprawling port city of Karachi in Pakistan.

The United States Geological Survey said the 7.8 magnitude quake struck 145 miles southeast of Dalbandin in Pakistan's quake-prone province of Baluchistan, which borders Iran.

The earthquake was so powerful that it caused the seabed to rise and create a small, mountain-like island about 600 meters (yards) off Pakistan's Gwadar coastline in the Arabian Sea.

Television channels showed images of a stretch of rocky terrain rising above the sea level, with a crowd of bewildered people gathering on the shore to witness the rare phenomenon.

Officials said scores of mud houses were destroyed by aftershocks in the thinly populated mountainous area near the quake epicenter in Baluchistan, a huge barren province of deserts and rugged mountains.

Abdul Qadoos, deputy speaker of the Baluchistan assembly, told Reuters that at least 30 percent of houses in the impoverished Awaran district had caved in.

The local deputy commissioner in Awaran, Abdul Rasheed Gogazai, and the spokesman of Pakistan's Frontier Corps involved in the rescue effort said at least 45 people had been killed.

In the regional capital of Quetta, officials said some areas appeared to be badly damaged but it was hard to assess the impact quickly because the locations were so remote.

Chief secretary Babar Yaqoob said earlier that 25 people had been injured and that the death toll was expected to increase as many people appeared to be trapped inside their collapsed homes.

Local television reported that helicopters carrying relief supplies had been dispatched to the affected area. The army said it had deployed 200 troops to help deal with the disaster.

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/24/us-pakistan-quake-idUSBRE98N0HJ20130924

Finally a location you can't find on Google mps

 

[Borachio]

I'm confused. I've already seen a thread on this.

 

[TheLastOne36]

delete

 

[TheLastOne36]

That is seaweed I guess, not grass.

 

[warpus]

You can assume that whatever I said in the thread about the first island applies to this one as well, and any subsequent threads about new islands appearing off the coast of Pakistan for that matter.