WThis is a list of earthquakes in 2012. Only earthquakes of magnitude 6 or above are included, unless they result in damage or casualties, or are notable for some other reason. All dates are listed according to UTC time. Two huge 8 magnitude earthquakes struck Indonesia in April, but caused little damage, and no tsunami. The deadliest quake occurred in Iran, while other destructive tremors were observed in Philippines, China, or Afghanistan.
WA magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck Gippsland near Moe at 8.55 pm on 19 June 2012, at a shallow depth of 10.0 km. It was the strongest recorded in Victoria in at least three decades, with some sources suggesting it was the strongest in over a century. It was felt across much of Victoria and parts of New South Wales, with strong shaking reported across the state capital, Melbourne. Some minor building damage was reported in the Latrobe Valley close to the epicentre, and in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. Around 30 requests for help were made to the SES, mainly due to cracked walls and ceilings, and a number of local businesses lost some stock. Approximately 60 aftershocks were recorded the following day, but most of these were not felt.
WThe 2012 Kamaishi earthquake occurred near the city of Kamaishi, Japan, on December 7. The magnitude 7.3 shock generated a small tsunami, with waves up to 1 m high, that hit Ishinomaki in Miyagi Prefecture. It occurred at a depth of 36 km within the Pacific Plate and was the result of reverse faulting, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) east of the Japan Trench.
WThis is a list of earthquakes in Colombia. Colombia is a seismically active country and has a large seismic risk in many areas of its territory due to its location at the boundaries of the Malpelo, Panama, Caribbean, North Andes and South American Plates along the Pacific Ring of Fire. The southeastern and extreme eastern portions of Colombia are not as seismically active as the rest of the country.
WThe 2012 Zohan earthquake occurred on December 5 at 20:38 IRST with a moment magnitude of 5.8 and a maximum perceived intensity of VI (Strong) on the Mercalli intensity scale. The shock occurred near the city of Zohan, Qayen and Birjand in South Khorasan Province, Iran. It struck 42 km ESE from Qayen. At least 8 people were killed and 23 people were injured.
WOn 11 June 2012, two moderate earthquakes struck northern Afghanistan, causing a large landslide. The landslide buried the town of Sayi Hazara, trapping 71 people. After four days of digging, only five bodies were recovered and the search was called off. Overall, 75 people were killed and 13 others were injured.
WThe 2012 East Azerbaijan earthquakes – also known as the Ahar earthquakes – occurred on 11 August 2012, at 16:53 Iran Standard Time, near the cities of Ahar and Varzaqan in Iran's East Azerbaijan Province, approximately 60 kilometers from Tabriz. They comprised a doublet separated by eleven minutes, with magnitudes of 6.4 and 6.2 Mww. At least 306 people died and more than 3,000 others were injured, primarily in the rural and mountainous areas to the northeast of Tabriz. The shocks were felt in Armenia and Azerbaijan, though no major damage was reported.
WThe 2012 Pernik earthquake was a 5.6 Mw magnitude earthquake, which struck 24 km west of Bulgaria's capital Sofia and 9 km north-northwest of the provincial center Pernik on 22 May 2012 at 3:00 am local time at a depth of 9.4 kilometers (5.8 mi).
WThe 2012 Chiba earthquake occurred along the northeastern coast of Chiba Prefecture, Japan at 21:05 JST on Wednesday, 14 March. Although its epicentre lay just offshore near Chōshi city, the shallow magnitude 6.1 Mj earthquake produced considerable shaking inland through much of the Bōsō Peninsula and lower Ibaraki Prefecture. It occurred as a result of normal faulting in a seismically quiet region, possibly in response to the magnitude 9.0 Mw 2011 Tōhoku earthquake.
WThe 2012 Costa Rica earthquake occurred at 08:42 local time on September 5. The epicenter of the 7.6 Mw earthquake was in the Nicoya Peninsula, 11 kilometers east-southeast of Nicoya. A tsunami warning was issued shortly afterwards, but later cancelled. Two people are known to have died, one from a heart attack and another, a construction worker, crushed by a collapsing wall. It was the second strongest earthquake recorded in Costa Rica's history, following the 1991 Limon earthquake.
WThe 2012 Guatemala earthquake occurred on November 7 at 10:35:45 local time. The shock had a moment magnitude of 7.4 and a maximum Mercalli Intensity of VII. The epicenter was located in the Pacific Ocean, 35 kilometres (22 mi) south of Champerico in the department of Retalhuleu. The region is one of many earthquakes, where the Cocos Plate is being subducted along the Middle America Trench beneath the North American and the Caribbean Plates, near their triple junction.
WThe 2012 Guerrero–Oaxaca earthquake struck southern Mexico with a moment magnitude of 7.4 at 12:02 local time on Tuesday, 20 March. Its epicenter was near Ometepec, in the border between the states of Guerrero and Oaxaca. With a shallow focus of 15 to 20 km, the earthquake caused strong shaking over a large area along the Oaxaca–Guerrero border and the adjacent Pacific coastline. Significant tremors were felt in areas up to several hundred kilometers away, including Mexico City and also in Guatemala. Two people were killed and over 30,000 houses were damaged or destroyed.
WThe 2012 Haida Gwaii earthquake occurred just after 8:04 p.m. PDT on October 27. The shock had a moment magnitude of 7.8 and a maximum Mercalli Intensity of VIII (Severe). The earthquake's epicentre was on Moresby Island of the Haida Gwaii archipelago. This was the second largest Canadian earthquake ever recorded by a seismometer, after the 1949 Queen Charlotte Islands earthquake, about 135 kilometres (84 mi) away.
WThe 2012 Indian Ocean earthquakes were magnitude 8.6 and 8.2 Mw undersea earthquakes that struck near the Indonesian province of Aceh on 11 April at 15:38 local time. Initially, authorities feared that the initial earthquake would cause a tsunami and warnings were issued across the Indian Ocean; however, these warnings were subsequently cancelled. These were unusually strong intraplate earthquakes and the largest strike-slip earthquake ever recorded.
WIn May 2012, two major earthquakes struck Northern Italy, causing 27 deaths and widespread damage.
WThe 2009–20 Oklahoma earthquake swarms are a series of human activity-induced earthquakes affecting central Oklahoma, southern Kansas, northern Texas. Beginning in 2009, the frequency of earthquakes in the U.S. state of Oklahoma rapidly increased from an average of fewer than two 3.0+ magnitude earthquakes per year since 1978 to hundreds each year in the 2014–17 period. Thousands of earthquakes have occurred in Oklahoma and surrounding areas in southern Kansas and North Texas since 2009. Scientific studies attribute the rise in earthquakes to the disposal of wastewater produced during oil extraction that has been injected more deeply into the ground.
WAn earthquake off the coast of Samar occurred on August 31, 2012, at 20:47 local time in the Philippines. The populated islands of Visayas were struck by an earthquake of magnitude Mw 7.6. The earthquake has a depth of 45 km. A tsunami warning was announced within the Pacific area and was later lifted after two hours. The Philippine archipelago is located in the Pacific Ring of Fire, where earthquakes and volcanic activity are common.
WThe 2012 Shwebo earthquake occurred at 07:42 local time on 11 November in Myanmar. It had a magnitude of 6.8 on the moment magnitude scale and a maximum perceived intensity of VIII (Severe) on the Mercalli intensity scale. The epicenter was near the town of Male, 52 km NNE of the city of Shwebo, 64 km west of Mogok and 120 km north of Mandalay. Significant damage and possible casualties have been reported from near the epicenter, with up to 26 people dead and many more injured. Part of a bridge under construction fell into the Irrawaddy River near Shwebo and a gold mine collapsed at Sintku. An aftershock with a magnitude of 5.8 followed at 17:24 local time.
WThe 2012 Negros earthquake occurred on February 6 at 11:49 PST with a body wave magnitude of 6.7 and a maximum intensity of VII (Destructive) off the coast of Negros Oriental, Philippines. The epicenter of the Thrust fault earthquake was approximately 72 kilometres (45 mi) north of the provincial capital of Dumaguete City.
WOn 7 September 2012, a series of earthquakes occurred in Yiliang County, Zhaotong, Yunnan. The two main shocks occurred at 11:19 and 12:16 China Standard Time. The earthquakes left 81 people dead and 821 injured. According to the officials, at least 100,000 people were evacuated and more than 20,000 houses were damaged.