The Puerto Rico earthquake of May 16, 2010, occurred in an inclined seismic zone that dips south from the Puerto Rico Trench and that consists of subducted lithosphere of the North America plate. The broad-scale tectonics of the Puerto Rico region are determined by the motion of the Caribbean plate east-northeast at a velocity of about 20 mm/yr with respect to the North America plate. The North America plate is thrust beneath the Caribbean plate at the Puerto Rico Trench, and is seismically active to depths of about 150 km.
Earthquakes, such as this one, that have focal-depths between 70 and 300 km are commonly termed "intermediate-depth" earthquakes. Intermediate-depth earthquakes typically cause less damage on the ground surface above their foci than is the case with similar magnitude shallow-focus earthquakes, but large intermediate-depth earthquakes may be felt at great distance from their epicenters.

ftp://hazards.cr.usgs.gov/maps/sigeqs/20100516/20100516.jpg
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqarchives/poster/2010/20100516.medium.jpg




Magnitude5.8
Date-Time
Location18.400°N, 67.070°W
Depth113 km (70.2 miles)
RegionPUERTO RICO
Distances
  • 5 km (3 miles) E (82°) from Moca, PR
  • 5 km (3 miles) S (184°) from Aceitunas, PR
  • 7 km (4 miles) NW (323°) from Hato Arriba, PR
  • 64 km (40 miles) NW (312°) from Ponce, PR
  • 99 km (62 miles) W (265°) from SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico
Location Uncertaintyhorizontal +/- 1.7 km (1.1 miles); depth +/- 1 km (0.6 miles)
ParametersNST= 31, Nph= 31, Dmin=8.6 km, Rmss=0.27 sec, Gp=104°,
M-type=regional moment magnitude (Mw), Version=5
Source
Event IDpr10136002


Source  United States Geological Survey’s (USGS) Earthquake Hazards





Why qeues?

Posted by wyneman under

Word History: When the British stand in queues (as they have been doing at least since 1837, when this meaning of the word is first recorded in English), they may not realize they form a tail. The French word queue from which the English word is borrowed is a descendant of Latin coda, meaning "tail." French queue appeared in 1748 in English, referring to a plait of hair hanging down the back of the neck. By 1802 wearing a queue was a regulation in the British army, but by the mid-19th century queues had disappeared along with cocked hats. Latin coda is also the source of Italian coda, which was adopted into English as a musical term (like so many other English musical terms that come from Italian). A coda is thus literally the "tail end" of a movement or composition.