The Latest Breaking News from the US Geological Survey

Magnitude 4.4 Earthquake Hits Los Angeles

Learn about the recent 4.4 magnitude earthquake in Los Angeles with minimal damage reported.

Top News · Aug 12, 2024

Are US earthquakes becoming more costly?

Earthquakes — mostly on the West Coast — cost the US around $14.7 billion per year.

USAFacts · May 30, 2024

Rescuers Work To Free Dozens Trapped After Taiwan Earthquake

A powerful 7.4 magnitude earthquake in Taiwan's Hualien County causes casualties, injuries, and significant damage. Emergency services are responding.

Top News · Apr 3, 2024

World Food Program says Afghanistan needs $19m to provide emergency food in quake-hit Afghanistan

The United Nations’ World Food Program is appealing for $19 million to provide emergency assistance to tens of thousands of people affected by a series of devastating earthquakes and aftershocks that has rocked western Afghanistan

The Independent UK · Oct 18, 2023

A week after devastating quakes, another powerful jolt shakes Afghanistan's Herat

A magnitude 6.3 earthquake shook western Afghanistan on Sunday, killing one and injuring dozens more in the same region where more than 1,000 people died in tremors last week.

France 24 · Oct 15, 2023

Fossil footprints in New Mexico suggest humans have been here longer than we thought

A new study of fossil footprints in White Sands National Park bolsters the argument that humans may have lived in North America longer than thought.

WEKU · Oct 7, 2023

Morocco earthquake: rescuers search for survivors as death toll passes 1,000 – as it happened

Earthquake measuring at least 6.8 magnitude and centred in High Atlas mountains leaves more than 1,000 dead and 1,200 injured

The Guardian - UK · Sep 9, 2023

A new era for Florida’s phosphates: rare earth minerals for EVs instead of fertilizers

The periodic table you may remember from chemistry class had two additional rows of elements below the main table. In the top added row are rare earth elements, metals critical in everyday technologies like cell phones and flat-screen TVs. Their global demand has skyrocketed for use in renewable energy technologies…

Miami Herald · Jul 17, 2023

Risk of tap water exposure to toxic PFAS chemicals higher in Southern California

Tap water in urban areas of Southern and Central California appears more likely to be contaminated by PFAS "forever chemicals" than drinking water in many other regions of the nation, although rural Californians are far less likely to suffer similar exposure, according to new research by the U.S. Geological Survey.

Los Angeles Times · Jul 14, 2023

'Forever chemicals' could be in nearly half of U.S. tap water, a federal study finds

A new government study estimates that at least 45% of the nation's tap water could be contaminated with one or more forms of PFAS. Here's what to do if you're worried about what's in your faucet.

WEKU · Jul 6, 2023