. >> where can i buy a richter scale? >> mr. richter is selling it.e are going to put a plug in for cold hardware. they are not available. it's a rather complex. >> in fact we don't even use the richter scale anymore. we use a moment magnitude. the richter scale was early technology. >> probably a myth that i hear most often is my building is just fine in the loma prieta earthquake so everything is fine. is that true ? >> loma prieta was different. the ground acceleration here was quite moderate and the duration was moderate. so anyone that believes they survived a big earthquake and their building has been tested is sadly mistaken. >> we are planning for the bigger earthquake closer to san francisco and a fault totally independent. >> much stronger than the loma prieta earthquake. >> so people who were here in '89 they should say 3 times as strong and twice as long and that will give them more of an occasion of the earthquake we would have. 10 percent isn't really the threshold of damage. when you triple it you cross that line. it's much more damage

iranian organizations are reporting it to be 7.5 on the richter schedu richter scale. u.s. says it is closer to 8 on the richter scale. persian em as you said in dell tv. this is just coming in as we went to air. what more can you tell sinus >> it is just within the past half hurry. iranian delhi. very close to the border in iran and area very rural. not very densely populated apparently. still don't have any reports of destruction or deaths. we made a couple of phone calls people e to a couple of from that small did town in the orner south of iran by the persian gulf. and we haven't heard of any usually s but things happen win the hours afterwards and we will find out more. it is the more remote the longer it will take it get the promably to get help -- presumably to get help. and the more destruction because of more mud houses and smaller ottages and buildings that are not earthquake safe. that area is on a fault. we had the earthquake about a eek ago which was 6.3 reported by the u.s. organizations and scale the richter reported by the iranian organizations. but still it

que se siente a 50 millas a la redonda, se ve desde lejos se siente un temblor de 2,1 en escala de richteraco texas a 85 millas de dallas y al norte de weico, se dio a las 8:30 de la noche, hay decena de personas heridas que son atentidas en weico y dallas, ahora mismo podemos decir que autoridades no manejan cifras locales heridas y hasta aquí el reporte. >> gracias pedro por la información, esta explosion se dio cuando bomberos querían apagar un incendio, se habla de 4 cuadras a la redonda quemadas. >> el video capta la masiva explosion, el camarografo grabaria el primer incendio cuando salió el segundo, es estallido destruyo al menos 60 casas, un centro de ancianos se derrumbo, y sacaron 130 personas. >> todas las ventanas rompieron, vimos gente atrapada y saque 16 personas. >> tomy mosca, dice que antes de la explosion había un incendio, hay heridos con laceraciones, 36 están criticos, y hay niños pequeñso. >> tenemos heridos y muertos. >> los bomberos reciben el documento. >> es masivo cuando exploto en ocklahoma. >> es dos punto uno, se desconoce el motivo, parecia una zona de guerra

. >> to give you an idea of this blast, 2.1 on the richter scale. one guy 50 miles away says they heard and felt the explosion. they thought thunderstorms that were coming in later in the night came early, and that's what they felt. >> that was not the case. that was not the case, and we want to let you hear what the mayor of this very small town, 2800 people, who also happens to be a volunteer firefighter who was on the way to the scene which started out as a fire before there was this explosion, this is tommy muska. here's what he had to say about it. >> what i do know is that at approximately 6:30 there was a fire at the west fertilizer plant on jerry mashek drive north of the city of west. approximately 7:00, that plant exploded. >> okay. >> the explosion propelled in a northwest direction. it damaged approximately a five-block area around that fertilizer plant. the fertilizer plant was fully engulfed, and that in turn caught the intermediate school on fire. a number of houses, a number of houses in that area are completely destroyed or damaged.

it measured 2.5 on the richter scale.n amarillo, one man who lives in west was at his cousin's house in the next town at the time. he describes the moment of impact. >> like a shot, the blast just missed my cousin's house on the corner there, the windows were knocked out, door. >> brian: the fertilizer plant is located near homes, apartments, businesses and a school and a nursing home. the blast leveled a four-block radius, -- its force blew out windows and crumbled ceilings. a man heard it and ran in to pull people out. >> we were going to each room, there was sheetrock on each of the patients. as quick as i could, i would get them. all the lights were down, all the ceilings were down. >> how many people did you pull out? >> i pulled out 16 people out of there. >> you were carrying two? >> i carried two at one time to hurry to try to get them out. >> brian: wow, more than 130 residents of the nursing home were evacuated. >> gretchen: texas officials have said it's a crime scene, but no evidence yet of a crime. however, w

the host for the big dance concert series, andy richter.all love andy richter from the conan o'brien show. he's conan's television husband. we talked about a lot of things. we talked a little final four. we talked some of his favorite foods and why he's addicted to coffee. but we also talked about the big headline that's been happening this week. yes, jimmy fallon taking over the "tonight show" for jay leno. and he had some thoughts. here they are. >> i don't care anymore. let, you know, let a duck host the "tonight show." i don't care. i'm happy for jimmy fallon i guess. and i'm happy when nice people get things that they want. but i don't care. >> so basically andy richter says he doesn't care who hosts the "tonight show." but again, i'm sure he cares who's going to take the stage here at the big dance concert series. and today it's going to be an all-star lineup. when i say all-star, i'm not just selling this. it's really gong to be an all-star lineup. sting, kras potter and the nocturnals and dave matthews band. now, that is a concert.

the explosion is an explosion that geologist said had a two point one magnitude effectively on the richter scale so if that was an earthquake it would have measured two point one that gives you an idea of the size there's been a stream of ambulances and emergency services and firefighters at the scene since the initial explosion firefighters were there to cover or to tackle an initial fire we believe and then a secondary explosion a massive explosion which we have been seeing over the last few minutes occurred and that's what caused a huge amount of damage. many people in the town itself have been evacuated those injured have been airlifted to hospitals in waco and also in houston we are unsure at the moment about the exact number of deaths officially but unofficially local media were saying from the very beginning that it was more like seventy many people still trapped in their buildings this explosion didn't just affect the thirty lies the plant it affected many surrounding buildings which were literally flattened by this blast and included an old person's home where one hundred thirty t

geological survey says the fertilizer plant explosion registered a magnitude 2.1 on the richter scale. one of the other things the sergeant said is that the winds are shifting in the area and so the chemicals that are in the air are of serious concern to them as they continue to evacuate people. they may have to have a wider swath of evacuation now. >> quite a situation with weather expected to come in. the picture extraordinary, mind-boggling. martin savidge is on the ground in west texas, arrived just hours ago. the pictures we're looking are are staggering. what's going on now? >> reporter: the mental sense that's impacted this small town in texas. it has been a blast that has leveled people in many different ways. right now the effort is focused on still trying to evacuate those who may be caught up in the area of danger where there are the fumes from this fertilizer plant and also trying to rescue those who could be trapped in any of the debris. the first wave of those who could be injured, well over 150 people, have been transported. injuries range from minor to the severe. the

, 2.1 on the richter scale, according to u.s.s. talk about the firefighters. we know that west, texas, a small town, is made up of volunteer firefighters. they've been working all night, and clearly they're one of the biggest concerns because they were in there fighting the blaze initially and then that massive explosion. we know that there are fatalities. we don't have a number attached to that. the big concern, of course, is for the firefighters who were right there when that huge explosion, as you mentioned, a richter scale earthquake type explosion that was felt 50 miles away took place. are you seeing more firefighters from other surrounding towns in the state of texas coming into the area to help at this point? >> reporter: absolutely. the freeway was jammed, in fact, in both directions. interstate 35 from down south in waco and north towards dallas/ft. worth, emergency crews rushing into the area. among the volunteer firefighters in the town of west is the mayor of west. he was responding to the fire at the factory, was ab

la explosiÓn fue un temblor de 2. 1 en la escala de richter, se sintiÓ a 50 millas se distancia, se estimatros desaparecidos. >>> (hablan en inglÉs). >>> (hablan en inglÉs). (hablan en inglÉs). >>> el gobernador de texas, dijo que la explosiÓn, fue una verdadera pesadilla, y debido a la destrucciÓn. declaraba la zona de desastre. segÚn expertos en el tema, las plantas de fertalizantes son delicadas, utilizan nitrato de amonio, se pueden descomponer en ocasiones, con calor intenso. >>> extraoficialmente 5 bomberos perdieron la vida, y un capitÁn de la zona, y vez 4 miembros de un equipo mÉdico todos dentro de la fabrica en la explovrsie. a esta hora, se tiene acordonado el pueblo, mientras continÚa la investigaciÓn, en vivo, regreso al estudio. >>> muchas gracias. a nuestro enviado especial jorge, como lo dijimos, los heridos se cuentan por decenas. muchos hospitalizados y algunos en condiciÓn critica marta flores desde west. >>> conforme pasaban las horas, la incertidumbre y angustia crecÍan en west texas, la poblaciÓn abatida por el dolor, muerte, heridos y damnificados, los testimonios s

geological survey said that it registered 2.1 on the richter scale. the nearest seismograph was about 23 miles away. initial reports came in, and people thought it was an earthquake. that is how badly the ground shook when that blast happened. now you see that there was a fire burning there, and then the explosion. we understand from first responders, firefighters on the ground that that's what they were doing. there was a fire already burning at this fertilizer plant. the cause of the fire unknown, but the firefighters were right up there, and they were trying to get it under control. in the latest press conference held an hour ago, a spokesperson with the waco police department was saying that the fire was burning near some anhydrous ammonia tanks and there was concern because it was obviously burning near the volatile chemicals. the next thing you know, boom, the explosion. now, as far as the fatalities, there were early report frtz very director of emergency management here that the fatalities could be in the neighborhood of 70 people. 70 people.

ludacris, florida and andy richter, we love him from "conan o'brien show." he's conan's sidekick.s basically married to conan. he is his television husband. we talked about a lot of things. we talked a little final four and we talked some of his favorite foods and why he's addicted to coffee and we also talked about the big headline happening this week. yes, jimmy fallon taking over "the tonight show" for jay leno. >> i don't care any more. let a duck host "the tonight show." i don't care. i'm happy for jimmy fallon, i guess. i'm happy when nice people get things that they want. but i don't care. >> so, basically, andy richter says, he doesn't care who hosts "the tonight show." i i'm sure he cares who will take the stage at the big dance concert series and an all-star lineup. when i say all-star, i'm not just selling this. it is an all-star lineup. sting, grace potter and the nocturnals and dave matthews band. now, that is a concert. once again, it's all free. the people at centennial park have been having a good time and i have, too. that's why i'm still here. miguel, back to you

measuring 2.1 on the richter scale. still on the ground from our last report, coming from a news briefing. sergeant william swanson, from the waco police department, in the town of west, texas, to assist, saying they were still looking and going door-to-door for -- in certain areas. however, as charles hadlock has been telling us, that seems to be diminished activity, compared to earlier in the evening. speaking with "the new york times," the destruction, the magnitude of this explosion, was similar to an iraq war scene, in terms of describing the destruction. also, saying that one might compare it to the 1995 oklahoma city bombing in terms of the magnitude again and the after effects of the explosion. winds on the ground, our last report, overcast with haze and windy. you get a sense in this picture of one of the buildings that was on fire after the explosion. wind is part of this. 75 degrees fahrenheit. wind speeds, 26 to 36 miles per hour. excuse me. 30 miles per hour, as high as that, according to one of our latest

. >> stephen: it looks like a richter scale.arthquake in my mind. >> maybe on some occasions we do have earthquakes but those would be called seizures. >> stephen: that's bad stuff. again, i want to point out that the ribbon is rainbow colored. >> i want to point out this technology need helps -- the sequester has got in our way. >> stephen: yes it's duct taped together. it's very nice. can i take this off or will i pass out? >> it would be okay. >> stephen: ah. that's niesms and look at this -- [cheers and applause] -- that's nice. and look at this didn't mess up a hair. where would i stab a pencil to get "call me maybe" out of my head? [laughter] >> you know, that's why we need this brain initiative. then i could answer your question. right new it's in there somewhere but we don't have the wiring and functionalities figured out. >> stephen: can you maybe it. there's the structure of brain. then there's the influence on the braifnl you are given pry yrts in thinking. you have given the decision tree of your life and the if then

richard richter is one of the few german speakers to have moved back to the place of their birth. a few years ago, he bought the land where his family's house had once stood. he is trying to heal those old wounds with his neighbors, wounds that were reopened in the presidential campaign. >> it was a very dirty campaign. he was beating the anti-poaching drum -- anti-deutsche drum. most of those are not dead. i am from the younger generation. i came back home, but i have not taken anything away from anyone. >> despite the anti-german rhetoric from politicians, even the older generation are rethinking their views. there is increasing acknowledgment of the village's german-speaking past and of the harm done by the election campaign. they are talking about tv reports on the alleged plans to compensate the expellees. the friends agree that it is largely political propaganda. the new residents here have broken a taboo. among the progress of moves has been the restoration of the old german world war i memorial. there are also plans for a local history exhibition. >> the election campaign

. >> the blast created a man made earthquake of sorts, approximately 2.1 on the richter scale. it was said to be felt in dallas about 80 miles away. many people are being temporarily housed by the red cross. >>> live in the newsroom, sal castaneda ktvu channel 2 news. >> sal, thanks, in that texas explosion we are hearing dispatcher calls made after the blast warning firefighters to pull back for their own safety. >> any fire unit that is near the fertilizer plant you need to pull back immediately, again any fire department still close to the feater leader plant pull back. >> firefighters from several nearby communities responded to that incident, many were volunteers. >>> the city of boston came together to today to remember the victims of monday's bomb attacks. ktvu's patti lee joins us live from boston to show us the interfaith service where the president said the city will run again, patty. >> reporter: these sidewalks and streets were packed with people. here to hear the president speak. as was this church. which was filled to its 2000 person capacity. some people told thu

it registered 2.1 on the richter, destroying an entire apartment building.g mike mahler's. he lived just down the street and barely made it out alive. >> what do you think your house looks right now? >> a war zone. every window is out in the house, the whole ceiling. it looks like it's come off the foundation, set back down. the bricks are all off the houses. >> reporter: as terrorized residents left the blast zone, a small team of firefighters raced into the heart of it. many of them volunteers who grew up right here. >> i felt the house move and then i heard the actual explosion. i jumped up immediately, went to the front door, i looked out and saw the huge cloud. i told my wife and everybody else, we've got to go now. >> reporter: within minutes, two emergency workers were killed, at least five firefighters missing. now flags at the station fly at half staff. >> how many people do you think you know were hurt in that? >> i probably know all of them. >> we've got a lot of firemen down. >> reporter: among those who never made it out, dallas fire rescue capt

so let's make the assumption, today is saturday, an earthquake, magnitude 7.3 on the richter scale has struck 9.45 am this morning. the quake was on the north heyward fault and lasted 10 seconds. 45 minutes later, the city has widespread damage, fire, police and paramedics are overwhelmed by thousands of calls. nert volunteers are gathering in appropriate staging areas. your objective is to set up a command structure and prioritize the incident. what is the first incident you want to respond to and why? what is the second incident you would respond to, and why? you would continue this process until all the incidents have been addressed. and you have to always remember what's the model of the nert program? come on, everyone, let's go. do the most good for the most amount of people. those who pick priority 1, 35 people reported missing or injured. what's the goal of the nert program? let's repeat it again. do the most good for the most amount of people. so, thus, what's the second incident you would go to? 9 elderly people. this is what you have to deal with. once you dealt with people,

earth transformed after the colossal blast that measured the equivalent of a 2.1 earthquake on the richterle. 14 dead including ten first responders who went into the fire and were killed by the explosion. 200 people were injured. >>> among the events that broke through last week but otherwise would have dominated our coverage, what the president called a shameful day for washington. the failure to pass expanded background checks for gun purchases. upwards of 90% of the american people support it, but not enough members of the u.s. senate. vice president biden wore his reaction on his face. the president showed a rare flash of anger. the newtown families went home still grieving. >>> remember the north korean missile launch? just the threat of it made it our lead story for 12 of the preceding 17 nights. most analysts said they were just looking for attention and they've got it. the missiles are still there and they are still making threats. >>> this past weekend an earthquake in china measuring 6.6 killed an estimated 200 people and injured thousands. one local journalist left her own wedd

it registered 2.1 on the richter scale. elizabe elizabeth prann has been covering this all night. we were just hearing from that witness there who works about 3 blocks away. people in the restaurant where he works they were knocked off of their feet when they felt the explosion happen. >> people who aren't familiar west texas is right outside of waco about 80 miles from dallas. i have been reporting on this all night. folks who i spoke with were as far away as 20 miles even 30 miles they almost thought it was an earthquake. a lot of them tell us they felt the blast they walked outside of their homes all of their neighbors were outside in their driveway. it wasn't until they got on social media they realize the blast came from west texas from that fertilizer explosion they realized that was the source. a lot of folks tell us that a lot of folks work at west fert lieder. it -- fertilizer. the surrounding area was being evacuated at 8:00 p.m. when the blast occurred. it leveled 4 blocks around town. a first responder described the scene to us. listen. >> the blast just missed the cou

and registered a magnitude 2.1 on the richter scale. the local ems director was visibly injured in the blast. and he describes the explosion. >> just a major, major explosion. the windows came in on me. the roof came in on me. the ceiling came in. i worked my way out to go get some more help. we lost all communication because the power went out. the station is damaged. the whole 1500 block of stillmeadow, the closest street to it. >> weather could play a role in this story. it could interfere with search and rescue efforts and the distribution of potentially toxic fumes. for more, we're joined by nbc meteorologist bill karins. >> at the press conference, they were talking about the fact that the winds are going to shift directions. that's a big concern because the first responders on the ground, they don't want to be downwind of this plant and any toxic gases being emitted. right now, the winds are out of the south, 20 to 30 miles per hour consistently. that didn't help the firefighters to put out the home fire. the cold front will come

it only covers a couple dozen blocks but after the blast which actually registered a 2.1 on the richtercale, a big part of the community is simply gone today. while it is unclear as of now how many people have been killed the mayor says 30 to 40 people are missing. a lot of those first responders. 160 more are injured. nbc's miguel almaguer is at the scene for us tonight. miguel, good evening. >> reporter: brian, good evening. that explosion took place a mile away from here. we have been asked to keep our distance as rescue teams search for the missing. it's feared at least 15 are dead. as you mentioned, 160 wounded. officials worry both those numbers may climb. the blast decimated four city blocks. a war zone where tonight first responders are searching for survivors. in the small town of west -- >> firefighters down. again, there has been an explosion. there are firefighters down. >> reporter: -- emergency crews scoured debris for their own. west volunteer firefighters who rushed in, but never made it out. >> this tragedy has most likely hit every family. it's touched practically ever

southwest coast of south america and we had an earthquake on february 27, 2010, with an intensity of 8.8 richter scale located approximately in the center of the country. the subduction zone, the area where the plate and the south american plate made contact was 250 kilometers. that means that the intensity was felt above 8 in about one-third of the country. as you can see, in the highlight color you can see the people who was affected with that earthquake at about 6 million people. that means more than 40 percent of the chilean population. in terms of energy was released, you can see there it's one trillion kilograms of tnt, that means an 8.8 earthquake. another comparison could be 18,000 times the hiroshima atomic bomb. it's supposed it occur less than two a year above 8. chili has first runner up with 9.5 with bolivia, 10 minutes duration. this one was 8.8, at that moment was no. 4, then japan next year led next year with 8.9, but it's a lot, a big amount of energy was released in just 3 1/2 minutes. usually that things happen at night. i don't know why, but it always happen at night. so we a

y luego con varias explosiones sucesivas y c con la fuerza de un terremoto . 2.1 en la eslaca de richterejo lesionados y desaparecidos inc u incluyendo a varios bomberos. >>> tenemos en primer mimpacto la vcobertura en equipo y en vio desde el lugar. >>> estamos en west texas al t otro lado de la autoista el p pueblo esta al fondo y la pbl i pblacion ha sido evacuada por s escapes de nitrato de amonia y e es bastante grave y no nos van a dejar. >>> para que tenga sn una ide e el 95 en el edificio federal en oklahoma se usaron 100 sacos de nitrato y este es el lugar donde se fabrica eso y habian 300 to e toneladas dde nitrato. >>> una fierte uerte explosio. >>> bomberos acuidio a west t fertilizer company cuando los ss sorprendio la bomba expansiva c acabando con las construcciones en 5 cuadras, en minutos los h s hospitales recibian a los her o heridos, las imagenes muestran d daÑos incalculables. >>> el personal avanzaba minuto a minuto. >>> lo primero fue una escuela y edificio devastado con eprs a eprsonas atrapadas. >>> todo parecia una zona de guerra. >>> agunlgunos bomberos pedian

injured after an earthquake in north eastern afghanistan the quake measuring five point seven on the richter scale of course casualties in two provinces near the border with pakistan dozens of houses have been damaged according to the u.s. geological survey the tremor was felt in kabul and even in islamabad the capital of pakistan. life as a desirable person in britain could soon become a lot harder than now being asked to prove face to face that they deserve the help that until simply had been taken for granted point by car reports. lisa egan's bones break so easily she's already sustained sixty six fractures in her thirty three years chest to use a wheelchair and is one of three point two million brits claiming that disability living allowance would delay which helps those who are unable to move around freely because of physical disability but it's being replaced by a new personal independence payment the looming change will see stricter assessments for determining whether or not to sable people deserve tax payers money he says she's terrified she could lose the monthly payments if i lost

injured after an earthquake in north east of afghanistan the quake measuring five point seven on the richter scale caused casualties in two provinces near the border with pakistan dozens of houses have been damaged according to the u.s. geological survey the tremor was felt in kabul and even in islamabad in the capital of pakistan. life as a disabled person in britain could soon become a lot harder they're now being asked to prove face to face that they deserve the hope that until recently had been taken for granted point to boycott reports. lisa egan's bones break so easily she's already sustained sixty six fractures in her thirty three years she has to use a wheelchair and is one of three point two million brits claiming that disability living allowance or d.l.a. which helps those who are unable to move around freely because of physical disability but it's being replaced by a new personal independence payment the looming change will see stricter assessments for determining whether or not to say both people deserve tax payers money he says she's terrified she could lose the monthly payments

report from some of my cohorts that a seismic graph in amarillo, texas, registered a 2.5 on their richter scale. can i tell you from seeing some of the video i've seen, from talking to some of the people that i talked to tonight, it was a huge explosion. the devastating fact that comes from the concussion, the shock wave that reached out from that. it reached blocks, if not miles, in its devastating effect. yes, sir? the question was, do we expect the number to grow in the number of casualties? i don't know. 5 to 15 is a significant number for a town this size. my guess is going to be, at daylight, once we're able to assess a little more, we'll see the casualty rate rise or the injury rate rise. we would like to say we hope not. we're going to hope for the best. and prepare for whatever we come across. yes, ma'am? the officers that were searching the areas were using that. i understand that they're color-coded. that symbolizes they have found homes that they have cleared, searched. they've -- >> if you're just joining us, you're listening to sergeant patrick swanton, talking about the aft

plant and it is followed in a few seconds by a massive explosion that measured two point one on the richter scale according to geologists it's an explosion that ripped through many buildings that were nearby seventy homes one firefighters said had been affected also no person's home was affected one hundred thirty three people lived in that many people are still trapped at the scene and firefighters and police in emergency services are trying to get to them at the moment but they are being hampered by fears of a third explosion which might occur in the fertilizer plant firefighters are at that. plant as we speak or to five firefighters we are told are unaccounted for we are clear it's unclear what has happened to them but they are unaccounted for but these pictures you can see to give you an indication of the scale of this disaster and even though fissions are only saying two people have died that's the official confirmation and as we have been hearing from the. correspondent r.t. correspondent in the states that is normal procedure they wait until they can identify victims before they actu