Shaking up Japan -- an 8.9 quake

[Kulindahr]

Add a tsunami to the quake, which was offshore east of Honshu. Buildings collapsed, hills slid, things washed out to sea; there was even a report that an entire apartment building just tipped over on its side.

Japanese are accustomed to quakes; they hardly pay attention to anything below a 4.0. But an 8.9 is a different game, very destructive, and not just a local event: the entire Pacific side of Japan had to worry about tsunamis -- and so do Guam, Hawaii, Russia, New Zealand, and a few places on the west coast of the U.S.

If anyone out there is affected, let us know!


http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/03/11/breaking-8-9-earthquake-hits-japan-followed-by-tsunami/
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/70398/civil-defence-establishing-degree-of-tsunami-threat
http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-no-tsunami-warning,0,139444.story

 

[andysayshi]

Scary stuff! The pictures are devastating, and there's possibilities of more tsunami waves and aftershocks for many hours to come. Watching the tsunami wave hitting north of Tokyo is some of the most astoundingly shocking news footage I've seen.

This quake is 150 times bigger than the recent Christchurch quake that killed at least 150.

My heart goes out to all those affected.

 

[Centexfarmer]

Tsunami warning issued for northern and central California and Oregon; Southern California on watch

Wow! How many years has it been since that has happened?

 

[gavin89]

Tremendous M8.9 earthquake hits Japan, triggering massive Tsunami

At 05:46 am UTC (02:46 p.m. local time), a massive 8.9 magnitude earthquake struck 130 km (80 miles) east of Sendai, northeastern Japan.
Originally thought to be of a 7.9 magnitude, it was later upgraded to an 8.4 and then a massive 8.9 magnitude, making it the strongest recorded earthquake in Japanese history.
A massive 10 meters (33 feet) high tsunami followed and reached the capital Tokyo about an hour later. Tsunami warnings have been issued in more than 20 countries - including Hawaii - around the Pacific basin with arrival times estimated at different hours all day long.
The death toll stand so far at only 28 people but is expected to rise substantially as the devastation from the tsunami subsides and authorities are able to move into lands swamped with water.

Our hearts and prayers go to the victims and their families.


http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/11/japan.quake/index.html?hpt=T1&iref=BN1

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12709854

 

[rareboy]

Re: Tremendous M8.9 earthquake hits Japan, triggering massive Tsunami

At this stage, it seems like the death toll is low so that at least is good news.

 

[Apollo]

Truly devastating. My thoughts are with mainland Japan.

I have a lot of friends stationed in Yakuska and Okinawa, and I know they are on alert for a Tsunami, along with Hawaii. I know Yakuska hospital is on alert for casualties.

 

[White Eagle]

I just saw a live feed from Kauai (think spelling is right ) the northwestern most island. The waves were just higher than normal, but that doesn't mean a bigger one isn't coming.
Kuli You need to get to higher ground too. I know you know all about it, but as of right now the waves aren't big. One newsman said about 6 ft. But it doesn't hurt to be careful.
I was in a Tsunami warning once in Hawaii, we were told to go 3 blocks inland and 5 stories up. We did, found a balcony to watch the waves and I think one wave was about 6 inches higher than normal.

 

[White Eagle]

I saw a report somewhere this AM that 200 to 300 bodies were seen in water.
They're saying 900 times more powerful than a 6 point something.

 

[Ambrocious]

There is bound to be many more people dead than reported as of now. Hundreds of thousands I am betting will be killed by this, not to mention all of the aftermath of this devastating disaster.

My heart goes out to all of those who are effected.

If anyone has any new info, especially about new locations being affected, please post any and all info.

 

[CowboyBob]

I've been watching the news reports. It's unbelievable the devastation. Videos of the tsunami wiping away homes, cars, boats. Buildings shaking. It's the biggest earthquake in modern times.

Haiti, New Zealand and now Japan. So many bad things happen.

President Obama said the USA is standing by to help.

 

[Kulindahr]

The time the main tsunami was supposed to hit here has come and gone, but things aren't that simple. Some places here are reporting a little over two foot wave, which unless you're a trained observer won't even be noticed. There are more reports of the water going a bunch farther out than usual, which is what happens right before a tsunami. A USGS observer at Seaside reported a second wave sometime within the last hour, with the water noticeably receding but no observable wave.

Of course we're in the season when we get six-foot waves on a calm day, and much larger on storm days (I've gotten wet from waves over 20 feet), so something on the order of less than a foot is lost in the "noise".

The warnings for real danger weren't even on the coastal counties, but ones up the Columbia River. I haven't heard reports from there, but the reason is that a tsunami hitting the Columbia mouth , which is several miles wide, at the right angle will pile up as the river narrows. The USGS gave a warning for farther up the river than Portland! (look at a map and see why that sounds crazy)

Apparently at one of the bays nearby the water really sucked out, but at the next bay along the coast no one noticed a thing.

We didn't get any evacuation orders; some towns did, like one that sits right along the beach, at six feet above sea level (silly place to build).

 

[Glafna]

I've been watching the news reports. It's unbelievable the devastation. Videos of the tsunami wiping away homes, cars, boats. Buildings shaking. It's the biggest earthquake in modern times.

Haiti, New Zealand and now Japan. So many bad things happen.

President Obama said the USA is standing by to help.

As of 3 minutes ago on the globe and mail. Prime Minister Harper has said the same of Canada

 

[EastMed]

The devastation looks horrific. Sympathy to the people of Japan.

 

[Telstra]

BBC says the quake was 8000 times more powerful than the Christchurch earth quake (New Zealand)

8000 times ?

 

[Kulindahr]

BBC says the quake was 8000 times more powerful than the Christchurch earth quake (New Zealand)

8000 times ?

That's in terms of energy released. In terms of destructive capacity, it's less than a tenth of that.


Update here: the Coast Guard reported a surge of about two feet 65 miles south of me. Twenty miles farther south, it was almost three. No damage except some boats in marinas bumping into each other.

 

[White Eagle]

I just got home from shopping and the news "breaking story, japan hit by 6.6 quake.

Surely this is the original report at the time? Surely not a new one.
What gives?
I can't find anything more about a 6.6

 

[Kulindahr]

Since the original quake they've had a 7.2, 7.4, 6.8, and 6.6... that I've heard of. And Hawaii had a 4.-something.

Meanwhile, the geologists have upgrade this to a 9.0, after figuring out that this ruptured a piece of the sea floor crust along a 180-mile line. One geologist said this piece, about 50 miles wide, is now "floating" free of any of the plates that run together there.

Geologically, that could get really interesting: ruptured sea floor can turn into a new spreading center, sprout massive volcanoes, or both.

 

[White Eagle]

Since the original quake they've had a 7.2, 7.4, 6.8, and 6.6..

Those figures, are they the size of aftershocks, or actual quakes continuing?

 

[Lefty]

This is not my venue but .................

my understanding is that each full number I.E. Richter 1 to 2 is 10X the last.
I can't even do the math.

Last heard, 88,000 in Japan un accounted for.

Dumb ass award..........Klamath...3 jackasses went out on the rocks to

see the waves...2 managed to get back to shore. The U>S> Coast Guard

is wasting man power and equipment looking for the 3rd one......am I wrong

to think that is a waste during a desperate time....Sirens, loud speakers and

the media weren't enough?

Oh and Eagle, shock or after shock??

A bullet from a 9mm or a .22 if placed correctly....will still kill eh?l

 

[White Eagle]

Oh and Eagle, shock or after shock??

A bullet from a 9mm or a .22 if placed correctly....will still kill eh?l

Just my thinking, aftershocks are after the shock. ?

Yep on 9mm and .22 eh? You in Canada? My Grandfather hails from there.