((((((((((BREAKING NEWS)))))))) POWERFUL EARTHQUAKE HITS JAPAN

[DemocratSinceBirth]

Developing...

Sorry, I don't have the whirling light....

[DemocratSinceBirth]

1. 7.8 On The Richter Scale

nt

[Beetwasher]

2. Oh shit, what area?

n/t

[DemocratSinceBirth]

5. Northern Island Of Hokkaido

NT

[tjdee]

3. This is TERRIBLE.

Holy moly.

This is awful. This is awful, awful news.

[VolcanoJen]

4. Strong earthquake strikes Hokkaido, Japan (link)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-3192169,00.html


TOKYO (AP) - A strong earthquake struck Japan's northern Hokkaido area early Friday, news reports said.

The quake hit southern Hokkaido at about 4:50 a.m. and was felt in central Hidaka and eastern Tokatsu, the Japan Meteorological Agency said, according to the Kyodo news agency.

Under the Japanese seismic classification, the earthquake was strong enough to damage homes and trigger landslides, the agency said.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

8. and generate tsunamis

http://onenews.nzoom.com/onenews_detail/0,1227,223937-1-9,00.html

[Lindsay]

6. My hopes and prayers

are with everyone there. I have a friend whose daughter is working there.

[ScrewyRabbit]

7. Deepest sympathies to anyone affected

I live in CA and remember Loma Priata

[tjdee]

9. TSUNAMI WATCH FOR CALIFORNIA AND ALASKA....

TSUNAMI WATCH OR WARNING IS IN EFFECT
FOR THE COASTAL AREAS FROM THE CALIFORNIA-MEXICO BORDER TO
KODIAK, AK...

http://wcatwc.arh.noaa.gov/message.txt

[Ediacara]

11. this includes Oregon, Washington, and BC too

[tjdee]

15. Yes, I should have put FROM CA TO Alaska.

Wrote it too fast.

[Bake]

35. Hawaii too, according to CNN

on the tsunami warning.

Bake

[cally]

16. I live in a low lying coastal area

does anyone have any more information on this. How long until it hits and how much warning will we get. :scared:--sort of.

[tjdee]

20. About 10:20 PDT...

the waves will hit California...but they may not be that bad.

FOR INFORMATION ONLY - ESTIMATED TIMES OF INITIAL WAVE ARRIVAL...
SEWARD, AK 1913 ADT SEP 25
TOFINO, BC 2200 PDT SEP 25

YAKUTAT, AK 1925 ADT SEP 25
NEAH BAY, WA 2211 PDT SEP 25
SITKA, AK 1927 ADT SEP 25
CHARLESTON, OR 2215 PDT SEP 25
LANGARA, BC 2033 PDT SEP 25
CRESCENT CITY,CA 2222 PDT SEP 25
VALDEZ, AK 1935 ADT SEP 25
SEASIDE, OR 2223 PDT SEP 25
CORDOVA, AK 1945 ADT SEP 25
ASTORIA, OR 2246 PDT SEP 25
HOMER, AK 2009 ADT SEP 25
SAN FRANCISCO,CA 2306 PDT SEP 25
KETCHIKAN, AK 2046 ADT SEP 25
SAN PEDRO, CA 2327 PDT SEP 25
JUNEAU, AK 2048 ADT SEP 25
LA JOLLA, CA 2336 PDT SEP 25

[cally]

24. Thanks...

My prayers are with all those affected by this. An 8 is huge. I know Japan is prepared but not prepared for this intense an earthquake. I hope it mostly hit non-populated areas.

[Ediacara]

21. it takes quite a few hours for a tsunami to cross the Pacific

if the USGS or local universities think there's a real danger of tsunamis, then it will be all over the news. They might turn air raid sirens on too. Don't go to the beach BY ANY MEANS, and keep an eye on the news, and a clear plan on where you're going to drive.

[Don_G]

23. No Danger To California

The islands around Alaska can expect to get hit though.

[Ediacara]

10. MAGNITUDE 8.0 / 33KM DEPTH - USGS

USGS

[DoYouEverWonder]

13. Holy shit

That's huge. I've never heard of an 8.0.

[Best_man23]

17. Powerful Quake, Tsunami Watch Issued for Hawaii

Watch out West Coast, Alaska, and Hawaii DUers.

http://www.prh.noaa.gov/ptwc/hmsg

Pray for those affected in Japan.

[punpirate]

34. Depending upon underwater obstructions...

... to Hawaii, it's more than a few hours.

In 1969, after a particularly large underwater quake off Japan, it took about 1-1/2 to two days to arrive in Hawaii. So big that cross-Pacific airliners were providing its location constantly. The wave front was high enough that it could be seen well beyond the horizon. At that point, the estimates were about 130 ft. waves. There was plenty of time to evacuate everyone. (Well, everyone who wanted to go... there were a few guys with boards who were determined to ride it who snuck past the police lines... until it was about two or three miles away and they got a good look at how big it really was.)

When it hit the northwest coast of Oahu, more or less along the area from Waimea Bay to Sunset Beach, the estimates were closer to 100-115 feet. A lot of water. Then, there was a seawall at Waimea along the road made out chunks of stone probably 30-36" square and varying in length from about 4-8 feet long. When I snuck in around the police lines a few hours after it hit, I saw one of those pieces of stone, about six feet long, across the road and a few feet up the adjacent hill. There were houses about 300 feet up the hill opposite the beach that were perfectly intact, but full of mud and debris, right up to the windowsills.

A _lot_ of water. I hear that area is full of hotels and expensive homes now. If there's a tsunami coming, hope they remembered to pay the insurance premiums....

[ferg]

28. San Francisco, 1906

was an 8.1 (I think). So this one is huge.

[wuushew]

12. Clinton earthquake rate lower than Bush's(backed up with facts)

Earth Quakes under Clinton = 15/8 years = 1.875 a year


September 29, 1993 22:25 Latur-Killari, India 18.08 76.52 9,748 6.2 M (PDE Monthly Listing)
January 17, 1994 12:30 Northridge, CA 34.18 -118.56 60 6.7 M (PDE Monthly Listing)
June 9, 1994 00:33 Bolivia -13.86 -67.49 5 8.2 M (PDE Monthly Listing)
September 1, 1994 15:15 Cape Mendocino, CA 40.38 -125.78 7.1 M (PDE Monthly Listing)
January 16, 1995 20:46 Kobe, Japan 34.57 135.03 5,502 6.9 M (PDE Monthly Listing)
May 21, 1997 22:51 Jabalpur, India 23.07 80.12 38 5.8 M (Singh et al., 1999)
July 17, 1998 08:49 New Guinea -2.94 142.58 2,183 7.0 M (PDE Monthly Listing)
January 25, 1999 18:19 Colombia 4.45 -75.65 1,185 6.2
August 17, 1999 00:01 Izmit, Turkey 40.77 30.00 17,118 7.6 M (PDE Monthly Listing)
September 20, 1999 17:47 Chi-Chi, Taiwan 23.82 120.86 2,400 7.7 M (PDE Monthly Listing)
October 16, 1999 09:46 Hector Mine, CA 34.56 -116.44 7.2 M (PDE Monthly Listing)
November 12, 1999 16:57 Duzce, Turkey 40.82 31.23 894 7.2 M (PDE Monthly Listing)
September 3, 2000 08:36 Napa, CA 38.38 -122.41 5.0 M (BRK)
November 16, 2000 04:54 New Ireland, Papua New Guinea -4.00 152.33 8.0
January 13, 2001 17:33 El Salvador 13.04 -88.66 844 7.7 M (PDE Monthly Listing)


Earth Quakes under Bush 43 = 8/2.5 years = 3.2 Earthquakes a year


January 26,2001 03:16 Gujarat, India 23.39 70.23 20,085 7.7 M (PDE Monthly Listing)
February 28, 2001 18:54 Olympia, WA 47.11 -122.60 6.8 M (PDE Monthly Listing)
June 23, 2001 20:33 Coastal Peru -16.30 -73.55 75 8.4 M (PDE Monthly Listing)
March 25, 2002 14:56 Hindu Kush Region, Afghanistan 36.06 69.32 1,000 6.1 M (PDE Monthly Listing)
April 20, 2002 10:50 Au Sable Forks, New York 44.51 -73.70 5.2 M (PDE Monthly Listing)
November 3, 2002 22:12 Denali Park, Alaska 63.52 -147.44 7.9 M (QED)
May 21, 2003 36.96 Boumerdes, Algeria 36.96 3.63 2,266 6.8 M (QED)

+

New Japanese Earthquake

[thebigidea]

14. phew

and geez, hope it doesn't turn out too bad.

hey, what was the status on their troops for Iraq? did they just end up sending a fact-finding team to "study the issue" and stall?

[Swede]

18. CNN just said 8.0, that's a big one

Hopefully it was far out to sea.

[MissB]

22. They said 20 miles offshore.

..

[Best_man23]

25. Tsunami Warning for the Following

JAPAN / RUSSIA / MARCUS IS. / N. MARIANAS / GUAM / WAKE IS.

[Best_man23]

32. Tsunami Warning Issued for Parts of Alaska

http://wcatwc.arh.noaa.gov/message.txt

A TSUNAMI WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR THE COASTAL AREAS
FROM NIKOLSKI, AK. TO ATTU, AK., INCLUSIVE

[bicentennial_baby]

27. Here's a little map showing the location

[Clark Can WIN]

19. Those of us who pray

My prayers are with all those affected now. How sad. :-(

[tinnypriv]

26. That place has a nuclear reactor

...

[hatrack]

29. Looks like epicenter was out to sea - 60-80 miles or more

So far, NHK is showing traffic being directed away from bridges, but no major signs of damage - at least in the snippets of footage I've been able to see. Tsunami warnings up, maybe 1-2 meters in eastern Hokkaido (near the Shiretoko Peninsula and near the city of Kushiro), but smaller warnings for points south along NE Honshu.

[roguevalley]

30. This is very, very terrible. My sympathies to Japan and the people

who are suffering. Homer is going to get the tsunami tonight and I will tell how it went. They have a siren system on the beach and people can move to higher ground. When I taught there, they would have tsunami drills at the school, which overlooks Katchemak Bay.
They are very prepared. I hope any tourist on the spit knows to move.

Take care, Japan. Alaskans know what you are experiencing and are
praying for all of you.

RV

[rustydad]

31. USGS link

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/Quakes/uszdap.htm

[Resistance Is Futile]

33. Tsunami warning FOR ALASKA ONLY

The latest bullitin, issued 21:16 UTC states that there are no tsunami watches or warnings in effect in North America outside of Alaska.

...NO - REPEAT NO - TSUNAMI WATCH OR WARNING IS IN EFFECT
FOR THE COASTAL AREAS FROM THE CALIFORNIA-MEXICO BORDER TO
YAKUTAT, AK...

http://wcatwc.gov/message.txt

[ComerPerro]

36. Get a load of THIS

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/quake_prediction_030915.html

Astronomer Predicts Major Earthquake for Japan, Other Experts Express Doubts
By Associated Press
posted: 03:40 pm ET
15 September 2003




TOKYO (AP) _ A Japanese researcher is causing a stir in Tokyo with a prediction based on his study of radio waves that a major destructive earthquake is highly likely to hit the city this week.

Yoshio Kushida, a well-known self-taught astronomer who runs his own observatory just outside Tokyo, published on its Internet site his prediction that a quake with a magnitude of 7 or greater was likely to strike the metropolitan area on Tuesday or Wednesday.

The prediction was soon picked up by a popular weekly magazine and a major daily. It has since been spread by word of mouth, prompting some of the more nervous residents of Japan's quake-prone capital to stock up on bottled water, candles and other disaster preparations.

``It's quite frightening,'' said Ichiro Makita, 48, a company employee who said he had heard about the prediction from a friend. ``I'm trying to avoid old buildings and have stocked up on emergency supplies like an emergency radio and lamp.''

[karlschneider]

38. Looks like he was a few hundred miles off........

:eyes:

[Booberdawg]

37. OMG that is HUGE! 8.0!!

Good God help them. This is bad...

[Resistance Is Futile]

39. North American tsunami warnings cancelled

ISSUED 09/25/2003 AT 2217 UTC

...THE TSUNAMI WARNING AND WATCH STATUS IS CANCELLED FOR
BRITISH COLUMBIA AND ALASKA...

EARTHQUAKE DATA:
PRELIMINARY MAGNITUDE: 8.0
LOCATION: 42.1N 143.6E - HOKKAIDO, JAPAN REGION
TIME: 1150 ADT 09/25/2003
1250 PDT 09/25/2003
1950 UTC 09/25/2003

A REGIONAL TSUNAMI WAS OBSERVED AT THE FOLLOWING SITES:
HANASAKI JAPAN 213CM/7.0FT
URAKAWA JAPAN 150CM/4.9FT
OFUNATO JAPAN 50CM/1.64FT
KAMAISHI JAPAN 100CM/3.3FT

EVALUATION:
NO TSUNAMI DANGER EXISTS FOR ALASKA, BRITISH COLUMBIA,
WASHINGTON, OREGON, OR CALIFORNIA. HOWEVER, SOME AREAS MAY
EXPERIENCE SMALL SEA LEVEL CHANGES. AS LOCAL CONDITIONS
CAN CAUSE A WIDE VARIATION IN TSUNAMI WAVE ACTION, THE ALL
CLEAR DETERMINATIONS MUST BE MADE BY LOCAL AUTHORITIES.

http://wcatwc.gov/message.txt

[charlie]

40. Wasn't so bad

I'm maybe 150 miles from the epicenter. It was far enough away from everything to not do any major damage -- looking at the TV reports, about the worst is a fire that started by sloshage from a petroleum storage tank. A couple of crimped buildings, saw a small smokestack canted over, for a big'un it was small potatoes. We were rockin' and rollin' though, and it was a TWOFER, about 30 minutes apart, really exciting. The first one got me out of bed, and I was outside a convenience store for number two -- got to watch the building and the glass frontage twist and ripple.

Whoops... as I'm writing this, we just got the third aftershock, a small tremor. Gotta go -- the quakes shut off my propane and I've got to get my landlord to restart it.