Unconfirmed. Japan Quake maybe raised again to 9.1

[itsrobert]

Japan officials are saying.

[yewberry]

1. Saw a report earlier

from the UW seismology lab, and the person that was being interviewed said that the Columbia seismology lab had measured it at 9.1, and that that was the best measurement he'd seen.

[truebrit71]

4. Not surprising..I heard that some aftershocks were north of 7.0....

...I lived through Northridge which was officially a 6.7 (but in reality I believe it was much higher 7.2 at least)...so I can't imagine what this must be like..

[Bunny]

2. Would that make it the biggest quake ever?

[nadinbrzezinski]

3. CLOSE... yes, up in the top three for sure

Madrid Fault is believed to have been in that neighborhood

[Mrsadkins9399]

5. Top 5 for sure

right behind the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake and the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake in Alaska.

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. yep

[godai]

7. Most of the damage is from the tsunami..more than 20 foot wave.

I'm watching the live coverage on NHKWorld. The initial waves were enormous and carried whatever they encountered away. There were broken up houses and hundreds of vehicles carried along with the wave, which is calm now. There are extensive fires and the nuclear plant problem which are ongoing. It's 4 am now in Japan, still dark. Daylight will show the extent of the devastation. There are probably thousands dead. Tokyo and the surrounding areas have electric power problems. All trains have been stopped, stranding millions in Tokyo. Many walked home, perhaps 20 miles.