8.8 magnitude earthquake off Japanese Coast

[FrouFrou]

Taiwan is pretty close so it wouldn't have much time to built hight but I'm sure it was fast A small wall off water (10 inches) is enough to carry away a full size car.

Floods can easily kill people like it happened in Australia, so...I don't want to even imagine.

OMG. I don't know what to say. How scary.


Takeshi Honda is also from that area, I think.

Gosh.

[Really]

How horrible! {{{{{Japan}}}}

[julieann]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prefectures_of_Japan

Thank you!

[julieann]

Yuko Kawaguchi's familly is from Funabashi, Chiba, Japan.

I could have swore I read on V/Ts blog they were leaving for Japan on March 10th, I hope I'm wrong.

[FGRSK8]

One of my co-workers has a background in earthquakes. He said there is a good chance that the next quake will be in the Aleutians of mainland Alaska.

According to him, what we are witnessing is swarm of quakes that is running around the so-called "Ring of Fire" in the Pacific. It began in NZ and moved into the Indonesia yesterday and into Japan today.

Considering what has happened in Japan, this scenario is a bit unsettling.

[BigB08822]

Does that travel down through California? I hope not, people have been wondering when the big one would hit for a while now.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Ring_of_Fire

I answered my own question, yes it does run down the West coast. This could be very bad if your friends theory is correct.

[gingercrush]

Oh we don't need that type of stuff. Chile also had a big earthquake last year. Yes the area is vulnerable. It has always been. There have been plenty of big earthquakes.

No way the quake here in Christchurch has triggered a swarm of quakes. Yes we had a 7.1 on Sep 4 and a 6.3 on Feb 22 (that one while smaller did far worse damage). But I really don't think either of those quakes caused a swarm. There were more powerful quakes than those but they were barely noticed because they were out at sea and too far away from land etc.

Japan has always been vulnerable to earthquakes.

In fact if anything the more accurate thing to say is there is a swarm of earthquakes but that they've been happening for thousands/millions of years and will continue to happen for the next thousand/millions of years. But the theory that it all started with the quake in Christchurch is laughable.

[gingercrush]

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquak...quakes_all.php

This site is showing all large earthquakes. Earthquakes as seen by that site are happening all the time.

[BigB08822]

I don't think anyone is saying it started in New Zealand. That was just the first to hit a populated area and cause fatalities. You can't deny that the quakes do appear to be moving in a clockwise motion around the Ring of Fire.

[cholla]

This is really horrifying. Human worst nightmare. What on earth could resist a several meters high wall of water and debris ? Nothing...

French TV news channel LCI says that people in Hawaii and the L.A. area are starting to evacuate the immediate proximity of the ocean (5/6 blocks from the sea) and that things are happening in perfect calm. The journalist reporting says he will have to leave his office (which is located directly on the beach) within 1 or 2 hours. Please people, wherever you are in the Pacific area, Asia, America or anywhere else, take care, be safe, please !

[BigB08822]

I have to get some sleep. I want to stay up but I don't think I will see anything to make me feel better. Best of luck to all those in Japan and to anyone in the path of the tsunami. I hope it will be minimal to those who are going to be hit in a few hours.

[gingercrush]

I don't think anyone is saying it started in New Zealand. That was just the first to hit a populated area and cause fatalities. You can't deny that the quakes do appear to be moving in a clockwise motion around the Ring of Fire.

Chile had a 8.8 magnitude earthquake on Feb 27 2010 and killed 500+ people.

[DAngel]

Indonesia is looking out for the tsunami and one of the waves are expected to reach our islands of maluku and papua tonight.

I hope the damage of this tsunami will be minimal.

(((people of Japan)))

[Celine82]

Well, yes, gingercrush, but you can't deny there might, just *might* be a pattern here. I'm watching the news on BBC and what's going on in Japan is very scary. So maybe it's not a bad thing if other places (Alaska, California, etc.) get ready for something similar to happen soon... and if nothing happens, even better!

I agree with BigB, I don't think anyone was implying that the quake in Christchurch triggered the others. Just that it was the first one of what COULD be a series of massive quakes going around the Ring of Fire. Only time will tell.

[midori]

I am in Tokyo and it still keeps shaking intermittently by aftershocks.
Watching the news at the office and videos from northern prefectures are very terrifying...

I do not figure out what's really going on yet but it seems like Tokyo area was not so badly affected, other than some sporadic, but not-so-minor problems. I hope the Arena and the practice rink have not damaged so we can have the Worlds as planned.

Currently the biggest problem for myself is that no public transportation is running. Perhaps I should stay at the office for tonight, unless I walk for two hours at night...

BTW we have earthquakes so often nobody here would link it to NZ even as a remote cause.

[Celine82]

Thanks for checking in, midori.

Stay safe!

[Cyn]

Glad to hear that you are alright, Midori. When the news came on about the earthquake, one of my first thoughts was about you and the other FSUers from Japan and worrying for their safety.

(((Japan)))

[skatepixie]

*hugs* to Midori.

[gingercrush]

Take care midori. Your aftershocks sound absolutely dreadful. Hopefully they're not too frequent for you. Might pay to stay in the office if its safe and the public transport isn't working. Thinking of you and other Japanese FSUers.

[Cyn]

For those who may need it, JustinTV has a live feed of CNN coverage.