Monday, August 15, 2005

The Globe and Mail: Earthquake rocks Japan; tsunami warning issued

Different sources are showing this as a 6.8 or a 7.0, but info is preliminary at this point.

Update: USGS recent quakes - click on map for specific quake. There are no watches or warnings in effect for Alaska to California.

Update: This quake is roughly 220 miles NNE of Tokyo, 100 miles SSE of Morioka (Honshu, Japan), 85 miles ENE of Fukushima (Honshu, Japan), and 50 miles ENE of Sendai (Honshu, Japan). I spent part of 1984 in this area, visiting a friend who was teaching English in a private school there. When I moved into the apartment where I lived for the duration, all the doors in the building closed and opened all right. By the time I left, earthquakes had shoved the building out of square and we could no longer use the closets or completely shut off the bedroom from the living room. And that was just a little quake compared to this one. It's funny how personal it is when a quake hits somewhere you've been, especially somewhere you've been and liked.

Update: CNN reports. The tsunami might be a no-go, with an ocean wave of about 20 inches reported but nothing more than that, at least at this point. There are injuries and damage reported at Sendai, where a roof collapsed at an indoor swimming facility, and subways and trains are shut down.

Update: The USGS is now listing the quake at 7.2, with an epicenter 60 miles E of Sendai, 90 miles ENE of Fukushima, 100 miles NE of Iwaki, and 220 miles NE of Tokyo.

Update: ABC News Online (Australia) has more information.

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