Strong Quake Up North

[AssKissinger]

Big Quake

Top Stories - AP

Strong Earthquake Strikes Northern Japan


By ERIC TALMADGE, Associated Press Writer

TOKYO - A strong quake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.8 rocked the northern Japan island of Hokkaido early Friday morning, knocking out power, derailing a train and touching off an industrial fire. Two people were reported injured.


The government warned local residents to avoid coastal areas due to the possibility of tsunami, or ocean waves caused by seismic activity.


The quake was strong enough to rock buildings on the island and shake books and other objects off shelves. Japan's public broadcaster NHK reported that at least several people had been injured and a fire had broken out in the city of Tomakomai.


Black plumes of smoke and flames could be seen leaping from the site in an industrial area. Streams of water were aimed at the flames.


Television footage showed an office in which books were knocked off shelves, and desks and computers swayed back and forth.


Japan's Meteorological agency warned that waves of up to 3 feet were expected to hit coastal areas. The quake, which hit just before dawn, was focused off Hokkaido's eastern shore.


Tsunami of up to 1 foot were observed in some coastal cities, NHK reported.


"We are now trying to collect information on the extent of the damage," city official Sadayuki Kano said. "There are no reports of other major damage."


NHK also reported that a local train derailed, injuring two people.


The meteorological agency said the earthquake (news - web sites) had a magnitude of 7.8 and was focused 36 miles under the seabed.


The U.S. Geological Survey (news - web sites) in Golden, Colo., said the temblor had a preliminary magnitude of 8.


The quake struck in the Pacific Ocean, about 65 miles south-southwest of Kushiro and 495 miles north-northeast of Tokyo, said John Minsch, a USGS (news - web sites) geophysicist. The quake was shallow.


"That makes it more likely to be a tsunami, and there's most likely to be a great amount of damage," Minsch said.


Hokkaido is the northernmost and most sparsely populated of Japan's major islands. Sapporo is the prefecture's capital.


Geophysicist Doug Given in Pasadena, Calif., said the region is "part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, the zone of very large earthquakes (news - web sites) and volcanoes that rings the Pacific Rim."


The USGS had no immediate reports of casualties.


A tsunami advisory was issued for Hawaii and a warning was issued for parts of Alaska.

[Taro Toporific]

Big Quake

TOKYO - A strong quake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.8 rocked the northern Japan island of Hokkaido early Friday morning,

"That makes it more likely to be a tsunami, and there's most likely to be a great amount of damage,"
.

Only 12 people are hurt, very minor. There's an oil refinery on fire. That's it. NHK keeps ragging about tsunami but the waves are only 1m at max.

[GridReaper]

Big Quake

Top Stories - AP

Strong Earthquake Strikes Northern Japan

A tsunami advisory was issued for Hawaii and a warning was issued for parts of Alaska.

Our surfer boy in tech support is thrilled because the possible tsunami is supposed to be in Hawaii around 5PM, so he's leaving work early to hit the waves (if any).

[devicenull]

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/2003/09/26/k20030926000032.html

[Taro Toporific]

Big Quake

Top Stories - AP

Strong Earthquake Strikes Northern Japan

A tsunami advisory was issued for Hawaii and a warning was issued for parts of Alaska.

Our surfer boy in tech support is thrilled because the possible tsunami is supposed to be in Hawaii around 5PM, so he's leaving work early to hit the waves (if any).

It's ONLY 10cm now.

[Steve Bildermann]

Oh would NHK please SHUT UP about it for goodness sake . On and on and on with the same information. It's enough to drive you crazy..

oh wait a minute

Complete and in-depth Details from USGS

Nice Map

[devicenull]

Oh would NHK please SHUT UP about it for goodness sake . On and on and on with the same information. It's enough to drive you crazy..

oh wait a minute

Complete and in-depth Details from USGS

Nice Map

needs less "occupied by russian federation"

[Taro Toporific]

Oh would NHK please SHUT UP about it for goodness sake . On and on and on with the same information. It's enough to drive you crazy.....

Just pity the poor NHK guy (Sugihara-san) who is reading the same English script of 85 words over and over BECAUSE he's only authorized to read the script even though perfectly to interpret in real time, sheesh.

OOPS! Maybe it's best to report too slap dash....

Strong earthquake rocks northern Japan, at least 12 injured
CBC News, Canada - 2 minutes ago
TOKYO (AP) - A strong quake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.8 rocked the northern Japanese island Hokkaido early Friday morning, knocking out power, derailing a train and touching off an industrial fire. ... caused by seismic activity. Japan's Meteorological agency said tsunami as high as one metre hit the city Kushiro. The quake, which ...

Strong North Japan Quake Injures [u]121[/u]Fredericksburg.com, VA - 12 minutes ago
THE strong quake that rocked the northern Japan island of Hokkaido early this morning reportedly injured at least 121 people, derailed a train and touched off an industrial fire.

[Taro Toporific]

Big Quake
Top Stories - AP
Strong Earthquake Strikes Northern Japan
A tsunami advisory was issued for Hawaii and a warning was issued for parts of Alaska.

Our surfer boy in tech support is thrilled because the possible tsunami is supposed to be in Hawaii around 5PM, so he's leaving work early to hit the waves (if any).

TSUNAMI BULLETIN NUMBER 004
PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER
1214 PM HST 25 SEP 2003

SUBJECT - TSUNAMI WATCH CANCELLATION BULLETIN

THE TSUNAMI WATCH IS CANCELLED FOR THE STATE OF HAWAII EFFECTIVE
AT 1214 PM HST.

AN EARTHQUAKE HAS OCCURRED WITH THESE PRELIMINARY PARAMETERS

ORIGIN TIME - 0950 AM HST 25 SEP 2003
COORDINATES - 42.1 NORTH 143.6 EAST
LOCATION - EASTERN HONSHU JAPAN
MAGNITUDE - 8.1 MOMENT
MAGNITUDE - 7.9 RICHTER

EVALUATION

BASED ON ALL AVAILABLE DATA THERE IS NO DESTRUCTIVE TSUNAMI
THREAT TO THE STATE OF HAWAII. THEREFORE THE TSUNAMI WATCH FOR
HAWAII IS CANCELLED.

HOWEVER SOME COASTAL AREAS IN HAWAII COULD EXPERIENCE SMALL SEA
LEVEL CHANGES AND STRONG OR UNUSUAL CURRENTS LASTING UP TO
SEVERAL HOURS. THE ESTIMATED TIME SUCH EFFECTS MIGHT BEGIN IS

0501 PM HST 25 SEP 2003

THIS WILL BE THE FINAL BULLETIN ISSUED FOR THIS EVENT UNLESS
ADDITIONAL DATA ARE RECEIVED.

[Taro Toporific]

Big Quake
Top Stories - AP
Strong Earthquake Strikes Northern Japan...

M8 quake hits Hokkaido, 1 dead, at least 66 hurt
TOKYO, Sept. 26, Kyodo - ( Sep 26, 2003 updated 10:07 STILL UPDATING WITH CASUALITIES, OTHER INFO) )Two powerful earthquakes, one with a preliminary magnitude of 8.0 on the Richter scale, jolted the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido early Friday, killing one man and injuring at least 66 people.

The powerful quakes also caused power outages, tidal waves and a fire at an oil refinery as well as snarled many transportation services.

[cstaylor]

I felt it... I was putting the finishing touches on a video I was editing before going home for the night. Felt like a 3-4 on the Richter down in Yokohama.

[ramchop]

I felt it... I was putting the finishing touches on a video I was editing before going home for the night. Felt like a 3-4 on the Richter down in Yokohama.

You always work so late?

The first earthquake, which struck at around 4:50 a.m., originated off the Tokachi region in central Hokkaido, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

The second quake struck at 6:07 a.m. and registered an estimated 7.0 on the Richter scale.

[cstaylor]

Weird, huh? I haven't worked late for the last three weeks, but we have a Saturday deadline for the video, and I wanted to get it printed to tape and home so I could view it on a standard VCR this morning. Yes, I was really up at 6am (my wife was sleeping on the office couch).

[Taro Toporific]

[ramchop]

The only quake-related death reported was that of a 61-year-old man who was struck by a car as he picked up broken beer bottles on the street, officials said.

[Taro Toporific]

The only quake-related death reported was that of a 61-year-old man who was struck by a car as he picked up broken beer bottles on the street, officials said.

Well at least he wasn't fishing....


fishing boat is beached on the pier of Tokachi port, on Hokkaido, on Friday September 26, 2003 after a tidal wave hit the area.
Fri Sep 26, 2:22 AM ET / AP

[GomiGirl]

OMG I had a dream this morning about tsunami's.. or did I leave the NHK on all night and the news drifted into my subconcious!!!


OMG that is really freaky...

[canman]

Here in Hachinohe, Aomori Pref. we were up and out of the house after the first quake. We registered 4 on the Japanese scale, but man I'm telling you it was long. A few things fell down in the house. My lava lamp, thankfully it landed on the soft caret in the living room and didn't break. I checked the house out later on and noticed a small crack outside. Damn and my house is only 3.5 years old. Now I understand why houses in japan don't last. With this kind of rocking and rolling it's no wonder they soon fall down.

[Taro Toporific]

Here in Hachinohe, Aomori Pref. we were up and out of the house after the first quake. We registered 4 on the Japanese scale, but man I'm telling you it was long.....

DID YA HEAR ANY DOGS BARKING????


Japanese Researcher Says Dogs Can Predict EarthquakesVOA News / 25 Sep 2003, 18:05 UTC
Add excited dogs to the list of proposed solutions for one of Japan's most pressing concerns, predicting the next big earthquake. In the 1990s, the city of Tokyo paid scientists to study whether catfish behavior could be used to predict earthquakes. That study was not conclusive.
Now, a Japanese physician says dogs that bark excessively or show a higher than usual tendency to bite could be earthquake forecaster.

[Taro Toporific]

edit/duplicate

[Taro Toporific]

crazy browser/ server error

[AssKissinger]

[Caustic Saint]

Unrelated to the earthquake (but in keeping with the topic's disaster theme) check out this map of a spreading blackout in Hurricane Isabel's wake. It was put together by the VA Power utility and tracks the loss of service across the state (and part of North Carolina) for 36 hours from the morning of the 18th to the evening of the 19th.

http://www.dom.com/news/isabeldamage.html

I've got friends and family in the Richmond (the mass of red dots in the middle of the state) and one of them posted these pics of the damage. Pretty wild stuff - but not as cool as that shot of the boat. I'm amazed it looks that intact.

http://www.davescomics.com/forsale3/monumentave3.GIF

http://www.davescomics.com/forsale3/bluecar.GIF

(I posted links instead of using the image tag since they're not related to the earthquake this topic is about.)

[kurohinge1]

The only quake-related death reported was that of a 61-year-old man who was struck by a car as he picked up broken beer bottles on the street, officials said.

And if I was up there, I suspect I would've been doing the same thing - over at the Sapporo beer factory with a baseball mit on each hand, rescuing as many falling bottles as possible.