Sat Mar 23, 2024 11:33 pm by globalturbo
7.3 and 6.2 magnitude earthquakes strike off east coast of Japan
Posted on December 7, 2012
D
ecember 7, 2012 – JAPAN - A
strong quake centered off northeastern Japan shook buildings as far
away as Tokyo on Friday and triggered a one-meter tsunami in an area
devastated by last year’s Fukushima disaster, but there were no reports
of deaths or serious damage. The quake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.3,
the U.S. Geological Survey said, and thousands of coastal residents
were ordered to evacuate to higher ground, but the tsunami warning was
lifted two hours after the tremor struck. The March 2011 earthquake and
following tsunami killed nearly 20,000 people and triggered the world’s
worst nuclear crisis in 25 years when the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear
plant was destroyed, leaking radiation into the sea and air. Workers at
the plant were ordered to move to safety after Friday’s quake. Tokyo
Electric Power Co, the operator of the Fukushima nuclear plant, reported
no irregularities at its nuclear plants. All but two of Japan’s 50
nuclear reactors have been idled since the Fukushima disaster as the
government reviews safety. The quake measured a “lower 5” in Miyagi
prefecture on Japan’s scale of one to seven, meaning there might be some
damage to roads and houses that are less quake resistant. The scale
measures the amount of shaking and in that sense gives a better idea of
possible damage than the magnitude. The quake registered a 4 in Tokyo.
The one-meter tsunami hit at Ishinomaki, in Miyagi, at the centre of the
devastation from the March 2011 disaster. All Miyagi trains halted
operations and Sendai airport, which was flooded by the tsunami last
year, closed its runway. Five people in the prefecture were slightly
injured. “I was in the centre of the city the very moment the earthquake
struck. I immediately jumped into the car and started running away
towards the mountains. I’m still hiding inside the car,” said Ishinomaki
resident Chikako Iwai. I have the radio on and they say the cars are
still stuck in the traffic. I’m planning to stay here for the next
couple of hours.” There are vast areas of Ishinomaki that still have not
been cleaned up since last year’s tsunami. Many houses lie in ruins,
full of rubble. Workers by the shore still sort through thousands of
cars that were swamped and destroyed. The cars are piled up and being
taken apart for parts and scrap. Narita airport outside Tokyo was back
in action after a brief closure for safety checks. There were small
tsunamis, measuring in the centimeters, elsewhere near the epicenter.
Tokyo, with a population of 12 million, sits on the junction of four
tectonic plates: the Eurasian, North American, Philippine and Pacific.
The sudden bending or breaking of any plate can trigger an earthquake. –Reuters
Posted on December 7, 2012
D
ecember 7, 2012 – JAPAN - Astrong quake centered off northeastern Japan shook buildings as far
away as Tokyo on Friday and triggered a one-meter tsunami in an area
devastated by last year’s Fukushima disaster, but there were no reports
of deaths or serious damage. The quake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.3,
the U.S. Geological Survey said, and thousands of coastal residents
were ordered to evacuate to higher ground, but the tsunami warning was
lifted two hours after the tremor struck. The March 2011 earthquake and
following tsunami killed nearly 20,000 people and triggered the world’s
worst nuclear crisis in 25 years when the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear
plant was destroyed, leaking radiation into the sea and air. Workers at
the plant were ordered to move to safety after Friday’s quake. Tokyo
Electric Power Co, the operator of the Fukushima nuclear plant, reported
no irregularities at its nuclear plants. All but two of Japan’s 50
nuclear reactors have been idled since the Fukushima disaster as the
government reviews safety. The quake measured a “lower 5” in Miyagi
prefecture on Japan’s scale of one to seven, meaning there might be some
damage to roads and houses that are less quake resistant. The scale
measures the amount of shaking and in that sense gives a better idea of
possible damage than the magnitude. The quake registered a 4 in Tokyo.
The one-meter tsunami hit at Ishinomaki, in Miyagi, at the centre of the
devastation from the March 2011 disaster. All Miyagi trains halted
operations and Sendai airport, which was flooded by the tsunami last
year, closed its runway. Five people in the prefecture were slightly
injured. “I was in the centre of the city the very moment the earthquake
struck. I immediately jumped into the car and started running away
towards the mountains. I’m still hiding inside the car,” said Ishinomaki
resident Chikako Iwai. I have the radio on and they say the cars are
still stuck in the traffic. I’m planning to stay here for the next
couple of hours.” There are vast areas of Ishinomaki that still have not
been cleaned up since last year’s tsunami. Many houses lie in ruins,
full of rubble. Workers by the shore still sort through thousands of
cars that were swamped and destroyed. The cars are piled up and being
taken apart for parts and scrap. Narita airport outside Tokyo was back
in action after a brief closure for safety checks. There were small
tsunamis, measuring in the centimeters, elsewhere near the epicenter.
Tokyo, with a population of 12 million, sits on the junction of four
tectonic plates: the Eurasian, North American, Philippine and Pacific.
The sudden bending or breaking of any plate can trigger an earthquake. –Reuters
Thanks to: http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com
