Jump to content
  • Member Statistics

    17,607
    Total Members
    7,904
    Most Online
    ArlyDude
    Newest Member
    ArlyDude
    Joined

9.0 Earthquake strikes Japan


Recommended Posts

  • Replies 1.6k
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Yeah, there was an article in the Journal of the Seismological Society of America about 3 years ago, I think, speculating on a worldwide decadal cycle of large subduction earthquakes.

So it's legitimate - I only say that because there's SO much idiotic kookism trying to link quakes together or to other phenomena out there on the internet. And I'm not even talking about the End Times Apocalyptikook nutters.

Yeah, I think it's reasonable to assume there is some sort of cyclic nature to big quakes if only because, like with hurricanes, we're talking about mechanisms that are trying to achieve balance in some way by transferring large quantities of heat.

This isn't to say that we'll ever be able to predict with any kind of exactness when and where one may hit, but perhaps (like with hurricanes), we can come up with a probability scheme to be used as a guide.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

BBC is reporting via USGS. Strongest quake in the area in nearly 1,200 years. It ruptured a patch of the earth's crust 150 miles long and 50 miles across.

From BBC News live blog

1940: The 8.9-magnitude earthquake which struck Japan on Friday was the strongest in the area in nearly 1,200 years, David Applegate, a senior science adviser at the US Geological Survey, tells the Associated Press. He says the quake ruptured a patch of the earth's crust 240km (150 miles) long and 80km (50 miles) across.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

But how many times do we have to go through this in HI before we re-evaluate? Has there ever been an instance where an earthquake that far away from HI has caused major problems in HI? And tsunami warnings for the west coast of the US?

I would seriously suggest that you do some serious reading on Tsunamis. The first thing you need to learn about is the difficulty in actually forecasting wave heights which are highly variable especially in harbor areas (the word tsunami MEANS harbor wave). Secondly you need to read up on the Hawaiian tsunamis of April 1946 (56 feet in Hilo varying heights elsewhere in the islands) from and earthquake in the Aleutians and the May 1960 tsunami )over 30 feet in Hilo from an earthquake in Chile. Then there's Crescent City in CA in 1964. All of these caused fatalities. BTW damage was reported in Crescent City and Santa Cruz CA this morning.

Steve

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Some comments.: I read thru the entire thread and wanted to chime in:

on warnings--Tsumani events are perhaps some of the toughest events to predict. this is one case where caution should be exercised-- Media shouldn't be second guessing the people who make the warnings. We just don't enough to make predictions on how an event like this will affect. The Failmani comments by media are totally irresponsible.

the news coverage on the event is nothing short of amazing. Watching CNN/Fox news for info has been entertaining. (I have two tvs in my office) it shows how much the media doesn't know.

the lack of reporting on the nuclear power plants is scary. Perhaps it is the Japanese Gov't is witholding info.

88,000 people missing. 4 people from Crescant City swept out to sea.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would seriously suggest that you do some serious reading on Tsunamis. The first thing you need to learn about is the difficulty in actually forecasting wave heights which are highly variable especially in harbor areas (the word tsunami MEANS harbor wave). Secondly you need to read up on the Hawaiian tsunamis of April 1946 (56 feet in Hilo varying heights elsewhere in the islands) from and earthquake in the Aleutians and the May 1960 tsunami )over 30 feet in Hilo from an earthquake in Chile. Then there's Crescent City in CA in 1964. All of these caused fatalities. BTW damage was reported in Crescent City and Santa Cruz CA this morning.

Steve

One death reported so far in Crescent City, Steve. More are missing. That area seems to be particularly susceptible to tsunamis.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah I don't get it either. A days worth of "inconvenience" for something that happens less than once a year is likely going to be appreciated a lot by the folks who live in the prone areas. Trying to compare this to ones experience in TV weather in the states is plain silly.

Thankfully he made this comment here--pretty much invalidating his entire pointless argument.

"Has there ever been an instance where an earthquake that far away from HI has caused major problems in HI? And tsunami warnings for the west coast of the US? Really".

Which I also addressed a few posts later stating that I was mistaken... no reason to be an ass about it, but if it makes you feel good/important, that's fine. Thought I'd just bring up the idea that we could possibly evaluate the warning process as it continues to evolve. But apparently that's not up for discussion around here. My fault, I should have known.. obviously go for the status quo.. always err on the side of caution, even if it means a lot of crying wolf situations (which I guarantee will cost lives after a while). No reason to try and improve the process... when in doubt, WARN WARN WARN! I make one post on the subject, and am called "silly, pointless, invalid etc...." not a very welcoming community for a serious discussion.. I'm getting quite the elitist vibe.

My only point was that "TSUNAMI WARNING" sounds like something absolutely catastrophic is going to happen. This was clearly not the case in HI or the US. A few canoes getting knocked around and some high water ashore could be covered with different wording in my opinion. I guess being a professional meteorologist isn't enough credentials to have a reasonable opinion on something.. how dare I, a "random poster" question the "seismologists and tectonics experts who issue these warnings?" Because they did a good job with their forecasts.. they were close to verifying in most spots and not catastrophic anywhere in the US including HI.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One death reported so far in Crescent City, Steve. More are missing. That area seems to be particularly susceptible to tsunamis.

I would really like to know what the hell some people were doing so close to the Ocean. It's not like they haven't known for hours on end that it was coming..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

×
×
  • Create New...