Strong earthquake strikes off Japan (Tsunami warning issued)

Source: MSNBC

Tsunami warning issued after magnitude-7.0 temblor

TOKYO - A magnitude-7.0 earthquake struck off southern Japan early Saturday, and Okinawa's seashore was evacuated after Japan's Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami warning.

The Japanese agency predicted 6-foot waves following the quake, which hit just east of Okinawa and Ryukyu, south of Japan's main islands. Tsunami waves also were expected on the islands of Amami and Tokaro.

There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35607824/ns/world_news-asiapacific/?ns=world_news-asiapacific

It adjusts on one side, then a few hours later on the other. One plate across all that Pacific Ocean. Mindboggling world.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/02/26/japan.okinawa.earthquake/index.html?hpt=T2

The agency said the expected tsunami height was about 0.5 meters, or 20 inches.

The tide jus suddenly goes out to the point you can see the edge of the reef. Then jus runs rite back in. Two feet on a Pacific island tain't all that. Typhoons drive walls of water bigger than that. It jus looks really weird. We were up in Awase and had a really good view.

Source: Xinhua

TOKYO, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- An earthquake measuring 6.9 magnitude on the Richter scale on Saturday rocked Okinawa Prefecture and its vicinity in southern Japan, said the Japan Meteorological Agency.

The focus of the quake, which occurred at 5:31 a.m. local time (2031 GMT Friday), was located some 10 km under the sea 50 km east off Naha, capital of Okinawa, said the agency.

Two people, both female and aged 74 and 66, were reportedly slightly injured in the earthquake, local government reported.

The agency issued an warning of up to 2-meter high tsunami seismic waves for coastal regions of the main Okinawa island soon after the quake, but soon downgraded it to an advisory at about 6: 30 a.m., and later lifted it at around 7 a.m..

Small waves of up to around 10 centimeters reached Nanjo city on the island and Minamidaito village just before 6 a.m., the agency said.

Read more: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-02/27/c_13190091.htm

That if they have an Earthquake off of the Islands of Japan, it could create a Tsunami. Here in San Francisco, we have had numerous earthquakes.. including the big one in 1989. We have been lucky so far, not to be hit by a Tsunami, but one has to consider its just as much a threat to the city of San Francisco as any earthquake.

Scary.

we don't get quake off the coast very often, most of the time it's "local" and under the bedrock, on the faults.

I feel for the Japanese, because if one island is hit, it has consequences for all the others.

However, remember the big Kobe earthquake in.. 95?... I don't seem to recall any major tsunami's after that one.

But yeah... :shiver: I'm always glad to hear that injuries and damage are low( or not) with these things.

One last thing, the problem in the last 40 years has been there haven't been that many quakes.

89 was big, but that was one of the only quakes to be felt in the last 30 years.

aside from the swarms that hit the Pittsburgh every so often (that was fucking weird, about 9? years ago Pittsburgh was hit with several hundred 2/3pointers. too small but... so many!)

the worries have always been that there aren't enough for our area.

but yeah, here's to sending some positive energy to our friends in Japan.

Okinawa is the largest island in the chain of islands known as the Ryukyus.