Earthquake sparks Japan tsunami warning
November 21, 2016 2:41 PM   Subscribe

A 6.9 magnitude earthquake off eastern Japan near Fukushima prefecture has prompted a tsunami warning of possible 3m (10ft) waves.

The quake struck on Tuesday morning at about 06:00 local time (21:00 GMT, Monday), the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
The depth of the quake was estimated to be around 11km (7 miles).
In 2011, a large tsunami caused by a quake destroyed the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
Broadcaster NHK said Tokyo Electric Power was checking the plant for damage.

NHK updating live (with English translation)
The Guardian live updates.
posted by sconbie (16 comments total) 5 users marked this as a favorite
 
So far this looks to be not terrible, but still developing. Largest tsunami so far about 90cm (at Onahama) and evacuations were called immediately. Possibly less bad than Kumamoto as 2016 quakes go. But again still early, just what the news has reported so far.

みんな大丈夫といいです.
posted by thefoxgod at 2:52 PM on November 21, 2016 [1 favorite]


It is weird when 6.9 sounds small, but it does in this context. It is what the 2010 Haiti quake was. Not small.
posted by Bee'sWing at 2:52 PM on November 21, 2016


According to various news I've read, Japan has 20% of the worlds earthquakes over magnitude 6. So yeah, it's not small, but 6+ quakes are normal. Tsunamis are generally more dangerous, sounds like hopefully they will be small this time.
posted by thefoxgod at 2:54 PM on November 21, 2016


this fucking year
posted by entropicamericana at 2:57 PM on November 21, 2016 [4 favorites]


Looks like the earthquake topped out at Shindo lower-5 from what I'm seeing. If tsunami height stays about 1m this shouldn't be _too_ bad. Kumamoto this spring was Shindo 7 (max), by comparison.

(Shindo scale is nice because it tells you ground effect. A big earthquake thats deep could be less damaging than a smaller earthquake that is shallowed, so shaking intensity can give an easier idea of what the practical effect will be, minus tsunami effects).
posted by thefoxgod at 3:11 PM on November 21, 2016


I saw a tweet early on in this about the Fukushima cooling system being disabled. No indication yet of actual damage at the plant, so who knows what caused that.

(The Guardian reports that the initial quake has been re-estimated as a 7.4.)
posted by tobascodagama at 3:17 PM on November 21, 2016


It's hard to tell, they've just extended the tsunami warning to Miagi prefecture (extended from the original warning for Fukushima), and a 1m40cm tide has now been seen at Sendai. It seems that the tide is rising. The cooling system for the spent fuel rods at Fukushima is broke.... (who knows exactly why) and will take approximately 7 days until something bad happens.
posted by zengargoyle at 3:20 PM on November 21, 2016


Damn that tsunami siren is eerie.
posted by maryr at 3:31 PM on November 21, 2016 [4 favorites]


Yeah the sound of sirens like that haunts my soul.

Good luck Japan.
posted by derbs at 3:38 PM on November 21, 2016 [1 favorite]


Another live stream here, pointed at the power station.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THDSw83y7JU
posted by derbs at 3:45 PM on November 21, 2016




I'm in Tokyo and my family and colleagues all felt the quake this morning. In Tokyo anyway it was about a minute long, and buildings swayed from side to side. This is a sign that the epicenter was far away, and even older buildings generally aren't damaged from that kind of side to side swaying; the real danger is when the shaking is more vertical, when you're more directly on top of the epicenter.

As for me, I had been out for a morning run and didn't notice or feel any shaking at all. Weird!
posted by zardoz at 5:57 PM on November 21, 2016 [2 favorites]


Japan Meteorological Agency now saying this was an aftershock from the 2011 Tohoku earthquake. There have been over 11,000 total aftershocks, several like this that were large earthquakes by "normal" standards (but much much smaller than the 9.1 on March 11 2011).
posted by thefoxgod at 6:02 PM on November 21, 2016 [3 favorites]


All of the cooling issues are reported to be in the clear, the cooling systems have restarted, and there seem to have been very few injuries.

The shindo scale has been, for me, much more relatable than richter scale. It gives a solid breakdown of what things feel like at each intensity level, and the effects are reported as they feel in each specific area.

That said, while lower 5 is a lot better for everyone involved, it still includes pretty violent shaking and it's possible that glass windows can shatter. For a reference, Tokyo and Chiba experienced lower 5 during the 2011 quake, and it was pretty damn awful. This was not how I wanted to wake up this morning, and it lasted for a long time. Hearing now that it's considered to be an aftershock of 2011 is unnerving and at the same time calming. Personally, I was more worried that this was going to be some sort of precursor to something larger. Having said that, I'm going to go knock on some wood.
posted by Ghidorah at 7:28 PM on November 21, 2016 [5 favorites]


Yeah, I guess it's "good" that its not something bigger, but a 7.4M aftershock five and a half years later is disturbing in its own right. Another one of many points about how insanely huge the 2011 quake was.
posted by thefoxgod at 7:39 PM on November 21, 2016 [6 favorites]


It's been a busy time in the Pacific. Another quake this morning in New Zealand, 6.1 to 6.3 (off the SE coast of the North I), a 5.7 quake off the south coast of Java a few days ago (felt in Bali).

Here's a handy earthquake tracker.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 3:15 AM on November 22, 2016


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