# 8.9 Earthquake hits Japan, causes tsunami



## Chris (Mar 11, 2011)

Massive tsunamis coming on shore. It's on CNN now.

Unbelievable!


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## Wicked Jester (Mar 11, 2011)

8.9 is friggin' huge.

Being a life long so cal resident, save for 11 1/2 years in the Army, I've been through some huge ones. But 8.9?.......That's friggin' sheer terror on steroids right there.

The footage coming out of there is amazing.


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## USAMomma (Mar 11, 2011)

For Tsunami alerts warnings, information
West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Information

For earthquake information
Latest Earthquakes in the World - Past 7 days

Also, this is being discussed in the Environment section as well.

Hope everyone is doing good
keeping safe
staying outta trouble too


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## Wicked Jester (Mar 11, 2011)

USAMomma said:


> For Tsunami alerts warnings, information
> West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Information
> 
> For earthquake information
> ...


Thanks for those links.

I live about a 1/2 mile above the ocean in Malibu. Should be quite interesting to see the swells in a few hours. So far the local news hasn't said anything about a possible threat. But, the night is relatively young.

8.9........I can only imagine what those people must have gone through.


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## USAMomma (Mar 11, 2011)

Well hopefully surf will not be too up for you there. My family lives between Del Mar and La Jolla but we are up high enough so unless it is over 100 foot wave we should be fine. And still no warnings. 

I don't like even the little things we get that the news calls earthquakes at 3.0.
 I cannot imagine being in anything like that. Scary.


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## Wicked Jester (Mar 11, 2011)

USAMomma said:


> Well hopefully surf will not be too up for you there. My family lives between Del Mar and La Jolla but we are up high enough so unless it is over 100 foot wave we should be fine. And still no warnings.
> 
> I don't like even the little things we get that the news calls earthquakes at 3.0.
> I cannot imagine being in anything like that. Scary.


Hawaii just went on severe alert. We'll probably see some good swells this way sometime tomorrow. Surfers will be in heaven.

And yeah, 8.9 is just amazing.

When I think of that compared to the San Fernando quake in '70, where I was thrown out of bed down in Anaheim at 6 years old, and the Northridge quake where our neighborhood in Burbank was trashed, I can't even imagine what that 8.9 would be like.


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## USAMomma (Mar 11, 2011)

Well, if we get any warnings be safe
I am off to try and get some sleep since have to be up at 6 am and now midnight. Hopefully our job, which is a coastal home, will not have any tsunami issues if one should hit here.


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## Wicked Jester (Mar 11, 2011)

USAMomma said:


> Well, if we get any warnings be safe
> I am off to try and get some sleep since have to be up at 6 am and now midnight. Hopefully our job, which is a coastal home, will not have any tsunami issues if one should hit here.


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## USAMomma (Mar 11, 2011)

Oh, and the tsunami information text here for Hawaii

http://www.weather.gov/ptwc/text.php?id=hawaii.2011.03.11.073148


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## hipeter924 (Mar 11, 2011)

Reporting from Beijing and Tokyo                                                                                      	                                                                   An 8.9-magnitude earthquake struck off the northeast coast of Japan on Friday, shaking office buildings in Tokyo and setting off a devastating tsunami that swept away cars and boats.

The quake  the world's fifth largest since 1900, according to the U.S. Geological Survey  struck at 2.46 p.m. local time.

There were reports of injuries in Tokyo as officials tried to assess  damage, injuries and deaths from the quake and tsunami, but there were  no immediate details.

Japanese television showed aerial footage of an ominous 13-foot muddy  wave washing across land along the northeastern coast near the  epicenter.

In various locations, live TV coverage showed massive damage from the  tsunami, with dozens of cars, boats and even buildings being carried  along by waters. A large ship swept away by the tsunami rammed into a  breakwater in Kesennuma city in Miyagi prefecture. Waves could be seen  splashing into city streets and over bridges.

All trains in Tokyo were stopped, and black plumes of smoke rose over  the skyline. Office workers rushed out of their buildings. Subways were  halted, trapping commuters underground. In the nation with the world's  third-largest economy, all airports were closed.
Japan earthquake: Magnitude 8.9 quake rocks Japan - latimes.com


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## 8236 (Mar 11, 2011)

Oh well looks like Khadaffi's gonna get away with it then, now no-one is paying attention to Libya anymore.

(Mind you, reading this forum you'd barely realise anything _was_ going on in Libya)


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## editec (Mar 11, 2011)

8236 said:


> Oh well looks like Khadaffi's gonna get away with it then, now no-one is paying attention to Libya anymore.
> 
> (Mind you, reading this forum you'd barely realise anything _was_ going on in Libya)


 
Probably the attention deficiet disordered viewing public will now focus on the tsunami. 

I doubt that what the US public is focusing on will much matter to the outcome in Libya, though

What happens in Libya is not really all about_ us_, ya' know?


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## Mini 14 (Mar 11, 2011)

Death toll now projected to be "into the thousands."


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## Toro (Mar 11, 2011)

My parents are in Maui right now.  They are staying in a ground floor condo by the beach.  I tried to call them at 1.30am HT but there was no answer, so I'm praying they got out of there.


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## rightwinger (Mar 11, 2011)

Largest in recorded history

8.9 magnitude quake triggers tsunami in Japan - USATODAY.com

TOKYO (AP) &#8212; A powerful tsunami spawned by the largest earthquake in Japan's recorded history slammed the eastern coast Friday, sweeping away boats, cars, homes and people as widespread fires burned out of control. Tsunami warnings blanketed the entire Pacific, as far away as South America, Canada, Alaska and the entire U.S. West Coast.


Authorities said at least 32 people were killed. The magnitude 8.9 offshore quake was followed by at least 19 aftershocks, most of them of more than magnitude 6.0. Dozens of cities and villages along a 1,300-mile stretch of coastline were shaken by violent tremors that reached as far away as Tokyo, hundreds of miles from the epicenter.

A utility company in northeastern Japan reported a fire in a turbine building of nuclear power plant.

"The earthquake has caused major damage in broad areas in northern Japan," Prime Minister Naoto Kan said at a news conference.


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## mal (Mar 11, 2011)

8236 said:


> Oh well looks like Khadaffi's gonna get away with it then, now no-one is paying attention to Libya anymore.
> 
> (Mind you, reading this forum you'd barely realise anything _was_ going on in Libya)



That's cause the Kingdom is next on the List... 



peace...


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## Ernie S. (Mar 11, 2011)

That'll ruin your whole day!


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## B. Kidd (Mar 11, 2011)

Wicked Jester said:


> USAMomma said:
> 
> 
> > Well hopefully surf will not be too up for you there. My family lives between Del Mar and La Jolla but we are up high enough so unless it is over 100 foot wave we should be fine. And still no warnings.
> ...



Last Easter had a 7.2 here in Yuma. My RV rocked for 50 sec. side to side like a boat in a stormy sea, springs creaked, but the stabilizer jacks stayed put. I agree about being unable to imagine what an 8.9 would be like.


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## mal (Mar 11, 2011)

Just got off the horn with my people in Hawaii... Aside from the sirens since this has happened, they are fine...



peace...


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## SFC Ollie (Mar 11, 2011)

Looks like the tsunami i Hawaii will amount to a few higher than usuall waves with little to no damage.

Unfortunately there are 200-300 deaths being reported in Japan now.


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## zzzz (Mar 11, 2011)

This is the first wave of increased earthquake and volcano activity that we can expect for the next 2 weeks due to the March 19th Supermoon. On March 19th the moon will be the closest to the earth in 18 years and it will be a full moon to boot. According to scientists the increased pull is not enough to cause a sizable increase but do we really know everything about them? No. The earth is constantly in motion, the plates moving and the magma in the interior is fluid just like the tide. A small increase in pressure can can do things these scientists do not realize. This Earthquake does not portend a quite 2 weeks but an active period for earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. 

So beware!!!


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## mal (Mar 11, 2011)

zzzz said:


> This is the first wave of increased earthquake and volcano activity that we can expect for the next 2 weeks due to the March 19th Supermoon. On March 19th the moon will be the closest to the earth in 18 years and it will be a full moon to boot. According to scientists the increased pull is not enough to cause a sizable increase but do we really know everything about them? No. The earth is constantly in motion, the plates moving and the magma in the interior is fluid just like the tide. A small increase in pressure can can do things these scientists do not realize. This Earthquake does not portend a quite 2 weeks but an active period for earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
> 
> So beware!!!



Did supermoon spark quake? &lsquo;Extreme supermoon&rsquo; said to set Earth up for weather chaos | The Sun |News

March 19th?... That's the Wife and I's dating anniversary...



peace...


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## Ravi (Mar 11, 2011)

SFC Ollie said:


> Looks like the tsunami i Hawaii will amount to a few higher than usuall waves with little to no damage.
> 
> Unfortunately there are 200-300 deaths being reported in Japan now.


Probably a lot more. That was just horrible, watching that tsunami roll in toward people that didn't seem to know it was coming.


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## mal (Mar 11, 2011)

The Nuclear Situation there is of GREAT Concern...

These early Reports are not Promising.



peace...


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## Valerie (Mar 11, 2011)

> Tens of thousands of stranded people roamed the streets of Tokyo or holed up in offices and train stations as the capital's usual bustling traffic came to a standstill Friday after the biggest earthquake in modern Japanese history struck.
> 
> The magnitude-8.9 temblor off Japan's northeastern coast shook buildings in the capital, left millions of homes across Japan without electricity, shut down the mobile phone network and severely disrupted landline telephone service. It brought train system to a halt, paralyzing the daily commuter flow of more than 10 million people.
> 
> ...



Thousands roam Tokyo streets, stations after quake - Yahoo! Finance


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## Valerie (Mar 11, 2011)

> Tsunami from Japan quake hits Hawaii
> March 12, 2011 - 1:29AM
> 
> AFP
> ...



Tsunami from Japan quake hits Hawaii


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## The Infidel (Mar 11, 2011)

Ravi said:


> SFC Ollie said:
> 
> 
> > Looks like the tsunami i Hawaii will amount to a few higher than usuall waves with little to no damage.
> ...




I was watching that too... very scary indeed.

Hope the death toll is less than we think it will be.


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## xsited1 (Mar 11, 2011)

We live on a unstable planet at the edge of our galaxy surrounded by the extremes of freezing darkness to boiling sunlight while being constantly pummeled by Solar and cosmic radiation and meteorites and yet we still try to kill each other every chance we get.  How have we survived this long?


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## SFC Ollie (Mar 11, 2011)

xsited1 said:


> We live on a unstable planet at the edge of our galaxy surrounded by the extremes of freezing darkness to boiling sunlight while being constantly pummeled by Solar and cosmic radiation and meteorites and yet we still try to kill each other every chance we get.  How have we survived this long?



Lucky.......


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## The Infidel (Mar 11, 2011)

Looks like CALI is bracing for a tsunami impact, but I doubt it will be too bad.


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## California Girl (Mar 11, 2011)

I don't know if it's been shown in the US, but in the UK, they just showed the Tsunami hitting a town.... literally just took the whole town away.... horrifying to watch. Building after building just swept away. The town is gone. 

There's a cruise ship and a train full of people missing also. 

The casualties from this are likely to be really bad.


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## skeptic (Mar 11, 2011)

check this out
Widespread destruction from Japan earthquake, tsunamis - CNN.com 

I saw a headline that said "Dam bursts in Fukushima Prefecture" and that dozens of homes were flooded but no followup story yet.

Every major earthquake region in the world has reported an 8.4 or above earthquake since 2004 except the region between AK and N. CA.. Major earthquakes occur in clusters of a few years. They are so powerful that the entire crust of the earth vibrates. In the 64 quake in AK, boats in Louisianna sank due to related turbulence and water sloshed in wells in Africa.

We are currently in the midst of the most intense major earthquake cluster in recorded history. More may follow. Probably will.


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## USAMomma (Mar 11, 2011)

For earthquake information:
Latest Earthquakes in the World - Past 7 days

TSUNAMI ADVISORY

To check on Tsunami Information see here
West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Information


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## USAMomma (Mar 11, 2011)

No sign or word of any big waves so may as well put the surfboard away...

Just kidding about the surfboard but no reports of extremes in tides for the local beaches here.


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## USAMomma (Mar 11, 2011)

Drudge Report
California surfers waited in water for tsunami... 

News from The Associated Press


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## Toro (Mar 11, 2011)

USAMomma said:


> Drudge Report
> California surfers waited in water for tsunami...
> 
> News from The Associated Press



It's nature's way of weeding out the stupid.


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## USAMomma (Mar 11, 2011)

Hope anyone near the coast stays safe....

News from The Associated Press


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## skeptic (Mar 11, 2011)

They have evacuated whole sea side towns up in N CA. Local waves of 7.9 feet expected with reports of 3 foot waves in river channels a mile inland. They say the offshore equipment has determined the 4th wave is the biggest and it should be arriving any minute.

Fortunately the tide is low saving 40,000 people from losing their homes.


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## skeptic (Mar 11, 2011)

> CRESCENT CITY, Calif.&#8212;A tsunami triggered by the massive earthquake in Japan rushed onto California's coast Friday, causing powerful surges that destroyed boat docks as beach-area residents throughout the state evacuated to higher ground.
> 
> The tide began rising shortly after 7:30 a.m. along beaches in Crescent City, near the Oregon border, where the tsunami had been expected to hit the hardest in California. Officials predicted that waves could reach as high as 7 feet there.
> 
> ...


Crescent City docks severely damaged by tsunami - San Jose Mercury News

Thank God the tide was low, at least three whole towns, home to 60,000 would have been flooded or even leveled if this had happened at high tide.

Arcata CA actually has a whole section of town below sea level protected only by levies.


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## Wicked Jester (Mar 11, 2011)

The Infidel said:


> Looks like CALI is bracing for a tsunami impact, but I doubt it will be too bad.


I took a drive down the hill to the colony area at around 8:30. Those homes are right on the water. You could see the swell approach but it was minor. I'm guessing a 2-4 ft. rise. The beach area is still closed.

Luckily, unlike Nor Cal and So Oregon, this area has a deep water shelf. Most of the wave just disipated as it rolled in.


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## Valerie (Mar 11, 2011)

> Tsunami: Santa Cruz harbor dock destroyed, man swept out to sea near Klamath River
> 
> At 11:15 a.m., a large surge came through the Santa Cruz harbor and sent dozens of boats, some as big as 40-feet long, turning onto their sides and slamming into other boats that were tied up at nearby slips. Several boats sank and people in the crowd gasped loudly and yelled as the boats' masts hit the water.
> 
> ...



http://www.mercurynews.com/central-coast/ci_17591372?nclick_check=1


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## skeptic (Mar 11, 2011)

> *California Man Swept Into the Sea By Tsunami*
> 
> A man who went to the California coast to photograph the tsunami wave spawned by the Japanese earthquake was washed out to sea today and the Coast Guard has mounted a search for him. ...
> 
> ...



California Man Swept Into the Sea By Tsunami - ABC News


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## Toro (Mar 11, 2011)

skeptic said:


> > *California Man Swept Into the Sea By Tsunami*
> >
> > A man who went to the California coast to photograph the tsunami wave spawned by the Japanese earthquake was washed out to sea today and the Coast Guard has mounted a search for him. ...
> >
> ...



FFS

If they find him, they should bill him for the cost of the rescue.  

What an idiot.


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## skeptic (Mar 11, 2011)

There were a total of 5-7 of them, two in Oregon and 1-3 in CA. News is a bit sketchy.


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## boedicca (Mar 11, 2011)

The news stations in the Bay Area were freaking out over the tsunami threat this am.  Local and state officials were considering closing all bridges and even the BART transbay tube (which doesn't really make sense as it is at the bottom of the bay.


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## dilloduck (Mar 11, 2011)

boedicca said:


> The news stations in the Bay Area were freaking out over the tsunami threat this am.  Local and state officials were considering closing all bridges and even the BART transbay tube (which doesn't really make sense as it is at the bottom of the bay.



[ame]www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIlMyNXmfcM[/ame]


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## SFC Ollie (Mar 11, 2011)

Daybreak reveals huge devastation in tsunami-hit Japan

By Edwina Gibbs and Chisa Fujioka Edwina Gibbs And Chisa Fujioka  1 hr 14 mins ago

TOKYO (Reuters)  Japan confronted devastation along its northeastern coast on Saturday, with fires raging and parts of some cities under water after a massive earthquake and tsunami that likely killed at least 1,000 people.

Daybreak was expected to reveal the full extent of the death and damage from Friday's 8.9 magnitude earthquake and the 10-meter high tsunami it sent surging into cities and villages, sweeping away everything in its path.

In one of the worst-hit residential areas, people buried under rubble could be heard calling out "help" and "when are we going to be rescued," Kyodo news agency reported.

Daybreak reveals huge devastation in tsunami-hit Japan - Yahoo! News


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## hipeter924 (Mar 11, 2011)

Toro said:


> skeptic said:
> 
> 
> > > *California Man Swept Into the Sea By Tsunami*
> ...


Agreed, and I bet they were told by others to get off the beach because a tsunami was coming too.


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## Mad Scientist (Mar 11, 2011)

I'm following a thread in a Japan board I frequent, postings by people (a few of whom are friends)who live in Japan and are dealing with the disaster first hand.

PM me if you want the link, I won't post it. Don't want anyone to think I'm *recruiting* for another site.


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## mal (Mar 11, 2011)

Upgraded... 9.1...

And probably not the end...

The Moon Peaks on the 19th, doesn't it?...



peace...


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## Toro (Mar 11, 2011)

My parents are staying just off the beach in Kihei, Maui.  I talked to them today.  They said that last night, people were walking around with megaphones, telling everyone that a tsunami was coming and go to shelters or at least to higher ground.  My parents went to a golf course and spent the night in their car in the parking lot.  They said there was a thousand people there.


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## mal (Mar 11, 2011)

Resubscribing...



peace...


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## ScienceRocks (Mar 12, 2011)

On 3-9 a foreshock of 7.2 occurred...What are the odds that the 8.9 is a foreshock of a 9.7-10 pointer? In what kind of damage and tsunami may occur if that occurred?


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## Wicked Jester (Mar 12, 2011)

Matthew said:


> On 3-9 a foreshock of 7.2 occurred...What are the odds that the 8.9 is a foreshock of a 9.7-10 pointer? In what kind of damage and tsunami may occur if that occurred?


9.7---10 You're talkin' Biblical.

Each point it goes up means it's 100 times stronger.....Think about that.


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## idb (Mar 12, 2011)

Wicked Jester said:


> Matthew said:
> 
> 
> > On 3-9 a foreshock of 7.2 occurred...What are the odds that the 8.9 is a foreshock of a 9.7-10 pointer? In what kind of damage and tsunami may occur if that occurred?
> ...



I'm pretty sure it's ten times, every two points is equivalent to 100 times...as I understand it.


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## Cmdr Sheppard (Mar 12, 2011)

That sucks.


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## skeptic (Mar 12, 2011)

Matthew said:


> On 3-9 a foreshock of 7.2 occurred...*What are the odds that the 8.9 is a foreshock of a 9.7-10 pointer?* In what kind of damage and tsunami may occur if that occurred?



The odds are stronger than they were on Thursday, because the spate of quakes since 2004 is rewriting the books on seismology.

A 9.1 in the Indian ocean(2005?), an 8.5 off the coast of Sumatra (2004?), an 8.8 in Chile (2010) and an 8.9-9.1 off the coast of japan yesterday.

All told 4 of the thirteen strongest quakes in recorded history occurred since 2004. A similar spate of major quakes occurred between 48 and 64 culminating in the 9.5 AK superquake.

Just as temps appeared to rise globally in the decades following our acquisition of instrumentation capable of measuring global climate in real time, quake intensity is increasing just as we acquire instrumentation capable of accurately measuring quake intensity. 100 seismic stations in Japan alone helped formulate the tsunami alert data. 

Odds are good that past quakes have been perhaps a magnitude larger than we realized but because epicenters were offshore and remote no evidence survived to demonstrate as much.

But if the last cluster of major quakes is any indicator we can expect several more 8.8+ magnitude quakes within the next decade. Perhaps even a few in the Cascadia/AK region. Or Kamchatka and perhaps more in Chile, Sumatra and Japan.


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## cyint (Mar 12, 2011)

Natural disaster expert predicts it will take 10 years to rebuild Japan:

Disaster Expert David Neal: 8.9 Japan Quake much worse than Katrina | CY Interview


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## skeptic (Mar 12, 2011)

In the 20s Japan was struck by a typhoon and a quake at the exact same time. The quake started a fire in Tokyo and leveled the entire city. 140,000 people died. 1923 Great Kant

Then there was WWII in which more than 140,000 died just from the two nuclear blasts, as many more from intense firebombing, and half the male population was killed in the war. It took 25 years, a generation, to recover. 

Germany has recovered from 3 severe economic and infrastructure shocks since the 20's. One each generation, and they are once again the strongest nation in Europe.

Recovery is what we humans do best. That which doesn't kill us makes us better, and stronger. Life is hard, but we still love it.


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