UPDATE: 00:00 PST 3/13/11 Japanese Met Agency has upgraded the magnitude of the quake to 9.0 — up from 8.8, their previous estimate.
UPDATE: 14:20 PST 3/11/11 Additional graphs and data added to end of post h/t Eco Tretas
UPDATE: 4:05 am PST Tsunami Warning continues for much of the US Pacific Coast and British Columbia.
UPDATE: Compared to quakes since 1900, this appears to be the sixth largest on record, see table added below from USGS data.
Tsunami Warning for the entire Pacific basin coastline including California, impact at 7:42 -8:15 AM local time e.g. San Francisco.
UPDATE: One of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded. Hawaii under Tsunami Warning. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center Updates / Warning Website Link. Aftershocks continuing. Tsunami Watch issued for California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Canada…
UPDATE: Here’s a screencap from live streaming from Japan via news helicopter showing the Tsunami as it strike s the north coast:
UPDATE: NHK TV in Japan reports Tsunami hit. Massive damage, reports below.
8.9 quake at Friday, March 11, 2011 at 05:46:00 UTC. Preliminary estimate was 7.9 and was upgraded to 8.8, now 8.9. Current details from USGS. Tsunami warning issued.
We’ll have more on this as it develops.
If you know of webcams in the area in Japan, leave a comment.
(AP) – JAPAN’S METEOROLOGICAL AGENCY NOW WARNS THAT A TSUNAMI AS HIGH AS 20 FEET (6 METERS) COULD STRIKE THE COAST NEAR MIYAGI PREFECTURE, CLOSEST TO THE EPICENTER.
WEHW40 PHEB 110557
TSUHWX
HIZ001>003-005>009-012>014-016>021-023>026-110757-
/O.NEW.PHEB.TS.A.0001.110311T0557Z-000000T0000Z/
BULLETIN
TSUNAMI MESSAGE NUMBER 1
NWS PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER EWA BEACH HI
756 PM HST THU MAR 10 2011
TO - CIVIL DEFENSE IN THE STATE OF HAWAII
SUBJECT - TSUNAMI WATCH
A TSUNAMI WATCH IS ISSUED FOR THE STATE OF HAWAII EFFECTIVE AT
0756 PM HST.
AN EARTHQUAKE HAS OCCURRED WITH THESE PRELIMINARY PARAMETERS
ORIGIN TIME - 0746 PM HST 10 MAR 2011
COORDINATES - 38.0 NORTH 142.9 EAST
LOCATION - NEAR EAST COAST OF HONSHU JAPAN
MAGNITUDE - 7.9 MOMENT
EVALUATION
BASED ON ALL AVAILABLE DATA A TSUNAMI MAY HAVE BEEN GENERATED BY
THIS EARTHQUAKE THAT COULD BE DESTRUCTIVE ON COASTAL AREAS EVEN
FAR FROM THE EPICENTER. AN INVESTIGATION IS UNDERWAY TO DETERMINE
IF THERE IS A TSUNAMI THREAT TO HAWAII.
IF TSUNAMI WAVES IMPACT HAWAII THE ESTIMATED EARLIEST ARRIVAL OF
THE FIRST TSUNAMI WAVE IS
0259 AM HST FRI 11 MAR 2011
MESSAGES WILL BE ISSUED HOURLY OR SOONER AS CONDITIONS WARRANT.
From Fox News :
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii said a tsunami warning was in effect for Japan, Russia, Marcus Island and the Northern Marianas. A tsunami watch has been issued for Guam, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia and U.S. state of Hawaii.
The quake struck at 2:46 p.m. at a depth of 10 kilometers, about 80 miles (125 kilometers) off the eastern coast, the meteorological agency said. The area is 240 miles (380 kilometers) northeast of Tokyo.
In downtown Tokyo, large buildings shook violently and workers poured into the street for safety. TV footage showed a large building on fire and bellowing smoke in the Odaiba district of Tokyo.
From CBS News:
Japanese television showed video of serious damage caused by a tsunami along the nation’s northern coast. Public broadcaster NHK showed cars, trucks, houses and buildings being swept away by the tsunami in Onahama city, Fukushima prefecture.
A tsunami warning was in effect for Japan, Russia, Marcus Island and the Northern Marianas. A tsunami watch has been issued for Guam, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia and U.S. state of Hawaii.
There were reports that evacuations were underway along the Russian coast.
===================================================================
| Rank Location | Date | Magnitude2 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Chile | May 22, 1960 | 9.5 |
| 2. | Prince William Sound, Alaska | March 28, 19643 | 9.2 |
| 3. | Andreanof Islands, Aleutian Islands | March 9, 1957 | 9.1 |
| 4. | Kamchatka | Nov. 4, 1952 | 9.0 |
| 5. | Off western coast of Sumatra, Indonesia | Dec. 26, 2004 | 9.0 |
| 6. | Off the coast of Ecuador | Jan. 31, 1906 | 8.8 |
| 7. | Offshore Maule, Chile | Feb. 27, 2010 | 8.8 |
| 8. | Rat Islands, Aleutian Islands | Feb. 4, 1965 | 8.7 |
| 9. | Northern Sumatra, Indonesia | March 28, 2005 | 8.7 |
| 10. | India-China border | Aug. 15, 1950 | 8.6 |
http://www.ioc-sealevelmonitoring.org/station.php?code=ofun
Hanasaki (almost also 4 meters max variation)
http://www.ioc-sealevelmonitoring.org/station.php?code=hana
Omaezaki
http://www.ioc-sealevelmonitoring.org/station.php?code=omae
Wake Island (little variation)
http://www.ioc-sealevelmonitoring.org/station.php?code=wake
Guam (little variation)
Update on Fukushima. Rads reported at 1000x normal, and efforts to restore cooling have not been effective – Drudge. Evac radius extended to 10K. They better get a handle on this real quick.
Interesting. The following article suggests evidence of a foreshock.
“The earthquake occurred near the site of another tremor that shook Miyagi Prefecture on Wednesday, so the earlier quake may have been a foreshock, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.”
“There aren’t many instances in which such a large earthquake occurs right after a magnitude 7-class quake,” said an official at the agency. “This is a highly unusual case.”
more:
http://e.nikkei.com/e/fr/tnks/Nni20110311D11JFA11.htm
It took about 1 hour for the Tsunami to hit the coast following the earthquake. Read the link above abut the nuclear plant. The data is in that link.
Here is a web page for the NOAA modeling of the Tsunami.
http://nctr.pmel.noaa.gov/honshu20110311/
No man is an island,
Entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thine own
Or of thine friend’s were.
Each man’s death diminishes me,
For I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee.
Wiglaf says:
March 11, 2011 at 12:35 pm
“I saw one video where this guy is watching boats and cars floating underneath the road/bridge he is on. I was thinking, man, I wouldn’t be hanging around on a bridge like that when a boat or other large object (and the water) could knock the supports right out from under me.”
Probably it was the highest spot he could easily reach in the time he had, so it made no more sense to run further.
@ur momisugly Scarlett
Relax. Danny Glover is writing the BBC’s copy.
Higher radiation levels reported.
Not sure of the credibility of USA Today but here is their report
on radiation levels. .
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2011/03/radiation-1000-times-normal-detected-around-crippled-japanese-plant/1
Wow, if the water doesn’t leave does that mean that the land itself has sunk somewhat on the quake side?
From the pictures this morning ,whole towns and villages have been swept to sea and all you see are foundations and roads under water, vast areas are swamped and people are stranded on top of big buildings.
Nuke plants leaking and overheating -esh, not good on many levels.
Was glad there was nothing much from the 7.2 on March 9th and then this.
Have noticed that there’s been a stranger look to the world wide earthquake map of late. Seeing these multiple mini-hits over and over, like a vibration, especially around the ‘ring of fire’. Just an odder pattern of late than the usual I’ve noticed, since watching these EQ sites for about 7-8 years.
My thoughts for Japan in her moment of crisis.
There seems to be a huge amount of damage over wide areas.
I have no idea why anyone should be worried about the reactors:
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2011/02/16/going-bananas-over-radiation/
Here’s the scary thing. A few years ago some Californian quake disaster specialists went to Japan to get some information on Japanese methods. They were shocked with the lack of organisation skills and lack of communication abilities. The phrase “All hat and no cattle” came to mind.
Perhaps this will provide some perspective on the radiation leak stories.
“(Reuters) – Radiation detected at a central control unit at Tokyo Electric Power Co’s No.1 reactor at Fukushima Daiichi plant is NOT at a level that would require workers at the plant to evacuate, a trade ministry official said on Saturday.
The radiation at the control unit has risen to about 1,000 times the normal level, the official said.” (emphasis on ‘NOT’is mine)
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/11/us-japan-quake-tepco-radiation-idUSTRE72A81C20110311
Sigh.
“23.03 Uhr – Im Kontrollraum des japanischen Atomkraftwerks Fukushima-Daiichi ist die Radioaktivität auf das Tausendfache des normalen Werts gestiegen.”
http://www.ftd.de/politik/international/:erdbeben-in-japan-lage-am-kernkraftwerk-bleibt-angespannt/60024178.html#gmap-0-Tokio
lit.: “In the control room of the reactor Fukushima-Daiichi, radioactivity has risen to 1000 times above normal.”
German Journalists; what are they thinking – that a control room is supposed to be radioactive? Mistranslations like this are one cause for the frequent fits of Malthusian panic amongst my fellow Germans. Inept idiots. I spare you Der Spiegel who has contributed its own specific Dreck on par with Grist…
The anti nuclear brigade will be making a great deal of noise about any controlled leak from the Fukushima nuclear plant.
What they will fail to mention is the “leak” will be nearly all water vapour with a small trace amount of N16 (the radioactive part). The N16 has a half life of approximately 7.1 seconds so will rapidly decay to oxygen.
Some anti-nuclear group (according to sky news) is claiming the radiation levels around the Fukushima are 1000 times higher than normal. They should wait 10 minutes and measure again because by then the amount of N16 left wont be enough to register above the normal background radiation level.
(Sorry if this has already been posted)
Some respond to Japan earthquake by pointing to global warming
“Some islands affected by climate change have been hit,” said Nilsson. “Has not the time come to demonstrate on solidarity – not least solidarity in combating and adapting to climate change and global warming?”
“Mother Nature has again given us a sign that that is what we need to do,” he added.
Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2011/03/11/some-respond-to-japan-earthquake-by-pointing-to-global-warming/#ixzz1GKrE81f2
TerryS says:
March 11, 2011 at 2:58 pm
…What they will fail to mention is the “leak” will be nearly all water vapour with a small trace amount of N16 (the radioactive part)…
May be a more serious problem if the water has been contaminated by fissionable material from heat damaged fuel rods.
There is too little hard information around to know just how good or bad things are at the moment, but I’m not getting good vibes about this one!
Could not help but notice the comments in WUWT on the BBC report speculating on more damage to the Pacific islands due to the climate warming and sea level rise. The fact many inhabited islands have never been anymore than barely above sea level may not be important.
BBC exposed their policy as a biased network by using a real tragedy to take a cheap shot. Making climate change a focal point is a true low in reporting in view of the reality.
What were they thinking with the scope of the tragedy up front to detour their report to support a theory not only not proven but riddled with deception.
NOAA tsunami animation
I wonder if a tsunami of this proportion will yield noticeable cooling of SST. Seems like it might stir and cool like soup, or a hurricane. Any opinions?
Ok. The German journalists translated correctly – if this was their source.
“Radiation surged to around 1,000 times the normal level in the control room of the No. 1 reactor of the Fukushima Daichi plant, Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said. ”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42025882/ns/world_news-asiapacific/
Double sigh.
For all those who don’t understand my exasperation with these journalists: The control room of a nuclear power plant is never inside the reactor containment. For obvious reasons.
Maybe we should have SMART people in the newsrooms. Which we don’t.
Radiation is of course more than 1000
times mormal -and of course
the nuclear industry and the usa
and Japan govts and their shills
will spin it just as
the Usa and BP and the USa media
spun the on-going endless
BP Gulf of Mexico catastrophe-
(the pro-nuke and pro-oil shill troll crowd
is just as vocal and more ballistic
than any anti crowd and much better funded)
And the connected psycho imbecile builders of
usa nuke plants built them on or near
earthquake faults because faults create rivers and
rivers are where the coolant water is cheapest.
http://www.businessinsider.com/fukushima-nuclear-plant-2011-3
here are the facts-
not troll hot air–
http://alethonews.wordpress.com/2010/05/29/2010/02/25/look-out-for-the-nuclear-bomb-coming-with-your-electric-bill/
http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=18951
http://alethonews.wordpress.com/2010/02/25/2009/12/03/theres-more-to-climate-fraud-than-just-tax-hikes/
http://redactednews.blogspot.com/2010/09/911-global-warming-and-other-crimes.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/harvey-wasserman/frances-nuke-power-poster_b_176690.html
http://www.namastepublishing.co.uk/Populations%20Exposed%20to%20Enviromental%20Uranium.htm
http://www.namastepublishing.co.uk/Global%20Implications%20of%20Sellafield%20-%20Irish%20Sea%20Coast%20Effect.htm
http://redactednews.blogspot.com/2010/09/911-global-warming-and-other-crimes.html
http://www.nirs.org/home.htm
http://www.app.com/article/20100915/NEWS/9150349/Nuclear-waste-piles-up-with-no-disposal-plan
trillion dollar loan guarantee to nuke industry
http://www.psr.org/assets/pdfs/alexander-webb-bill.pdf
http://www.beyondnuclear.org/home/2010/5/27/packing-the-nuclear-pork-barrel-by-nrdc.html
http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/cpaine/packing_the_nuclear_pork_barre.html
http://iraqwar.mirror-world.ru/article/228057
http://www.beyondnuclear.org/
http://nuclear-news.net/2009/06/05/is-nuclear-a-green-fuel-%C2%AB-voices-from-ghana/
http://nuclear-news.net/
http://go2.wordpress.com/?id=725X1342&site=alethonews.wordpress.com&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nuclear-news.net%2F2009%2F05%2F06%2Fformer-federal-regulator-plans-for-fermi-3-nuclear-reactor-could-lead-to-job-loss%2F&sref=http%3A%2F%2Falethonews.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F02%2F25%2Flook-out-for-the-nuclear-bomb-coming-with-your-electric-bill%2F
http://iraqwar.mirror-world.ru/article/225551
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20100522/NEWS02/100521022/Strontium-discovered-in-soil-surrounding-Vermont-Yankee-leak
Good morning folks, it’s 8:55 am now local time, Saturday, March 12.
Yesterday evening I had to walk home; 7-8 miles, 2.5 hours.
I saw a huge number of cars “adhered to roads”; no move, all the way.
They say the dead and missing are more than 1,000 now, but nodody knows exactly.
In several places near the epicenter, towns disappeared by a single tsunami stroke; a big tragedy indeed.
I do feel natural disaster mitigation is much much more important than preparing for the imaginary AGW.
a second NOAA animation, more interesting details
#
2252 GMT: The Tokyo Electric Power Company has said the cooling systems of three reactors at second nuclear power plant, Fukushima-Daini, are malfunctioning, according to the Kyodo news agency. The plant is 11km (7 miles) to the south of Fukushima-Daiichi, where the cooling system one of its reactors is not working and pressure is rising.
Copied from the BBC site.