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)
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The Tsunami on the northern tip of Taiwan appear to have been less that~1 meter, but communication on the TV networks suggest addition Tsunami may occur from the 6.0 aftershocks.
John
I was working for Honda in Swindon, England, when the Kobe quake struck in 1995. But this, this is just devastating!
The uncontrollable power of nature. Ahuge amount of energy has been released and it sure can be devastating. My thoughts, prayers and best wishes go out to all those people in and around the area.
AlBoeNEWS: Japan Meteorological Agency: Town of Kurihara has been completely destroyed
Here is a live stream:
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/foxtokimekitonight
this is terrable i’m so sorry japan
From here in Tokyo I have seen nothing in the Japanese media today suggesting that Kurihara, a town clearly well inland, has been destroyed. I have been to Sendai a number of times and cannot imagine that a city clearly well above sea level and well to the west of Sendai would be destroyed by the tsunami. Such reports are nonsense.
Just watching the pictures and it’s like you are watching a disater movie. In reality your are except this one is real. Aftershocks must be a worry now in Japan, as for the rest of the Pacific it will be a few hours till the rising water levels hit many places.
It puts a few millimeters per decade of sea level rises into context, the Pacific is rimmed by active tectonic plates, this will happen again and again.
Oddly enough I wasn’t pondering on the moon being behind this but rather the quiet sun. I don’t know how or why but is the solar cycle related to changes in seismic activity?
Webcam.
http://219.118.247.53/view/view.shtml
Combined views, 4 cameras. Currently dark (nighttime). Looks like wave of water visible on Camera 3 (view from high above handrails onto big area with a line of barriers, grainy image). Water in other 3 views. Pictures not automatically updating, no noticeable changes over 5 minutes of page reloads, then views didn’t load for 5 min, just reloaded again with no noticeable changes.
Identification (Googled result using webcam URL):
Source of Identification:
List of “Japan live webcams” (note duplicates)
http://www.watvon.com/webcams/countries/country/Japan
And here I was, complaining about the seasonal spring flooding here in central Pennsylvania and about needing to take a detour Friday…
Stay safe.
From here in Tokyo, this was the most frightening earthquake I have experienced in nearly two decades living here. While much of the damage has occurred in the Sendai area, major fires took place in a building in the Tokyo Telecomm Center here in Tokyo’s Koto Ward as well as in oil installations in Chiba prefecture just east of Tokyo. The entire rail system here is shut down here in the capital. My wife will not be able to return home this evening.
http://wcatwc.arh.noaa.gov/2011/03/11/lhvpd9/06/messagelhvpd9-06.htm
The Tsunami Warning continues in effect for the coastal areas of California and Oregon from Point Concepcion, California to the Oregon-Washington border.
The Tsunami Warning continues in effect for the coastal areas of Alaska from Amchitka Pass, Alaska (125 miles W of Adak) to Attu, Alaska.
The Tsunami Advisory continues in effect for the coastal areas of California from the California-Mexico border to Point Concepcion, California.
The Tsunami Advisory continues in effect for the coastal areas of Washington, British Columbia and Alaska from the Oregon-Washington border to Amchitka Pass, Alaska (125 miles W of Adak).
BBC just had an earthquake scientist from a UK university on, refusing to say that quakes were predictable or that the magnitude of aftershocks could be foretold.
He said that the science was not at a point where they could say that they understood enough to evaluate even the immediate aftermath shocks and that although they could and were modelling outcomes, there was very little confidence in the forecasts.
Humility in that branch of science yet none in climate change!
Posted here under the handle aerology;
http://www.climatepatrol.com/forum/53/4804/pg1/index.php
Subject: Extreme Super (Full) Moon to Cause Chaos?
posted on 3/10/2011 at 05:49 PM
All part of the 18.03 year Saros cycle of lunar phase, declinational, and perigee / apogee repeating patterns, due to the repeating of the inner planets coming into the same harmonic synchrony due to billions of years gravitational and tidal interacting till in phase.
The years1955,1974,1992 are the analog years I use in my weather forecast, because the influences of these combined effects cause a repeating of the basic global circulation patterns. I see no reason why they would not show an affect on the tectonic movement and resultant earthquakes produced by the magnetic jerks inducted into the system.
X class flare and CME back on the 9th, is a symptom or an effect?
activity already going above 200 take a look at the animation of the last 7 days.
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsanim/world/
crosspatch says:
March 11, 2011 at 2:19 am
AlBoeNEWS: Japan Meteorological Agency: Town of Kurihara has been completely destroyed
According to Google Earth Kurihara is 45 miles inland so obviously must have been destroyed by the earthquake itself. There may be many more cities/towns which have also been destroyed.
NHK has reported that one of the Nuke plants in Fukushima Prefecture has lost it’s emergency power and no longer is able to cool down the scrammed reactor and an Nuke emergency has been declared.
Yer just got to love the precautionary principles of mass media, scared of Gas.
Piss ants dont even tread on ground.
Clear real and present danger . Nothing could have stopped it. But money where it counted may have helped predict it.
Gas, and not gravitation, not real energy.
Going to be a long night. My thoughts with all our friends in Japan.
They would not know a constant in the universe if they tripped over it while gas got blown out to space.
They like talking about stuff they know nothing about.
Fools are more deadly than evil people.
NZ > Japan > clockwise round the ring > San Francisco?
Japan now faces “nuclear emergency” as attempts to cool reactor at northern plant “are not going as planned”
Prime Minister Naoto Kan will issue a nuclear emergency statement at 6:30 pm local time (0930 GMT)
vukcevic says:
Japan earthquake occurred at the end of the latest geomagnetic storm, the longest and strongest in the latest series, still going on 23 hours after it started.
Comment; The graph looks the same as the New Zealand Quake
Ferdinand Engelbeen says:
March 11, 2011 at 12:54 am
From a book I read some 40 years ago, it seems that earthquakes are clustered around solar minima, maybe some link between now increasing solar activity and geomagnetic events, which may influence tectonic plate movements?
Comment: I,ve read many similar statements hear at WUWT.
The video out of Japan is absolutely amazing. It shows the power of a tsunami even better than the home videos of the massive tsunami after the Indonesia quake a few years ago.
If the same magnitude quake hit California the damage would be incredible. Japan is MUCH more prepared than we are for both large quakes and tsunami waves.
7th largest quake ever recorded. Amazing.
I felt the 7.2 “Easter Sunday Quake” here in San Diego and it was by far the strongest and longest quake I’ve ever felt. I have no desire to experience a stronger quake than that!
Hawaii Surf Cams… Expected time to hit is about an hour and a half from now, roughly 8am eastern.
http://livesurfcamhawaii.com/