Earthquake Facts – Major Pacific Basin Quake

Date:

An earthquake currently rated 8.9 on the logarithmic 1-10 Richter scale has hit northeast of Tokyo near Honshu, Japan.

A people finder site is located at

http://japan.person-finder.appspot.com/

The site was tracking nearly 6,000 people by 8 a.m. EST, about the time the initial tsunami wave hit Hawaii.

The Richter scale, a coarse overall estimate of the power of a quake, is a base-10 logarithmic scale, which means the energy released by a quake rated 8 is about 10 times greater than that of a 7 and 100 times greater than a 6.

Earthquake ratings can be adjusted slightly after more measurements are made.

There are other ways to measure the force of a quake and the damage depends on the kind of ground and the sort of buildings (if any) in the area.

An 8.9 earthquake is a major event that, in this instance, also generated a tsunami.

Earthquakes usually also result in aftershocks that can be extremely damaging, especially because the local infrastructure is already weakened by the initial quake.

The initial quake occurred at

Friday, March 11, 2011 at 05:46:23 UTC

Friday, March 11, 2011 at 02:46:23 PM at epicenter

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqinthenews/2011/usc0001xgp/

This quake was located 15 miles under the surface and generated a tsunami warning for the Pacific Basin.

38.322A°N, 142.369A°E

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/

Pacific Tsunami Warning Center

http://www.weather.gov/ptwc/

Scientists say earthquakes usually occur when various sections of the earth’s crust, particularly the tectonic plates that move around and have changed the position of the continents, move either sideways or push over or under another segment.

Of course, this explanation is based on the theory that the planet is billions of years old and keeps changing. In Norse mythology quakes were blamed on Loki. In Japanese mythology the giant catfish Namazu causes them.

This is a good time to recall that normally quiet areas such as the central U.S. can still experience major earthquakes such as the massive 1811-1812 New Madrid quake.

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/ceus/

Find earthquake information geared to kids at

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/kids/

John McCormick
John McCormickhttps://groundhogpress.com/
John McCormick is a reporter, /science/medical columnist and finance and social commentator, with 18,000+ bylined stories and 23 books - seven major books. Currently he writes exclusively for Newsblaze except for books published by Groundhog Press, Inc.
Member, Overseas Press Club of America, 40+ year member of the National Press Club, Member, Press Club of Western PA, retired emergency management coordinator (25 years), physicist, member of The Union of Concerned Scientists. He is a senior NewsBlaze writer who writes incisive, investigative stories.
Medical Blog https://criticalmedicalnews.blogspot.com/ John's recent books: 2023 "A Field Guide to Groundhog Day - a vacation guide to the Punxsutawney area" https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BSP9MRW1 Things you thought you knew or were taught but are wrong.vol. 1 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09NT79TTR Kindle $3.55 or free for Amazon Prime members, paperback $6.24. Children's book "The Tale of a Worried Little Puppy"
https://www.amazon.com/kindle/dp/B08GP4CRYS/ref=rdr_kindle_ext_eos_detail Visitor's guide to Groundhog Day (best as an ebook but published before Pandemic) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B083NZ98JJ "Preparing for Climate Change: Coastal flooding will cost the U.S. billions of dollars within two decades." paperback second edition https://www.amazon.com/dp/1082060615 or ebook https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07TYTG6ZC eBOOK "Blockchain Made Simple" Blockchain is poised to revolutionize business and government data management. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HCY7QPZ and "Preparing for climate change" Other recent books are "Sheep in the Rafters," and "Everywhere I turn There's a Wet Nose" a book for those who see dog hair as a condiment (about the science of and love for dogs) are available on Amazon. Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/John-A.-McCormick/e/B00287RNFS The list of all of his books is here: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00287RNFS

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