7.0 Earthquake in Japan; 8.5 Earthquake in Chile

[DeToxRox]

Not much more info yet.

[DeToxRox]

From MSNBC

TOKYO - A magnitude-7.0 earthquake struck off southern Japan early Saturday, and Okinawa's seashore was evacuated after Japan's Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami warning.

The Japanese agency predicted 6-foot waves following the quake, which hit just east of Okinawa and Ryukyu, south of Japan's main islands. Tsunami waves also were expected on the islands of Amami and Tokaro.

There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.
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No tsunami was forecast for the West Coast of the United States.

The U.S. Geological Survey initially said the quake was magnitude 7.3, but lowered the measure to 7.0.

Japan is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries. In 1995, a magnitude-7.2 quake in the western port city of Kobe killed 6,400 people.

[JediKooter]

Oh man. That sucks.

[DaddyTorgo]

Yikes

[DanGarion]

I hope Danielson is ok.

[Hammer755]

Yikes. I'm having coffee tomorrow morning with a friend and his son, who is a Marine on leave headed back to Okinawa in the afternoon.

[DeToxRox]

Crazy day.

CNN) -- An 8.3-magnitude earthquake struck central Chile early Saturday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The quake's epicenter was located near the town of Concepcion, 212 miles (341 kilometers) from the capital, Santiago.

A tsunami warning was issued for Chile and Peru, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.

"An earthquake of this size has the potential to generate a destructive tsunami that can strike coastlines near the epicenter within minutes and more distant coastlines within hours," the National Weather Service said in a statement.

Alessandro Perez, who is staying at the Santiago Marriott Hotel, reported shattered glass, but there was no structural damage. No one at the hotel was injured, he said.

Anita Herrera, who works at the Hotel Kennedy in Santiago, said electricity was out at that hotel and guests were nervous.

"Our hotel is built for this," she said. "In Chile, this happens many times."

Chile holds the record for the largest earthquake in the world, according to the USGS. A magnitude 9.5 quake struck the South American country in May 1960 and killed 1,655 people.

[k0ruptr]

upgraded to 8.8 now. I'm on tsunami advisory...

[QuikSand]

8.8 magnitude is a beastly sized event... something like 800-900 times as powerful as a 7.0...wow

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Says they're evacuating coastal areas in Hawaii starting at 6:00 AM local time. Scary stuff. Just thankful that the wave is far enough away that they'll have time to warn everyone.

[BYU 14]

upgraded to 8.8 now. I'm on tsunami advisory...

Hopefully Hawaii will not get hit with anything major, keeping good thoughts for the Islands.

[Vince, Pt. II]

7.0 and 8.8 quakes within 24 hours of each other...scary times. CNN Reporting 82 people dead in Chile, seems pretty low. Hopefully it stays low.

[Eaglesfan27]

Hopefully Hawaii will not get hit with anything major, keeping good thoughts for the Islands.

Same here. Scary stuff.

[Alan T]

As some know, my wife was born in Chile and most of her family is there, but thankfully in the northern part of the country. They said it was a strong quake even as far north as Santiago, but it sounds like all of her family is ok based on one of her cousins posting on facebook of all things. The phones are virtually unreachable anywhere in the country right now though. She's completely freaked out.

Go figure somehow they have facebook but no phones.

[sterlingice]

7.0 and 8.8 quakes within 24 hours of each other...scary times.

Ok, who forgot to carry the 1 when adding up dates on the Mayan calendar.

Mayan guy in a time machine: 'May 2012? What idiots did this math? It was supposed to be March 2010!'

SI

[DeToxRox]

Looks like a Tsunami is expected to hit Hawaii around 4 est:

Hawaii is bracing for a potential tsunami in the wake of last night's massive Chilean earthquake, sounding alarms to evacuate coastal areas for the first time in 16 years.
A shopper pushes a cart full of emergency supplies at Safeway grocery store early Saturday, Feb. 27, 2010, in Honolulu. Hawaii braced Saturday for a tsunami, after a massive earthquake off Chile sent waves across the Pacific Ocean.
A shopper pushes a cart full of emergency supplies at Safeway grocery store early Saturday, Feb. 27, 2010, in Honolulu. Hawaii braced Saturday for a tsunami, after a massive earthquake off Chile sent waves across the Pacific Ocean.
(Marco Garcia/AP Photo)

Civil defense sirens blared in each county of Hawaii starting at 6:00 a.m. Hawaiian time as residents and tourists calmly began leaving their coastline homes and resorts and moving to higher ground.

Grocery stores faced a crush of residents eager to stock up on food, water and batteries. Long lines of cars snaked through many islands' streets near gas stations as drivers filled their tanks.

"We've got a lot of things going for us," Charles McCreery, director of the center told The Associated Press. "We have a reasonable lead time. The evacuation should all take place during daylight hours, and wave impact should be during daylight hours."

The first wave is expected to arrive by 11:19 a.m. local time, 4:19 p.m. ET.

[DeToxRox]

First wave arrivals:

*

Hilo: 11:05 AM HST (4:05 pm EST)
Honolulu: 11:37 AM HST (4:37 pm EST)
Kahului: 11:26 AM HST (4:26 pm EST)

[Sun Tzu]

k0ruptr, where on the Big Island are you? I know that's the island that's supposed to be hit the hardest. Stay safe man.

I woke up around 5:30 this morning and heard the public emergency siren go off about a half hour later. They actually sound the siren every month on the first of the month, so it was weird hearing it now. I just assumed it was some idiot playing a joke...apparently not. I'm on Tsunami warning too, but in a pretty safe place as I live on the side of a mountain.

The waves are expected to hit around 11am Hawai'i time (4pm Eastern) here on the Islands. The phones have been down since I woke up, but I was successfully able to get through to my Wife's Mother one time.

Word on the size of the waves is something like 12 feet in some areas, and around 6 feet here in Kailua.

[Sun Tzu]

Dola...

Just so everybody understands the seriousness of this, in 1960 there was an earthquake in Chile smaller than the one that hit today. It caused a Tsunami that hit Hilo (where I think K0ruptr lives) that killed over 100 people.

[hawk4669]

I live in Northern California and we're under a tsunami advisory currently. I'm a Battalion Chief with with our Fire District and just got out of a conference call with CAL-EMA (California Emergency Management Agency).....there are a couple places they're watching a long the California coast, as well as Alaska and the situation in Hawaii.....but for the most part, California won't see much of anything.

The way the CAL-EMA put it, it'll just look like a bit higher tide than normal. Places that don't normally see water won't get wet. Their only concern was its effect on the currents in the local bay, etc as it could be a bit stronger than normal.

That's it on my end.

Cheers!

[k0ruptr]

Yes, I'm in hilo, It's pretty eerie right now. I'm a little worried, but looking at expected wave heights and other factors, I've got my fingers crossed that we will be alright. Our house is in a safe zone, but others are not, some family and friends are on their way here to our place to stay for the next 6 hours or so. Everyone is definitely on edge though.

Wish us luck everyone, I'm hoping everyone here remains safe.

[Neon_Chaos]

Friends are telling me that they have Tsunami warnings posted in the Philippines as well. Metro Manila should be relatively safe, but the Philippine coastline facing the Pacific have made preparations for any impending waves.

[Lathum]

I was just looking up the Indonesia tsunami and according to Wiki those wave were 100 feet, hopefully that means there wont be a huge loss of life or property in Hawaii. Still, hope all out friends there stay safe.

[TCY Junkie]

I just talked to my sister who lives in Hawaii. I told them bye and they started joking around saying it was nice knowing me. Then my brother-in-law said he loved me man like on the beer commercials. Then they told their 12 year old son they'll never get to see me again and to tell me bye. He was like bye, they're as crazy as me sometimes. They are headed to higher ground, they better take care of my nephew. I play him almost every night on xbox live.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Okay, everybody in harm's way batten down the hatches & take care of yourselves.

[EagleFan]

Okay, everybody in harm's way batten down the hatches & take care of yourselves.

+1

But also head to higher ground.

[k0ruptr]

The height of the wave isn't ever the big deal as people make it out to be. It's the Horizontal force of the wave thats the major worry. A 3 footer can carry a car 50 feet if the force is there... Something to think about.

[Sun Tzu]

Good to hear you're in a safe zone. I took a quick drive over to Blockbuster hoping to stock up on DVD's to watch, and they were closed. :(

As i'm typing this the siren is sounding again...it's a very eerie sound.

[DaddyTorgo]

As some know, my wife was born in Chile and most of her family is there, but thankfully in the northern part of the country. They said it was a strong quake even as far north as Santiago, but it sounds like all of her family is ok based on one of her cousins posting on facebook of all things. The phones are virtually unreachable anywhere in the country right now though. She's completely freaked out.

Go figure somehow they have facebook but no phones.

glad to hear this

[DaddyTorgo]

Good luck guys...everyone stay safe. I've got some other friends in Hawaii too!!

Let us know it's all good once you get the chance.

[B & B]

MSNBC is showing dudes out there surfing right now.


No information if any of them is/was an FBI agent.

[Eaglesfan27]

MSNBC is showing dudes out there surfing right now.


No information if any of them is/was an FBI agent.

They just finally said that the surfing dudes are older video and are not what is currently happening.

[Mike Lowe]

The guy hosting CNN's coverage right now has a brain the size of a pea pod.

1) He pointed to the small island chain DIRECTLY west of South America and asked if it was Hawaii...was told no and then, like a second grader, was shown where Hawaii was.

2) He asked, while once again rudely interupting his co-host, what 9 meters of drop-off by a buoy means saying, "9 meters...what does that mean!!!??!?!" He sounded like Charlton Heston in Soylent Green haha.

3) And then my favorite, he asked the weather expert dude what 9 meters translated to in English HAHAHA.

[k0ruptr]

kinda freaky right now, NO Traffic or any sounds in hilo bay right now, real eerie. eek.

[nilodor]

It's just nuts looking at those photos, I was in that area last year at this time and I recognize and have been in some of the buildings that are just rubble now. Luckily some of the friends I made from the area are ok.

[bulletsponge]

watching Fox, waiting for the waves

[Sun Tzu]

There showing some crazy Hawaiian Bradda wading out in the water right now.

Looks like it could be a false alarm today though...hard to tell. Expected hit was like 15 minutes ago and nothing has happened.

[Thomkal]

MSNBC talking to a guy saying the water is receding at Waikiki Beach.

[bulletsponge]

There showing some crazy Hawaiian Bradda wading out in the water right now.

Looks like it could be a false alarm today though...hard to tell. Expected hit was like 15 minutes ago and nothing has happened.

just heard a tsunami from the chili quake hit New Zeland. and they said NZ was in the 12 hour tsunami mark and hawaii is 15 hour mark. so it might be 3 more hours till it hits hawaii

sorry for all misspellings

[Lathum]

Watching CNN and waiting

[Galaxy]

Watching CNN and waiting

MSNBC here. CNN is driving me nuts.

[Sun Tzu]

Looks like Hilo Bay is receding crazy fast right now...

[k0ruptr]

yea, its happening now, no waves yet but got some weird scary ocean activity.

[k0ruptr]

Coconut island is pumping in, and then now it just reversed and started receding really quickly. might not get waves but the tides can be pretty dangerous them selves. It's good for Hawaii if we don't get any waves.

[Sun Tzu]

Yeah I hear Coconut island was completely underwater just a minute ago. Looks like there's a lot of extreme ebb and flow of the tides.

[k0ruptr]

wow, its super super receding fast now, this is crazy. never seen anything like this in my life.

[BYU 14]

Hopefully it will just be tides and not waves.....stay safe guys!

[ISiddiqui]

Can't even imagine a 8.8 earthquake :(

Prayers and thoughts for Chile right now.

[Sun Tzu]

Looks like we're through the brunt of it.

*wipes sweat from brow*

Now back to the MLB 10 release date countdown.

[BYU 14]

Looks like we're through the brunt of it.

*wipes sweat from brow*

Now back to the MLB 10 release date countdown.

Awesome news! Is it looking like damage is at a minimum?

[k0ruptr]

We got very very lucky. thank god, it could of been so bad, even with the good warnings. I'm happy that it wasn't bad at all and pretty sure any damage that has happened was a little bit of coastline, and reef. other than that though not bad at all.

[Greyroofoo]

I found this interesting




Chile earthquake may have shortened days
Seventh strongest quake in recorded history may have shifted Earth's axis
Space.com
updated 9:11 a.m. CT, Tues., March. 2, 2010

The massive 8.8 earthquake that struck Chile may have changed the entire Earth's rotation and shortened the length of days on our planet, a NASA scientist said Monday.

The quake, the seventh strongest earthquake in recorded history, hit Chile Saturday and should have shortened the length of an Earth day by 1.26 milliseconds, according to research scientist Richard Gross at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

"Perhaps more impressive is how much the quake shifted Earth's axis," NASA officials said in a Monday update.

The computer model used by Gross and his colleagues to determine the effects of the Chile earthquake effect also found that it should have moved Earth's figure axis by about 3 inches (8 cm or 27 milliarcseconds).

The Earth's figure axis is not the same as its north-south axis, which it spins around once every day at a speed of about 1,000 mph (1,604 kph).

The figure axis is the axis around which the Earth's mass is balanced. It is offset from the Earth's north-south axis by about 33 feet (10 meters).

Strong earthquakes have altered Earth's days and its axis in the past. The 9.1 Sumatran earthquake in 2004, which set off a deadly tsunami, should have shortened Earth's days by 6.8 microseconds and shifted its axis by about 2.76 inches (7 cm, or 2.32 milliarcseconds).

One Earth day is about 24 hours long. Over the course of a year, the length of a day normally changes gradually by one millisecond. It increases in the winter, when the Earth rotates more slowly, and decreases in the summer, Gross has said in the past.

The Chile earthquake was much smaller than the Sumatran temblor, but its effects on the Earth are larger because of its location. Its epicenter was located in the Earth's mid-latitudes rather than near the equator like the Sumatran event.

The fault responsible for the 2010 Chile quake also slices through Earth at a steeper angle than the Sumatran quake's fault, NASA scientists said.

"This makes the Chile fault more effective in moving Earth's mass vertically and hence more effective in shifting Earth's figure axis," NASA officials said.

Gross said his findings are based on early data available on the Chile earthquake. As more information about its characteristics are revealed, his prediction of its effects will likely change.

The Chile earthquake has killed more than 700 people and caused widespread devastation in the South American country.

Several major telescopes in Chile's Atacama Desert have escaped damage, according to the European Southern Observatory managing them.


A salt-measuring NASA satellite instrument destined to be installed on an Argentinean satellite was also undamaged in the earthquake, JPL officials said.

The Aquarius instrument was in the city of Bariloche, Argentina, where it is being installed in the Satelite de Aplicaciones Cientificas (SAC-D) satellite. The satellite integration facility is about 365 miles (588 km) from the Chile quake's epicenter.

The Aquarius instrument is designed to provide monthly global maps of the ocean's salt concentration in order to track current circulation and its role in climate change.

© 2010 Space.com. All rights reserved. More from Space.com.
URL: Chile earthquake may have shortened days - Space.com- msnbc.com (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35662192/ns/technology_and_science-space/?GT1=43001)

[Lathum]

I demand the workday start 1.26 milliseconds later so I don't have to sacrifice any sleep over this.

[heybrad]

[old man voice] Back in my day, days were longer!!! [/old man voice]

[Sun Tzu]

Next time I'm late to work, I'm blaming this.

[saldana]

I demand the workday start 1.26 milliseconds later so I don't have to sacrifice any sleep over this.
this from the guy that doesnt actually have a job!

i work for company that has a global distribution network, and have been working pretty closely with a few people in Santiago for the past couple years...i finally heard from one of my friends there today...his apartment building still has no water, gas, or electric, but at least he and his family are all safe...he hasnt heard from any of his friends that lived in Concepcion, where the quake and then the tsunami hit, but it was a massive relief for me to know he was ok.