Tag Archives: earthquake

NASA Shows Topography of Tsunami-Damaged Japan City

The topography surrounding Sendai, Japan is clearly visible in this combined radar image and topographic view generated with data from NASA’s Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) acquired in 2000. On March 11, 2011, a magnitude 8.9 earthquake struck offshore about 130 kilometers (80 miles) east of Sendai, the capital city of Japan’s Miyagi Prefecture, generating a tsunami that devastated the low-lying coastal city of about 1 million residents.

The city is centered in the image and lies along the coastal plain between the Ohu Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. The eastern part of the city is a low-lying plains area, while the city center is hilly (the city’s official elevation is about 43 meters, or 141 feet). Sendai’s western areas are mountainous, with its highest point being Mt. Funagata at an elevation of about 1,500 meters (4,921 feet) above sea level. (more…)

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Tsunami Waves Crash Into Japan’s North-east After Powerful Quake

The government of Japan has provided a report about the damage caused by a strong earthquake which rocked the north-east of the country on Friday, March 11. The Associated Press reports with reference to Japanese television that the tsunami wave, triggered by the quake, caused significant destruction in the northern part of the country.

The magnitude of the earthquake, which took place in Japan on Friday, was measured 8.8 on Richter scale. Quakes still continue in the capital, Tokyo. The epicenter of the quake was located 382 kilometers to the north-east off Tokyo, at the depth of 10 kilometers. (more…)

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Haiti Quake Risk May Still be High

The fault initially thought to have triggered January’s devastating earthquake in Haiti is likely still under considerable strain and continues to pose a significant seismic hazard, according to a study published online in Nature Geoscience Sunday.  

U.S. Geological Survey geologist Carol Prentice led a team of scientists to Haiti immediately after the earthquake to search for traces of ground rupture and to investigate the geology and paleoseismology of the area.  (more…)

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Mysteries of Unpredictable Tsunami Waves

One of the most terrible consequences of offshore quakes is giant tsunami waves, sweeping everything on their way. Until now, scientists cannot answer a simple question: why in some cases they happen, and in others they do not? If it was established, then a tragedy like the one that has recently occurred in Indonesia could have been avoided.

An earthquake measuring 7.5 points, which occurred late on Monday, October 25 in Indonesia, caused a tsunami, which affected Mentawai islands in the western part of the country. Interestingly, the epicenter of the aftershocks of this earthquake was located 78 km west of the South Island Pagai of the Mentawai archipelago, at a depth of 20 km below the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. Apparently, this is why the first few minutes after the earthquake the Indonesian government reported the tsunami threat, but later canceled the alert. (more…)

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Do animals sense natural events?

Were these natural warning of an impending earthquake in the mountainous Sichuan province in China – there is much news coming out now, something that could look like superstitions. As the news emerges, three days before the earthquake thousands of toads appeared on the streets on Mianzhu city or hours before the unusual behaviour of lions, zebras and other animals at the zoo in Wuhan. What the human perception could not catch, animals could!!

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