7.2 earthquake in japan

hi, i just heard the news that there is a 7.2 earthquake in japan.

may I know how serious is 7.2? Will it be life endangering?

The intensity of the earthquake was only a "lower 5" on Japan's scale of earthquake intensity. That does not cause any damage and is not life threatening. Even injuries are very unlikely.

A source does say it was M7.2 but it seems that it was out in the sea, 10km deep. Tsunami alarms have been given out on the northern Pacific coast of Japan, but TV says nothing about the earthquake now, so I figure there was no serious damage. Here in Yokohama, I felt a long but very slight wiggle.

http://www.afpbb.com/article/disaster-accidents-crime/disaster/2789510...

Nope nothing major or damaging.

The 1:55pm news on NHK TV showed us footages of the area. One was an indoor graduation ceremony. No one even stood up, most of the audience just faced the stage and some were smiling because of the tremor. The other was the harbor and all the birds stayed where they were, except that you can notice the sea level getting lower within just minutes. A maximum of about 60 meters tsunami was reported here and there, but nothing much else. The news tells us to stay allert when at sea, but all is fine.

you said about Japan's measure of earthquakes...
I was taught at school that "the richter scale" was the scale for measuring the magnitude of earthquakes. Does japan use a different system?

gilesdesign,

I was taught at school that "the richter scale" was the scale for measuring the magnitude of earthquakes.

It is. But magnitude alone doesn't tell you much about the actual effect an earthquake will have on people and buildings on the earth's surface.

Does japan use a different system?

Yes. The "shindo" (intensity) scale is more widely used in earthquake reports.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_Meteorological_Agency_seismic_inten...

Here's the Japanese Meteorological Map of the different intensities:

http://www.jma.go.jp/en/quake/20110309115107391-091145.html

In the Sendai area it got up to Level 5Low, which is still considered a larger earthquake, but because Japan has earthquakes so often, its not something that will create a catastrophe. Japan's buildings are designed with earthquakes in mind so it will probably take a greater deal of shaking for something major to occur.

Now that's not to say the buildings are earthquake-proof, but it is to say that an earthquake is less likely to completely devastate an area and make international news in Japan.

Although the Shindo scale is really useful in my opinion, and the Richter scale... is not. Although I still have to report Richter scale to my US friends and stuff for them to get an idea of things, but really it really says nothing about how much shaking I got to experience... which is why the Shindo scale is so much better in my humble opinion.

I was on the third floor of our school at the time and our area was level 3 borderline 4 and although the lights shook considerably... the whole ordeal consciously lasted about 5-6 minutes but the technical report says 12 minutes. Although it never gets old having to try and squeeze myself under those puny Japanese desks xD.

Just wanted to point out that the largest tsunami measured after yesterday's earthquake was 60 cm, not 60 metres as mentioned above :-) A 60 cm tsunami can still cause problems if it comes inland because it is quite a fast flow, but in this case sea walls prevented any problems.

Yesterday's earthquake was around 130 km off the coast of Sendai, so too far away to have done any real damage. Compare that to the recent Christchurch earthquake (only 5 km from the city centre and 5 km deep) or the earthquake that devastated Kobe in 1995 (similar to the NZ quake but not quite as intense) and you can see how much difference distance and depth make.

Here in west Tokyo I didn't even know about yesterday's earthquake until someone emailed me about it, but I live in a ground floor apartment. People I know in high-rise buildings in central Tokyo felt a lot of swaying but there was no damage here of course.

What about the earthquake today (around half past six in the morning, Tokyo time)?
As it seems, it was almost the same kind to that of yesterday and in the same area.
Just found it remarkable (if not a little bit worrying), that these two earthquakes have a lot in common. I hope, there won't be a third big one... o_o

As it seems, it was almost the same kind to that of yesterday and in the same area.
Just found it remarkable (if not a little bit worrying), that these two earthquakes have a lot in common. I hope, there won't be a third big one...

Not remarkable at all, because the one this morning was an aftershock of yesterday's one. There will probably be lots of smaller earthquakes coming from the same fault over the next few weeks- that's what always happens with a bigger earthquake.

The earthquake in NZ last month was actually an aftershock of a big one in September last year- they've had thousands of different-sized aftershocks in the same area since then.

Because the centre of yesterday's quake in northern Japan was so far off off the coast though, again it didn't cause any damage and barely made the news here.

Thank you Sira for pointing that out! I'm sorry, everybody!

When I heard the news about this, I was quite worried since I will be going to Japan soon. I hope a Tsunami will never happen in Japan or in any other country.

lastmockingbird,

I "big" tsunami, you mean! Tsunami happens here all the time, so people are quite prepared and therefore damage is hardly caused. Japan hasn't had a disasterous tsunami since 1993.

Everybody in Iwate and Northern Honshu okay after today's 8.8 magnitude earthquake? It was 7 or 8 on the scale used in Japan and the BBC showed quite a serious tsunami having entered the land...

We will visit Kansai in end March and are quite worried about the current earthquakes. Coming from a country which experience almost no earthquakes, I have some questions (some may sound stupid).

1. Will these quakes continued for weeks?
2. Is Osaka far from the current affected area?
3. In the unfortunate event if there's an earthquake, what should one do. Any procedures indoor and outdoor (hide under table, etc)? Any protocols in Japan. I remember seeing news about Japanese school children learning things to do during earthquakes.

Anyway, I hope Mother Earth has released her pressure and the worst is over. My heartfelt wishes that everybody in Japan is safe and sound.

We will visit Kansai in end March and are quite worried about the current earthquakes.

There is no need for worries. You are more likely to get hurt in a traffic accident in your home country.

Considerable damage seems to be limited to some Pacific coastal areas of the Tohoku Region. The Kansai Region is not affected.

1. Will these quakes continued for weeks?

There is always a risk of an earthquake. There is a hightened risk of more earthquakes in the Sendai area, but not really in other areas.

Is Osaka far from the current affected area?

Yes.

In the unfortunate event if there's an earthquake, what should one do.

This is explained in detail on the internet. Try to google it.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/11/japan-tsunami-video_n_834387....

S***, I knew it... I hate, that I knew it.....!!!!!!! T_______________________T

I must keep off the shores.
Tsunami alerts were issued following a big earthquake which occurred around 14:46 Friday, 11 March 2011.
Some tsunamis were already observed. Later tsunamis may bring higher waves.
The alerts include Tsunami Warnings, and NHK is now broadcasting them also in four foreign languages by turns on Radio Channel 2 and in the second voices of TV channels.

Is Osaka far from the current affected area?

Yes; but please never be careless. Even a quake very distant from Japan might cause Tsunamis which bring high waves to Japan.

In the unfortunate event if there's an earthquake, what should one do. Any procedures indoor and outdoor (hide under table, etc

In case of large trembles, protect your head against falling items. In a public space, please follow the staff's instructions; if they are only in Japanese, please don't hesitate to ask someone.
This leaflet may help. Dos and Don'ts are common every time when large tremors are felt, whether Earthquake Early Warning is issued or not for your area.
http://www.jma.go.jp/jma/en/Activities/EEWLeaflet.pdf

Now major mobile phone companies are offering Disaster Message Board services. Their customers in the area hit by huge tremors may store messages. I'm not sure how many foreign visitors / tourists know these services, but I suppose they can be very helpful.
-- NTT DoCoMo: checking messages:
http://dengon.docomo.ne.jp/Etop.cgi?es=0
-- AU by KDDI: checking messages:
http://dengon.ezweb.ne.jp/E/service.do
-- Softbank Mobile: checking messages:
http://dengon.softbank.ne.jp/pc-e1.jsp

I will refrain from making phone calls for a while. Possibly NTT East's voice message storage service Disaster Dial 171 will be available from my area
Being near Tokyo Bay, I've been feeling long-lasting trembles several times in about two and a half hours of the largest one.

Maybe preceding earthquakes were foreshocks. This time the magnitude (showing energetic scale) is estimated M8.4, modified from M7.9 on JMA scale, higher than M7.3 (modified from M7.2) of the large one on Wednesday, 9 March 2011.