Earthquake Hits Japan's North-east

An earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale struck northern Japan yesterday, injuring at least 59 people and damaging hundreds of buildings.

The quake triggered a tsunami alert on Japan's north-eastern coast near the city of Sendai but the resulting waves caused no damage. High-rise buildings in Tokyo, almost 200 miles to the south, swayed for more than a minute.

Seventeen people were injured when the roof collapsed at an indoor swimming pool in Sendai.

"There was a tremendous boom," a young woman who was using the pool told the broadcaster NHK. "People were screaming and headed towards the exit. It shook a lot."

An 80-year-old woman was rescued after being trapped in the rubble of her home outside Tokyo and several people were injured by falling rocks and dislodged roof tiles.

The earthquake struck at 11.46 am. Its epicentre was about 80 miles off the coast, the meteorological agency said. The agency also warned of further aftershocks and earthquakes of up to magnitude six.
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Japan Develops Improved Earthquake Warning System

By Anastacia Mott Austin

Sitting on top of four converging tectonic plates, Japan knows a thing or two about earthquakes. The country has experienced 83 earthquakes intense enough to cause damages and injuries since March of 1996.

Japan is considered the center of research for earthquake warnings. A system is currently in place that warns residents of possible impending tsunamis after quakes.

The newest development has officials from the Meteorological Agency working with national broadcast companies to create a warning system that could give people as much as 30 seconds warning. The new system will take effect in October.

Thirty seconds may not seem like much time, but for anyone who has experienced a major earthquake, seconds can seem like hours. Experts say it would give people enough time to pull their cars to the side of the road, evacuate elevators, and move away from windows or unstable structures.

"If major tremors come suddenly, you will not be able to move. You might not even be able to shelter under a desk. You will not be able to do anything…" said Yoshinori Sugihara, to reporters at The Japan Times. Sugihara works for the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association, which is developing the system. "That shows how important the 10-second or 20-second preparation time is…school children will be able to shelter under their desks in classrooms if they have about five seconds. In fact, it is believe that if we have 10 seconds to prepare for major tremors, we can reduce the number of deaths cause by quakes significantly."

Current technology enables seismologists to detect preliminary tremors that occur before the major shaking of an earthquake, and can quickly notify television and radio outlets.

"If we can catch the preliminary tremors at one location and calculate the focus and size of the earthquake in five seconds, we will be able to issue warnings probably in 10 seconds, "said Makoto Saito, a representative of the Meteorological Agency. "That means if the major tremors hit certain areas 30 seconds after the preliminary tremors, for instance, that system will make it possible to tell people about the major tremors 20 seconds before."

One downside to the new system is that people will have to be watching television or listening to the radio in order to receive the warnings. However, mobile phone companies in Japan can transmit the warnings as well, and new technology is being developed to create an alarm device that can be used at home, called "The EQ Guard."

Seismologists in other countries, such as the United States, are taking a wait-and-see approach. The concern over such a system is its potential to cause panic and chaos in an emergency situation.

"The implementation in Japan is most important to us as a test of the concept," said Richard Allen, a seismologist at the University of California, Berkeley, to reporters. "We are particularly interested to see how the public reacts to the information and who starts to make use of it and how."

To avoid possible panic scenarios, the NHK, Japan’s primary broadcasting system, has been airing promos with detailed instructions about how to react during a warning.

Officials are quick to point out that the warning system isn’t a replacement for effective earthquake preparedness.

"This new service is not something that stops earthquakes. You have to prepare for earthquakes in your daily life and think about what you will do when major tremors come," said Saito to reporters. "With that kind of preparation, this earthquake warning service will be used by people effectively."
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Utah Coal Miners Trapped After Earthquake

By Pamela Mortimer

An earthquake registered at 4.0 was the cause of a mine collapse in Huntington, Utah on Monday. Currently, six miners are unaccounted for and are believed to be trapped inside. A spokesman for the Emery County Sheriff’s office stated, "Rescue workers are on scene trying to locate six miners that are unaccounted for."

According to a statement from the Mine Safety and Health Administration, there has been no contact with the six miners, who are believed to be four miles from the entrance to the underground mine. All six miners were men who were scheduled for the midnight shift.

"Mine rescue teams are in the mine and are within about 2,500 feet of where MSHA believes the miners were working," said Dirk Fillpot, a spokesman for the MSHA.

Officials are attempting to establish which came first, the earthquake or the underground cave-in. Since the mine is located approximately five miles from the epicenter of the earthquake, determination will be difficult.

The Emery County sheriff's office stated that the Genwal mine reported cave-in at 3:50 a.m., an hour after the magnitude 4.0 earthquake was recorded. If there was a delay in reporting the collapse, it is possible they happened less than an hour apart.

The epicenter of the earthquake was located under the Huntington Canyon area, about 15 miles from the Genwal mine and 100 miles southeast of Salt Lake City. Sheriff Lamar Guymon told radio station KSL in Salt Lake City that a "short time later we received information about the cave-in at Genwal mine."

The rescue attempt began around 3 a.m., the Guymon said.

"There appears to be no explosion," said Davit Mcateer, a former spokesman with the MSHA. "You can get some shifting, or rock bursts, what are called outbursts. It’s quite a dangerous situation."

Rocky Mountain Power, owner of different coal mine nearby, sent a rescue team and heavy equipment, spokesman Dave Eskelsen stated.

Walter Arabasz, the head of the University of Utah's Seismograph Stations, confirmed that wave lengths created a clear link between the quake and the mine collapse.

"The ground is collapsing or relaxing toward the source," Arabasz said. "The evidence we have at hand suggests that the seismic event was caused by some disturbance in the mine."

The sheriff's office reported earlier that there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries blamed on the quake.

"We aren't panicked yet," Linda Jewkes, president of the Emery County Chamber of Commerce. "We're very, very concerned and very cautious when it comes to the mines."

"We all know of people that are there and related to those people," said Huntington Mayor Hilary Gordon. "Our chief prayer and hope is that these miners are rescued safely and that they are unharmed."
Emergency Preparedness and Response .... Surviving an earthquake and reducing its health impact requires preparation, planning, and practice  

Earthquake Hits Los Angeles

Residents of Los Angeles and surrounding areas were shaken awake this morning at about 4AM local time. With the area in and around L..A. generally equipped for such a small earthquake, there have been no reports of damage or injuries at this time. USGS geophysicist Jessica Sigala told reporters that she would not expect to see much damage from this type of quake. Rather than damage, just quite a bit of shaking, likely enough to knock books from shelves and possibly break windows.

Some are concerned that this relatively small quake is a "foreshock" of a larger quake that many Californians have been fearing for decades. In light of the recent earthquakes in Haiti, Chile and elsewhere, many feel that the time is approaching when California is going to be hit with a major earthquake.

The largest earthquake to hit California in recent years was a 6.7 magnitude quake in 1994. That quake killed 72 people and caused more than $20 billion in damages. With the frequency that California experiences earthquakes, some have a false sense of security that the area will be able to withstand a major quake. The problem is that when quakes like the one that hit Chile occur, the devastation is so complete, that densely populated areas often suffer massive loss of life.

The Chilean coast is relatively sparsely populated, whereas the California coast is fairly densely inhabited.
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8.0 Earthquake Rocks Peru: 450 Dead, 1500 Injured

By Anastacia Mott Austin

A devastating magnitude 8.0 earthquake struck Peru Wednesday evening, killing at least 450 people and injuring more than 1500.

The epicenter of the quake was centered near the southeastern cities of Ica, Chincha, and Pisco, which all sustained major damage.

The quake struck at 6:40 in the evening, and lasted for almost two minutes, sending many of the area’s signature adobe brick buildings crumbling to the ground.

"When the quake struck, I thought it would never end," said Maria Mena, a resident of Lima, to reporters. "This is the strongest earthquake I’ve ever felt."

Multiple high-magnitude aftershocks shook the area afterward, some measuring as high as 6.3.

Rescue efforts were hampered by damage to the country’s two main highways leading to the small cities, and area hospitals were overcrowded and affected by power outages.

"Our services are saturated and half of the hospital has collapsed," said Dr. Huber Malma to news reporters, in the small city of Chincha. More than 200 people lined up outside the hospital, waiting for treatment.

Chincha resident Maria Cortez told reporters, "We’re all frightened to return to our houses," although she had no home to return to.

A 12-year-old boy stood near the body of his mother. "We don’t know what to do," said Jose Flores. "I don’t know where to hold a wake for her. The wall just came down and crushed her when I was outside."

Chincha’s prison, Tambo de Mora, had walls collapse and hundreds of prisoners escaped. "The authorities couldn’t do anything," said Manuel Aguilar, the Peruvian prison authority’s vice president, to the Associated Press. "

In the small port city of Pisco, the damages were significant. The tearful mayor of Pisco, Juan Mendoza, told radio station CPN, "The dead are scattered by the dozens on the streets. We don’t have lights, water, communications. Most houses have fallen. Churches, stores, hotels, everything is destroyed."

Wednesday’s earthquake was caused by the type of tectonic plate interaction called "thrust-faulting," which is when two plates collide and one plate slides beneath the other. The quake happened when the Nazca and South America plates collided.

According to experts, a quake of this type and magnitude is typical for the area. "This earthquake really wasn’t that unusual for this part of South America, particularly the coast of Peru," said Harley Benz of the United States Geological Survey, to LiveScience. Benz added that significant aftershocks can be expected to hit for weeks.

Peru’s president Alan Garcia sent messages of condolence and urged residents to stay calm while waiting for help, adding that the casualties could have been much worse.

In May of 1970, Peru experienced a 7.9 magnitude quake that killed 66,000 people.

Residents are finding it hard to heed the advice to remain calm, and are understandably rattled. "Who isn’t going to be frightened?" asked Antony Falconi, a Lima resident. "The earth moved differently this time. It made waves and the earth was like jelly."
Philippines lifts tsunami warning 

Series of Massive Earthquakes Rattle Indonesia

ndonesia was rocked by another massive earthquake just after 11 p.m. Monday night. The quake was an 8.7 magnitude temblor that shattered buildings and sent residents fleeing for their lives in the fear of another tsunami. In the hours that followed the initial quake, a series of aftershocks hit the region, with the most recent, a 5.8 magnitude quake, occurring a few minutes after 12:00 noon on Tuesday. All of the earthquakes have been centered in the same general geographical area a couple hundred miles off Banda Aceh, 60 miles south on the same fault line as the December 2004 quake, and all have occurred at about the same depth of 20 miles.

The Indonesian government says the quake prompted official safety warnings of a possible tsunami. The warnings triggered panic in the streets, amid horrifying memories of last year’s disaster that killed more than 174,000 people. The Indonesian island of Nias took the brunt of the devastating earthquake, many homes and buildings were destroyed, and crews are slowly going through the rubble to determine the total death toll. So far over 350 bodies have been found on Nias alone, and experts have said that they fear at least 2,000 people in the area affected by Monday’s quake are estimated to have died. A reconnaissance plane flying over the island found that nearly 30% of the buildings in its largest city were lying in ruin, and several fires were still smoldering amid the destruction. As a villager on Nias said, "No one had a chance to run."

Aid groups from around the globe are gathering resources and rushing to deliver supplies and troops back to Indonesia again. Workers and troops from many countries were still in the region after helping with recovery efforts from the earthquake and tsunami that happened the day after Christmas last year, but their efforts had been scaled back in recent weeks. Australian Prime Minister John Howard has said that his country will send an air medical evacuation team to Indonesia, as well as setting up a field hospital to treat the wounded. Other nations, including the United States, have offered to provide help in whatever way is needed.

According to Patrick Leahy of the U. S. Geological Survey, this week’s quake was smaller than the December 2004 quake that triggered the disastrous tsunamis, and the earth ruptured in a different direction, to the southeast. "It was a different segment of the same fault, but because of that direction and other variables-- for example the depth of water where the earthquake occurred, the materials -- all of those factors really came to play in terms of whether it would create a tsunami or not." Michele Lipner, a spokesperson for U.N. Humanitarian Affairs in Banda Aceh, said "The initial information we’re getting is that it is perhaps not as serious as was first anticipated." Lipner said despite the overall structure damage on Nias, the nearby island of Simeulue does not appear to be seriously damaged.

This earthquake marks the first time in more than a century of recording seismic events that two quakes of such massive intensity have happened so close together, says Kerry Sieh, a geology professor at the California Institute of Technology. According to Sieh, there have been 12 "great" earthquakes since 1096, and Monday’s quake is included in that group although it was only about a third as powerful as the December quake.
Pacific Tsunami Warning Center