Disaster in Japan
Tsunami is a Japanese word, and we are reminded why today. Our thoughts go to the victims and survivors in Japan as we await more information on the 8.9-magnitude quake that rocked the country earlier today.
One story to watch: Initial reports suggest that Japan’s early warning system for earthquakes (Kinkyu Jishin Sokuho in Japanese) did indeed work in some locations. That system, launched in 2007, is the only one of its kind. It only gives people a few seconds warning at the most (via TV and cell-phone alerts), but it is also designed to automatically send warnings to train operators, elevators, construction sites and gas and power facilities. The system is triggered by the fast-moving but less-powerful waves that tend to manifest themselves seconds before the more powerful tremors.
But the more important technology will undoubtedly prove to be the old-fashioned kind. Strict enforcement of rigorous building codes remains the only way to prevent mass casualties in any significant earthquake. From ABC News today:
Last year’s earthquake in Haiti had a magnitude of 7.0—about a hundredth as violent as the 8.9 earthquake in Japan—but the number of deaths was much higher. The Haitian government eventually reported a death toll of more than 200,000 people. Scientists said Haiti was as much a victim of poverty as geology; it could not afford to build better housing.
Ropert said on March 12, 2011 at 3:53 pm
VOLCANOS
Japan is covered in mountainous arcs. Volcanoes are common in Japan. The volcanoes throughout the Kuril Islands, northeastern Honshu and down to the Bonin Islands form one big island arc which form the northeastern Japan. The arcs of southeastern Honshu and the Ryukyu Islands form the oldest part of southwestern Japan.
Japan has about one-tenth of the worlds active volcanoes and hundreds of inactive volcanoes. Mount Fuji is the highest mountain and most famous mountain in Japan. This mountain is still active as are Asama, Aso, Banai, Miharaand and Sakurajima. There are actually more then 40 active volcanoes out of a told of 180.
Mount Fuji
The shading in the above map shows where Japan’s volcanic arcs lie.
Because of the potential dangers of volcanic eruption, the Japan Government monitors the activity of these volcanoes closely. Once a year, usually in January, they have volcano evacuation drills. They will actually practice using helicopters to fly people out of the villages. Scientists measure every change in the volcanoes’ activity and record and study this information. They hope to be able to give enough advance notice so people can escape.
The Sakurajima Volcano is one volcano that I will be talking about. This volcano has erupted forty-two times in January, 1996, thirty-one times in February and sixty-nine times in March. Sixty-nine times is the fifth largest record out of all the months in 1996. All together the volcano erupted 200 times throughout that whole year! In the year 1995, it approximately erupted 3-4 million tons of material according to the Sakurajima Volcanological Observatory of Kyoto University. In January 1996 an eruption column rose three kilometers. It covered Kagoshima city causing heavy traffic. They are expecting a big eruption in the near future.
Sakurajima Volcano
Eruption of Sakurajima Volcano with lightning May 18,1991
The Komaga-take was another bad volcano. on the night of March 5, 1996, Usu Volcano Observatory recorded that there was a volcanic eruption. There were also some small quakes that happened. The morning of March 6, the Japan Meteorological Agency reported a five hundred foot high white plume rising above the from the center of the volcano.
Satellite image of Kamaga-take
Cedr said on March 27, 2011 at 11:08 pm
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Allenwood said on November 28, 2011 at 6:11 am
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lola said on February 28, 2012 at 9:34 am
I don’t know what to believe, but i’m very sure that doesn’t matter the cause when the life of so many people is destroyed! People shouldn’t blame on each other, they should do something!
RCA Timisoara
Boca said on April 02, 2012 at 7:30 am
I am thinking some of this disaster could have seriously been prevented, the clues and signs were there before the earthquake, all the dead fish at the california coast that ran out of oxygen were running/swimming for their lives away from the danger and in the end ran out of air. Had someone said something earlier, like a seizemologist/earthquake person should have known what the dead fish were running from, scientists, fishermen, we all knew something was wrong, that much fish don’t just up and die and wash up onshore everyday. Next time something like this happens maybe someone will speak up, like the folks from casas de apostas did! They could have sent warnings regarding the Pacific Ocean and the strange happenings, meaning there is something going on deep inside the ocean floor The fish were talking, nobody got the clue.