Earthquake in Japan

[joey4127]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4365499.stm

Well i was sitting in class today, we were talking about ghosts and our class started to shake a bit, but since i'm in Japan it's nuttin special but it shook a bit stronger and stronger until i fell off my chair and all the furnitire started to move, our teacher told us to run outside. Once we got outside everything started to shake more and the trees were just bending and a bus was dancing, the electric pole mas moving too. Everthyng was moving and it was LOUD! When it finally stopped everyone was in shock (I was shakking Soo much!) We were told not to go into school because they needed to check the damage. The Earthquake was a magnitude of 7.0...The strongest earthquake in history of this city. Our house is still standing even though it's trashed, my computer fell on the ground, my TV moved about 6feet away and my fridge moved too...Ohh and the washing and drying machines fell off of eachother. But everyone I know is Okay I will post some pics of the cracked ground later.

We had a Tsunami too, it was 50cm...LOL

 

[rtdgoldfish]

Wow, what time was this?? Didn't notice it when I came online this morning. Hope everyone you know is ok and there wasn't too much damage. Seems like you can get online alright so no power outages??

 

[emw]

Glad to hear you're okay. I've only been in minor earthquakes, but know they can be unsettling. I can't imagine a 7.0 - that must have been frightening, especially to come home to everything being knocked around. Hopefully nothing was destroyed at your house.

 

[joey4127]

Everything was moved around in my house and the TV broke. But everyon I know is okay and my computer too We had no water or electricity for about 5h but it's good now, we are still havinf some after shoks, but not really strong.

It was exactly 10:53am When i was knocked off my chair, because i was leaning only on 2 legs of my chair. Anyways long day, time to get soem rest. Bye guys

 

[Platform]

Well good to hear that everything is OK.

I have never been anywhere with an earthquake but it seems really scary

 

[bousozoku]

I'm glad to see it was covered by some news site. I heard about it last night on our local news, but then, I tried various Japanese news web sites last night and only Asahi talked about it.

Pretty serious stuff, glad it wasn't any worse.

 

[sushi]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4365499.stm

Well i was sitting in class today, we were talking about ghosts and our class started to shake a bit, but since i'm in Japan it's nuttin special but it shook a bit stronger and stronger until i fell off my chair and all the furnitire started to move, our teacher told us to run outside. Once we got outside everything started to shake more and the trees were just bending and a bus was dancing, the electric pole mas moving too. Everthyng was moving and it was LOUD! When it finally stopped everyone was in shock (I was shakking Soo much!) We were told not to go into school because they needed to check the damage. The Earthquake was a magnitude of 7.0...The strongest earthquake in history of this city. Our house is still standing even though it's trashed, my computer fell on the ground, my TV moved about 6feet away and my fridge moved too...Ohh and the washing and drying machines fell off of eachother. But everyone I know is Okay I will post some pics of the cracked ground later.

We had a Tsunami too, it was 50cm...LOL

This is funny, as in strange. Didn't feel anything here in the Kanto Plain area. Usually we feel something if there is a quake in Japan -- Especially in my apartment, which is not strongly built.

Seven is a pretty intense earthquake for sure. Glad to hear that you are okay!

Please post some pics.

BTW, still waiting on the big one to hit Tokyo.

Sushi

 

[Chappers]

I remember being in Turkey when the 7.9 hit there some years ago. I slept through it, all my neighbours ran outside, they didn't bother to knock our door because they assumed we had left (we were on the ground floor).
But no - we were asleep. Life.

 

[Mechcozmo]

It was exactly 10:53am When i was knocked off my chair, because i was leaning only on 2 legs of my chair. Anyways long day, time to get soem rest. Bye guys

My teacher doesn't let us lean up on two legs of the chair. Guess I now know why.

BTW, still waiting on the big one to hit Tokyo.

I'm waiting for the next big one to hit Southern California. Our family on the east coast thinks we are crazy for living here with the earthquakes. But when one hits here, everything is pretty much life-as-normal. I mean, a 7.0 would cause some damage and cause a few people to be scared-- but yet, a 5.0 in Chicago stops the city.

Glad to hear you're OK. Next time, don't lean up on that chair!

 

[Lacero]

Still waiting for that one BIG earthquake to hit the Pacific Northwest, since it was predicted to hit since 1985.

 

[sushi]

According to Radio Australia article that I just read:]

The country accounts for about 20 per cent of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.

Yikes! Didn't realize it was that high. Silly me.

Sushi

 

[wdlove]

My prayers go out to you, your family, friends, and neighbors. Just happy to know that you are OK. Must have been scary. Looking forward to seeing your pictures.

 

[Lacero]

Only 1 reported death in a population as dense as Japan's. That's quite remarkable. Japan has some of the most advanced quake proof high-rises in the world and the statistics can only get better.

 

[sushi]

Only 1 reported death in a population as dense as Japan's. That's quite remarkable. Japan has some of the most advanced quake proof high-rises in the world and the statistics can only get better.

One thing to keep in mind, is that the population of Japan is not spread evenly throughout, like most countries.

I would imagine that if an earthquake of 7 or greater were to hit downtown Tokyo, there would be many more deaths and destruction, even with their improved construction.

On a side note, supposedly no buildings built after 1981 or 1985 (when they changed the building codes) were destroyed in Kobe. However, older buildings fell like timber. I remember seeing apartment buildings fall into one another like dominos. Not falling down, but leaning over to the next building. You would see a house standing perfectly right next to one that was levelled.

I suppose is matters as to the type of earthquake as well. In some cases, the plates are merely moving over one another in a slow rumbling fashion. In other cases, there is a snap, which causes bigger and more intense shock waves.

I visited an outdoor museum area in Izu peninsula. In this place you could see the rice paddy shift of over 1 meter along the fault line. That is a huge movement. Awesome and scary at the same time.

The problem with earthquakes is that they are hard to predict accurately.

Sushi

 

[joey4127]

My friend has my camera right now. But once i get it I will make a thread with a bunch of pics.

 

[wdlove]

My friend has my camera right now. But once i get it I will make a thread with a bunch of pics.

You could post your pictures in this thread. I take it that you, your family, and friends are doing OK.

 

[Makosuke]

I saw a bit of this on the news (internet) last night, so it's good to hear that almost everyone came out of it in one piece. Hope you get everything pieced back together quickly, joey4127. They must build things pretty well down in Kyushu--if the same 7.0 to have hit a more densely populated area around Tokyo or Osaka, it would have been far, far worse.

BTW, still waiting on the big one to hit Tokyo.

Indeed. After watching some programs on what the Kanto area can expect (part of the big Kobe 10th anniversary doings on TV a couple months back) when it's "big one" comes, it's not going to be pretty--the death toll could be in the millions.

You've also gotta wonder about the recent spate of medium-large Japanese quakes; perhpas there's some sort of chain-reaction thing going on, which could eventually set off the big faults in the Kanto area (they're pretty much due anyway).

Ironic that I live in northern California now, where we're due for a very large quake in the near future, and I'll eventually be moving to East-central Japan, which is due for two different major quakes in the very near future.

 

[imac_japan]

I live in Kanagawa and I sometimes feel small earthquakes....My English school is in the basement of a 30 plus year old building so if the big one comes, I'd have to run very quickly.....

 

[512ke]

7 is big. I was on the ninth floor in the 6.7 1993 Northridge earthquake in Socal. Yikes. I remember the noise. The interior walls detached. I won't go into what happened to our fish tank and fish. What a mess.

Glad you're all right. I was rattled about 'quakes after Northridge for about 18 months. Then I kinda forgot that jittery feeling (except during one ill fated dinner at the Space Needle; it vibrates just like a small quake).

But I'm sure I'll remember in a big way when the next SoCal tremblor hits. My family also thinks I'm nuts for living here.

Good luck piecing everything back together...

 

[mmmdreg]

My mate reckons he used to live in Japan and he says there was some big earthquake.. He lived in a western style house that survived but apparently all the houses around were those traditional, old houses and they all collapsed =(

 

[~loserman~]

Ouch 7.0 thats a big one.
But isn't kind of par for the course in Japan?
Japan seems to be the earthquake capital of the world.

 

[hal0n]

I was in a quiet suburb of tokyo (koenji) visiting a friend when it happened. He was still sleeping at the time, and later after he woke up someone called him. He used to have live in Fukuoka, and has some friends that live down there. He told me about it, and I mentioned hearing what sounded like freight trains passing by closely. He said that you cant hear the trains from his apartment. So, it must have been bad. Later I saw some video footage of the city when I was at Narita Airport. The piles of glass on the streets was pretty shocking.

I live in Taipei, Taiwan and I have been around for some quakes, but nothing like this. The biggest I've felt was a 5.9 and I nearly voided my bowels. It went on for 45 minutes though. I can't imagine a 7.

 

[virividox]

gosh i heard this one the news the other day, glad to know not many casualties at all

 

[irmongoose]

Yeah I've been hearing a lot about the quake on the news. I didn't feel it at all here in Tokyo, unlike the Niigata quake a few months ago. Probably because the origin of the Fukuoka one was in the sea. I'm so scared of one hitting Tokyo... my apartment and school are both about 50 years old... yikes!



irmongoose

 

[sushi]

Yeah I've been hearing a lot about the quake on the news. I didn't feel it at all here in Tokyo, unlike the Niigata quake a few months ago. Probably because the origin of the Fukuoka one was in the sea. I'm so scared of one hitting Tokyo... my apartment and school are both about 50 years old... yikes!

Yamato city as in the Kanto Plain?

...As in where the Odakyu and Sotetsu lines cross?

...As in a stone's throw from Atsugi NB?

Sushi