Japan earthquake 'increases likelihood of Tokyo disaster'
0 views
Skip to first unread message
Pastor Dale Morgan
Aug 30, 2011, 9:52:50 AM8/30/11
to Bible-Pro...@googlegroups.com
Perilous
Times
Japan earthquake 'increases likelihood of Tokyo disaster'
The likelihood of a massive earthquake directly beneath Tokyo has significantly increased thanks to the March 11 disaster in northern Japan.
By Julian Ryall in Tokyo
The Telegraph UK
7:00AM BST 30 Aug 2011
Scientists at the Tokyo Earthquake Research Institute said there was evidence that pressures on the tectonic plates that meet below the city have changed, raising the possibility of two or more focal points on the plate boundaries shifting simultaneously. That would result in an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.3, they estimate.
And while that magnitude is smaller than the level-9 quake that struck of the northeast coast of Japan nearly six months ago, the impact on a densely populated and built-up area could be catastrophic.
"We estimate that 10,000 people would die and the economic loss would be around $1 trillion," Naoshi Hirata, a researcher at the institute, told The Daily Telegraph.
That estimate may be on the conservative side, however, given that around 18,000 people died in the March 11 earthquake and the tsunami that it triggered.
"Even before March, we estimated that there was a 70 per cent likelihood of a major earthquake affecting Tokyo at any time within the next 30 years," said Hirata, who is also a member of the government's Earthquake Research Committee.
"That is a very high probability and effectively means that there will be a major disaster here, although we cannot at the moment make a more accurate prediction of when it might strike," he said.
"All we can say is that individuals, companies, schools and the national and local governments should be prepared," he said.
The scientists found that the March earthquake has had an affect on all the plates that sit beneath the Japanese islands, one of the most seismically active regions of the world, while there has also been a steep increase in the number of earthquakes since March, both those large enough to be felt by humans and those that can only be detected by seismic instruments.
Residents of Tokyo would usually expect to feel one or two earthquakes a month, but that has risen to an average of six a month. Since March 11, there have been more than 500 tremors felt across Japan.
The last major earthquake to strike Tokyo was in September 1923, when the magnitude 7.9 Great Kanto Earthquake rattled eastern Japan for 10 minutes and led to the deaths of as many as 140,000 people.
Japan earthquake 'increases likelihood of Tokyo disaster'
The likelihood of a massive earthquake directly beneath Tokyo has significantly increased thanks to the March 11 disaster in northern Japan.
By Julian Ryall in Tokyo
The Telegraph UK
7:00AM BST 30 Aug 2011
Scientists at the Tokyo Earthquake Research Institute said there was evidence that pressures on the tectonic plates that meet below the city have changed, raising the possibility of two or more focal points on the plate boundaries shifting simultaneously. That would result in an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.3, they estimate.
And while that magnitude is smaller than the level-9 quake that struck of the northeast coast of Japan nearly six months ago, the impact on a densely populated and built-up area could be catastrophic.
"We estimate that 10,000 people would die and the economic loss would be around $1 trillion," Naoshi Hirata, a researcher at the institute, told The Daily Telegraph.
That estimate may be on the conservative side, however, given that around 18,000 people died in the March 11 earthquake and the tsunami that it triggered.
"Even before March, we estimated that there was a 70 per cent likelihood of a major earthquake affecting Tokyo at any time within the next 30 years," said Hirata, who is also a member of the government's Earthquake Research Committee.
"That is a very high probability and effectively means that there will be a major disaster here, although we cannot at the moment make a more accurate prediction of when it might strike," he said.
"All we can say is that individuals, companies, schools and the national and local governments should be prepared," he said.
The scientists found that the March earthquake has had an affect on all the plates that sit beneath the Japanese islands, one of the most seismically active regions of the world, while there has also been a steep increase in the number of earthquakes since March, both those large enough to be felt by humans and those that can only be detected by seismic instruments.
Residents of Tokyo would usually expect to feel one or two earthquakes a month, but that has risen to an average of six a month. Since March 11, there have been more than 500 tremors felt across Japan.
The last major earthquake to strike Tokyo was in September 1923, when the magnitude 7.9 Great Kanto Earthquake rattled eastern Japan for 10 minutes and led to the deaths of as many as 140,000 people.
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages