NationStates Jolt Archive

Just had a big earthquake here. More later...

From memory, Daistallia 2104 is in Japan - part of the Rim of Fire :)

Hope it's not too bad ...

earthquake where?

we had an earthquake here a while back, i hope it doesnt happen much more, there is a huge ass fault line pretty close to here

Earthquake eh, theres something that hasn't happened here in a while. (by a while, I mean about a year or 2) Its kinda strange considering that about 200km to the left of where I'm sitting and several km down the Pacific and Indo-australian plates are grinding against each other...

I have never had an earthquake thats cos i live about 1000 miles from the nearest fault line. Im sure that you all appreciated that little snippet of imformation.

what size earthquake where you in person who started this thread?

Here (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=574&ncid=721&e=4&u=/nm/20040905/wl_nm/quake_japan_dc).

Sorrry for the lack of response last night - my internet conection was was down for a good part of the day. I was able to hop on briefly on a neighbors connection.

Yep, I'm in Japan, South Osaka prefecture - Sakai city.

The earthquake wasn't so bad. No deaths reported. A few injuries and no major damage. The initial quake was 6.9 and the aftershock just before midnight was 7.3.
Here are more details. (http://japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=1&id=311138)

But it made for quite an evening. I haven't felt one that big since the 1995 Great Hanshin quake that killed 6,000 in Kobe. :(

Hopefully no one was hurt...right?

And not to sound melodramatic or anything, but isn't 6-7 rather large for an earthquake? I know Japan has rigorous building codes to protect again's earthquake damage, but still!

Hopefully no one was hurt...right?

And not to sound melodramatic or anything, but isn't 6-7 rather large for an earthquake? I know Japan has rigorous building codes to protect again's earthquake damage, but still!

39 injuries according to the link above.
Those were the Richter Magnitudes (http://www.seismo.unr.edu/ftp/pub/louie/class/100/magnitude.html) that are more familiar to the majority of posters. But the Richter scale expresses the energy involved, and the effects are largely dependent on relative location and the depth.
Japan uses the Japanese Meteorological Agency seismic intensity scale (http://www.hp1039.jishin.go.jp/eqchreng/at2-2.htm), a varient of the Mercalli (http://www.seismo.unr.edu/ftp/pub/louie/class/100/mercalli.html) scale. These measure observed effects.

Both quakes last night were 4 on that scale here in Osaka, and 5- in Nara and Wakayama.

The JMA scale lists 4 and 5 as:
Many people are frightened. Some people try to escape from danger. Most sleeping people are awakened. Hanging objects swing considerably and dishes in a cupboard rattle. Unstableornaments fall occasionally. Electric wires swing considerably. People walking on a street and some people driving automobiles feel the tremor.

And that was pretty much what we felt here.

Most people try to escape from danger. Some people find it difficult to move. Hanging objects swing violently. Most unstable ornaments fall. Occasionally, dishes in a cupboard and books on a bookshelf fall and furniture moves. People notice electric-light poles swaying. Occasionally, window panes are broken and fall, unreinforced concrete-block walls collapse, and roads suffer damage. Occasionally, less earthquake-resistant houses suffer damage to walls and pillars. Occasionally, cracks are formed in walls of less earthquake-resistant buildings. A safety device cuts off the gas service at some houses. On rare occasions water pipes are damaged and water service is interrupted. [Electrical service is interrupted at some houses.] Occasionally, cracks appear in soft ground. Rock falls and small slope failures take place in mountainous districts.

And another big aftershock (http://japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=1&id=311281) this morning. An M6.4 that woke me up at 8:30. I do not like this, Sam I am. :(