8.8 Earthquake hits Japan

[Nik]

Does anyone know for what length of time this quake lasted? I wonder why some quakes last longer than others, surely the amount of time is a pretty significant factor in damage caused.

Lasted approximately 2 minutes.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/03/11/3162153.htm

 

[DrunkenSano]

Does anyone know for what length of time this quake lasted? I wonder why some quakes last longer than others, surely the amount of time is a pretty significant factor in damage caused.

Last night, CNN had an American living in Japan on the phone and he said about 4 minutes.

 

[dennilfloss]

Whole city on fire.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...e-Japanese-city-on-fire-after-earthquake.html

 

[Joemonkey]

Whole city on fire.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...e-Japanese-city-on-fire-after-earthquake.html

goddamn internet has desensitized me I see stuff like that and the videos of entire highways worth of cars and just go on like nothing happened...

 

[Capt Caveman]

1 missing, 4 rescued as tsunami hits West Coast

 

[BoomerD]

1 missing, 4 rescued as tsunami hits West Coast

I saw that on the television earlier. How fucking stupid do you have to be to go down to the beach to take pictures during a tsunami warning?

 

[shiner]

I saw that on the television earlier. How fucking stupid do you have to be to go down to the beach to take pictures during a tsunami warning?

Same level of stupidity that gets showcased every time a tornado rips through somewhere and some toothless jackass is standing outside to watch it go by.

 

[isekii]

I saw that on the television earlier. How fucking stupid do you have to be to go down to the beach to take pictures during a tsunami warning?

Darwin Award Nominee~

 

[DingDingDao]

Does anyone know for what length of time this quake lasted? I wonder why some quakes last longer than others, surely the amount of time is a pretty significant factor in damage caused.

The duration of an earthquake is based in part on the distance from the epicenter. An earthquake consists of several different waves (longitudinal, transverse) which propagate from the epicenter at different speeds. So at the epicenter the earthquake would have been much shorter in duration than further away.

 

[goobernoodles]

Ugh... I lived in Japan from when I was 4 until 8... Hope none of the people I was friends with back then are hurt. I lived in Kyoto back then, which is way south west, but it's been so long, I'm sure many have moved. I also have some family friends on the major northern island, Hokkaido. If I recall correctly, I think they're on the west coast...

 

[Nik]

I saw that on the television earlier. How fucking stupid do you have to be to go down to the beach to take pictures during a tsunami warning?

The local news is showing a Sheriff parked on the beach. There's some guy they've also been following who's playing with his dogs in the water.

The beaches aren't technically closed and the Sheriff walked over and told him that he should probably leave, but didn't make him. Coast Guard helo patrol footage shows some folks surfing, too. :\

 

[combust3r]

Lasted approximately 2 minutes.

Damn, I was in a city that was struck by a 5.4 magnitude quake last November and we had severe structural damages on most of the buildings in town (and quake only lasted 30sec). I live on 11th floor skyscraper and that was no fun at all. I can only imagine how that 8.9 monster was felt in Japan.

Best wishes for all of those that were caught by this missfortune.

 

[CZroe]

I'm wondering how long it will be before I bump into some idiot blaming this on AGW.

 

[Leon]

The death toll will rise for sure.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQGaoFLgFJI&feature=player_embedded#at=245

 

[dmcowen674]

Wish my big quake prediction could have made it over there, maybe could have saved some lives.

 

[CZroe]

Still not getting it? There are NOT normally hundreds of 5.0+ quakes every day...and there's a HUGE jump from 5.0 to 6.0.
I know in an earlier post, you said:
in reply to your misunderstanding about the Richter Scale...but apparently, you're still missing the point.
Not only is the shaking greatly worse, the amount of energy expended is greater by several magnitudes.
One "expert" said earlier that this quake was 8000 times more powerful than the 6.3 that hit NZ a couple of weeks ago.

It's greater by exactly ONE magnitude.

 

[ManBearPig]

thanks for finding out how long it lasted. thats terrifying, an earthquake of that magnitude for 2 (or more according to other reports) minutes, holy fuck!

 

[Nik]

Wish my big quake prediction could have made it over there, maybe could have saved some lives.

Right, because the words of some freakin off the deep end loonie on the internet is more intelligent and more efficient than the NOAA experts constantly monitoring the crust of the earth every single second of every day.

 

[uhohs]

 

[Wyndru]

The death toll will rise for sure.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQGaoFLgFJI&feature=player_embedded#at=245

That's some crazy footage. Thanks for sharing.

 

[shiner]

Wish my big quake prediction could have made it over there, maybe could have saved some lives.

The only way you could have helped is if your Twinkie stuffed ass had been over there and put in place as a breakwater. That alone could have saved hundreds of miles of coastline from devastation.

 

[highland145]

Easy to pick out the new construction.

 

[xanis]

I was out all day and only just heard about this. Terrible, terrible news. Hope casualties are low and that they fix everything quickly.

 

[dennilfloss]

Look at those buildings sway in Tokyo! Their building code works. Great engineering.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhJzdtzl6KY

 

[goobernoodles]

1 missing, 4 rescued as tsunami hits West Coast

Turned on my CD player this morning, a tool CD was in. Aenima came on.

Looks like someone didn't learn to swim.