Japan Issues Tsunami Warning After 8.1 Quake

[lingling]

Apparently there is a big tsunami in the pacific, about to hit japan. Just popped up as a headline on various news services.

Japan issues tsunami warning after 8.1 quake

Northeast residents told to flee to higher ground; 6 1/2-foot wave expected

TOKYO: -- Japan's meteorological agency issued a tsunami warning and told Pacific coast residents to flee to higher ground after an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 8.1 hit near islands north of the country.

A tsunami about 6 1/2-feet tall or higher could hit the Pacific coast of Japan's northernmost island of Hokkaido and main island of Honshu after 9:10 p.m. (7:10 a.m. EST), the agency said.

The quake struck about 244 miles east of the Etorofu islands, which are north of Japan, at 6:15 a.m. EST, according to the agency.

-- MSNBC 2006-11-15

Edited November 15, 2006 by george

[davidjtayler]

Also from BBC news -

Tsunami warning issued for Japan

A tsunami is expected to hit the north and east coasts of Japan, the country's meteorological agency says.

The agency says the tsumami will be at least two metres (6.5 feet) high and could hit Hokkaido and Honshu islands after 1210 GMT.

Warnings are being broadcast on all TV channels and radio stations advising people to move to higher ground.

It comes after an earthquake of at least 7.7 magnitude hit the Kuril Islands, north of Japan.

The earthquake struck about 390km (240 miles) east of the Etorofu islands, at 1115 GMT, the meteorological agency said.

Other smaller waves may batter the Pacific coast of Japan over the next hour, the agency said.

[george]

Japan Issues Tsunami Warning After Quake

Pacific Coast Residents Should Flee

TOKYO: -- Japan's meteorological agency issued a tsunami warning and told Pacific coast residents to flee to higher ground after an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 8.1 hit near islands north of the country.

A tsunami about 6½ feet tall or higher could hit the Pacific coast of Japan's northernmost island of Hokkaido and main island of Honshu after 9:10 p.m. (7:10 a.m. EST), the agency said.

An official from the town of Shibetsu on Hokkaido, Kiyoshi Takimoto, told public broadcater NHK that about 4,000 of the town's 6,100 residents lived along the coast and had been told to flee to higher ground.

Takimoto said he didn't notice the quake. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries, according to NHK.

The quake struck about 244 miles east of the Etorofu islands, which are north of Japan, at 6:15 a.m. EST, according to the meteorological agency.

Cindy Preller, an official with the Alaska Tsunami Warning Center, said no tsunami was expected to hit Hawaii or the West Coast of North or South America. She said there was a slight chance one could hit the western Aleutian Islands.

A Russian official said a powerful earthquake had struck the Kuril Islands area and there was no immediate word of damage or casualties.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii said a tsunami warning had been issued for Russia and Japan.

Tsunami waves, which are generated by earthquakes, are often barely noticeable in the ocean but can rise to great heights once they arrive at shore.

Japan is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries because it sits atop four tectonic plates.

--Agencies 2006-11-15

[LaoPo]

Japan and Russia on tsunami alert

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6150538.stm

Japan issues tsunami warning after quake

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061115/ap_on_...s/japan_tsunami

Japan issues tsunami warning

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/11/1...html?eref=yahoo

LaoPo

Edited November 15, 2006 by LaoPo

[george]

Tsunami warning issued for Russia, Alaska and Japan

TOKYO: -- Japan's meteorological agency issued a tsunami warning and told the country's Pacific coast residents to flee to higher ground after a powerful earthquake hit hundreds of miles away.

A tsunami about 6 1/2 feet tall or higher was expected to hit the Pacific coast of Japan's northernmost island of Hokkaido and main island of Honshu after 9:10 p.m. (7:10 a.m. EST), the agency said.

An official from the town of Shibetsu on Hokkaido, Kiyoshi Takimoto, told public broadcaster NHK that about 4,000 of the town's 6,100 residents lived along the coast and had been told to flee to higher ground.

Takimoto said he didn't notice the quake. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries, according to NHK.

A tsunami advisory was issued for Hawaii, where the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no threat of a destructive wave.

Cindy Preller, an official with the Alaska Tsunami Warning Center, said no tsunami was expected to hit the West Coast of North or South America. She said there was a slight chance one could hit the western Aleutian Islands.

The quake with a preliminary magnitude of 8.1 struck about 245 miles east of the Etorofu islands, which are about 990 miles northeast of Tokyo, at 6:15 a.m. EST, according to the Japanese meteorological agency.

A Russian official said a powerful earthquake had struck the Kuril Islands area and there was no immediate word of damage or casualties.

The U.S. Geological Survey reported on its Web site that a 7.8-magnitude quake had been detected 275 miles east-northeast of the Kurils at a depth of 17.2 miles. Temblors of magnitude 7 are generally classified as major earthquakes, capable of widespread, heavy damage.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said a tsunami warning had been issued for Russia and Japan.

A magnitude 9.1-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Indonesia on Dec. 26, 2004 caused a tsunami that killed at least 213,000 people in 11 countries. Those waves reached as high as 33 feet.

Tsunami waves, which are generated by earthquakes, are often barely noticeable in the ocean but can rise to great heights once they arrive at shore.

Japan is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries because it sits atop four tectonic plates.

--AP 2006-11-15

[ronz28]

They are saying power and speed of Tsunami waves have more to do with damage than the height of wave. Lots of oil infrastructure in the area of the quake and first Tsunami danger area.

[LaoPo]

CORRECTED-Quake hits Kuriles, tsunami warning in Japan

Corrects 2nd paragraph to read ... roughly 1,700 km northeast of Tokyo ... instead of ... northwest. Corrects 4th paragraph to make clear the territorial dispute concerns only the Southern Kuriles TOKYO (Reuters) - An 8.1 quake was recorded in the Kurile islands on Wednesday, and a tsunami warning issued for eastern Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost island, NHK public television said.

The first waves of the tsunami, which was expected to arrive shortly after 9 p.m. local (12:00 a.m. British time), were predicted to range from 1 to 2 metres in Hokkaido. The site of the quake was roughly 1,700 km northeast of Tokyo.

Hokkaido residents reported feeling little to no shaking from the earthquake.

The Kuriles are known as the Chishima islands in Japan. The Southern Kuriles, known to Japanese as the Northern Territories, are the subject of a territorial dispute between Japan and Russia.

http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenew...+News-C3-More-4

Edit: news some 10-15 mins ago:

Tsunami warning upgraded for northern Japan, Russia

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N15421773.htm

LaoPo

Edited November 15, 2006 by LaoPo

[Pink Mist]

just heard on radio that the size of quake was somewhat lower than first reported and 1/2 metre waves were reaching Japan

[Tywais]

just heard on radio that the size of quake was somewhat lower than first reported and 1/2 metre waves were reaching Japan

Just was watching a CNN live feed and they mentioned one at 20 cm and another at 40 cm.

[Rinrada]

from the BBC five minutes ago....

A small tsunami has hit northern Japan, according to the country's meteorological agency (JMA).

It said a 40cm (16 inches) wave hit Nemuro port in the Japan's northernmost island of Hokkaido.

The JMA initially expected a tsunami of at least two metres (6.5 feet) high after an 8.1 magnitude earthquake shook the Kuril Islands, north of Japan.

A tsunami warning has also been issued for Russia's Pacific coast by the US Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

Warnings are being broadcast on all Japanese TV and radio stations advising people to move to higher ground.

[Jai Dee]

Tsunami warning in Japan, Russia after massive quake

TOKYO - A massive earthquake struck the northern Pacific Ocean Wednesday, triggering fears of tsunami waves from Japan to Canada to Indonesia, officials said.

The earthquake was measured at magnitude 8.1, some 600 kilometres (370 miles) northeast of Japan's main northern island of Hokkaido, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

The area where the quake hit is isolated, with the Russian-administered Kuril island chain the closest populated area.

Japan issued warnings for all of its east coast from Tokyo north, saying that seismic waves of up to two metres (six and a half feet) could strike the shore.

But the first tsunami known to hit the coast was a mere 40 centimetres (16 inches). It struck the northeastern Japanese town of Nemuro at 9:42 pm (1242 GMT), 87 minutes after the earthquake.

The agency downgraded the warnings to tsunami advisory late Wednesday. However, Japanese officials still warned that the threat was not over.

In Tokyo, the government set up a special communication office to collect information about the tsunami.

"The tsunami warnings and advisories are still out there and the first tsunami waves are beginning to be observed. People need to remain cautious," Takeshi Hachimine, a meteorological agency official, told a news conference.

Some 10,000 Russian inhabitants of the Kuril Islands in far eastern Russia were taken to higher ground following the quake, Russian officials said, adding that there had so far been no reports of damage or victims.

The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the warning was in effect for both Russia and Japan along with the Pacific islands of Marcus, Wake and Midway.

It issued a tsunami watch for areas including Indonesia -- which is still recovering from the devastating December 2004 earthquake -- along with Hawaii, the Philippines and Taiwan.

"An earthquake of this size has the potential to generate a destructive tsunami that can strike coastlines in the region near the epicentre within minutes to hours," it said.

The West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Center in Palmer, Alaska, issued a tsunami warning covering the areas from Sand Point, Alaska, to Attu, Alaska.

It said a tsunami watch was in effect for Washington state and British Columbia, as well as the area from Cape Flattery, Washington to Sand Point, Alaska.

"At this time, this message is advisory only for other areas of California, Oregon and Washington," it added.

Japanese officials urged residents to head to higher ground, a warning passed on by local authorities. Hokkaido authorities said they were issuing mandatory evacuation orders for 10 municipalities.

The quake was too far away to be felt in Japan's major population centres. Television footage showed rain but relatively calm waters on Nemuro, a Japanese port city facing the Kuril chain, which witnessed the first tsunami.

"We have issued an evacuation warning to all residents living near the coast," said Hiroyuki Taniguchi, a local official in Nemuro.

"We have not had any sign of high waves. So far, there is no confusion in the city. We did not feel any jolts," he said.

Japan is home to 20 per cent of the world's major earthquakes, which are frequently felt in major cities.

Japan prides itself on having one of the world's more accurate systems for predicting tsunamis. It helped share information with other countries after the Indian Ocean tsunami of December 2004 that killed some 220,000 people, 168,000 of them in the Indonesian province of Aceh.

The Indian Ocean tsunami, which registered a colossal magnitude 9.1, produced waves of an average of 10 metres.

Source: AFP - 16 November 2006

[redwood13]

"Two docks were destroyed after a five-foot surge rolled into the Crescent City Harbor [California] on Wednesday afternoon and caused up to $700,000 in damages.

The surge was the result of an undersea earthquake with a magnitude of 8.1 that struck earlier in the day near Japan, prompting tsunami warnings for Japan, Russia and Alaska, according to the National Weather Service..........

................Crescent City is familiar with the power of ocean surges. A 1964 tsunami washed away 11 people — the only tsunami to take lives in the continental United States..........."

http://tinyurl.com/y3kw97

-redwood

[Goldenbead]

Hubby is in Sakhalin Island, Russia and he called last night to tell me about this. He says nothing happened there but the conversation was filled with flashbacks of the 2004 tsunami. Scary stuff!