As I write this my house is shaking violently in a strong earthquake…..
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Regular TV broadcasting has been interrupted by a bulletin reporting that Aomori suffered an earthquake registering 6 on the Japanese scale..
They are showing 5+ all along the Pacific Coast of Japan.
Though Tochigi is located quite far from the epicenter, the shaking here was long and strong.
Tsunami warnings are up.
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One thing that was a relief to see was that the advance warning system seems to be working. I was sitting in front of the TV writing some things for Japan News Junkie when suddenly the TV started flashing a warning and announcing in a loud voice, “Prepare for a strong earthquake! Prepare for a strong earthquake!”
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Tsunami warnings have been canceled. They are saying a Japanese intensity scale of 4 for Tochigi, but it felt stronger to me.
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Duration was 15 seconds vertical followed by 30 seconds horizontal. . . It felt like it was a lot longer. . .
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Reports of property damage coming in, but nothing about injuries or deaths…
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Reports of injuries starting to come in.
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Things seem to be settling down, so I am off for a bit of shut eye. . . See you all in 40 winks. . .
…yeah!!that why I worry.. they are there - I am here for work.
Arden said it was quite strong and prolonged
remora
So exactly how much time did the warning give you? Enough to run out of the house?
RYO: About long enough to go, “Huh?” before going “Oh, shit!”
Glad you’re ok. I don’t ever remember feeling a vertical earthquake, but everyone always says that’s what causes the worst damage.
was that “Oh i feel the need to defecate!”..or had it already happened?
I too am glad you are okay but what practical good is a warning of such short duration? (I can only imagine the technology will improve to someday allow a whole slew of profanities to issue forth before the grounds shakes and bakes.)
Pretty good rock’n roll here at the 13th floor Pink House.
FYI, USGS says it was magnitude 6.8, located at a depth of 112km, 25km ENE of Morioka. There are no tsunami warnings out for Hawaii or N.America west coast.
That’s the biggest one I felt in a year, and I’m all the way down in Yokohama.
RYO: The vertical earthquake feels like everything is on a water bed.
Concerning the warning, yes it was short, but I was emotionally ready for the quake when it hit. A sudden quake can be a real shocker that gets adrenaline and blood pressure levels soaring. Thanks to the warning, I didn’t feel the sudden surge of fear that normally accompanies this strong of a quake (for me).
rem. . . Perhaps the short warning is to provide you with enough pucker time, for I am happy to report I weathered the event unsoiled.
Good point. Would have sucked though if you were playing a Wii Fit balance game at the time.
A general question, but does anyone know if earthquakes are the main reason why few residential homes in Japan have a basement?
Was shaking like mad here in Takadanobaba.
Biggest I’ve felt in a while.
are you talking about a buttock-clenching type pucker? or something even worse like kissing your-ass-goodbye and then the (wife)?
remora
Hah. . . All the above!
Where is it located?
Hello Mr. Chmura. Well, I really hope everything is ok now! I’m the guy from Costa Rica who is living in Fukuoka (hope you can remember…)
When I woke up this morning and was watching the news while having my breakfast, the first thing I thought when I heard about the earthquake was “crap, I hope the Japundit guy is ok…” hehehe…
Thanks, Carlos. Fortunately the Japundit Media Complex weathered the quake without incident. Though my cat did not enjoy the experience one bit!
happy ed is okay
love the sanguine nature in these posts. i can see in my minds eye the floor moving, cupboards flying open, cats running up the walls, and in the midst of this edward just sitting there with a cigarette in one hand and the other typing on a laptop.
“crappy tv reception.”
was kind of a weak earthquake though.
just like a deaf person’s wake up alarm.
but with all the talk of an up and down side to side motion, low-mid level earthquakes sound like a sexual aid of some sort. until something stored loosely above falls on your head, then it becomes a convenient sleep aid.
can’t talk though, worst natural disaster i’ve ever been through was a storm in cheyenne with simultaneous f4 tornados (plural), tennis ball sized hail, and flash flooding. there were warnings on radio and tv (i was young and there was no computer in the house at the time), that were funny.
first announcement: **tornando warning* this is a tornado warning. four tornadoes have touched down at (locations given). the national whether service has issued a tornado warning for the city of cheyenne. please move to the nearest tornado shelter. if there is not one available please move to the lowest room in your home or building. if you are in a one story building and no shelter is available, stand in the nearest available interior doorway with your hands pressed firmly against the door frame. (repeats instructions)
3 seconds of dead air…then…
second announcement:**flash flood warning** this is a flash flood warning. the national weather service has issues a flash flood warning for the following counties (cheyenne included). please evacuate to the highest ground available in your area. if you are in a structure please evacuate to the highest floor in the structure. please evacuate any entry areas. (repeats intructions)
another three seconds of dead air…then
third announcement: **severe thunderstorm warning** this is a severe thunderstorm warning….
we sat on the stairs for the duration
Yeah. . . It was kind of eerie there. At one point when the shaking was the most severe it was getting difficult to hit the right keys on the keyboard.
You mention tornadoes in your comment, eso-t. I grew up in a Chicago suburb where a tornado once touched down and killed 33 people. Though I was in Massachusetts when that happened, tornado warnings were almost a daily event in the late afternoons of the hot summer months during my early years. Compared to a Midwest tornado, typhoons in Japan are pretty wimpy, and the only things that make earthquakes worse is their unpredictability and widespread devastation.
but conversely Edward, you can see a typhoon or tornado approaching, with that useful modern tool of radar or satellite imagery…jishin’s give no warning..and we don’t have a fully effective way of predicting them.
It’s always there somewhere,lurking and skulking at the back recesses of your mind - “Is this is it?” - “Is today the day?”…”Did I remember to put the cat out?”
n.b. I was at work when your post first came thru - I felt like I was there with you…
rem.