Friday, October 30, 2009

Earthquakes

Japan Rocked By 6.8 Earthquake
Tokyo, Japan (AHN) - South-west Japan was rocked on Friday by an earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale. According to officials, there were no immediate reports of damage.
The quake, originating off the coast of Amami Oshima island 31 miles below the ocean floor struck at 4:03 p.m. local time. It directly affected the Amami islands and Kagoshima province.
The U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami information bulletin but said, "no destructive widespread tsunami threat exists."
Japan is subject to 20 percent of the world's most powerful earthquakes.

Los Alamos Lab Faces Earthquake Threat, Experts Warn
Experts said this week that a fire sparked by an earthquake beneath the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico could let loose a cloud of potentially lethal plutonium, the Los Angeles Times reported (see GSN, May 15). There are "major" safety issues at Los Alamos that require "both immediate and long-term actions," the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board stated in a letter to Energy Secretary Steven Chu. Engineers have found that a fault line below the nuclear-weapon site could produce a significantly more powerful ground disturbance than previously thought possible. Above this fault are possibly thousands of pounds of plutonium at the TA-55 complex. Read More

Magnitude 7.0 Earthquake Strikes Indonesia
JAKARTA, Indonesia — A powerful earthquake struck deep under the sea in eastern Indonesia on Saturday, causing panic and sending residents running out of their homes, officials and witnesses said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The quake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.0, but at a depth of 86 miles was too far below the earth's surface to cause a tsunami. Read More

Dramatic simulation video shows Seattle earthquake destruction
A video released by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) shows a computer animated simulation of the destruction that could be realized in Seattle by a major earthquake. The dramatic video shows the devastating effect that a quake would have to the city’s Alaskan Way Viaduct. Read More