Google has launched a 'people finder' for Japan, in Japanese, English, Korean, Chinese (simplified), and Chinese (traditional):
- japan.person-finder.appspot.com
Person Finder: 2011 Japan Earthquake
日本語 | English | 한국어 | 中 文 (简 体) | 中 文 (繁 體)
- "PLEASE NOTE: All data entered will be available to the public and viewable and usable by anyone. Google does not review or verify the accuracy of this data."
Japan's Big Earthquake: Why So Much News?
One of the bits of wisdom that appears now and again in 'how to blog' advice is - remember that you're writing for a blog, not a newspaper. That's not as off-topic as it seems, in a post about Japan's mammoth earthquake.Today's earlier 'earthquake' post about was mostly excerpts from news about the earthquake off the coast of Japan, near Sendai. This post will be pretty much the same, except that some of the information is from U. S. government agencies.
The Lemming isn't forgetting that this is a blog. The ratio of facts to commentary in these posts about the Japanese/eastern Pacific earthquake is heavy on facts, since the Lemming's quite interested in the event. The Lemming is also not at all certain how long NOAA archives their data. Or Wired - although Wired seems to be pretty good about not making their non-current articles hard to find. And that's another topic.
Here's what NOAA and Wired had to say about the quake:
Sendai/Japan/Pacific Earthquake: Map, Data, and a Different Magnitude
"Message pacific.2011.03.11.223915"Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, NOAA's National Weather Service (March 11, 2011
That's a NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) page, with tsunami and earthquake information about the 05:46 UTC earthquake that hit Japan today. (March 11, 2011)
According to the page, the center of the quake was 24.4 kilometers, 15.2 miles, down at latitude 38.3° N, longitude 142.4° E.
The news has been reporting the magnitude of the earthquake as 8.9: which is the PTWC estimate. Looks like the USGS (United States Geological Survey) value for the earthquake's magnitude is 7.9: which is still a whacking great quake.
There's a map, showing earthquake's location. Also where a mess of other tremors were:
(from NOAA's National Weather Service, used w/o permission)
Here's a copy of the text-only version of that NOAA page:
000
WEPA40 PHEB 112239
TSUPAC
TSUNAMI BULLETIN NUMBER 019
PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER/NOAA/NWS
ISSUED AT 2239Z 11 MAR 2011
THIS BULLETIN APPLIES TO AREAS WITHIN AND BORDERING THE PACIFIC
OCEAN AND ADJACENT SEAS...EXCEPT ALASKA...BRITISH COLUMBIA...
WASHINGTON...OREGON AND CALIFORNIA.
... A WIDESPREAD TSUNAMI WARNING IS IN EFFECT ...
A TSUNAMI WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR
JAPAN / RUSSIA / MEXICO / FR. POLYNESIA / PITCAIRN / GUATEMALA /
EL SALVADOR / COSTA RICA / NICARAGUA / ANTARCTICA /
PANAMA / HONDURAS / CHILE / ECUADOR / COLOMBIA / PERU
THIS BULLETIN IS ISSUED AS ADVICE TO GOVERNMENT AGENCIES. ONLY
NATIONAL AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO MAKE
DECISIONS REGARDING THE OFFICIAL STATE OF ALERT IN THEIR AREA AND
ANY ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN IN RESPONSE.
AN EARTHQUAKE HAS OCCURRED WITH THESE PRELIMINARY PARAMETERS
ORIGIN TIME - 0546Z 11 MAR 2011
COORDINATES - 38.3 NORTH 142.4 EAST
DEPTH - 24 KM
LOCATION - NEAR EAST COAST OF HONSHU JAPAN
MAGNITUDE - 8.9
MEASUREMENTS OR REPORTS OF TSUNAMI WAVE ACTIVITY
GAUGE LOCATION LAT LON TIME AMPL PER
BITUNG ID 0.4N 125.2E 1727Z 0.26M / 0.8FT 26MIN
ACAPULCO MX 16.8N 99.9W 2117Z 0.65M / 2.1FT 56MIN
SANTA BARBARA CA 34.4N 119.7W 2041Z 0.76M / 2.5FT 10MIN
MANZANILLO MX 19.1N 104.3W 2037Z 1.25M / 4.1FT 32MIN
CABO SAN LUCAS MX 22.9N 109.9W 1906Z 0.22M / 0.7FT 10MIN
LANGARA POINT BC 54.2N 133.1W 1539Z 0.52M / 1.7FT 26MIN
RIKITEA PF 23.1S 135.0W 2014Z 0.21M / 0.7FT 30MIN
RANGIROA PF 14.9S 147.7W 1822Z 0.29M / 0.9FT 08MIN
LOTTIN PT NZ 37.6S 178.2E 1839Z 0.23M / 0.7FT 20MIN
NORTH CAPE NZ 34.4S 173.0E 1846Z 0.23M / 0.8FT 32MIN
PAPEETE TAHITI 17.5S 149.6W 1822Z 0.39M / 1.3FT 26MIN
SUBIC BAY PH 14.8N 120.3E 1517Z 0.07M / 0.2FT 54MIN
HONIARA SB 9.4S 160.0E 1436Z 0.26M / 0.8FT 50MIN
NUKU HIVA MARQUESAS 8.9S 140.1W 1824Z 1.48M / 4.8FT 14MIN
NUKUALOFA TO 21.1S 175.2W 1751Z 0.37M / 1.2FT 30MIN
RAROTONGA CK 21.2S 159.8W 1813Z 0.29M / 1.0FT 08MIN
WINTER HARBOUR BC 50.7N 128.3W 1505Z 0.47M / 1.5FT 30MIN
FISHING ROCK RAOUL 29.3S 177.9W 1733Z 0.09M / 0.3FT 20MIN
PORT SAN LUIS CA 35.2N 120.8W 1654Z 1.88M / 6.2FT 22MIN
CRESCENT CITY CA 41.7N 124.2W 1657Z 2.02M / 6.6FT 20MIN
VANUATU 17.8S 168.3E 1542Z 0.69M / 2.3FT 22MIN
LUGANVILLE VU 15.5S 167.2E 1537Z 0.54M / 1.8FT 54MIN
LAUTOKA FJ 17.6S 177.4E 1545Z 0.33M / 1.1FT 76MIN
CHARLESTON OR 43.3N 124.3W 1545Z 0.49M / 1.6FT 24MIN
NORTH SPIT HUMBOLDT 40.8N 124.2W 1553Z 0.54M / 1.8FT 26MIN
KAUMALAPAU HAWAII 20.8N 156.9W 1531Z 0.91M / 3.0FT 06MIN
LOMBRUM MANUS IS PG 2.0S 147.4E 1529Z 1.04M / 3.4FT 62MIN
PAGO PAGO AS 14.3S 170.7W 1556Z 0.34M / 1.1FT 16MIN
ARENA COVE CA 38.9N 123.7W 1540Z 0.82M / 2.7FT 22MIN
PORT ORFORD OR 42.7N 124.5W 1534Z 0.52M / 1.7FT 16MIN
MANUS PG 2.0S 147.4E 1425Z 0.93M / 3.1FT 34MIN
HONOLULU OAHU 21.3N 157.9W 1410Z 0.71M / 2.3FT 32MIN
KANTON KI 2.8S 171.7W 1425Z 0.05M / 0.2FT 10MIN
CHRISTMAS KI 2.0N 157.5W 1447Z 0.56M / 1.9FT 52MIN
KAWAIHAE HAWAII 20.0N 155.8W 1413Z 1.22M / 4.0FT 14MIN
HILO HAWAII 19.7N 155.1W 1409Z 1.41M / 4.6FT 36MIN
BETIO TARAWA KI 1.4N 172.9E 1225Z 0.21M / 0.7FT 24MIN
NAURU 0.5S 166.9E 1156Z 0.20M / 0.7FT 24MIN
NAWILIWILI KAUAI 22.0N 159.4W 1343Z 0.76M / 2.5FT 12MIN
DART 51407 19.6N 156.5W 1337Z 0.15M / 0.5FT 14MIN
KAHULUI MAUI 20.9N 156.5W 1327Z 1.74M / 5.7FT 52MIN
BARBERS PT HI 21.3N 158.1W 1308Z 0.70M / 2.3FT 64MIN
TERN FR. FRIGATE US 23.9N 166.3W 1224Z 0.38M / 1.2FT 16MIN
JOHNSTON US 16.7N 169.5W 1206Z 0.20M / 0.7FT 72MIN
DART 52402 11.7N 154.2E 0931Z 0.29M / 0.9FT 22MIN
DART 46403 52.7N 156.9W 1127Z 0.09M / 0.3FT 60MIN
LEGASPI PH 13.1N 123.8E 1116Z 0.25M / 0.8FT 58MIN
KWAJALEIN MH 8.7N 167.7E 1111Z 0.55M / 1.8FT 48MIN
NIKOLSKI AK 52.9N 168.9W 1109Z 0.27M / 0.9FT 64MIN
HANASAKI HOKKAIDO J 43.3N 145.6E 0656Z 1.83M / 6.0FT 24MIN
MIDWAY 28.2N 177.4W 1048Z 1.27M / 4.2FT 12MIN
TOSASHIMIZU SHIKOKU 32.8N 133.0E 0946Z 0.84M / 2.8FT 28MIN
ADAK AK 51.9N 176.6W 1034Z 0.35M / 1.2FT 22MIN
YAP FM 9.5N 138.1E 1013Z 0.15M / 0.5FT 88MIN
DART 21415 50.2N 171.8E 0845Z 0.27M / 0.9FT 52MIN
WAKE US 19.3N 166.6E 0928Z 0.39M / 1.3FT 14MIN
NAHA OKINAWA JP 26.2N 127.7E 0901Z 0.25M / 0.8FT 60MIN
SAIPAN US 15.2N 145.7E 0916Z 0.65M / 2.1FT 30MIN
OMAEZAKI HONSHU JP 34.6N 138.2E 0818Z 1.42M / 4.6FT 56MIN
DART 21419 44.5N 155.7E 0716Z 0.40M / 1.3FT 20MIN
DART 21413 30.5N 152.1E 0659Z 0.76M / 2.5FT 32MIN
DART 21401 42.6N 152.6E 0643Z 0.67M / 2.2FT 40MIN
DART 21418 38.7N 148.7E 0619Z 1.08M / 3.5FT 06MIN
LAT - LATITUDE (N-NORTH, S-SOUTH)
LON - LONGITUDE (E-EAST, W-WEST)
TIME - TIME OF THE MEASUREMENT (Z IS UTC IS GREENWICH TIME)
AMPL - TSUNAMI AMPLITUDE MEASURED RELATIVE TO NORMAL SEA LEVEL.
IT IS ...NOT... CREST-TO-TROUGH WAVE HEIGHT.
VALUES ARE GIVEN IN BOTH METERS(M) AND FEET(FT).
PER - PERIOD OF TIME IN MINUTES(MIN) FROM ONE WAVE TO THE NEXT.
NOTE - DART MEASUREMENTS ARE FROM THE DEEP OCEAN AND THEY
ARE GENERALLY MUCH SMALLER THAN WOULD BE COASTAL
MEASUREMENTS AT SIMILAR LOCATIONS.
EVALUATION
SEA LEVEL READINGS CONFIRM THAT A TSUNAMI HAS BEEN GENERATED
WHICH COULD CAUSE WIDESPREAD DAMAGE. AUTHORITIES SHOULD TAKE
APPROPRIATE ACTION IN RESPONSE TO THIS THREAT. THIS CENTER WILL
CONTINUE TO MONITOR SEA LEVEL DATA TO DETERMINE THE EXTENT AND
SEVERITY OF THE THREAT.
A TSUNAMI IS A SERIES OF WAVES AND THE FIRST WAVE MAY NOT BE THE
LARGEST. TSUNAMI WAVE HEIGHTS CANNOT BE PREDICTED AND CAN VARY
SIGNIFICANTLY ALONG A COAST DUE TO LOCAL EFFECTS. THE TIME FROM
ONE TSUNAMI WAVE TO THE NEXT CAN BE FIVE MINUTES TO AN HOUR, AND
THE THREAT CAN CONTINUE FOR MANY HOURS AS MULTIPLE WAVES ARRIVE.
FOR ALL AREAS - WHEN NO MAJOR WAVES ARE OBSERVED FOR TWO HOURS
AFTER THE ESTIMATED TIME OF ARRIVAL OR DAMAGING WAVES HAVE NOT
OCCURRED FOR AT LEAST TWO HOURS THEN LOCAL AUTHORITIES CAN ASSUME
THE THREAT IS PASSED. DANGER TO BOATS AND COASTAL STRUCTURES CAN
CONTINUE FOR SEVERAL HOURS DUE TO RAPID CURRENTS. AS LOCAL
CONDITIONS CAN CAUSE A WIDE VARIATION IN TSUNAMI WAVE ACTION THE
ALL CLEAR DETERMINATION MUST BE MADE BY LOCAL AUTHORITIES.
BULLETINS WILL BE ISSUED HOURLY OR SOONER IF CONDITIONS WARRANT.
THE TSUNAMI WARNING WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.
THE JAPAN METEOROLOGICAL AGENCY MAY ALSO ISSUE TSUNAMI MESSAGES
FOR THIS EVENT TO COUNTRIES IN THE NORTHWEST PACIFIC AND SOUTH
CHINA SEA REGION. IN CASE OF CONFLICTING INFORMATION... THE
MORE CONSERVATIVE INFORMATION SHOULD BE USED FOR SAFETY.
THE WEST COAST/ALASKA TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER WILL ISSUE PRODUCTS
FOR ALASKA...BRITISH COLUMBIA...WASHINGTON...OREGON...CALIFORNIA.(from ptwc.weather.gov/ptwc/text.php?id=pacific.2011.03.11.223915)Japan's Biggest Recorded Quake: 1/100 Death Toll of Last Big One
"Earthquake Is Biggest in Japan's Recorded History"Alexandra Witze, Science News, Wired Science, Wired (March 11, 2011)
(from NOAA, via Wired, used w/o permission)
"Image: A forecast for the tsunami caused by a magnitude-8.9 earthquake that struck off the coast of Japan on March 11, 2011. Heat-map colors show maximum tsunami height within the first 24 hours. (NOAA/PMEL/Center for Tsunami Research)"
"The magnitude 8.9 quake that struck off Japan's coast on March 11 will go down as one of the country's largest earthquakes.
"Even if its magnitude is downgraded in the coming days, as sometimes happens as more data are analyzed, the quake will remain a benchmark in a country that has seen many major quakes. It ranks fifth on the list of biggest quakes this past century. The Indonesian earthquake that spawned 2004's devastating Indian Ocean tsunami was a magnitude 9.1.
"Japan's monster earthquake struck at 2:46 p.m. local time, about 150 km off the coast of the island of Honshu. Japan is one of the world's most prepared societies when it comes to earthquakes, and a recently established early warning system broadcast alerts in many areas, including Tokyo, before the shaking began.
"Seismic activity in the region began with a magnitude 7.2 quake on March 3. Major aftershocks continue to rattle the area. The death toll is unknown...."
Japan's March 11, 2011, Earthquake: It Could have been Worse
By now, nearly midnight here in central Minnesota, the death toll is still unknown: but likely to be many hundred people - maybe a thousand. That's what the Lemming heard in the news, toward the end of the day, anyway.This could have been a lot worse. Back to the Wired article:
"...The deadliest quake in Japan's history came in 1923, when more than 140,000 people perished in the magnitude 7.9 Great Kanto Earthquake. That tremor was centered southwest of Tokyo Bay. The March 11 quake struck more to the north, offshore from the city of Sendai...."
(Wired)
The total death toll from today's earthquake may go higher than 1,000 - folks in Japan are still busy, looking for survivors. And non-survivors. To make the fraction come out very evenly, let's say it turns out that 1,400 people lost their lives in this disaster.
Comparing this to the 1923 quake, that's 1,400/140,000: or 1/100 the death toll this time. Maybe.
One reason the number is so low this time around may be what's being discussed in the news: Japan has been making a priority of studying earthquakes - and developing technologies and procedures for dealing with them - for the last several decades.
Looks like all that effort may have paid off.
Earthquakes aren't Tornadoes
We don't get many earthquakes here in the upper Midwest. When we do, they tend to be big, and that's another topic. (July 30, 2010)In this part of the world, its tornadoes that keep us on our toes. Among other things, like the sort of storm that's on the other side of the window at this moment. Yet another topic.
Bear with the Lemming, please: this really does connect to Japan's remarkable advances in earthquake tech.
Back in the Lemming's 'good old days,' the tornado warning system depended heavily on folks with a bit of training and really steady nerves deploying themselves where a tornado might develop. If they spotted one, they radioed in what they'd observed, and then tried to get out of the way. They were successful most of the time, happily.
Then we got radar that could 'see' inside those thunderstorms. We still have spotters: but these days there's satellite data, Doppler radar, and increasingly sophisticated software that quite often gives us several minutes to head for a shelter.
Folks in this part of the world don't get killed by tornadoes anywhere near as often as we used to. Which is one of the reasons the Lemming doesn't miss the 'good old days' all that much.
It's not that we're luckier today, than we were a half-century or so back. There's been a whole lot of new technology developed since the mid-20th century.
Which seems to be what's happened in Japan. Folks living there don't have to worry about tornadoes so much - but the same sort of change has made it possible for them to deal with earthquakes and tsunamis without so much loss of life.
Related post:
- "Lemming Tracks: Japan Magnitude 8.9 Earthquake"
(March 11, 2011)
1 comment:
krrrrrrrrrr
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