Caltech scientists- Japan EQ. PASADENA - As they parsed the historic, magnitude-8.9 earthquake and tsunami that rocked Japan early Friday, scientists at the California Institute of Technology couldn't help but relish a silver lining: the data. With magnitude-5 aftershocks still registering on the digital maps beside them, scientists warned of ongoing reverberations along the United States' West Coast as the day drifted toward high tide. But focus had already shifted to the anticipated gold mine of data from the world's fifth largest recorded earthquake, measured by its most seismologically advanced country. Japan's investment in an advanced network of tools to monitor and provide early warning for earthquakes and tsunamis seemed to work Friday, according to those on the ground. And when the dust settles, these tools will also provide an unprecedented cache of quality data. "Absolutely, this is by far the best monitored earthquake," said Tom Heaton, director of the Earthquake Engineering Research Laboratory at Caltech.
Japan a leader in EQ structures. Huge rubber shock absorbers, walls that slide and Teflon foundation pads that isolate buildings from the ground all help explain why medium- and highrise structures in Japan remain standing in the wake of the country’s largest earthquake on record, construction experts said Friday. The location of the earthquake, 130 kilometres offshore, might also explain why most of the structural damage reported appears to be from the tsunami that followed the quake rather than the shaking itself. Since the devastating Kobe quake in 1995, Japan has become a world leader in engineering new structures and retrofitting old ones to withstand violent shaking. “The Japanese are at the forefront of seismic technology,” said Eduardo Kausel, professor of civil and environmental engineering at MIT. “All modern structures have been designed for earthquakes.” The omnipresent threat of large quakes has turned shakeproof innovations into selling points for new high-rises, drawing higher rents, Hamburger added.
Building Codes spared Tokyo. Monique Ross Updated Mon 14 Mar 2011, 2:47pm AEDT An earthquake engineering expert says Japan's tough building codes lessened the impact felt in Tokyo from Friday's fierce quake, but warns the 8.9-magnitude tremor is not the "big one" for the capital. The earthquake unleashed a tsunami that wreaked havoc along Japan's north-east coast and there are fears the eventual death toll could climb higher than 10,000.
Prime minister Naoto Kan says Japan has been plunged into its worst catastrophe since World War II, with towns wiped out, thousands homeless and officials struggling to avert a nuclear crisis in the wake of the disaster. Professor John Wilson, head of the Centre for Sustainable Infrastructure at Melbourne's Swinburne University, says Japan's "stringent" building regulations make the country well-prepared for earthquakes and tsunamis. "They found the post mid-80s buildings performed well and some of the buildings built in the 60s and 70s didn't fare so well," Professor Wilson said. Did Japan's building code save lives? Japanese EQ reminder about building codes. With the news today of the devastating earthquake in Northern Japan, I find myself reminded of our San Francisco earthquake in 1988. The difference in the magnitude of the two quakes is significant and gives us a moment to be thankful for all the hard work the Japanese have done over the years to improve the seismic requirements of the Building Standard Law of Japan.
Living in an earthquake area means preparing for the inevitable. There is never a question about “If” but only “When.” One cannot turn a blind eye to the kind of damage caused by this phenomena if one cares about human life and suffering. The Japanese starting thinking about seismic requirements for buildings back in the 1920′s, with the revision of Law Enforcement Regulations in 1924. After World War II, with massive rebuilding necessary in the country, the modern structure of the building code was developed. There have been two significant seismic design code revisions to the Building Standard Law of Japan. Infographic Video: Japan's EQ. It will be days or even weeks until we know the full extent of the destruction caused by today's earthquake and tsunami that originated in the seas off Sendai, Japan, but new infographics by the scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will give you a sense of the jaw-dropping magnitude of the energy that has been traveling through the Pacific Ocean.
Here's a video of the earthquakes energy propagating across thousands of miles, like ripples in a sink: And here's a chart showing exactly how large the resultant waves have been, all around the rim of the Pacific: The Times has an astonishing collection of videos of the tsunami coming ashore, and you can read a running tabulation of the latest news at Gawker. Our thoughts are with the victims. The Science of Japan’s EQ. Oil refineries aflame.
Train tracks twisted like string. Buildings ripped from their foundations. Japan’s 8.9-magnitude earthquake has left its mark, especially in the expected death toll of over 1,000 people. This video roundup shows the science behind what happened today in Japan. Why (Most) Buildings Didn’t Crumble The death toll is estimated around 1,000, which is bad enough, but it would have been much higher without good engineering, mandated by strict building codes. The Kobe tragedy, says The Telegraph‘s Peter Foster, compelled Japanese officials to tighten building regulations for residential offices and transportation infrastructure. Why Couldn’t Geologists Predict It? Some people may be asking themselves why geologists couldn’t predict today’s earthquake: Didn’t the smaller shocks earlier in the week give some inkling of Friday’s crusher? There was no way to predict that Japan’s biggest-recorded earthquake was looming, said Paul Caruso, a geophysicist with the U.S.
Image: NOAA. Science of the EQ. Developments in the wake of Japan's triple disasters: earthquake, tsunami, nuclear. The US Geological Survey upgraded Japan's 11 March earthquake today to 9.0 from 8.9. Based on Japan's huge network of 1,200 GPS monitoring stations, the quake shifted the country's coastline some 4 meters / 13 feet to the east, and knocked Earth of its axis by 16.5 centimeters / 6.5 inches, shortening Earth's days by about 1.8 millionths of a second. The BBC reports that geographical shift will require that GPS-based driving maps be updated, and nautical charts, too, since water depths have been changed. Furthermore, much of the flooded coastline appears to have subsided permanently—or as permanently as anything ever is on this restless planet—and will not be dry land again anytime in the near future.
Credit: NASA Earth Observatory image created by Jesse Allen, using data provided courtesy of NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S. /Japan ASTER Science Team. Credit: US Navy, via Wikimedia Commons. How Japan’s Building Codes Prevented Casualties. The tragic juxtaposition between the death toll from the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that devastated Haiti in January 2010 and the 8.8 quake that hit Chile less than two months later was glaring.
The former killed an estimated 250,000 while the later left less than 600 dead. It is still far too early to have even a close guess on the number of casualties from this morning’s 8.9 magnitude quake and the resulting tsunami in Japan. But while even one life lost makes this a tragedy, it seems as though the final total could be far below the horrific worst-case scenario that I envisioned when first hearing of the disaster’s size. And much like was the case in Chile, Japan’s building codes had a lot to do with it. From seawalls that line stretches of Japan’s coastline, to skyscrapers that sway to absorb earthquakes, to building codes that are among the world’s most rigorous, no country may be better prepared to withstand earthquakes than Japan. Resiliency in action.
Japan's strict building codes kept toll low. Japan EQ- Reports from Scene_ ENR. Mar 14 I spent much of the day researching and talking to experts and trying to make sense of how a critical facility with four nuclear reactors can be built to withstand massive earthquakes and tsunami and God knows what else, and still leave its mission-critical backup generators exposed to flooding. There is something fatally wrong here, and I do not know why I should think it is any different in the U.S than it is in Japan. I am also deeply troubled by the fact that most of us have already mentally isolated our exposure to this menace to the Pacific Northwest, where the geology has similarities to northeastern Japan, and thus is the only area at similar risk.
I am not convinced. Protecting backup generation capacity should be at least as high a priority, if not even higher, than protecting primary feeds. You will not need backup unless you are absolutely desperate to have it. Case in point: Japan. More on this tomorrow. “My super packed train has stopped again. “It is getting dark. Japan EQ- 5th-strongest on record. When the earth shook off the coast of Japan on Friday, the magnitude 8.9 quake became the fifth strongest since 1900.
According to records kept by the U.S. Geological Survey's Earthquake Information Center, the largest quake remains the one in Chile in 1960 that measured 9.5. That was followed by the 1964 quake in Prince William Sound, Alaska, at 9.2; the 2004 quake off of Sumatra, at 9.1; and the 1952 quake in Kamchatka, a peninsula in eastern Russia near the Bering Sea, at 9.0.
Photos: Scenes from the earthquake Friday’s quake is followed by the 2010 quake in Chile, at 8.8; a 1906 quake in Ecuador, at 8.8; a 1965 quake off Rat Islands, Alaska, at 8.7; and a 2005 quake in northern Sumatra, at 8.6. For example, the deadliest quake in history is believed to be 8.0. Videos of the earthquake michael.muskal@latimes.com. Japan’s Strict Building Codes. Zero buildings down in Toky- EQ. Japan is no stranger to earthquakes, but this morning’s incident was nothing like the country had ever seen before. Registering at a record breaking magnitude 8.9, the earthquake even triggered a staggering 33 foot tsunami which swept away boats, cars, homes and people as widespread fires burned out of control. While there is no question that the devastation has been massive – the situation could have been worse. Given the country’s past experience with these life-threatening tremors, Japan boasts one of the most well-thought out building codes in the world.
With a system that underscores the importance of smart design and preventative measures, millions of lives may very well have been spared. From seawalls that line stretches of Japan’s coastline, to skyscrapers that sway to absorb earthquakes, to unrelenting building codes, there is no other country better prepared for an earthquake than Japan. Japan’s strong building codes. Cities can't be sustainable unless they can withstand the force of the worst natural disasters. Find out why Japan's cities protected its citizens during the 8.9-magnitude earthquake. In 1923, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.9 hit Japan, killing over 100,000 people and leveling cities. Japan has learn a lot since then. It's building codes are some of the best in the world, and that's why -- while hundreds have died -- the 8.9-magnitude earthquake that hit Japan didn't cause more of a catastrophe in its cities.
In fact the major news out of Tokyo is that millions are stranded from their homes and without power, unlike what we saw last year when a huge earthquake hit Haiti. The reason it's not worse is that Japan -- one of the most earthquake prone regions in the world -- takes necessary precautions to make sure major disasters don't lead to greater catastrophe. When disaster does hit, as it did today, Japan's buildings fare relatively well. Photo: HIADA/Flickr. Facts: Japan EQ & Tsunami. Japan's Explosive Geology Explained. When it comes to building a country, you'd be hard-pressed to do it in a more volatile part of the world than Japan. About 1,500 earthquakes strike the island nation every year. Minor tremors occur on a nearly daily basis. Deadly quakes are a tragic part of the nation's past. The anniversary of the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, for example, which killed more than 100,000 people around Tokyo, is now national Disaster Prevention Day.
Japan has such a large potential for earthquakes and disaster because the nation sits atop four huge slabs of the Earth's crust, called tectonic plates. The tectonic activity has also created explosive volcanoes, like south Japan's Mount Kirishima, which continued its recent eruptive streak today (March 14). Japan lies along the Pacific Ring of Fire a narrow zone around the Pacific Ocean where a large chunk of Earth's earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur. Great quake Japan's tectonic shuffle The world's tectonic plates.Credit: USGS. Earthquake aftermath.