Posted on 10/23/2004 3:46:05 AM PDT by Strategerist
Powerful quake hits Honshu
A powerful earthquake hit the main island of Honshu just before 6:00 p.m. on Saturday.
According to the Meteorological Agency, the focus of the quake was 20 kilometers below the surface of central Niigata prefecture, 250 kilometers north of Tokyo.
The quake had a magnitude of 6.8.
It was most heavily felt in the Koshin and Kanto regions.
The Japanese scale intensity of the quake was six-plus in Ojiya City, six-minus in Nagaoka City, five-minus in Kuki City, and four in Tokyo.
Two after-quakes, each with a Japanese intensity of over six followed within about 30 minutes.
Stay safe, R!
Greeting overseas Freeper!
Thank goodness no damage in your area.
Typhoons soaked hills followed by earthquakes not a good mix.
Well I have to get to bed it is almost six a.m. here in Oregon and shift 1 will start in two hours and I am supposed to take KV to a friends new business Open House tommarrow.
Gotta rest the brain cells, night all.
Stay safe Japan Freepers!
Hey wait a minute! You have a Costco?
What kind of stuff do they sell in mega size?
Rice wine vinager. : )
23 October 2004
OJIYA, Niigata -- Local residents were badly shaken when a major earthquake and aftershocks hit Niigata Prefecture on the coast of Sea of Japan on Saturday night.
Many people in the hardest-hit area, Ojiya, said that shelves and lockers fell down during the earthquake that hit shortly before 6 p.m.
"I was in a public hall and collapsed on all fours because of the terrible shaking," said Hisashi Sato, 65, a neighborhood group chief in Ojiya. "I have never experienced such a huge earthquake."
Farmer Taichi Onozuka said he had to evacuate when the quake hit. "Suddenly I felt strong horizontal tremors. Pieces of furniture collapsed in my house," said Onozuka, 68. "Even my walls were crumbling."
Many people evacuated their homes in Ojiya and stayed outside, listening to radio news programs while power was temporarily cut.
Officers of the Ojiya Police Station have launched rescue operations after receiving information that cars were buried. Lockers toppled onto the floor of the police station.
In Nagaoka, another hard-hit area, Tetsuo Yamada, a newspaper delivery office owner, said that he would set up a tent for his family to stay in overnight after newspapers and tableware were thrown onto the floor of his home.
"I was unable to stand still because of the tremors. The floor of a local convenience store was scattered with products fallen from the shelves," Yamada, 65, said. "I still feel scared because of the aftershocks." (Mainichi Shimbun, Japan, Oct. 23, 2004)
23 October 2004
Powerful earthquakes jolted central and eastern Japan Saturday evening, killing one person, injuring more than 100 others, destroying a number of buildings and causing a bullet train to derail in Niigata Prefecture, government and police officials said.
The initial temblor that struck at 5:56 p.m. registered upper 6 on the 7-point Japanese scale in Ojiya, Niigata Prefecture, followed by aftershocks of the same scale, the Meteorological Agency said. It warned of further powerful aftershocks.
In Tokamachi, Niigata Prefecture, a man in his 30s died after being buried under the rubble of a wall that collapsed at a restaurant. Some 50 to 60 injured people have been admitted to Niigata Prefectural Tokamachi Hospital, local government officials.
In Ojiya, a house collapsed and a landslide triggered by the quake buried a number of cars. About 30 injured people were rushed to a local hospital. Police officers are on their way to the landslide scene to rescue people trapped in a car while trying to confirm if anybody in the collapsed house was injured.
Ojiya Municipal Government officials cannot immediately confirm the extent of damage because many roads in the town have been damaged, according to national government officials.
In Nagaoka, a fire broke out at three houses, municipal government officials said. One of the fires has already been extinguished. The local fire department dispatched ambulances to 20 locations to transport residents injured in the quake.
Two coaches of a 10-car-long bullet train, Toki No. 325 superexpress that left Tokyo for Niigata, derailed between Urasa and Naganoka station on the Joetsu Shinkansen Line and is at a standstill, its operator, East Japan Railway Co. (JR East), said. However, the train did not topple over and nobody was injured in the accident.
Services on the line have been suspended between Niigata and Omiya in Saitama Prefecture, according to JR East. Its local lines in Niigata Prefecture have also been suspended.
All the expressways in Niigata Prefecture have been closed. Electric power supply has been completely suspended to some 250,000 households in extensive areas of Niigata Prefecture, including Ojiya and Kashiwazaki.
At 6 p.m., the government established a disaster task force at the prime minister's official residence.
The earthquake that struck at 5:56 p.m. registered upper 6 on the Japanese intensity scale in Ojiya. It also measured lower 6 in Nagaoka and Nakasato in Niigata Prefecture, and upper 5 in Muikamachi, Yoita and other areas, and 4 in wide areas including southern Miyagi Prefecture and Tokyo's 23 wards.
The focus of the quake, which is estimated at 6.8 on the open-ended Richter scale, was located about 20 kilometers below the ground in central Niigata Prefecture.
The temblor was followed by aftershocks, three of which registered upper 6 in some areas of Niigata Prefecture. (Compiled from Mainichi and wire reports, Japan, Oct. 23, 2004)
Really, really big bottles of Kikkoman.
That's interesting. I don't recall hearing about a moon phase connection to large quakes, but it doesn't surprise me. Southern California lore has had some reliability connecting Santa Ana winds, sudden temperature changes, lost pets, pet behavior and insect behavior to impending earthquakes.
Excluding the stand-by mode of Mt. St. Helens, there's California, Turkey, Greece, Iran etc. On the USGS site, there was mention that Japan regularly has an earthquake every 5 minutes.
When we lived there, quakes were felt two or three times a month. The easy, "back and forth" quakes didn't have much of an impact. The "up and down" quakes were really bad.
I'm here on Okinawa and have been thru many typhoons in the past 25 years. This one was a direct hit here with 40 meter winds, but to me it seemed very mild with little damage. I was amazed, because a 40 should be quite a typhoon.
I remember a very bright full moon right at the time of the 1990 L.A. earthquake. I've always paid more attention to that detail since then. I think someone has studied it also, but I don't think there's any conclusive evidence.
Costco in Japan sounds like fun. Are there the same basic items as Stateside or do they carry items unique to Japan? I would love a walk through Japanese Costco just to see their prices on food, furniture, electronics and clothing.
Also I've heard that Japanese living quarters can be small. Does Japanese Costco carry a lot of bulk items such as a year's supply of paper towels and t.p.?
" at Costco in Kanazawa (just south of Yokohama) "
Kanazawa 500 kilometers west of Tokyo-Yokohama near the sea of Japan . You must mean Kanagawa Prefecture , which Yokohama is part of .
Belay my last...thank you for the spelling error...Kanagawa Prefecture. Indeed, big difference in location.
There are several Costcos in the Kanto Plain. Most of the items are from the good ol' USA :) and there's the usual Asian goods. Prices are good especially for meats where they can be rather steep at the local grocery.
Jim Berkland, syzygyjob.org
The prefecture is Kanagawa, but there is a Kanazawa-ku in the south part of Yokohama. I know where idc is talking about.
The prefecture is Kanagawa, but there is a Kanazawa-ku in the south part of Yokohama. I know where idc is talking about.
The Costco there opened earlier this month, if I remember correctly. Haven't been there yet.
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