With more than 500 active faults in California, the state is sure to see many more quakes in the future
On Thursday morning, southern California experienced its largest earthquake in two decades. The 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck the remote city of Ridgecrest, near Death Valley national park and about 100 miles (160km) from Los Angeles.
Here’s what you should know about the impact of the quake, and whether more seismic activity will strike anytime soon:
Continue reading...Xデーと呼ばれる日－世界で最も過密な都市の直下で大地震が起きれば、第二次世界大戦以来の甚大な被害が予想される。先端技術は東京を救えるか。
東京都港区。毎日午後5時になると、区内のスピーカーから童謡「夕焼け小焼け」のやさしいメロディーが鳴り渡る。人口3700万人を抱えるこの巨大都市では学校や公園など至る所にこうしたスピーカーが設置され、その数は数百台にものぼる。
毎日鳴るこのメロディーには、夜の訪れを知らせる以上の意味がある。人類史上最悪となりうる自然災害から東京都民を守るためのシステムをテストしているのだ。その災害とは、地球上最も過密な都市を直撃する地震だ。
Continue reading...They call it X Day – a major earthquake striking the heart of the world’s most populous city in the most calamitous event since the second world war. Can hi-tech solutions save Tokyo?
Every day, at 5pm, the gentle melody of the children’s song Yuyake Koyake chimes across the Minato area of Tokyo from a loudspeaker – one of hundreds dotted across schools and parks throughout this megacity of 37 million people.
The daily jingle does more than signify the arrival of evening. It is a test for the system that is designed to save Tokyoites from what would be one of the worst natural disasters in recorded human history: an earthquake striking the centre of the most populous city on Earth.
Continue reading...19 April 1906: Thousands of buildings were either damaged or destroyed, and several hundred persons killed
New York, Wednesday
Early this morning a violent earthquake wrecked the business quarter of the city of San Francisco, and an appalling fire completed the devastation. All the land wires were broken, and for some hours the United States was in an agony of suspense. The absence of authentic news produced the wildest rumours. Now that communication has been partially restored the story is scarcely less alarming, for it is known that not less than 1,500 people have perished, and some estimates place the figure ultimately at more than double that number.
Related: Mark Oliver on the 100th anniversary of the San Francisco quake
Continue reading...Authorities warn considerable damage to poorly built structures possible in Sulawesi from 6.8-magnitude quake
A strong 6.8-magnitude earthquake has rocked eastern Indonesia, reportedly killing one person and triggering a brief tsunami warning that sent panicked residents fleeing to higher ground.
The quake struck at a relatively shallow depth of 17 kilometres off the east coast of Sulawesi island, the US Geological Survey said. A 7.5-magnitude quake and tsunami struck near the city of Palu on the other side of the island last year, killing more than 4,300 people.
Continue reading...Parts of Okuma are open for business once again, but only a few hundred former residents have moved home
A town next to the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant partially reopened on Wednesday, eight years after a triple meltdown forced tens of thousands of people in the area to flee.
About 40% of Okuma, which sits immediately west of the plant, was declared safe for residents to make a permanent return after decontamination efforts significantly reduced radiation levels.
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