A 7.3 magnitude earthquake hit Japan near the north-east coast of Fukushima Wednesday March 16. According to Reuters one fatality has been reported along with 69 injuries. Authorities have issued a tsunami warning with residents in costal areas told to evacuate.
More than 2 million homes lost power, as reported by NPR, The Japanese Meteorological Agency said the quake hit at 11:36 P.M. at a depth of 36 miles below the sea.
One person is reported dead and dozens of people are believed to have suffered injuries.
In some areas it was reportedly too forceful for people to stand, and buildings rattled in the Tokyo, according to AFP.
The quake jolted the region just a week shy of the anniversary of the devastating 9.0 earthquake and tsunami that happened back in March 2011.
Over two million homes in the Tokyo region were left without power.
This is a breaking story… Please check back for possible updates…
A series of earthquakes off the coast of Japan on Wednesday triggered a tsunami advisory for Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures—just over 11 years after the region endured a major nuclear disaster.
The first two earthquakes, with magnitudes of 6.4 and 7.3, struck within two minutes of each other, followed by another 5.5 magnitude quake over an hour later, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
The strongest quake hit about 60 kilometers or 37 miles below the sea and left more than two million homes without electricity in an area serviced by the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the Associated Press reported.
The AP noted that TEPCO said workers were checking for any possible damage at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Ōkuma, the site of the March 2011 disaster—which was caused by a 9.0 magnitude quake and resulting tsunami that led to multiple meltdowns at the facility.
No abnormalities were found at the Fukushima plant, The Japan Timesreported, citing the nation’s Nuclear Regulation Authority.
TEPCO also found no abnormalities at the Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant in Miyagi Prefecture, according to Japan’s public broadcaster, NHK.
“There is a possibility that another earthquake as strong as an upper 6 could strike in the next week or so,” Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters just after midnight local time. “We need to be on alert.”
As Common Dreamsreported last week, environmental defenders marked the 11th anniversary of the Fukushima disaster with calls for a renewable energy future free of nuclear power.
New Orleans, Lake Tahoe, NYC – that’s just this week and just in the US… and a drought in the west that is a serious growing threat
The warnings are coming hard and heavy after multiple previous and eerily similar catastrophes, only they just keep getting more severe. Each one is a unique event and each has a litany and list of records that smash all prior statistics since record keeping began.
“Hottest month ever”, “most rainfall in an hour ever recorded”, “worst flood in NY history”, these hyperbolic sounding statements are not hyperbole at all, just facts, but since they are becoming a nearly constant refrain, the entire situation appears surreal.
Journalists use words like “dystopian” and twitter users compare photos and general panic to the climate disaster movie “The Day After Tomorrow” and note that the current reality is already scarier than what the movie was able to convey.
Underneath the shock is a layer of manufactured apathy
Even as the signs of an expanding and accelerating worldwide disaster are more obvious, season by season, month by month and even day by day, there is, nevertheless, a kind of paralysis surrounding the fear.
Fossil fuel subsidies continue to be handed out, so many half-measures and excuses are bandied about, and personal, individual responsibility is used as a bludgeon to guilt the populous into a state of inaction.
It’s called a climate emergency because it is an emergency, so act like it, to paraphrase Greta Thunberg. Unfortunately, dire emergencies are not scarce at the moment, and the situation is likely to get worse, meanwhile it is a valid question; what would be done if the climate crisis were actually treated like an emergency?
New York Floods, Ida aftermath, September 2021
Above: Photo: Lyxotic / Adobe Stock
The remnants of Hurricane Ida resulted in extreme dumping of historic levels of rainfall, with Central Park in N.Y.C. receiving 3.15 inches of rain in just one hour. Newark Airport was shut down and many flooded streets in the five boroughs and surrounding areas of New Jersey and Pennsylvania were transformed into virtual rivers. Subway entrances and basement dwellings quickly filled until they overflowed.
The national Weather Service issued its first ever “flash flood emergency” for the area as well as both NY and NJ leaders issuing states of emergency.
The death toll quickly rose to at least 50 people. Reports of those that were killed mostly died as a result of being flooded in basement living spaces or overtaken by water both inside and outside their vehicles.
The Climate Crisis is not a movie and a majority has to demand action of Government and Industry: the individual is not to blame
In a way the problem inherently contains the seeds to its own resolution. The current state of climate emergency could have been partially averted, or at least slowed down, had government and, in particular, the fossil fuel industrial complex done more than talk and come up with tricks like greenwashing and propaganda to distract and delay the obvious need to stop carbon (CO2) pollution. The signs were evident for many decades, and some alternative solutions were known for over a century, while the fossil fuel behemoth just kept expanding.
Now, with the crisis getting more extreme and deadly, seemingly by the hour, it will take an equally extreme change in the response – a literal washing away of the status quo that created the problem. That may look like a system wide collapse, bringing down the structure that props up the suicidal stupidity of the current system, or something equally extreme, if real solutions are to have time to have any chance of having an impact.
Hurricane Ida made landfall as a Category 4 Sunday morning (August 30, 2021) also marking the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Ida had maximum sustained winds of 150 mph, just shy of making it a Category 5 (winds greater than 155 mph). Radar approximates that up to about 17 inches of rainfall were recorded just west of New Orleans.
Over a million customers lost power in Louisiana, making it the 2nd largest power outage in the state since 2000. The outage could leave residents without power for up to six weeks, rendering them helpless for electricity during increasingly hot late summer weather. Numerous streets need power lines raised that were brought down or snapped by Ida’s winds.
Cantrell, the New Orleans major spoke of voluntary evacuations, particularly for residents that have special needs, seniors or those vulnerable to the heat.
Extreme weather, ocean temps, rising sea levels with melting ice caps, all connected and all increasingly menacing
It has appeared, unfortunately, for nearly decades as if the predictions of ocean temperature increase and sea level rise would have to continue until multiple major cities are fully submerged before any real steps would begin to combat the causes.
Is that still the case after the four “disaster stories” this week? Was the tragedy and destruction enough to have people begin to actually realize that there are no decades left to “wait and see”?
Caldor / Lake Tahoe Fire
The Caldor Fire has burned around 213,270 acres covering 2 California counties (El Dorado and Amador) and currently only 32% contained (as of September 3rd). The fires have been active for 19 days according to Cal Fire. Thousands of people have been forced to evacuate. The looming threat of the fires reaching the popular tourist location of South Lake Tahoe are safe for now, however, and flames have been averted.
The fire created widespread haze and smoke, resulting in extremely hazardous air quality.
The total number of structures destroyed by the fire is 857 as of Sept 3rd, marking it as the 20th most destructive fire in recorded history for California.
Water levels from the largest reservoir on the Colorado River and Lake Mead, which supply drinking and irrigation water to Colorado, Nevada, Arizona, California and Mexico have reached record low levels.
Regulators now have to make crucial steps to protect another crucial water source, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the water system that helps to provide 2/3 of CA population, irrigation for agricultural industry as well as state’s norther border with Oregon.
California residents could be facing future water restriction, however according to Gov. Gavin Newsom it is not likely to be in force until the end of September (the delay could be his attempt to avoid any unpopular mandates before the Sept 14. Recall Election).
Some drastic measures have been taken so far at National State parks in order to help conserve water including closing bathrooms and showers and shutting off water faucets/fountains.
Four stories just from this week: is this a turning point and a wake up call that we desperately need?
Does New York City, or Miami, or Mumbai have to be permanently flooded or fully submerged before we “notice” and demand action? Or, is now the time to mark the date – September 2021 as the moment that the climate emergency was finally “real”? Will it be seen, understood as imminent, and acted on as an emergency of the magnitude that it already is?
LA shook on July 4, 2019 – felt from Vegas to the Pacific in largest quake since Northridge
A large rolling earthquake centered in Searles Velley, CA was felt all the way to LAX. The epicenter was in the vicinity of Ridgecrest, approximately 100 miles from downtown Los Angeles, in San Bernardino County.
Reports of people noticing the quake came from as far away as Las Vegas and all the way to Newport Beach. The tremblor was at first clocked at 6.6, but subsequently downgraded to 6.4 – still the biggest since the infamous Northridge earthquake that all local residents recall. Fortunately this one was centered in an relatively remote area and no significant damage has yet been reported.
A large rolling earthquake centered 1 mile from San Gabriel, CA. at 11:38 PM, was felt all the way to Mexico. The epicenter was in a highly populated area approximately 11 miles from downtown Los Angeles.
Aftershocks are possible and this is a breaking story that will be updated as it develops.
Living on an earthquake fault line has all Southern California residents thinking about the next big one…
Living in Southern California we all know that earthquakes can happen at anytime. As a matter of fact, small shocks happen all day, everyday. Every year California experiences around 10,000 tremors, most of them small. Perhaps around 100 per year are above 3.0 and fifteen to twenty are above 4.0.
It is also important to understand how the size and strength of quakes are measured. The richter scale, once used to measure the strength of earthquakes, has now mostly been superseded by the Moment Magnitude scale (Mw), which measures an earthquake of Mw 7.0 at 1000 times as much energy as one of 5.0 and about 32 times that of 6.0.
Another example would be: A magnitude 8.7 earthquake is 23,000 times stronger than a magnitude 5.8 earthquake. This massive difference in strength (as opposed to size, which is measured differently) is the reason why anything above 7.0 is very serious and can do great damage if in a highly populated area, while an 8.0, for example, could be catastrophic.
Now That We Have Your Attention: Some Earthquake Preparedness Advice
Many simple things can help to reduce any possible damage to your home or, more importantly, harm to yourself and your loved ones.
Photo / Adobe
Just as you wouldn’t want a bookshelf to accidentally fall on your baby, in an earthquake, furniture and especially appliances can be dangerous to anyone in the house.
Prepare for an earthquake in advance by using “baby-straps” that can be purchased at any hardware outlet, and use them to secure shelves, televisions and appliances like microwaves. People can be injured or even killed by these heavy objects in a severe quake.
Making sure your bed is not near any windows can help avoid broken glass. Use picture frames with clear plastic instead of glass in halls and stairways to make sure your exit route will be safe.
At least a few fire extinguishers should be ready in known locations around the house. As you can imagine, emergency lights in the bedroom and in various other places are essential. These can be battery powered, emergency crank, or even solar as long as they store a charge, in case the quake hits at night, or power is out for days, or even weeks.
And, while we are on the subject of electricity, if services are interrupted in your area, many things we rely on daily will also potentially be unavailable. Gas pumps need power, so it is always smart to keep at least one vehicle with the tank at more than half full.
“The real trick is: do these things now, don’t get caught wishing you had.”
– K.L.
Gas water heaters or any propane tanks are also potentially dangerous. Your gas heater or water heater must also be secured. An automatic valve that will sense any vibration beyond a certain threshold will help prevent fires that can be caused when an active gas line breaks during an earthquake.
Photo / Adobe
At minimum, be sure to know how to manually shut off your gas. This is usually done with a wrench, or a tool can be attached to the valve area to be sure you have it handy.
Keep some spare shoes near the bed to slip on, in case you awaken to debris and even broken glass. Cell phone service might be out, but even if it is working you will need charged phones. Cell battery back-ups are cheap these days and can be a life saver. For longer outages, if you do not have a generator, even a solar / emergency crank phone – a usb charger which is rechargeable by solar and hand crank can be great.
As can be seen by the common sense tips listed so far, much of these ideas can be thought of by just imagining what the situation could be like in the direct aftermath of an earthquake. The real trick is: do these things now, don’t get caught wishing you had.
Here are a few more tips:
Download maps in .pdf format and store on a laptop (keep it charged). Or just get some of those old fashioned paper maps.
Learn CPR: go to a class and be the one ready to save those around you.
For homeowners: check the structural integrity of your foundation. Double-check your earthquake insurance policy.
Keep extra water (lots of it) in your home as well as food and other supplies such as medicine, first aid kit and other essentials. Keep empty, safe water containers around to fill for extra H2O. Enough for at least a week or two is advised
Be sure that there is some cash hidden for this occasion; ATM machines can also be out for extended periods after a very large temblor.
If you implement the majority of the various suggestions described above, you are way ahead of most, and have much better chances of survival in the event of an earthquake emergency.
What to do immediately after a quake:
To panic or to rush is always dangerous. You can’t outrun an earthquake. If you are in public, such as at a movie theater, concert or sporting event, get down onto the floor and protect your head and upper body.
If in a large building, drop and cover, under a sturdy desk or table and hold on until the shaking stops. Stay away from windows and elevators.
When you are already outdoors, or if you can easily reach an open area, if it is safe to get there, stay away from anything that could cause harm – power-lines, billboards, buildings, even cars and trucks.
If near the ocean and the quake has a large enough magnitude to cause significant damage on land, a tsunami is a real possibility. Get to high ground, further inland, 2 miles or more. Driving is unlikely to be feasible, so hike to a spot more than 100 feet above sea level.
Remote region of Nevada gets an early morning shakeup
USGS (United States Geological Service) reported a 6.5 magnitude earthquake that hit the Nevada early Friday, May 15th, 2020. The quake was upgraded from the first reported magnitude of 6.4 to 6.5 an hour after the initial hit. The quake happened at approximately 4:03 a.m. east of Sierra Nevada, 35 miles from Tonopah near the California/Nevada border. The first temblor, according to USGS, struck 4.7 miles deep and resulted in dozens of aftershocks, some of which were of a magnitude high enough to have been felt throughout the region – ranging from 3.0 to 5.1 with many above the 4.0 threshold.
Director of the Nevada Seismology Laboratory, Graham Kent explained that the state has not experienced an earthquake close the magnitude felt on May 15th since the year December 1954 when two temblors of 6.8 and 7.1 magnitude hit the city of Fallon, Nevada.
Tweets began to pop up from residents ranging from Salt Lake City, Utah to Central Valley in California confirming that they felt the earthquake. Due to the quake hitting near the border of Nevada and California, and although the epicenter was in a remote region, many people were able to feel the quake. USGS revealed that more than 15,000 “Did You Feel It?” reports were submitted.
As yet, there have been no reports of casualties, however Esmeralda County Sheriff’s Office shared photos of the US 95 Highway damage resulting in portions of US95 and Nevada 360 Junction in Mineral County being closed for repairs.
The whole town woke up to an earthquake last night. So far this is the worst damage we are aware of. Highway north of us where it happened. Expect delays. 📷 Esmeralda County Sheriff’s Office pic.twitter.com/x4WynWpMfX
On July 4th and 5th of last year, a large rolling earthquake, centered 11 miles from Ridgecrest, CA with a magnitude of 7.1 hit California and was felt all the way to Mexico.
Each time a quake of sufficient magnitude to get all of us to take notice occurs, we are reminded that, living near various active fault lines, it is not a question of “if” a large quake will happen, but only “when”. Therefore it is always good advice to prepare and be ready, even if we happen already to be in the middle of a different type of emergency.
Helpful tips on how to prepare for when the next big one hits
Download maps in .pdf format and store on a laptop (keep it charged). Or just get some of those old fashioned paper maps.
Learn CPR: go to a class and be the one ready to save those around you.
For homeowners: check the structural integrity of your foundation. Double-check your earthquake insurance policy.
Keep extra water (lots of it) in your home as well as food and other supplies such as medicine, first aid kit and other essentials. Keep empty, safe water containers around to fill for extra H2O. Enough for at least a week or two is advised
Be sure that there is some cash hidden for this occasion; ATM machines can also be out for extended periods after a very large temblor.
Epicenter is 1km South of View Park-Windsor Hills, CA – near Inglewood / Hawthorne
M 3.7 – 1km S of View Park-Windsor Hills, CA
A noticeable, strong tremor for millions of quarantined residents was felt in the west central area of LA at around 12:03 AM on April 22, 2020. Although, at 3.7 magnitude, it was not a serious, dangerous quake the location, being in the urban west side of the city would be concerning if a larger after shock were to follow. Or, if this was a precursor to a larger quake to come.
Earthquakes with magnitudes between 3.0 and 4.0 occur on average five times per year in the greater Los Angeles area, according to a three-year data sample.
Naturally with the city still in the grips of a novel coronavirus lockdown, the last thing people need is any additional reason for concerns.
80,000 Small Quakes have moved the fault line 0.8 inches since July 5th Quake…
On Wednesday, November 13th at 11:26 a.m., an earthquake with a magnitude of 3.9 and a depth of 5.7 miles was reported 12 miles away from Ridgecrest, California. Interestingly, this earthquake is located at the same epicenter as the record-breaking 6.1 magnitude and 7.1 magnitude earthquakes that occurred on July 4th and 5th, respectively.
A closer look at the big July earthquake that occurred on Independence Day reveals that it appears to have activated the Garlock fault. The fault line is 185 miles long and runs from a junction with the San Andreas fault at Antelope Valley and has largely been inactive for the past 500-years. However since the July quakes, Ridgecrest has felt more than 80,000 earthquakes, most of them too low on the richter scale to warrant news coverage, resulting from the Garlock fault’s movement.
“The fact that the Ridgecrest rupture terminated right next to the Garlock is what cased this behavior.”
Zachary Ross, Assistant Professor of Geophysics at Caltech
However, generally, such movement should not cause immediate alarm as it’s quite common for faults to shift after a big earthquake. A “trigger slip” is where an earthquake is triggered by a previous quake – in this case, according to seismologists, today’s quake may have been a “passive response” to the Magnitude 7.1 earthquake, 11 miles from Ridgecrest, CA at 8:19 PM.
“The fact that we have a trigger slip after a 7 [magnitude earthquake] is really common. It’s like a passive response to the energy being released by the big earthquake”
The best policy is not to be Alarmed but to stay Prepared
In early October, Time magazine published a report citing scientific study, by researchers from the California Institute of Technology and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where it was indicated that the movement along the Garlock fault could indicate a possible increase in seismic activity, and that the fault was capable of producing an 8.0 magnitude earthquake at some point, although there is no way to predict when.
Earthquakes with a 3.0 magnitude or more were reported to have had an epicenter near the Ridgecrest fault in the last ten days. With a recent three-year data sample as a reference, 234 earthquakes on average happen every year in California and Nevada with 3.0 to 4.0 magnitudes. It is important to bear in mind that each whole number on the Richter scale is exponentially stronger than the previous whole number (an 8.0 is 33 times stronger than a 7.0 but a 9.0 is, yikes, 1,089 times stronger – arrived at by multiplying 33×33).
Although this earthquake, at 3.9 was at a magnitude that is common and not powerful enough to do damage, the fact is that Southern California is home to highly vulnerable fault lines and a quake measuring 8.0 or higher is going to happen at some point, it is only a question of when. Therefore it is highly advisable to prepare for any earthquake-induced emergencies that may happen now, and your chance of avoiding any negative effects will be far higher in the event that “the big one” happens anytime soon.
At ELEVEN times the strength of the temblor on July 4th, just one day earlier, Friday’s earthquake has all of Southern California thinking about the next one…
Living in Southern California we all know that earthquakes can happen at anytime. As a matter of fact, small shocks happen all day, everyday. Every year California experiences around 10,000 tremors, most of them small. Perhaps around 100 per year are above 3.0 and fifteen to twenty are above 4.0.
It is also important to understand how the size and strength of quakes are measured. The richter scale, once used to measure the strength of earthquakes, has now mostly been superseded by the Moment Magnitude scale (Mw), which measures an earthquake of Mw 7.0 at 1000 times as much energy as one of 5.0 and about 32 times that of 6.0.
Another example would be: A magnitude 8.7 earthquake is 23,000 times stronger than a magnitude 5.8 earthquake. This massive difference in strength (as opposed to size, which is measured differently) is the reason why anything above 7.0 is very serious and can do great damage if in a highly populated area, while an 8.0, for example, could be catastrophic.
Now That We Have Your Attention: Some Earthquake Preparedness Advice
Many simple things can help to reduce any possible damage to your home or, more importantly, harm to yourself and your loved ones.
Photo / Adobe
Just as you wouldn’t want a bookshelf to accidentally fall on your baby, in an earthquake, furniture and especially appliances can be dangerous to anyone in the house.
Prepare for an earthquake in advance by using “baby-straps” that can be purchased at any hardware outlet, and use them to secure shelves, televisions and appliances like microwaves. People can be injured or even killed by these heavy objects in a severe quake.
Making sure your bed is not near any windows can help avoid broken glass. Use picture frames with clear plastic instead of glass in halls and stairways to make sure your exit route will be safe.
At least a few fire extinguishers should be ready in known locations around the house. As you can imagine, emergency lights in the bedroom and in various other places are essential. These can be battery powered, emergency crank, or even solar as long as they store a charge, in case the quake hits at night, or power is out for days, or even weeks.
And, while we are on the subject of electricity, if services are interrupted in your area, many things we rely on daily will also potentially be unavailable. Gas pumps need power, so it is always smart to keep at least one vehicle with the tank at more than half full.
“The real trick is: do these things now, don’t get caught wishing you had.”
– K.L.
Gas water heaters or any propane tanks are also potentially dangerous. Your gas heater or water heater must also be secured. An automatic valve that will sense any vibration beyond a certain threshold will help prevent fires that can be caused when an active gas line breaks during an earthquake.
Photo / Adobe
At minimum, be sure to know how to manually shut off your gas. This is usually done with a wrench, or a tool can be attached to the valve area to be sure you have it handy.
Keep some spare shoes near the bed to slip on, in case you awaken to debris and even broken glass. Cell phone service might be out, but even if it is working you will need charged phones. Cell battery back-ups are cheap these days and can be a life saver. For longer outages, if you do not have a generator, even a solar / emergency crank phone – a usb charger which is rechargeable by solar and hand crank can be great.
As can be seen by the common sense tips listed so far, much of these ideas can be thought of by just imagining what the situation could be like in the direct aftermath of an earthquake. The real trick is: do these things now, don’t get caught wishing you had.
Here are a few more tips:
Download maps in .pdf format and store on a laptop (keep it charged). Or just get some of those old fashioned paper maps.
Learn CPR: go to a class and be the one ready to save those around you.
For homeowners: check the structural integrity of your foundation. Double-check your earthquake insurance policy.
Keep extra water (lots of it) in your home as well as food and other supplies such as medicine, first aid kit and other essentials. Keep empty, safe water containers around to fill for extra H2O. Enough for at least a week or two is advised
Be sure that there is some cash hidden for this occasion; ATM machines can also be out for extended periods after a very large temblor.
If you implement the majority of the various suggestions described above, you are way ahead of most, and have much better chances of survival in the event of an earthquake emergency.
What to do immediately after a quake:
To panic or to rush is always dangerous. You can’t outrun an earthquake. If you are in public, such as at a movie theater, concert or sporting event, get down onto the floor and protect your head and upper body.
If in a large building, drop and cover, under a sturdy desk or table and hold on until the shaking stops. Stay away from windows and elevators.
When you are already outdoors, or if you can easily reach an open area, if it is safe to get there, stay away from anything that could cause harm – power-lines, billboards, buildings, even cars and trucks.
If near the ocean and the quake has a large enough magnitude to cause significant damage on land, a tsunami is a real possibility. Get to high ground, further inland, 2 miles or more. Driving is unlikely to be feasible, so hike to a spot more than 100 feet above sea level.
A large rolling earthquake centered 11 miles from Ridgecrest, CA. at 8:19 PM, was felt all the way to Mexico. The epicenter was again in the same relatively remote area as the July 4th quake: approximately 100 miles from downtown Los Angeles, in San Bernardino County.
In our newsroom, near LAX, the walls swayed and it was as if we were on a ship. Having been in the same location during the July 4th quake I can say that the difference was that this one lasted about twice as long. It was immediately clear that it was a higher magnitude.
For us near the coast, it is fortunate that the epicenter was approximately the same as the last one – approximately 150 miles inland
A large rolling earthquake centered in Searles Velley, CA was felt all the way to LAX. The epicenter was in the vicinity of Ridgecrest, approximately 100 miles from downtown Los Angeles, in San Bernardino County.
Reports of people noticing the quake came from as far away as Las Vegas and all the way to Newport Beach. The tremblor was at first clocked at 6.6, but subsequently downgraded to 6.4 – still the biggest since the infamous Northridge earthquake that all local residents recall. Fortunately this one was centered in an relatively remote area and no significant damage has yet been reported.
