fbpx

Earthquakes in Diverse Places


Tsunami hits Japan after massive quake


BBC News reports: “The most powerful earthquake to hit Japan since records began has hit the country’s north-east and triggered a devastating tsunami.

Japanese TV showed cars, ships and buildings swept away by a vast wall of water after the 8.9-magnitude quake.

A state of emergency has been declared at a nuclear power plant but officials said there were no radiation leaks.

At least 40 people have been killed by the quake, which struck about 400km (250 miles) north-east of Tokyo.

The region has been rocked by a number of powerful aftershocks.

The tremor, measured at 8.9 by the US Geological Survey, hit at 1446 local time (0546 GMT) at a depth of about 24km.

A tsunami warning was extended across the Pacific to North and South America.

The Red Cross in Geneva warned that the tsunami waves could be higher than some Pacific islands, Reuters news agency said.

Coastal areas in the Philippines, Hawaii and other Pacific islands were evacuated ahead of the tsunami’s expected arrival.

New Zealand later downgraded its alert to a marine threat, meaning strong and unusual currents were expected…” (Matthew 24:7; Mark 13:8; Luke 21:11; Revelation 6:12; 8:5; 11:13, 19; 16:18. I believe the greatest earthquake to occur will happen as Christ returns to earth to set up His 1,000 year Kingdom – Psalm 2:6; Revelation 19:11, 14, 16; 20:4; Zechariah 14:2, 4, 12, 16. See also the next report. This could be the hour – keep looking up!)


Experts: Israel should prepare nuclear reactor for quake


YnetNews.com reports: “In the aftermath of the devastating earthquake that killed thousands and caused massive damage in Japan, experts assert that Israel should take the necessary measures to prepare for a similar event.

‘Japan was greatly prepared for such a scenario,’ Dr. Uri Friedlander of the Geophysical Institute of Israel told Ynet. ‘This could be seen in the durability of the buildings, and in the fact that most of the damage was caused by the tsunami.’

While the buildings in Japan withstood the 8.9-magnitude quake, the damage caused to the nuclear plant in Fukushima raised fears of a radiation leak – something that Dr. Ron Avni, a geology professor at Ben Gurion University says that Israel should take notice of.

‘Our nuclear reactor was founded and built in the ’50s,’ he said. ‘What is known today about geology and earthquakes wasn’t known then.’

Avni warned that the reactor, which is located near the southern Israeli city of Dimona, was built too close to the Great Rift Valley.

‘Experts knew back then that the region was a source of earthquakes, but they were unaware exactly to what degree,’ he said. ‘It was discovered since then that the rift forms a border between two tectonic plates, and that their relative movement reaches five to seven millimeters a year, on average.’…”