Magnitude 7 quake just hit us in Kyushu , Japan [Officially 6.4]

3/19

[sushiman]

Hit 20 minutes ago ...Scary ...we're ok ...Fukuoka hit hardest ...magnitude 7 ... more later ...

[HAL9000]

AFP via Babelfish -

ALARM - Strong seism in the south of Japan, alerts with the tsunami

TOKYO - a strong seism shook Sunday morning the island of Kyushu, in the south of Japan, and an alarm with the tsunami was launched, announced the Japanese media.

(AFP/March 20, 2005 03h01)

[Jay Howard Smith]

Yessir..!....Felt it here in ChongDoKun, South Korea (Southeast of Taegu).

[mewzilla]

BTTT.

[LikeLight]

Keep us posted.

[freedumb2003]

How do you pronounce that?

Seriously, hope all is well.

[OldFriend]

Have tsunami warnings been issued to the public?

[RedBloodedAmerican]

I felt it.

[festus]

Fuk u ok a

Not until you buy me dinner....... ;-)

[don-o]

Felt, like how?

And salute to a class of 97, Mr. Smith. (Uh, I like to check posters' pedigrees.)

[bd476]

Please let us know, hope you and yours are okay.

[ken21]

i love earthquakes!

[Bahbah]

Where is the Secretary of State?

[Cagey]

Aren't tsunamis created by undersea earthquakes?

[Wiz]

That is where Sasebo US Navy Base is located. Is everybody OK?

[Vn_survivor_67-68]

this was published within the last 2 or 3 hrs......prior to the event you describe....ironic.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?fl20050320x3.htm

Quake amateurs shake skeptical pros

By ERIC PRIDEAUX
Staff writer

With surprisingly little fanfare, the Japan Meteorological Agency, which keeps tabs on tens of thousands of earthquakes a year, has been setting up a network of ultra-sensitive electronic motion detectors that will pick up on the kind of minute seismic quivering that heralds a major quake.......snipped

[M. Espinola]

About how far away are you in miles? About how long were things shaking in terms of seconds?

I have been expecting a massive quake to hit both Yokohama & Tokyo (this is not it but could be a preview)

[plewis1250]

Here is the quake report: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/Quakes/at00000311.htm

[plewis1250]

Map:

[Thinkin' Gal]

TSUNAMI BULLETIN NUMBER 001
PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER/NOAA/NWS
ISSUED AT 0219Z 20 MAR 2005

THIS BULLETIN IS FOR ALL AREAS OF THE PACIFIC BASIN EXCEPT
ALASKA - BRITISH COLUMBIA - WASHINGTON - OREGON - CALIFORNIA.

... TSUNAMI INFORMATION BULLETIN ...

THIS MESSAGE IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY. THERE IS NO TSUNAMI WARNING
OR WATCH IN EFFECT.

AN EARTHQUAKE HAS OCCURRED WITH THESE PRELIMINARY PARAMETERS

ORIGIN TIME - 0154Z 20 MAR 2005
COORDINATES - 34.0 NORTH 130.1 EAST
LOCATION - WESTERN HONSHU JAPAN
MAGNITUDE - 6.7

EVALUATION

THIS EARTHQUAKE IS LOCATED OUTSIDE THE PACIFIC. NO TSUNAMI THREAT
EXISTS TO COASTLINES IN THE PACIFIC.

HOWEVER - EARTHQUAKES OF THIS SIZE SOMETIMES GENERATE LOCAL
TSUNAMIS THAT CAN BE DESTRUCTIVE ALONG COASTS LOCATED WITHIN
A FEW HUNDRED KILOMETERS OF THE EARTHQUAKE EPICENTER. AUTHORITIES
IN THE REGION OF THE EPICENTER SHOULD BE AWARE OF THIS
POSSIBILITY AND TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION.

THIS CENTER DOES NOT HAVE SEA LEVEL GAUGES OUTSIDE THE PACIFIC
SO WILL NOT BE ABLE TO DETECT OR MEASURE A TSUNAMI IF ONE WAS
GENERATED. AUTHORITIES CAN ASSUME THE DANGER HAS PASSED IF NO
TSUNAMI WAVES ARE OBSERVED NEAR THE EPICENTER WITHIN AN HOUR OF
THE EARTHQUAKE.

THIS WILL BE THE ONLY BULLETIN ISSUED FOR THIS EVENT UNLESS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION BECOMES AVAILABLE.

THE WEST COAST/ALASKA TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER WILL ISSUE BULLETINS
FOR ALASKA - BRITISH COLUMBIA - WASHINGTON - OREGON - CALIFORNIA.

http://www.prh.noaa.gov/ptwc/wmsg