BIG Earthquake in Japan Just Now! Predicted in Advance by Two Minutes (Live)

Japanese news; direct experience ^ | 14 June 2008 | AmericanInTokyo

[AmericanInTokyo]

We just had a very strong earthquake which fiercely rocked and rolled the main Island of Honshu in Japan.

TV broke with news on all channels IN ADVANCE OF EARTHQUAKE, warning people to "get ready". 8:43 a.m. local time Saturday (just about 10 minutes ago). 7:43 p.m. Friday Eastern Time.

Then, sure enough, the long, rolling shaking began, and increased in intensity. I estimate the shaking to have gone on for at least 45 seconds. It hit here at 8:45 a.m. It literally gave us 2 minutes to prepare. I have never experienced an advance earthquake warning.

The epicenter is considerably far from Tokyo, way up in northwest Japan. So I am sure there is little or no damage in Tokyo, but I can imagine damage and/or loss of life near the epicenter. It may well have been a 7.5. We will see.

[dragnet2]

It literally gave us 2 minutes to prepare.

Got it.

[AmericanInTokyo]

Earthquake center was in Iwate Prefecture (in Northwest Japan), but Fukushima (Prefecture) no doubt felt it. Depth was 10 kilometers. TV/Radio is naming off the villages effected. No fears of Tsunami waves. Buildings shook in Morioka City (NHK TV is replaying video). No reports of injuries yet. However, lots of phones down and I am sure cell phone system is stressed.

Geographically, this area in Northwest Honshu to Tokyo would be like Seattle to San Francisco, in distance.

My only concern is if any nuke plants around in that area. I dont know of any though.

Now the aftershocks are starting up there.

[Syncro]

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Earthquake Details

Magnitude	6.9
Date-Time	Friday, June 13, 2008 at 23:43:46 UTC Saturday, June 14, 2008 at 08:43:46 AM at epicenter Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location	39.106°N, 140.608°E
Depth	10.3 km (6.4 miles) (poorly constrained)
Region	EASTERN HONSHU, JAPAN
Distances	80 km (50 miles) SW of Morioka, Honshu, Japan 85 km (50 miles) SSE of Akita, Honshu, Japan 100 km (60 miles) NNW of Sendai, Honshu, Japan 390 km (240 miles) N of TOKYO, Japan
Location Uncertainty	horizontal +/- 10.3 km (6.4 miles); depth +/- 42.2 km (26.2 miles)
Parameters	NST= 63, Nph= 63, Dmin=354.5 km, Rmss=1.19 sec, Gp= 47°, M-type=moment magnitude (Mw), Version=7
Source	USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Event ID	us2008tfdp

• This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.
• Did you feel it? Report shaking and damage at your location. You can also view a map displaying accumulated data from your report and others.

Link

[fanfan]

They predicted the quake?

Just Wow!

[fanfan]

Thanks for the ping.

[shineon]

Prayers going up for Japan and all those effected by the earthquake in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

[EDINVA]

Thanks for the info. I will pass the info along to my daughter, who’s traveling and doesn’t pay attention to news when she’s on the road. Unlike a certain former presidential candidate, she spent Christmas in Cambodia in ‘04 and didn’t hear about the tsunami for a day or two!

Glad you’re ok ... the thought of a quake hitting Tokyo is too difficult to think about.

[ryan71]

“It literally gave us 2 minutes to prepare.”

Give us an idea what you did in those two minutes. Fascinating...

[AmericanInTokyo]

Maybe 2 to 2.5 minutes advance notice. Of course, the shock waves would also take some time to travel from Northwest Honshu down towards Tokyo. We had chandeliers (no, were are NOT that rich!) swaying, and a mirror swaying. It was one of those earthquakes that turn from mildly "interesting" to "dammit, when WILL this thing STOP?!". Not fun.

[AmericanInTokyo]

X marks the spot!

[MindBender26]

Watch out for a second one.

Be well.

[xzins]

Wow!

Did the warning and the instant posting on FR scoop the American media?

I wouldn’t be surprised.

[BurbankKarl]

You sure it wasnt 48.5 seconds?

[steveo]

UNR helicorder:

[AmericanInTokyo]

of course it did

[BurbankKarl]

[bd476]

AmericanInTokyo, thank you for your first person report. Please be sure to visit the USGS site and log your reactions, what you felt, your estimated time for the shaking, anything moved, etc.

51 miles SW of Morioka, Honshu, Japan
JUN 13 2008 23:43:46 GMT

Did you feel it? Report it here

[txhurl]

Congrats on your EWS! Hope the damage is minimal.

[AmericanInTokyo]

damage reports now coming in. people trapped under homes. and now it starts. sad.

[KarlInOhio]

They predicted the quake?

From what I understand they didn't predict it. They detected it in the north and sent the warning south. From http://nemo.sciencecourseware.org/VirtualEarthquake/VQuakeExecute.html: The speed of an earthquake wave is not constant but varies with many factors. Speed changes mostly with depth and rock type. P waves travel between 6 and 13 km/sec. S waves are slower and travel between 3.5 and 7.5 km/sec.

So 120 seconds warning for an earthquake 720 to 1560 km away. Maybe a shorter distance/longer time if the S waves are the stronger ones.