A magnitude 8.9 earthquake slammed Japan´s northeastern coast Friday, unleashing a 13-foot tsunami that swept boats, cars, buildings and tons of debris miles inland. Fires triggered by the quake burned out of control up and down the coast.

In between all the destruction on the news something else caught my eye. I have to say that the Japanese aid-workers are doing a great job. They are working very calm, structured and effective.

Here, it was compared to our 7.4 İzmit quake. They kept stating different fators everywhere. Some said it was 30-fold some said it was 50 fold.

I have checked the wikipedia page for Rickter scale and according to my calculations;

in terms of energy released = 10 ^ ((8.9-7.4)*3/2) = 177.73 which means the energy relased was 178-fold of the İzmit quake.

They said if this was happened in İstanbul, it would kill 60% of the population (7 to 8 million people).

The good news, such as it is, is that a magnitude 8.9 event can´t happen on faults like the one that threatens Istanbul. The North Anatolian fault is a strike-slip fault, where slabs of rocks slide sideways along a perpendicular edge between them. Think of two floor tiles lying next to each other and one sliding along their common edge while the other remains still. It turns out the biggest earthquake you can get with a system like that is perhaps M8. The San Andreas fault is a strike-slip fault and is remarkably similar to the North Anatolian fault. On the San Andreas, the 1906 San Francisco earthquake was M7.7 to M7.9, depending on how you estimate it. That´s about the biggest that one could be near Istanbul, which would without doubt be a staggering tragedy because of the number of people affected.

The March 11 Japan quake was on a thrust fault where one slab of rock is sliding under another. Think of our floor tiles, with one on lying top of the other, and the bottom one sliding under the top one. There would be a lot more friction than in the strike-slip example and that friction is analagous to earthquake energy. Big thrust faults are found only at subduction zones, where one slab of oceanic crust is being forced underneath another slab. They can be M9+, with the Japan quake estimated at M8.9, last I heard.

By the way, terrestrial-caused quakes, on no matter what sort of fault system, can in theory only go up to about M10, because even the strongest rock, with absolutely no flaws, would not be able to store enough stress to cause a stronger event. A meteor impact could cause a bigger event, though. The Chicxulub impact that wiped out the dinosaurs would have caused an earthquake that has been estimated at 11+.

Explosion at Japan nuke plant

An explosion at a nuclear power station Saturday destroyed a building housing the reactor, but a radiation leak was decreasing despite fears of a meltdown from damage caused by a powerful earthquake and tsunami, officials said.

Greenpeace warns that this may lead to a disaster worse than Chernobil leak.

As someone who has had the first first hand experience of a major earthquake, I can say, the impact an earthquake causes is not limited to the the houses and the infrastructure. In fact, one of the the most debilating consequences of an earthquake is its psychological impact. I believe it induces a very deep fear and triggers a number of health problems including heart attacks.

I always thought of myself as a brave person, well not a coward at least. I remember having sleepless nights and a deep fear in the aftermath of the earthquake. Years followed on but the fear remains where it is.

During those 45 seconds, I thought that was it, and that the building would not be able to handle it. But it did, almost all other buildings in the neighborhood did too. Despite the scary clanging noises they made while they hit one another, and in contrast to the apparent first glimpses of a massive catastrophy, everything seemed calm during the first few minutes after the incident. Then we began receiving news from the epicenter of the earthquake which was like 100 kilometers to where I lived. If it happened under or offshore Istanbul, we wouldn´t be that lucky.

Japan has built a magnificent civilization. If that earthquake happened in Istanbul, that would turn the city into a ghost town. We just don´t have what it takes to handle it. In other words, discipline, technology and money...

My sympathies go out for the people of Japan. What a major blow they have been given. It will be very difficult for them to recover.

I too live in a major earthquake & tsunami zone, and have been in more than a few earthquakes. My emergency kit is sort of ready (have to really improve this). After the disaster in Japan, we were on tsunami watch, and in fact where I live, we did get a little one. Friday night I didn´t get much sleep, and Saturday was a keep watch day. Other parts in my area had much more damage.

Looking at the very tragic events in Japan is very sobering. The stoicism of the Japanese people is admirable, but it´s sad they have to endure these problems. If the earthquake& tsunami were not enough, now they are dealing with the meltdown of their nuclear reactors. The radiation is going with the wind, like the tsunami, but it is more deadly. Radiation poisoning is a stealth killer. 

I seriously question the mental acuity of the human race in building such monstrosities, when there exists no effective method of waste disposal. Why?

I also wonder if all the drilling, bombing and various methods of the use of explosions could not have had an effect? After all, when you take something out, things shift.

BTW it is as a result of visiting and staying with Turkish earthquake victims that I now carry a little flashlight and whistle with me at all times. I also keep water in my car. I was told with the flashlight you can see where you are and with the whistle you can let people know where you are because it is too hard to keep shouting, your voice wears out.

I must admit to not being as prepared as one should be. When the news of the impending tsunami came, it was necessary to go around and get emergency evacuation gear together. One thing really useful is a solar flashlight. Is your emergency kit ready?

Suggestions for emergency preparation.

Before and after the earthquake:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/events/japan-quake-2011/beforeafter.htm

I don´t have a solar flashlight but two "manual" flashlights. One with a lever and one with a squeezy button. You can´t count on solar power in a country like Holland And even if it was sunny, you want to be able to have a flashlight on all night long. I do need to increase my food-reserve though. The fluids-supply is sufficient My problem with emergency packages is that I don´t really look at them anymore, and I end up throwing away old cans of food and stuff like that, two years after the "best before" date, and I never replace them.

The one I mentioned was actualy a hybred of solar and battery. I had one in a drawer getting no sunlight for a year and a half and it still worked great.

Link  shake light Link

As for food, I get cans of sprat, and salmon, I also can my own thngs. As I eat them they are replaced. Also, there are dehydrated foods one can get too.

Dried tofu skin 

Dried Fish  <---< for some reason I can´t get that link to work??? 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Categoryried_fish  <---< If that doesn´t work, just try dried fish...then there are also dried meats and veggies. I think if you incorporate these things in your daily life, having them on hand in an emergency is more likely.