earthquakes

The search for people in the tsunami-ravaged areas of Sendai, Japan is almost impossible if you're overseas. Here's my brief account.

Let me preface this by saying that I lived in Japan for 10 years. Most of that time was in Tokyo (eight years), but two were in Sendai. And I visited Sendai coastal areas fairly often in the summer when I lived there.

But there is one place that is special. An area near the tiny Yamashita train station (see map), not much more than a mile from the Sendai coast, where I spent many happy days … Read more

The estimated death toll from Japan's crippling earthquake and tsunami was revised to more than 10,000 today as officials worked to prevent a nuclear disaster.

"The earthquake, tsunami and the nuclear incident have been the biggest crisis Japan has encountered in the 65 years since the end of World War II," Prime Minister Naoto Kan told a news conference today. "We're under scrutiny on whether we, the Japanese people, can overcome this crisis."

Some 200 bodies were recovered today, and the official death toll from the earthquake and subsequent tsunami stood at 1,… Read more

It's a startling picture of how dramatic and destructive Friday's massive earthquake actually was.

The quake, which was upgraded today to a magnitude 9.0 by the Japan Meteorological Agency, may have shifted the position of Earth's axis about 6.5 inches, Richard Gross, a geophysicist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, told the Los Angeles Times. The quake likely sped up the Earth's rotation, shortening the day by 1.8 microseconds, Gross said. Also, the main island of Japan appears to have moved 8 feet, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey told CNN.

To … Read more

There are those who believe that a full moon puts them in a strange mood and even causes them to behave in a peculiar manner.

Some, though, want to credit the moon with even greater powers.

A week before the earthquake in Japan, there was already consternation in some quarters about the so-called supermoon. This will occur on March 19 when the moon comes extremely close to the earth. That's 221,567 miles, to be a little more precise.

Headlines were already being written featuring the evocative word "Moonageddon" relying on the prognostications of astronomers or, perhaps, … Read more

While the damage and casualties in Japan are still being assessed, one bit of good news concerning the events in that country is that one key piece of infrastructure has managed to stay up and running despite the massive earthquake and tsunami waves: The Internet.

The folks at Internet research firm Renesys, who first gained attention for tracking Egypt's disconnection from the Internet, and then similar events in Libya, say they're surprised by how little the quakes have affected the undersea Internet cables that keep Japan connected to the rest of the world. Only a small fraction of … Read more

Updated throughout with new details at approximately 11:10 a.m. PT on Sunday.

A Saturday explosion at a closely monitored nuclear power plant in northern Japan and the expectation of another explosion at a second reactor are further distracting rescue efforts of thousands of stranded and missing in the aftermath of one of the largest earthquakes on record.

Officials initially reported that a meltdown at the first crippled reactor was not imminent, but on Sunday admitted that partial meltdowns may have occurred at two reactors, reported The New York Times. By Sunday afternoon local time, The Washington Post reported … Read more

As Japan staggers in the aftermath of the devastating quake that pummeled the northern half of the archipelago Friday, killing at least 200 and causing a nuclear emergency, the tech powerhouse's quake and tsunami warning systems predicted that the devastation would continue.

The stunning tsunami warning map above, issued by the Japan Meteorological Agency Saturday, shows the country's entire coastline under threat, with many areas on the Pacific side facing possible waves more than 3 meters (10 feet) tall.

The tsunami warning system worked Friday, with the agency alerting people to imminent tsunamis within three minutes of the quake, and the first waves struck 10 to 15 minutes later. The alert may have saved hundreds of lives, as some residents were able to flee to higher ground.

Japanese broadcasters issued automatic earthquake alerts by the agency predicting more aftershocks for Tokyo, and new, unrelated temblors for the Niigata and Nagano on the other side of the country by the Sea of Japan.

Japan straddles several tectonic plates and is one of the world's most quake-prone countries, with hundreds of tremors every year. The agency has had an Earthquake Early Warning service in place since 2007, issuing alerts to media outlets. … Read more

Those who survive will think to themselves that it could have been worse.

Awful though some images of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami truly are, other images taken during the quake appear to show that things could have been even worse.

Even though the quake--U.S. Geological Survey Seismologist Lucy Jones told CBS News--was 30 times stronger than the devastating 1906 quake in San Francisco and 3.000 times more powerful that the Northridge quake, many buildings seem to have remained intact.

Another report in the Atlantic suggests that Japanese building codes and engineering practices have become ever more … Read more

The supply of flash memory chips, a principal component in hot-selling tablets and smartphones, will likely be affected by the earthquake in Japan, according to a report. But the factories that manufacture flash are well to the south of the quake's epicenter, possibly mitigating the impact.

An 8.9-magnitude earthquake and series of major tsunamis struck Japan on Friday, causing massive damage. The quake struck Friday at 2:46 p.m. local time about 230 miles northeast of Tokyo. Aftershocks registered 7.1, 6.2, and 5.9, according to the U.S. Geological Survey's report. At least … Read more