Strong M6.8 earthquake struck off the east coast of Honshu, Japan
Strong and shallow M6.8 (JMA/EMSC/PTWC) earthquake occurred off the east coast of Honshu, about 129 km ESE of Namie, Japan, at 19:22 UTC on July 11, 2014. USGS recorded M6.5.
The epicenter was located at coordinates 37.064°N 142.365°E, too far out of the coast to cause significant damage. JMA reported depth of 10 km.
There are no tsunami warnings, only tsunami advisory issued by JMA, advising people to stay of the coastal areas. There are no shaking or tsunami risk for Fukushima.
Pacific Tsunami Warning Center registered M 6.8 at depth of 10 km. No tsunami warnings were issued. (Credit: NOAA/PTWC)
Seismotectonics of Japan and Vicinity
Japan and the surrounding islands straddle four major tectonic plates: Pacific plate; North America plate; Eurasia plate; and Philippine Sea plate. The Pacific plate is subducted into the mantle, beneath Hokkaido and northern Honshu, along the eastern margin of the Okhotsk microplate, a proposed subdivision of the North America plate. Farther south, the Pacific plate is subducted beneath volcanic islands along the eastern margin of the Philippine Sea plate. This 2,200 km-long zone of subduction of the Pacific plate is responsible for the creation of the deep offshore Ogasawara and Japan trenches as well as parallel chains of islands and volcanoes, typical of Circumpacific island arcs. Similarly, the Philippine Sea plate is itself subducting under the Eurasia plate along a zone, extending from Taiwan to southern Honshu that comprises the Ryukyu Islands and the Nansei-Shoto trench.
Subduction zones at the Japanese island arcs are geologically complex and produce numerous earthquakes from multiple sources. Deformation of the overriding plates generates shallow crustal earthquakes, whereas slip at the interface of the plates generates interplate earthquakes that extend from near the base of the trench to depths of 40 to 60 km. At greater depths, Japanese arc earthquakes occur within the subducting Pacific and Philippine Sea plates and can reach depths of nearly 700 km. Since 1900, three great earthquakes occurred off Japan and three north of Hokkaido. They are the M8.4 1933 Sanriku-oki earthquake, the M8.3 2003 Tokachi-oki earthquake, the M9.0 2011 Tohoku earthquake, the M8.4 1958 Etorofu earthquake, the M8.5 1963 Kuril earthquake, and the M8.3 1994 Shikotan earthquake. (USGS) More information on regional seismicity and tectonics
Featured image: Powered by Leaflet — Tiles Courtesy of MapQuest — Portions Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech and U.S. Department of Agriculture, Farm Service Agency
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All Nuclear Reactors Located Close to the Ring of Fire Must be Shutdown ASAP:
I have warned many times over the last two years that the number and magnitude of earthquakes will increase as the planet enters its final phase of magnetic field reversal. It is very sad nobody is taking me seriously, but very soon everybody will see that I was right.
Governments especially western governments must be honest and tell the people the truths no matter what. They also have to make their highest priority the people's safety.
As I stated many times the solar activity will increase as the sun approaches the peak of its maximum activity in the next two-three years and that means more energy is induced at the already saturated core.
Therefore, the number of earthquakes and volcanic eruption will increase dramatically in both the number and magnitude. I believe volcanic eruption in the next two years will include super volcanoes like yellowstone. In the last two years we could even see the waking up of dormant volcanoes.
Nuclear reactors located close to the ring of fire must be shutdown as soon as possible. Japan has so many nuclear power plants that pose a serious threat to all forms of life. Japan certainly needs the energy to power its huge economy but not on the expense of our life and life of other species.