Zware aardbevingen Japan en Andaman eilanden

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UNKNOWN (BNO NEWS) -- A massive earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.6 struck off India's Andaman Islands on Tuesday morning, officials say. A second earthquake struck Japan only minutes later.

The first earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.6, struck 160 miles north of Port Blair on the Andaman Islands of India, the United States Geological Survey reported. It happened at 1.55 a.m. local time and struck about 20 miles deep. It was initially reported as a 7.7 magnitude earthquake, but was quickly revised to a 7.6. The magnitude remains subject to change, although a large revision is not expected.

A seismologist at the United States Geological Survey told BNO News that the earthquake appears to be an aftershock to the major earthquake in December 2004, which sparked a deadly tsunami that killed hundreds of thousands of people in the region. He said aftershocks can continue for years.

After the earthquake, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami watch for India, Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand and Bangladesh. "Earthquakes of this size have the potential to generate a destructive local tsunami and sometimes a destructive regional tsunami along coasts usually no more than a thousand kilometers from the earthquake epicenter," the agency said. The agency did not issue a tsunami warning but advised authorities in the region to take appropriate action and said that areas further away can experience small sea level changes in the hours after the earthquake.

In a bulletin around 5.10 p.m. EDT, the agency said that sea level readings indicate a tsunami was generated following the earthquake. "It may have been destructive along coasts near the earthquake epicenter," it said. The agency did not provide details on the size of the tsunami, or where it may have struck.

"The threat may continue for coastal areas located within about a thousand kilometers of the earthquake epicenter. For those areas when no major waves have occurred for at least two hours after the estimated arrival time or damaging waves have not occurred for at least two hours then local authorities can assume the threat is passed," it added. Danger to boats and coastal structures may continue for several hours longer due to rapid currents. The warning center said local conditions can cause a wide variation in tsunami wave action and said that the all clear determination must be made by local authorities.

Arrival times from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center showed that a tsunami could reach the coasts of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India within one to three hours.

Indonesia, according to the Reuters news agency, had no reports of a tsunami but said it was monitoring the Aceh area.

A separate earthquake, with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 to 6.7, struck Japan. It struck at 5.07 a.m. local time, about 20 miles off Shizuoka in Japan. A tsunami warning was immediately issued for the Izu Islands and the Shizuoka Prefecture. "Tsunami height is expected to be about 0.5 meters, pay attention to tsunamis," the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

Strong shaking was felt in Tokyo. NHK, Japan's government broadcaster, reported that the Chubu Electric Power nuclear power plant at Hamaoka automatically shut down two units for safety checks. The number 4 and 5 reactors were shut down, but no environmental changes were detected at nearby posts. A highway was also closed, said Reuters, without providing a location.

There was no immediate word on casualties or damage from the earthquakes, which do not appear to be related. The West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center said there was no danger to the U.S. coast.

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Op maandag 10 augustus 2009 23:28 schreef paulzurrr. het volgende:
En nu.nl: Aardbeving treft omgeving Tokio

BULLETIN -- TWO FEET TSUNAMI HITS THE COAST OF OMAEZEKI IN JAPAN.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has retracted its statement for the Indian Ocean, saying a tsunami has not been observed at this time.

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Two feet, which means the wave is two feet above normal sea wave activity, does not indicate the maximum height. Local conditions and undersea landslides can create major changes in the wave action.

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Strong quakes hit Japan and India

The earthquake in Japan closed roads and rail lines

A strong earthquake has struck Tokyo and central Japan, halting train services, closing motorways and causing a nuclear power station to shut down.

At least 43 people were injured by the magnitude 6.4 quake, many of them by falling objects, officials said. No deaths have been reported.

Separately, there was another powerful earthquake off India's Andaman Islands in the Indian Ocean.

Both earthquakes triggered tsunami alerts, which were later cancelled.

'Huge tremble'

In Japan, the magnitude 6.4 quake shook buildings, threw objects from shelves and jolted people from their sleep in Tokyo area at 0507 (2007 GMT Monday).

The quake was centred in the Pacific Ocean, about 170km (105 miles) south-west of Tokyo, the US Geological Survey reported.

Of those injured, at least three people are thought to be in a serious condition.

"It was a huge tremble, like nothing I had experienced before," said Tadao Negami, a 69-year-old resident of Mishima city in Shizuoka.
Control room of the Japan Meteorological Agency.
Japan's seismologists are constantly waiting for the big one

"I couldn't stay seated on a chair. My daughter and my grandchildren were scared and surprised and they rushed downstairs," AFP news agency quoted him as saying.

A large landslide triggered by the quake damaged a highway at Makinohara, Shizuoka, causing long traffic jams, television footage showed.

The Hamaoka nuclear plant in Shizuoka immediately shut down two reactors after the quake, and the Shinkansen bullet train service was briefly suspended.

'Big one' expected

While officials said there was no risk of a tsunami in Japan, another earthquake in India's Andaman Islands, prompted tsunami warnings there.

The US Geological Survey said the quake - unrelated to Japan's - with a 7.6 magnitude hit the Indian Ocean about 257km (160 miles) north of Port Blair in the Andaman Islands.

A tsunami watch called for India, Burma, Indonesia, Thailand and Bangladesh was later lifted without any tsunami being recorded.

An earlier earthquake of magnitude 6.9 hit Japan on Sunday, but caused no damage or casualties.

Japan is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries, and experts believe Tokyo has a 90% chance of being hit by a major quake over the next 50 years.