Latest news with #FukushimaDaiichi
Economic Times
40 minutes ago
- Science
- Economic Times
Which are top five major earthquakes? Does Wednesday Russia quake features in list?
Earthquakes are caused by the sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust, usually due to the movement of tectonic plates. This release creates seismic waves that shake the ground. TV monitors show news flash after a powerful earthquake in Russia's Far East prompted tsunami warnings in parts of Japan, in Osaka, western Japan Wednesday, July 30, 2025. (Kai Naito/Kyodo News via AP) Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Japan Earthquake 2011 Sumatra Earthquake 2004 Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Chile Earthquake 1960 FAQs The colossal magnitude 8.8 earthquake off Russia's coast early Wednesday is set to be one of the largest ever recorded if its magnitude is not revised down by scientists studying the data. The quake is tied for the sixth-largest on record, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It is the most powerful since the 2011 earthquake off Japan's east coast, which triggered the Fukushima tsunami and nuclear disaster.1. Valdivia, Chile, 1960, magnitude 9.52. Alaska, United States, 1964, magnitude 9.23. Sumatra, Indonesia, 2004, magnitude 9.14. Tohoku, Japan, 2011, magnitude 9.15. Kamchatka, Russia, 1952, magnitude 9.0Japan Earthquake 2011, which had a magnitude of 9.1, was about 2.8 times stronger than Wednesday's. It created a tsunami 50 feet tall that rushed inland for miles with the speed of a locomotive, swallowing everything in its path and flooding more than 200 miles of shoreline. More than 19,000 people were earthquake and tsunami damaged the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant's reactors, leading to one of worst nuclear calamities in history and forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands of people from town and farming villages around the plant. Some still have not as strong was the temblor that struck near the northern Indonesian island of Sumatra in 2004. It triggered the deadliest tsunami in recorded history, with waves as tall as 160 feet slamming into the coasts of more than a dozen countries. About 230,000 people were killed, over half of them in the Indonesian province of each whole-number increase in magnitude, the seismic energy released by a quake increases by about 31.6 times, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. This means that a magnitude 8.8 earthquake produces about 31.6 times more energy than a magnitude 7.8 strongest earthquake ever recorded, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, was the magnitude 9.5 quake off the coast of Chile in 1960. It killed 1,655 people and displaced 2 million U.S. Geological Survey estimated that Wednesday's quake would result in tens of billions of dollars of economic damage for Russia, although there were no immediate reports of widespread destruction."Extensive damage is probable and the disaster is likely widespread," the agency said, adding, "Past events with this alert level have required a national or international level response."A1. Valdivia, Chile, 1960, magnitude 9.5. Alaska, United States, 1964, magnitude 9.2. Sumatra, Indonesia, 2004, magnitude 9.1. Tohoku, Japan, 2011, magnitude 9.1. Kamchatka, Russia, 1952, magnitude 9.0.A2. Earthquakes are caused by the sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust, usually due to the movement of tectonic plates. This release creates seismic waves that shake the ground.
TimesLIVE
40 minutes ago
- Science
- TimesLIVE
Massive Russian earthquake struck on 'megathrust fault'
The 8.8-magnitude quake off Russia that triggered tsunami warnings across the Pacific occurred on what is known as a "megathrust fault", where the denser Pacific Plate is sliding underneath the lighter North American Plate, scientists said. The Pacific Plate has been on the move, making the Kamchatka Peninsula area off Russia's Far East coast where it struck especially vulnerable to such tremors — and bigger aftershocks cannot be ruled out, they said. With its epicentre near the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, it was the biggest earthquake since the devastating Tohuku event in 2011, which caused a tsunami that sent Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant into meltdown. "The Kamchatka seismic zone is one of the most active subduction zones around the Pacific Ring of Fire, and the Pacific Plate is moving westwards at around 80 mm (3 inches) per year," said Roger Musson, honorary research fellow at the British Geological Survey. "Subduction" events, in which one plate pushes under another, are capable of generating far stronger earthquakes than "strike slips", such as the one that hit Myanmar in March, where plates brush horizontally against one another at different speeds.
Shafaq News
42 minutes ago
- Climate
- Shafaq News
No fatalities reported after 8.8 quake off Russia's Far East
Shafaq News – Petropavlovsk / Kamchatsky Russian authorities confirmed on Wednesday that no fatalities occurred following the powerful 8.8 magnitude earthquake off the Kamchatka Peninsula, although several people sustained minor injuries. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov attributed the absence of fatalities to the effectiveness of Russia's early warning systems and the resilience of local infrastructure. He noted that emergency protocols functioned smoothly, allowing residents in coastal areas to evacuate before the arrival of tsunami waves. Regional officials reported minor structural damage in some locations. In Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, the regional capital, a kindergarten undergoing renovation was affected. Several individuals were injured while fleeing buildings, and one hospital patient was hurt after jumping from a window. All injuries were described as non-life-threatening, according to the regional health department. In the Kuril Islands, waves flooded the fishing port of Severo-Kurilsk and temporarily cut power supplies. Authorities declared a state of emergency, though no major damage was reported. Footage showed waves crashing against breakwaters and residents seeking shelter in evacuation centers. Footage published to social media shows the moments when the earthquake hit in the Kamchatka region. — The Moscow Times (@MoscowTimes) July 30, 2025 The earthquake struck at 8:25 a.m. Japan time, with its epicenter located about 120 kilometers from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky at a depth of 21 kilometers. It triggered tsunami alerts across the Pacific, including in Japan, Hawaii, California, and multiple island nations. The US Geological Survey measured the event at 8.8 magnitude, making it one of the six strongest earthquakes ever recorded. It is the most powerful globally since the 2011 Tohoku earthquake in Japan, which killed over 18,000 people and caused the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. According to the Russian Oceanography Institute, tsunami waves along the Kamchatka coast reached heights between two and fifteen meters. Waves of 2 to 5 feet were also recorded in Northern California and parts of Japan, prompting evacuations and temporary disruption of transportation services. Most tsunami alerts have since been downgraded to advisories as conditions began to stabilize. Despite the earthquake's intensity, no critical infrastructure damage was reported in Japan or the United States. Japanese nuclear regulators confirmed that all plants were operating safely, including the Fukushima complex, where workers temporarily relocated to higher ground while continuing remote monitoring. Tsunami warnings were also issued in the Philippines, Mexico, New Zealand, and several Pacific Island nations. While residents were urged to avoid coastal areas, no significant damage has been reported outside Russia.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Massive Russian earthquake struck on 'megathrust fault'
Massive Russian earthquake struck on 'megathrust fault' By David Stanway SINGAPORE (Reuters) -The 8.8 magnitude quake off Russia that triggered tsunami warnings across the Pacific occurred on what is known as a "megathrust fault", where the denser Pacific Plate is sliding underneath the lighter North American Plate, scientists said. The Pacific Plate has been on the move, making the Kamchatka Peninsula area off Russia's Far East coast where it struck especially vulnerable to such tremors - and bigger aftershocks cannot be ruled out, they said. With its epicentre near the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, it was the biggest earthquake since the devastating Tohuku event in 2011, which caused a tsunami that sent Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant into meltdown. "The Kamchatka seismic zone is one of the most active subduction zones around the Pacific Ring of Fire, and the Pacific Plate is moving westwards at around 80 mm (3 inches) per year," said Roger Musson, honorary research fellow at the British Geological Survey. "Subduction" events, in which one plate pushes under another, are capable of generating far stronger earthquakes than "strike slips", such as the one that hit Myanmar in March, where plates brush horizontally against one another at different speeds. The Kamchatka area is particularly vulnerable and experienced a magnitude 9 event in November 1952, wiping out the town of Severo-Kurilsk and causing extensive damage as far away as Hawaii, Musson told Reuters. Shallow "megathrust" events are more likely to cause tsunamis because they burst through the sea floor and displace huge volumes of water. TSUNAMI RISKS With a relatively shallow depth of 20.7 km (13 miles), Wednesday's earthquake was always going to create such tsunami risks, experts said. "It is an offshore earthquake and when you have offshore earthquakes there is the potential for tsunamis," said Adam Pascal, chief scientist at Australia's Seismology Research Centre. "If you have a relatively shallow earthquake it is more likely to rupture the surface of the ocean floor," he told Reuters. "We've seen in some cases you can have large earthquakes like this and not cause a tsunami because they are too deep and the shearing doesn't express itself at the surface." Tsunami waves of around 1.7 metres (5.5 feet) reached as far as Hawaii, less high than originally expected, but scientists warned that such waves do not have to be especially big to do damage to the relatively low-lying coastlines of Pacific island nations. Parts of French Polynesia were told to brace for waves as high as 4 metres (13 ft). The impact of a tsunami depends on its "run-up" as it approaches coastlines, Pascal said. "If you have a very long, shallow run-up to the coast, a lot of the energy can be dissipated over that run-up, but if it is a very steep shelf before you get to the coast, the wave height can be higher," he said. FORESHOCKS AND AFTERSHOCKS Wednesday's quake has already triggered at least 10 aftershocks above magnitude 5, and they could continue for months, said Caroline Orchiston, director of the Centre for Sustainability at the University of Otago in New Zealand. "This demonstrates that large-magnitude earthquakes generate aftershock sequences that start immediately, and some of these can be damaging in their own right," she said. The 8.8 magnitude event on Wednesday came less than two weeks after a magnitude 7.4 earthquake in the same area, which has now been identified as a "foreshock". "Earthquakes by their nature are unpredictable," said Pascal. "There are no precursors that are scientifically consistent in earthquake sequences. Before this morning, those other ones were the main shocks." Bigger aftershocks cannot entirely be ruled out, he added, but their magnitude and frequency normally tend to decrease over time. "You can expect large aftershocks to continue for some time, but the frequency of large, damaging events will reduce as time goes on," he said. "There is always a chance of a larger event, but that larger event will usually occur relatively soon after, within days or weeks."
Al Arabiya
an hour ago
- Science
- Al Arabiya
Russian earthquake struck on ‘megathrust fault,' bigger aftershocks cannot be ruled out
The 8.8 magnitude quake off Russia that triggered tsunami warnings across the Pacific occurred on what is known as a 'megathrust fault', where the denser Pacific Plate is sliding underneath the lighter North American Plate, scientists said. The Pacific Plate has been on the move, making the Kamchatka Peninsula area off Russia's Far East coast where it struck especially vulnerable to such tremors - and bigger aftershocks cannot be ruled out, they said. With its epicenter near the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, it was the biggest earthquake since the devastating Tohuku event in 2011, which caused a tsunami that sent Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant into meltdown. 'The Kamchatka seismic zone is one of the most active subduction zones around the Pacific Ring of Fire, and the Pacific Plate is moving westwards at around 80 mm (3 inches) per year,' said Roger Musson, honorary research fellow at the British Geological Survey. 'Subduction' events, in which one plate pushes under another, are capable of generating far stronger earthquakes than 'strike slips', such as the one that hit Myanmar in March, where plates brush horizontally against one another at different speeds. The Kamchatka area is particularly vulnerable and experienced a magnitude 9 event in November 1952, wiping out the town of Severo-Kurilsk and causing extensive damage as far away as Hawaii, Musson told Reuters. Shallow 'megathrust' events are more likely to cause tsunamis because they burst through the sea floor and displace huge volumes of water. Tsunami risks With a relatively shallow depth of 20.7 km (13 miles), Wednesday's earthquake was always going to create such tsunami risks, experts said. 'It is an offshore earthquake and when you have offshore earthquakes there is the potential for tsunamis,' said Adam Pascal, chief scientist at Australia's Seismology Research Center. 'If you have a relatively shallow earthquake it is more likely to rupture the surface of the ocean floor,' he told Reuters. 'We've seen in some cases you can have large earthquakes like this and not cause a tsunami because they are too deep and the shearing doesn't express itself at the surface.' Tsunami waves of around 1.7 meters (5.5 feet) reached as far as Hawaii, less high than originally expected, but scientists warned that such waves do not have to be especially big to do damage to the relatively low-lying coastlines of Pacific island nations. Parts of French Polynesia were told to brace for waves as high as 4 meters (13 ft). The impact of a tsunami depends on its 'run-up' as it approaches coastlines, Pascal said. 'If you have a very long, shallow run-up to the coast, a lot of the energy can be dissipated over that run-up, but if it is a very steep shelf before you get to the coast, the wave height can be higher,' he said. Foreshocks and aftershocks Wednesday's quake has already triggered at least 10 aftershocks above magnitude 5, and they could continue for months, said Caroline Orchiston, director of the Centre for Sustainability at the University of Otago in New Zealand. 'This demonstrates that large-magnitude earthquakes generate aftershock sequences that start immediately, and some of these can be damaging in their own right,' she said. The 8.8 magnitude event on Wednesday came less than two weeks after a magnitude 7.4 earthquake in the same area, which has now been identified as a 'foreshock.' 'Earthquakes by their nature are unpredictable,' said Pascal. 'There are no precursors that are scientifically consistent in earthquake sequences. Before this morning, those other ones were the main shocks.' Bigger aftershocks cannot entirely be ruled out, he added, but their magnitude and frequency normally tend to decrease over time. 'You can expect large aftershocks to continue for some time, but the frequency of large, damaging events will reduce as time goes on,' he said. 'There is always a chance of a larger event, but that larger event will usually occur relatively soon after, within days or weeks.'
