Earthquake List for Map of Asia Region - USGS
Earthquake Magnitude 7.2 - Near The East Coast Of Honshu, Japan
2011 March 09 02:45:18 UTC - (Tuesday, March 08, 2011 at 07:45:18 PM (MST) - Mountain Standard (Calgary, Denver, Phoenix)
Depth 14.1 km (8.8 miles)
Location 38.510°N, 142.792°E
7.2 quake off Japan triggers small tsunami - March 9, 2011 - The tremor struck about 10 kilometres below the Pacific sea floor, about 160 kilometres off Japan's main island of Honshu. The earthquake lasted for more than 30 seconds, swaying buildings in the capital, shutting down bullet train operations and triggering a tsunami warning. A 60-centimetre surge was later recorded along coastal areas. The worlds seimic monitors are showing Mother Earth is "ringing like a bell" on all the monitors.
Tectonic Summary
The 03/09/2011 earthquake near the east coast of Honshu, Japan, occurred as a result of thrust faulting on or near the subduction zone interface plate boundary between the Pacific and North America plates. At the latitude of this earthquake, the Pacific plate moves approximately westwards with respect to the North America plate at a velocity of 83 mm/yr. The Pacific plate thrusts underneath the North America plate at the Japan Trench, and dips to the west. The location, depth, and focal mechanism of the March 9 earthquake are consistent with the event having occurred as thrust faulting associated with subduction along this plate boundary.
The Japan Trench subduction zone experiences reasonably frequent large earthquakes, and has hosted 9 events of magnitude 7 or greater since 1973. The largest of these was an M 7.8 earthquake approximately 230 km to the north of the March 9 event, in December 1994, which caused 3 fatalities and almost 700 injuries. In June of 1978, an M 7.7 earthquake 75 km to the southwest caused 22 fatalities and over 400 injuries. In December of 2008, a sequence of 4 strong earthquakes (M 5.3-5.8) occurred within 20 km of the March 9 event. In the first 12 hours following the March 9 earthquake, the region has experienced over a dozen aftershocks of M 5 or greater, the largest being M 5.7.
Aftershocks: 18 aftershock quakes with one at 6.0 and another at 6.1 magnitude as of 18:44 UTC on March 9, 2011.
The U.S Geological Survey is reporting that a magnitude 6.3 earthquake has hit off the coast of Honshu, Japan's main island. The earthquake hit at a depth of about 1 mile below sea level. Honshu is the largest island of Japan, and is home to both Tokyo and Yokohama. According to Reuters, the quake was centered 126 miles from the city of Sendai.
Worldwide Seismic Maps "Ringing Like A Bell":
Seismic Station - Waverly, Tennessee, USA
Sierra la Laguna Baja California Sur, Mexico
Matsushiro, Japan
The Japan Earthquake series is continuing with this map of the Asia area on March 11, 2011:
Magnitude 8.9 - Near The East Coast Of Honshu, Japan at a depth of 24.4 km (15.2 miles). Many large aftershocks are occurring.
2011 March 11 05:46:23 UTCFor a listing of the 186 earthquakes on this map, click here
March 11, 2011 -Crescent City, Santa Cruz hit hard by tsunami from Japan quake
Tsunami alert sparks evacuations from Hawaii to Easter Island.
March 12, 2011 - An explosion shattered a building housing a nuclear reactor Saturday, amid fears of a meltdown, while across wide swaths of northeastern Japan. Saturdya's explosion was caused by vented hydrogen gas and destroyed the exterior walls of the building where the reactor is, but not the actual metal housing enveloping the reactor. Edano said the radiation around the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant had not risen after the blast, but had in fact decreased. Authorities have also evacuated people from a 12-mile (20-kilometer) radius around the reactor. The explosion was caused by hydrogen interacting with oxygen outside the reactor. The hydrogen was formed when the superheated fuel rods came in contact with water being poured over it to prevent a meltdown. Officials have said that radiation levels were elevated before the blast: At one point, the plant was releasing each hour the amount of radiation a person normally absorbs from the environment each year. Read more...
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