Earthquake Japan Update 1:00 PM PST: Next Stop South America Hawaii and greater North America seem to have emerged from today’s tsunami warnings relatively unscathed-so far a few broken boats here and there and minor shore front flooding. But the wave is still on the move and with little to slow it down combined with some very impoverished communities; it could mean the disaster continues. Industrialized nations such as Japan have engineers who design buildings with earthquakes in mind. Places like Hawaii and much of the coast of North America have early warning systems and evacuation routes, most of underprivileged South America does not. Coastal areas of Chile’s Easter Island have been evacuated and the people on the Galapagos Islands were ordered to take higher ground while tour ships moved toward deeper water. The waves generated by the tsunami are expected to reach Easter Island about 3:47 EST. Tour boats in the Galapagos have been instructed to take their guests aboard and out to sea. Ecuador’s heavy crude oil operator OCP Ecuador SA has suspended shipments today due to tsunami concerns. Lima’s port of Callao and low lying areas are to be evacuated tonight, fishing has been halted and school cancelled. Sunrise is expected soon in Japan and the magnitude of devastation will bask in the morning light. Tears for Japan.   Update 12:45 PM PST: Unfortunately for Japan-an area well known for earthquakes, the fallout from the initial disaster could only be the beginning. 300 years ago in November 1707 an earthquake with an estimated 8.9 magnitude hit Japan. The earthquake and resulting tsunami caused more than 5000 casualties and 29000 homes were destroyed. 49 days later Mount Fuji erupted spewing 800 million cubic meters of volcanic ash. This lead to even more secondary disasters, ash build up raising rivers, creating temporary dams and eventually a flood in Sakawa due to sediment build up. In 1708 heavy rains caused dams to break causing and avalanche of volcanic ash and mud, this resulted in the flood of the Ashigara plain. Earthquakes are measured on a Richter magnitude scale developed in 1935. His inspiration was an “apparent magnitude scale” used in astronomy to describe the brightness of stars. It is important to note when considering earthquake magnitude the scale of severity increases exponentially.  So for example an earthquake of magnitude 9 is 10 times stronger than an earthquake magnitude 8, 100 times stronger than a magnitude 7 and 1000 times stronger than magnitude 6. Richter magnitudes      Description     Earthquake effects                                                                              Frequency of occurrence Less than 2.0           Micro   Micro earthquakes, not felt                                                                             About 8,000 per day 2.0–2.9                 Minor   Generally not felt, but recorded.                                                                       About 1,000 per day 3.0–3.9                 Often felt, but rarely causes damage.                                                                   49,000 per year (est.) 4.0–4.9                 Light   Noticeable shaking of indoor items, rattling noises. Significant damage unlikely.       6,200 per year (est.) 5.0–5.9                 Moderate,Can cause major damage to poorly constructed buildings over small regions.     800 per year 6.0–6.9                 Strong, Can be destructive in areas up to about 160 kilometres (100 mi)                         120 per year 7.0–7.9                 Major   Can cause serious damage over larger areas.                                                     18 per year 8.0–8.9                 Great   Can cause serious damage in areas several hundred miles across.                         1 per year 9.0–9.9                 Devastating in areas several thousand miles across.                                                     1 per 20 years1 per 20 years 10.0+                           Epic    Never recorded; see below for equivalent seismic energy yield.                          Extremely rare (Unknown) There are now reports that a new earthquake 6.2 magnitude, with a different fault line has occurred near Nango and Niigala. As is to be expected communication in many areas of Japan is limited or non-existent. Google has launched Person Finder 2011 in hopes of helping family members and friends connect. Other recommendations include texting, emailing or using social networks to communicate.   Video of "The Moment of the Earthquake" courtesy of CNN. Includes footage from CNN Japan...watch reporters react to the quake.   Update 12:16 PM PST: Video of the tsunami taking out homes, cars, businesses, boats, roads, runways and people...

Update 11:19AM PST:

Google launches Person Finder in order to help with locating people in Japan. All of us here at ConnectZone send our thoughts and prayers to those being effected by this devistating earthquake.  

Update 10:29AM PST:

Japan Struggles to cool down Nuclear Plant Tokyo (CNN) -- Officials ordered an evacuation Friday of residents living near a Japanese nuclear power plant, saying there has been no sign yet of leaks but indicating a struggle to "cool down" one of the atomic facilities. An 8.9-magnitude earthquake led to cooling problems and a fire at two of Japan's nuclear plants closest to its epicenter, said government officials. Late Friday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told reporters that people within 2 to 3 kilometers (1.2 to 1.8 miles) of the Fukushima Daiichi power plant have been told to leave the area. Those closer by -- within 3 to 10 kilometers -- were asked to stay home. Japan's Kyodo News Agency estimated that the evacuation order directly affected about 3,000 people. "This is a precautionary instruction for people to evacuate," Edano said. "There is no radioactive leakage at this moment outside of the facility." http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/11/japan.nuclear/index.html?hpt=T1

Update 10:23AM PST:

Hundreds of Bodies Found in Japan After Massive Tsunmai Spawned by Earthquake... (http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/03/11/massive-7-magnitude-earthquake-strikes-japan/) Update 9:46AM Pacific Time: Video of earthquake happening. Shot in Tokyo, Japan (courtesy of CNN.com) Hundreds dead in Tsunami. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABPub/2011/03/11/2014465726.jpg http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABPub/2011/03/11/2014465726.jpg the great wave off kanagawa the_great_wave_off_kanagawa At Connectzone; are Hearts & Hopes go out to our friends in Japan About 11:00pm March 11, 2011 Pacific Time (USA) there was a very large 8.2 -8.9 earthquake off the coast of Japan. The west coast of USA will see tsunami waves of 3-6feet around 11:00am today March 11, 2011, little damages is expected. MORE NEWS   Tsunami wave reaches Alaska Aleutian Islands no Damage   List West Coast USA Web Cams   Queen Elizabeth Tweets One extends one's heartfelt sympathy to the Emperor of Japan and all those affected by the earthquake. God bless you all   Amazing & Sad earthquake pics   Top Twitter Trending topics 8:20am Pacific Time

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