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Japan Earthquake 2012: Study Warns of Major Tokyo Quake
Japan has already suffered one earthquake in 2012. But the New Year’s Day rumble caused little damage because it was centered deep below the surface. A new study warns, however, that the Tokyo region has a 70 percent chance of experiencing a major earthquake within four years.
(Photo: Reuters / Kyodo) On March 11, a tsunami triggered by a massive earthquake resulted in widespread damage in Japan's Fukushima prefecture and destroyed a nuclear power plant. Vehicles, ships, buildings were washed away by the giant flood that resulted from the 8.9 magnitude quake. A new study suggests the Tokyo region of Japan could suffer another major earthquake within four years.
Seismologists at the University of Tokyo said the study was based on an increase in earthquake activity in the region following the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami that killed almost 20,000 and led to a nuclear disaster. Working at the university’s earthquake research institute, the seismologists said the number of earthquakes in the region is rising — to 343 of 3.0 magnitude or higher in the past six months versus 47 the previous six months.
The seismologists believe that the probability of bigger earthquakes increases proportionately with smaller earthquakes. Therefore, the team has calculated a 98 percent chance of a 6.7 to 7.2 magnitude earthquake for the Tokyo region in the 30 years and a 70 percent chance over the next four years.
“When we ask when a probability of such a quake reaches 70%, then we get a 70% chance over the Read more…
More than a million evacuated in Japan as Typhoon Roke nears
Typhoon Roke – the 15th Pacific storm of the season – was expected to make landfall in central Japan today, before moving in a northeasterly direction across the country, and possibly passing near the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant.
The storm arrives just weeks after another typhoon swept across Japan leaving more than 90 people dead or missing and causing widespread flooding, mudslides and structural damage.
This time, about 1.1 million people in the industrial city of Nagaya in central Japan’s Aichi prefecture were urged to evacuate as the storm approached, with wind gusts of up to 134 mph.
Nagoya officials also called the Self-Defence Forces to send in troops for disaster prevention amid growing fears of Read more…
Mysterious ‘Booming Sounds’ Heard Around World Perplex Scientists
Brian Emfinger photographed this early Perseid meteor shower fireball, with a smoke trail, from Ozark, Arkansas just after midnight on Sunday, July 26, 2009. CREDIT: Brian Emfinger, used with permission (more photos: http://www.realclearwx.com).Mysterious booming sounds are occasionally heard on the North Carolina coast, often powerful enough to rattle windows and doors. They cannot be explained by thunderstorms or any manmade sources — their source is a mystery.
Such dins are not unique to North Carolina or the modern age. People living near Seneca Lake in upstate New York have long known of similar booming sounds, which they called “Seneca guns.” In coastal Belgium, they are known as “mistpouffers,” or fog belches; in the Ganges delta and the Bay of Bengal, “Bansal guns;” in the Italian Apennines, “brontidi,” or thunder-like; and by the Harami people of Shikoku, Japan, “yan.”
“What’s going on is an interesting challenge, whatever it might be,” said seismologist David Hill, scientist emeritus at the U.S. Geological Survey office in Menlo Park, Calif.
Long list of explanations
A host of plausible explanations may now exist for these enigmas, including Read more…
5 Unexpected Places You Can Be Tracked With Facial Recognition Technology
Once people realized that Facebook was basically harvesting biometric data, the usual uproar over the site’s relentless corrosion of privacy ensued. Germany even threatened to sue Facebook for violating German and EU data protection laws and a few other countries are investigating. But facial recognition technology is hardly confined to Facebook — and unlike the social networking site, there’s no “opt-out” of leaving your house.
Post-9/11, many airports and Read more…
The Central Banks and Gold
By Doug Hornig
If the mantra of the wise investor is “Buy low, sell high,” then those who run most of the Western world’s central banks must suffer from dyslexia.
These banks sold off their gold reserves for years, right into the teeth of a generation-long bear market. The last year before the sales began – i.e., during which central banks were net buyers of gold – was 1988, when the price of the metal fell from $485/oz. in early January to $410 at year’s end.
From then and right through the end of the century, they continued to sell as gold dropped steadily to its modern low of $250. The banks were in such haste to divest themselves of this disrespected relic – their single tangible asset – that it was deemed necessary to Read more…
Study: High Food Prices Driving Unrest
abc.net.au
The researchers point to two main factors driving the increase in food prices
The waves of social unrest and political instability seen recently around the world have coincided with large peaks in global food prices, US researchers have found.
They warn that unless something is done urgently to address rising food prices, it could trigger more widespread trouble in the near future.
Professor Yaneer Bar-Yam, president of the New England Complex Systems Institute, and colleagues, correlated the dates of riots around the world with data from the United Nations that plots changes in the price of food.
They found evidence that episodes of social unrest in North Africa and the Middle East coincided closely with peaks in the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s Food Price Index.
Reporting their findings on the pre-press website arXiv.org the researchers say that although the riots reflect many factors such as the long-standing political failings of governments, high food prices provide a tipping point.
“There are indeed many factors that can contribute to unrest,” Bar-Yam explains. “What we see, however, is that these conditions can Read more…
Japan’s Northeast Hit by 6.8 Magnitude Quake
A 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck off Japan‘s northeastern coast Friday, triggering a 50 cm (20 inch) tsunami warning that was lifted about 35 minutes later.The epicenter of the quake, which hit at 2:36 pm, was off the coast of Fukushima, 20 km below Earth’s surface, the same region where the massive 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck on March 11, followed by the devastating 30-meter tsunami, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
The agency said there was no damage from Fridays’s quake and the tsunami advisory was lifted after no waves were sighted. Some highways were closed and high-speed bullet trains were halted after the quake, public broadcaster NHK said.
Friday’s tremor was felt in Tokyo where buildings Read more…
Fukushima: Pacific Ocean radiation over 3,000 times normal
Japan’s nuclear accident has caused radiation levels in the Pacfic Ocean to rise over 3,000 times normal. Say what?
Top scientists in the field of Marine Chemistry, have done the testing and research and the result is not good. Fukushima’s poison radiated water spewn into the pacific ocean will cause Read more…
Food Riot Fears Strike Japan
The government lies and cover-ups are coming to a head, and residents of Japan are now scrambling to acquire non-radiated rice and other foods.
Via Alexander Higgins:
Fears of food riots strike Japan after rice trading is halted due to a 40% price spike triggered by massive hoarding of the remaining radiation free rice supply.
It is time to start paying very close attention the events unfolding in Japan as the nation teeters on the verge of food riots which may serve as an example of what other nations in a similar situation would face.
As we approach the 5 month marker since the onset of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, Japan has repeatedly assured the public that the nation’s food supply was safe from radiation. Japan has given those reassurances despite warnings from experts that the nuclear fallout has already surpassed Read more…
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