Japan's massive quake seen as sign of Pacific region's future

 

The massive earthquake that hit Japan today may signal that the Pacific Ocean region is entering a new phase of geological turmoil that potentially could last for decades and bring repeated waves of destruction along the shores of the world’s largest ocean, a specialist said this morning.
Seismologist John E. Ebel of Boston College’s Weston Observatory said today that Pacific Rim countries suffered major earthquakes between 1946 and 1964.
In geological terms, the region then underwent a period of relative peace. But, beginning with the Indonesian quake of 2004 that hit 9.1 on the Richter scale and created a tsunami that killed an estimated 230,000 people, the Pacific Rim has recently suffered a series of massive quakes. Chile, for example, was hit last year with 8.8 quake, the latest in a series of major quakes in the South American country.
“We seem to be in a time now where we are having another one of those periods where we have truly massive earthquakes’’ of magnitude 8 or greater, Ebel said in a telephone interview. “We don’t know how long this period will last.’’

Ebel said the Japanese earthquake occurred when two tectonic plates, the Pacific Plate and the Asian Plate, which were touching each other, suddenly separated by as much as 30 feet. He said there will be strong aftershocks, but also that there may be another, separate earthquake as happened in Indonesia three months after 2004 quake.
The Japanese-centered quake launched a tsunami that raced across the Pacific Ocean at 400 miles an hour before hitting Hawaii this morning.
While Hawaii is famous for its tall waves beloved by surfers, Ebel said a tsunami wave 6 feet in height is radically different because it brings with a seemingly unending flow of sea water.
“It might be six feet tall, but the water just keeps coming and coming and coming,’’ Ebel said. “It doesn’t immediately release like a small surfing wave does.’’
In Hawaii, Ebel said, emergency safety procedures – the state has already launched evacuations in low-lying areas – will likely keep damages relatively minimal.
He said beachfront houses could be wrecked, but large, strongly built hotels in a state that relies heavily on tourism may suffer some water damage, but will weather the flooding.
California coastal communities are also on alert, but Ebel said much of the tsunami’s energy may have been exhausted by the time it reaches the West Coast.
However, he cautioned, the tsunami will still be a public safety concern, especially in Crescent City in the northern part of California.