Quake activity along the San Andreas fault is picking up

5.0 Mb - OFF COAST OF OREGON
Preliminary Earthquake Report
Magnitude 5.0 Mb
Date-Time

* 8 Mar 2011 01:26:59 UTC
* 7 Mar 2011 16:26:59 near epicenter
* 7 Mar 2011 19:26:59 standard time in your timezone

Location 44.246N 129.391W
Depth 17 km
Distances

* 419 km (261 miles) WNW (289 degrees) of Bandon, OR
* 420 km (261 miles) WNW (286 degrees) of Barview, OR
* 421 km (262 miles) W (271 degrees) of Yachats, OR
* 501 km (312 miles) W (275 degrees) of Eugene, OR
* 550 km (342 miles) WSW (257 degrees) of Portland, OR

Eugene (KMTR) - Recent seismic activity off the Oregon coast has scientists keeping a close eye on the Pacific Ocean.

Four earthquakes have registered off the coast of Newport in the past 24 hours.

A 4.1 magnitude earthquake struck just before eight o'clock Monday morning.

All four earthquakes have occurred on the Blanco Fracture Zone, which is about two hundred and fifty miles outside of Newport.

The shakes are not large enough to be felt on land, but according to Althea Rizzo with Oregon Emergency Management, the fact they're all happening so close together, has their attention.

"They may raise eyebrows but they're not concerning. If these earthquakes were on the Cascadia Subduction Zone, that might be a little bit more of a hair raising situation."

Studies show we are about fifty years overdue for a major earthquake.

Experts predict if it does happen, it could be a magnitude eight or nine.

If we were to see an earthquake that size in this area, Rizzo says it would be felt from British Columbia, down into California, and as far east as Bend.

Oregon Emergency Management says the first thing to do is get an emergency preparedness kit, and start making an emergency plan with your family.

A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.2 has hit off the coast of northeastern Japan today, but there are so far no reports of damage.

A tsunami advisory of up to 50 cm was issued for northeastern Japan after the quake hit around 3.45pm (NZT) the Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA) said.

"First I felt a jolt that pushed from underneath, then a big sideways tremor that lasted for about 20 seconds," Yoshiyuki Sato, an official at Kurihara City in Miyagi prefecture, about 300 km northeast of Tokyo, said.

"The tremor was relatively big but things did not fall off the shelves in the city government building," he said.

The focus of the tremor was 10 km below the surface of the earth, off the coast of Aomori prefecture, public broadcaster NHK said.

The US Geological Survey said the epicentre was 430 kilometres northeast of Tokyo, where it made buildings sway.

An official at the National Police Agency said there was no information on damage from the quake so far.
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Tohoku Electric Power said its Onagawa nuclear plant was operating normally after the quake. Tokyo Electric Power also said there was no impact on its power plants in the region.

Bullet trains resumed running in northeastern Japan after stopping briefly, Kyodo news agency reported.

Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world's most seismically active areas. The country accounts for about 20% of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.

Magnitude 8.9 - NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
2011 March 11 05:46:23 UTC

Earthquake Details

* This is a computer-generated message -- this event has not yet been reviewed by a seismologist.

Magnitude 8.9
Date-Time

* Friday, March 11, 2011 at 05:46:23 UTC
* Friday, March 11, 2011 at 02:46:23 PM at epicenter
* Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location 38.322°N, 142.369°E
Depth 24.4 km (15.2 miles) set by location program
Region NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
Distances

* 130 km (81 miles) E (86°) from Sendai, Honshu, Japan
* 179 km (111 miles) ENE (68°) from Fukushima, Honshu, Japan
* 188 km (117 miles) SE (145°) from Morioka, Honshu, Japan
* 376 km (234 miles) NE (37°) from TOKYO, Japan


MAP 5.5 2011/03/11 08:46:48 37.421 142.453 37.3 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
MAP 5.9 2011/03/11 08:40:56 37.465 141.122 38.6 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
MAP 6.5 2011/03/11 08:19:24 36.338 140.633 19.9 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
MAP 6.2 2011/03/11 08:15:41 37.034 144.612 27.8 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
MAP 6.2 2011/03/11 08:12:05 36.606 141.557 19.8 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
MAP 5.4 2011/03/11 08:10:47 34.695 139.655 30.5 NEAR THE SOUTH COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
MAP 5.9 2011/03/11 08:01:59 37.071 142.734 22.6 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
MAP 5.6 2011/03/11 07:56:16 37.130 142.305 34.0 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
MAP 5.7 2011/03/11 07:54:45 37.742 141.565 45.3 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
MAP 5.8 2011/03/11 07:42:55 36.406 141.919 29.9 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
MAP 5.9 2011/03/11 07:38:27 39.250 142.783 29.1 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
MAP 6.1 2011/03/11 07:28:12 36.802 141.911 24.0 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
MAP 6.1 2011/03/11 07:25:33 37.916 144.621 15.0 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
MAP 6.3 2011/03/11 07:14:59 36.648 141.811 25.0 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
MAP 5.9 2011/03/11 07:13:47 36.051 142.347 28.5 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
MAP 5.8 2011/03/11 07:11:00 37.899 142.734 30.0 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
MAP 6.3 2011/03/11 06:57:15 35.758 140.992 30.2 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
MAP 6.3 2011/03/11 06:48:47 37.993 142.764 22.3 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
MAP 7.1 2011/03/11 06:25:51 38.106 144.553 19.7 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
MAP 6.8 2011/03/11 06:15:46 36.126 140.234 30.2 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
MAP 6.4 2011/03/11 06:07:22 36.401 141.862 35.4 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
MAP 6.4 2011/03/11 06:06:11 39.025 142.316 25.1 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
MAP 8.9 2011/03/11 05:46:24 38.322 142.369 24.4 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN