ALERT: mb 8.2 HOKKAIDO, JAPAN, REGION 25/09/2003 19:50 (UTC) 

9/25/2003

Over 700 INJURED - 41,000 EVACUATE -  1 DEATHS REPORTED

2ND QUAKE -  5.8
3RD QUAKE - 5.9
4TH QUAKE  6.5  
5TH QUAKE - 5.9
6th QUAKE - 6.2
7th QUAKE - 6.0
8th QUAKE - 5.7
9th QUAKE - 6.5

10th QUAKE - 4.8
11th QUAKE - 5.6
12th QUAKE - 6.1

Japan is one of the world's most seismically active areas, with an earthquake occurring every five minutes.
Aftershocks expected for at least 10 days

Japan Earthquake Raised to 8.2 Magnitude...09/25/09

Aftershocks of 7.5 mag. , 7.0 mag. , and 6.7 magnitude continue to rumble and roll after the largest reported earthquake of this century occurred earlier today. Fear of "tsunami's " continue.

USGS reports "A great earthquake occurred IN THE HOKKAIDO, JAPAN REGION about 105 km (65 miles) south-southwest of Kushiro or 800 km (495 miles) north-northwest of Tokyo at 1:50 PM MDT, Sep 25, 2003 (Sep 26 at 4:50 AM local time in Japan). The magnitude and location may be revised when additional data and further analysis results are available. No reports of damage or casualties have been received at this time; however, this earthquake may have caused damage due to its location and size."

Tsunami Warnings:

A regional tsunami was observed at the following sites: 1) Hanasaki, Japan @ 7.0 feet. 2) Urakawa, Japan @ 4.9 feet.

3) Ofunato, Japan @ 1.64 feet 4) Kamaishi, Japan @ 3.3 feet.

Evaluation: No tsunami danger exists for Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, or California. However, some areas may experience small sea level changes. As local conditions can cause a wide variation in tsunami wave action. The "all clear" determinations must be made by local authorities.

PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER




                Centre Sismologique Euro-Mediterraneen European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre

                Rapid Determination of Source Parameters operated at LDG (Paris) and IGN (Madrid)

*********************************************************************
***********************  ALERT  MESSAGE  ****************************
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WARNING : These parameters are preliminary and subject to revision.
Location and magnitude estimations may be revised if necessary in
an INFORMATION message.
_____________________________________________________________________


EARTHQUAKE on 25/09/2003 at 19:50 (UTC)
HOKKAIDO, JAPAN, REGION        

MAGNITUDE: mb 7.0

Data provided by: BUC  GFZ  INGV LDG  LED  NEWS ODC  RNS  SED      

Latitude    =  42.65 N
Longitude   = 144.07 E
Origin Time =  19:50:10.5 (UTC)
Depth       =  33 Km
RMS         =   0.58 sec
Gap         = 322 degrees
95% confidence ellipse: - Semi major = 34.9 Km
                        - Semi minor = 21.2 Km
                        - Azimuth of major axis = 155 degrees

Number of data used = 216

Preliminary location computed on Thu Sep 25 20:24:43 2003 (UTC)
Done by Remy Bossu

Comments : The magnitude may be underestimates. In this case a revision message  will be sent

All magnitudes estimations :
mb5.9 (BUC)   mb6.8 (GFZ)   M 7.0 (INGV)  M 6.7 (INGV) 
mb6.5 (LDG)   mb6.9 (LED)   mb7.2 (ODC)  
mb6.5 (RNS)   mb6.7 (SED)                              

P.S.: For additional information, please contact EMSC at:
             - Email: mazet@emsc-csem.org
             - Web  : http://www.emsc-csem.org
             - Fax  : 33 1 69 26 70 00


Magnitude 8.0 - HOKKAIDO, JAPAN REGION

2003 September 25 19:50:08 UTC

Preliminary Earthquake Report

U.S. Geological Survey, National Earthquake Information Center

World Data Center for Seismology, Denver

A great earthquake occurred at 19:50:08 (UTC) on Thursday, September 25, 2003. The magnitude 8.0 event has been located in the HOKKAIDO, JAPAN REGION. (This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.)

Magnitude 8.0

Date-Time Thursday, September 25, 2003 at 19:50:08 (UTC)

= Coordinated Universal Time

Friday, September 26, 2003 at 4:50:08 AM

= local time at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location 42.171°N, 143.719°E

Depth 33 km (21 miles) set by location program

Region HOKKAIDO, JAPAN REGION

Distances

105 km (65 miles) SSW of Kushiro, Hokkaido, Japan

210 km (130 miles) SSE of Asahikawa, Hokkaido, Japan

800 km (495 miles) NNE of TOKYO, Japan

7140 km (4430 miles) NE of MOSCOW, Russia

Location Uncertainty horizontal +/- 8.3 km (5.2 miles); depth fixed by location program

Parameters Nst=123, Nph=123, Dmin=537.2 km, Rmss=1.09 sec, Gp= 50°,

M-type=moment magnitude (Mw), Version=7

Source USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)

The following is a release by the United States Geological Survey, National Earthquake Information Center: A great earthquake occurred IN THE HOKKAIDO, JAPAN REGION about 105 km (65 miles) south-southwest of Kushiro or 800 km (495 miles) north-northwest of Tokyo at 1:50 PM MDT, Sep 25, 2003 (Sep 26 at 4:50 AM local time in Japan).

The magnitude and location may be revised when additional data and further analysis results are available. No reports of damage or casualties have been received at this time; however, this earthquake may have caused damage due to its location and size.


TSUNAMI BULLETIN NUMBER 002

PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER

1027 AM HST 25 SEP 2003

TO - CIVIL DEFENSE IN THE STATE OF HAWAII

SUBJECT - TSUNAMI ADVISORY BULLETIN

A TSUNAMI ADVISORY CONTINUES IN EFFECT FOR THE STATE OF HAWAII.

AN EARTHQUAKE HAS OCCURRED WITH THESE PRELIMINARY PARAMETERS

ORIGIN TIME - 0950 AM HST 25 SEP 2003

COORDINATES - 42.1 NORTH 143.6 EAST

LOCATION - EASTERN HONSHU JAPAN

MAGNITUDE - 8.1 MOMENT

THE PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER HAS ISSUED AN EXPANDING REGIONAL TSUNAMI WARNING AND WATCH FOR PARTS OF THE PACIFIC LOCATED CLOSER TO THE EARTHQUAKE. AN EVALUATION OF THE PACIFIC WIDE TSUNAMI THREAT IS UNDERWAY AND THERE IS A POSSIBILITY THAT HAWAII COULD BE ELEVATED TO A WATCH OR WARNING STATUS. IF TSUNAMI WAVES IMPACT HAWAII THEIR ESTIMATED EARLIEST ARRIVAL TIME IS 0501 PM HST 25 SEP 2003

BULLETINS WILL BE ISSUED HOURLY OR SOONER AS CONDITIONS WARRANT.


THIS MESSAGE IS A REVISION OF A PREVIOUS EMSC ALERT

_____________________________________________________________________

EARTHQUAKE on 25/09/2003 at 19:50 (UTC)

HOKKAIDO, JAPAN, REGION

MAGNITUDE: MW 8.1

Data provided by: BUC FLN GFZ INDC INGV KAN LDG LED NEIC NEWS   ODC PPT RNS SED

Latitude = 42.30 N

Longitude = 143.78 E

Origin Time = 19:50:05.9 (UTC)

Depth = 10 Km

RMS = 0.72 sec

Gap = 57 degrees

95% confidence ellipse: - Semi major = 7.3 Km

- Semi minor = 3.3 Km

- Azimuth of major axis = 2 degrees

Number of data used = 343

Preliminary location computed on Thu Sep 25 21:16:36 2003 (UTC)

Done by Remy Bossu

Message number: 189

All magnitudes estimations :

MW8.1 (FLN) mb6.8 (GFZ) Ms8.2 (INDC)

M 7.0 (INGV) M 6.7 (INGV) mb6.5 (LDG) mb6.9 (LED)

M 8.0 (NEIC) mb7.2 (ODC) MW8.1 (PPT)

mb6.5 (RNS) mb6.7 (SED)

P.S.: For additional information, please contact EMSC at:

- Email: mazet@emsc-csem.org

- Web : http://www.emsc-csem.org

- Fax : 33 1 69 26 70 00


Strong Earthquake Hits Hokkaido, Japan

TOKYO (AP)--A strong earthquake struck Japan's northern Hokkaido area early Friday, news reports said.

The quake hit southern Hokkaido at about 4:50 a.m. and was felt in central Hidaka and eastern Tokatsu, the Japan Meteorological Agency said, according to the Kyodo news agency.

Under the Japanese seismic classification, the earthquake was strong enough to damage homes and trigger landslides, the agency said.

AP-NY-09-25-03 1637EDT

Copyright 2003, The Associated Press


TOKYO Sept. 25 — A strong quake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.8 rocked the northern Japan island of Hokkaido early Friday morning, knocking out power, derailing a train and touching off an industrial fire. Two people were reported injured.

The government warned local residents to avoid coastal areas due to the possibility of tsunami, or ocean waves caused by seismic activity.

The quake was strong enough to rock buildings on the island and shake books and other objects off shelves. Japan's public broadcaster NHK reported that at least several people had been injured and a fire had broken out in the city of Tomakomai.

Black plumes of smoke and flames could be seen leaping from the site in an industrial area. Streams of water were aimed at the flames.

Television footage showed an office in which books were knocked off shelves, and desks and computers swayed back and forth.

Japan's Meteorological agency warned that waves of up to 3 feet were expected to hit coastal areas. The quake, which hit just before dawn, was focused off Hokkaido's eastern shore.

Tsunami of up to 1 foot were observed in some coastal cities, NHK reported.

"We are now trying to collect information on the extent of the damage," city official Sadayuki Kano said. "There are no reports of other major damage."

NHK also reported that a local train derailed, injuring two people.

The meteorological agency said the earthquake had a magnitude of 7.8 and was focused 36 miles under the seabed.

The U.S. Geological Survey in Golden, Colo., said the temblor had a preliminary magnitude of 8.

The quake struck in the Pacific Ocean, about 65 miles south-southwest of Kushiro and 495 miles north-northeast of Tokyo, said John Minsch, a USGS geophysicist. The quake was shallow.

"That makes it more likely to be a tsunami, and there's most likely to be a great amount of damage," Minsch said.

Hokkaido is the northernmost and most sparsely populated of Japan's major islands. Sapporo is the prefecture's capital.

Geophysicist Doug Given in Pasadena, Calif., said the region is "part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, the zone of very large earthquakes and volcanoes that rings the Pacific Rim."

The USGS had no immediate reports of casualties.

A tsunami advisory was issued for Hawaii and a warning was issued for parts of Alaska.

Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.


2nd QUAKE - EARTHQUAKE on 25/09/2003 at 20:10 (UTC)

HOKKAIDO, JAPAN, REGION

MAGNITUDE: mb 5.8

Data provided by: GFZ LDG NEWS NOR ODC

Latitude = 42.82 N

Longitude = 143.95 E

Origin Time = 20:10:06.9 (UTC)

Depth = 33 Km

RMS = 0.60 sec

Gap = 329 degrees

95% confidence ellipse: - Semi major = 63.9 Km

- Semi minor = 33.9 Km

- Azimuth of major axis = 177 degrees

Number of data used = 45

Preliminary location computed on Thu Sep 25 21:47:46 2003 (UTC)

Done by Remy Bossu

Comments : Message number: 190

All magnitudes estimations :

mb6.5 (GFZ) mb5.6 (LDG) mb5.6 (NEWS) mb5.4 (NEWS)

mb5.0 (NOR) mb5.0 (NOR) mb5.9 (ODC)


3RD QUAKE

EARTHQUAKE on 25/09/2003 at 20:57 (UTC)

HOKKAIDO, JAPAN, REGION

MAGNITUDE: mb 5.9

Data provided by: GFZ LDG LED NEWS NOR ODC

Latitude = 42.25 N

Longitude = 143.80 E

Origin Time = 20:57:15.6 (UTC)

Depth = 33 Km

RMS = 0.48 sec

Gap = 325 degrees

95% confidence ellipse: - Semi major = 39.1 Km

- Semi minor = 20.9 Km

- Azimuth of major axis = 157 degrees

Number of data used = 95

Preliminary location computed on Thu Sep 25 21:53:48 2003 (UTC)

Done by Remy Bossu

Comments : Message number: 191

All magnitudes estimations :

mb6.1 (GFZ) mb5.6 (LDG) mb5.5 (LED) mb5.1 (NEWS)

mb5.8 (NOR) mb5.8 (ODC)

P.S.: For additional information, please contact EMSC at:

- Email: mazet@emsc-csem.org

- Web : http://www.emsc-csem.org

- Fax : 33 1 69 26 70 00


4TH  QUAKE

EARTHQUAKE on 25/09/2003 at 21:08 (UTC)

HOKKAIDO, JAPAN, REGION

MAGNITUDE: mb 6.5

Data provided by: BUC GFZ INDC INGV KAN LDG LED LVV MAD MCSM

NEWS NOR ODC RNS SED THE

Latitude = 41.93 N

Longitude = 143.90 E

Origin Time = 21:08:00.0 (UTC)

Depth = 33 Km

RMS = 0.85 sec

Gap = 323 degrees

95% confidence ellipse: - Semi major = 44.1 Km

- Semi minor = 27.0 Km

- Azimuth of major axis = 166 degrees

Number of data used = 262

Preliminary location computed on Thu Sep 25 22:08:14 2003 (UTC)

Done by Remy Bossu

Comments :  Message number: 192

All magnitudes estimations :

mb6.5 (GFZ) Ms7.5 (INDC)

M 6.5 (INGV) mb6.1 (LDG)

mb6.2 (LED) mb6.0 (MAD) mb5.4 (NEWS)

mb5.6 (NOR)

mb6.6 (ODC) mb5.9 (RNS) mb6.3 (SED)


5th QUAKE

EARTHQUAKE on 25/09/2003 at 22:20 (UTC)

HOKKAIDO, JAPAN, REGION

MAGNITUDE: mb 5.8

Data provided by: GFZ GSRC LDG LED NEWS NOR ODC RNS SED

Latitude = 42.01 N

Longitude = 143.77 E

Origin Time = 22:20:18.5 (UTC)

Depth = 20 Km

RMS = 0.65 sec

Gap = 138 degrees

95% confidence ellipse: - Semi major = 15.2 Km

- Semi minor = 9.6 Km

- Azimuth of major axis = 161 degrees

Number of data used = 121

Preliminary location computed on Thu Sep 25 23:59:13 2003 (UTC)

Done by Remy Bossu

Comments :  Message number: 193

All magnitudes estimations :

mb6.0 (GFZ) mb5.8 (GSRC) mb5.4 (LDG) mb5.3 (LED)

mb5.1 (NEWS) mb5.4 (NOR) mb5.5 (ODC)

mb5.0 (RNS) mb5.5 (SED)


Strong Earthquake Rocks Northern Japan

By NORIMITSU ONISHI

Published: September 26, 2003

OKYO, Friday, Sept. 26 — A powerful earthquake shook northern Japan early this morning, causing power failures, setting fire to an oil refinery and derailing a train.

At least 164 people were injured, most of them by falling objects in their homes, according to the NHK news network. No deaths were reported.

Japan's National Meteorological Agency warned residents away from coastal areas, for fear that aftershocks would bring ocean waves, known as tsunamis. There were no immediate reports of widespread damage.

The quake, with a magnitude of 8.0, struck at 4:50 a.m. in the Pacific Ocean about 50 miles off the southeastern coast of Hokkaido, Japan's northern island, about 600 miles north of Tokyo, according to the agency. Aftershocks, including a powerful one at 6:07 a.m., followed.

NHK showed images of shelves shaking furiously inside an office, a fresh crack running up an asphalt road and a fire burning at a refinery in southern Hokkaido.

Train service was suspended on Hokkaido after an express train derailed, injuring one of the 39 passengers, according to Kyodo News.

In a fishing town called Samani, two small fishing boats capsized off the coast; in another town, Erimo, whose 2,200 residents were told to evacuate at 5 a.m., waves swept empty cars into the sea. In Kushiro, a southeastern city hit by high waves, 24,300 houses were left without power, according to Kyodo.

Hiroaki Tanaka, a fire official in Kushiro, on Hokkaido's east coast, said in an interview with Reuters that 47 people were being treated at hospitals in the city.

"The situation seems to be settling down," he said. "Aftershocks seem to be lessening. Injuries could rise though, if people head to hospitals in their own cars. We felt it shake for a very long time."

Television pictures showed a fire and smoke billowing near an oil storage depot of the Idemitsu Kosan Company at a refinery in Tomakomai, a coastal city in southern Hokkaido.

The company said it had closed the plant for safety reasons.

Other pictures showed cracks in buildings and fallen tiles, and items spilled from supermarket shelves.

Japan, which sits atop four tectonic plates, is one of the world's most seismically active countries, and tremors are regularly felt here. Last Saturday afternoon, a quake measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale, originating in the Pacific off Tokyo, jolted the capital.

Hokkaido, with a population of about five million, is sparsely inhabited compared to the rest of the country.

Japan's last major earthquake occurred in Kobe in 1995. That tremor, which measured 7.2, killed more than 6,000 people.

[Editors Note] I guess they missed the ones on 7-26-03 and 5-26-03
See below


http://www.msnbc.com/news/971921.asp?0ct=-34n&cp1=1#BODY

Big earthquakes shake Japan island

7-foot tsunami, major damage reported in north

Japanese television broadcast footage of a fire at an oil refinery in Tomako on Hokkaido island.

MSNBC AND NBC NEWS

TOKYO, Sept. 26 - Three powerful earthquakes, one of them of potentially historic magnitude, struck Hokkaido in northern Japan early Friday morning, causing major structural damage, NBC News reported. The quakes injured at least 180 people and generated a 7-foot-high tsunami off the coast of Hokkaido. Tsunami advisories were issued for much of the Pacific region, including Japan, Russia and the Philippines.

THE FIRST QUAKE, which struck about 4:50 a.m. (4:50 p.m. ET Thursday), preliminarily registered magnitude 8.0, a rare category of earthquake capable of causing widespread destruction, according to the National Earthquake Information Center of the U.S. Geological Survey. It was the biggest earthquake recorded anywhere in the world since 2001.

The quake was followed within two hours by a series of strong aftershocks, two of which were classified as major earthquakes themselves. The second one, which came after about an hour and a half, measured 7.0, the U.S. earthquake center said. NBC News producer Arata Yamamoto reported from Tokyo that there was major damage to buildings on Hokkaido, while NHK television showed video of a fire at an oil refinery, which was quickly extinguished. At least 24,000 were without power in Kushiro city and six neighboring towns.

A man cleaning up broken glass in a street was hit by an oncoming car and died, NHK said, but there were no other immediate reports of deaths. At least 187 people were injured, at least two of them seriously, it said. Some were hurt when a local express train derailed. All train services were suspended. Kushiro Airport was closed after part of a roof caved in, and several roads were blocked by landslides. Hokkaido, which is about the size of Austria, is the second-largest of Japan's four main islands. It is home to 5 million people, a nuclear reactor and active volcanoes. It is less than 500 miles from Tokyo, and its capital, Sapporo, was host to the 1972 Winter Olympic Games.

TSUNAMIS COULD POSE BIG THREAT

A 4.9-magnitude earthquake was registered off the coast of Taiwan about three hours after the first Japanese quake. Geologists had not yet determined whether it was an aftershock or a separate event. Beyond the immediate damage from the shocks themselves, authorities braced for the destructive waves known as tsunamis that Pacific quakes often generate. With an epicenter only 36 miles under the seabed, the Hokkaido quake was unusually shallow and was a prime candidate to spawn waves that could cause a "great amount of damage," said a scientist at the Geological Survey.

The U.S. West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center reported that a 7-foot-high wave had formed off the coast of Hanasaki on Hokkaido's Pacific coast. A 5-foot-high tsunami formed off the coast at Urakawa, it said. Because of the threat of tsunami, aftershocks or the collapse of already damaged buildings, 41,000 people were evacuating their homes to shelters, according to Kazukiko Kunii, a spokesman for the National Fire Agency.

Television pictures showed boats heading out to sea after the warning was issued. Two small fishing boats capsized in coastal waters in Samani, a fishing town in southern Hokkaido, local officials said. Tsunami warnings were in effect for Japan, Russia and much of the Pacific Rim. Tsunami watches were in effect for Guam, Taiwan, the Philippines and much of the central Pacific. If the preliminary 8.0 rating is confirmed, the quake would equal the 1985 Mexico City earthquake, which killed about 10,000 people. By comparison, the famous 1906 earthquake that destroyed much of San Francisco measured 7.7.


Sep. 26, 2003. 06:36 AM

243 hurt, 41,000 flee as quake rocks Japan

At least 243 hurt, 41,000 forced to evacuate

Northern island of Hokkaido worst hit

OBIHIRO, Japan—A magnitude 8.0 earthquake rocked Japan's northern island of Hokkaido early today, injuring 243 people, knocking out power, derailing a train and touching off an industrial fire.

There were no immediate reports of deaths directly caused by the quake in the hours following the temblor that forced the evacuation of 41,000 people and left some 16,000 homes blacked out.

Television footage showed an office where books were knocked off shelves, and desks and computers swayed back and forth as the quake hit. Merchandise fell off store shelves and people took shelter in schools.

"It shook hard and long and I was very frightened," said Eri Takizawa, a city official in Kushiro, believed to be the hardest hit. "We have small quakes here from time to time, but this was completely different."

The government has warned residents to avoid coastal areas due to the possibility of tsunami, or ocean waves caused by seismic activity. The meteorological agency said tsunami as high as one metre hit Kushiro, 820 kilometres north of Tokyo. There were no reports of damage.

The quake struck at 4:50 a.m., local time, cracking roads, capsizing fishing boats and causing the roof of a local airport to partially cave in. Most of the injuries were caused by falling shelves and other toppled objects, Japan's public broadcaster NHK reported.

The temblor was centred in the Pacific Ocean about 96 kms off Hokkaido's eastern shore.

ASSOCIATED PRESS


1 killed, 388 injured in northern Japan earthquake

The number of people injured in Friday's earthquake in northern Japan has increased to 388, NHK television reported.

The quake, measuring 8.0 on the Richter scale, took place at around 4:50 a.m. (1950 GMT Thursday), with the epicenter at 80 kilometers off Cape Erimo in Hokkaido Prefecture.

A 61-year-old garbage collector was reportedly hit and killed by a car when he was cleaning up debris. He was the only reported death related to the earthquake as yet.

A second quake occurred at 6:07 a.m. (2107 GMT Thursday) and registered as 7.0 on the Richter scale. A one-meter tidal wave was observed in Kushiro city in southeast Hokkaido.

The earthquake also led to a fire on an oil tank in a refinery, which has been brought under control.


Friday 26.09.2003, CET 13:59

Strong quakes rattle Japan

By Kimimasa Mayama

KUSHIRO, Japan (Reuters) - A series of powerful earthquakes have shaken the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, injuring more than 400 people, causing widespread damage and prompting officials to issue tidal wave warnings.

Japan's Meteorological Agency measured the initial quake at 8.0 on the Richter scale -- stronger than previous killer earthquakes that have hit the country -- and warned there could be aftershocks for up to 10 days as tremors continued to be felt.

The only quake-related death reported was that of a 61-year-old man who was struck by a car as he picked up broken beer bottles on the street, officials said on Friday. Public broadcaster NHK said 472 people were injured in the area, which fortunately is lightly populated.

The airport in the eastern town of Kushiro was closed after the ceiling of the control tower collapsed. Part of the ceiling of the passenger terminal also fell in, exposing the metal beams.

Elsewhere, roads and buildings cracked, roof tiles fell and gravestones tumbled over. A storage tank at an oil refinery caught fire and the plant had to be closed.

Quake-generated waves measuring about one metre (three feet) in height struck the eastern Hokkaido coast, washing away some empty cars, but no major wave damage was reported.

More than 40,000 people left their homes in response to the tidal wave threat, Kyodo news agency said, but the warnings were lifted on Friday evening.

The focus of the first quake -- felt in Tokyo about 975 km (600 miles) to the south -- was 42 km below the seabed in the Pacific Ocean near the port of Erimo. A second quake measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale jolted Hokkaido about an hour later, followed by another measuring 7.1.

SHOCKED BY POWER OF QUAKE

The first quake struck at 4.50 a.m. (8:50 p.m. British time) while most people were sleeping. Many said they were shocked by its power.

"The tremor was so strong that I could not keep standing," a man told NHK outside his home, its windows broken by the quake.

"Everything was falling over in the house," another man at a hospital told NHK. "A shelf hit my wife on the back."

Roads were closed and rail services were halted in many areas after one person was injured when a passenger train derailed.

Officials at Hokkaido Electric Power Co were quoted by Kyodo as saying that 24,300 homes near Kushiro lost power. NHK said Hokkaido Electric's Tomari nuclear power station was unaffected.

A fire broke out in a storage tank at an oil refinery owned by Idemitsu Kosan Co Ltd in Tomakomai, a coastal city in southern Hokkaido, sending flames and black smoke spewing into the sky.

The fire was put out around midday but the refinery remained closed for safety checks, Idemitsu said.

The latest earthquake follows one measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale that hit the northeastern Miyagi prefecture in July, injuring around 500 people. Miyagi was also struck by an estimated 7.0 earthquake in May that injured more than 100.

Tsuneo Katayama, a seismologist and president of the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention, said the quake was unlikely to be a trigger for larger ones.

"There's no real connection between this earthquake and the possibility of a larger one, say in a place such as Tokyo. The location is totally different," Katayama told Reuters.

He added that it was not particularly significant that there had been three earthquakes in northern Japan since May.

"In a seismically active place like this, it's not strange to go through a period where there are several small earthquakes close together about once every 10 years," he said. Just one of the things we have to put up with for living here."

Japan is one of the world's most seismically active areas, with an earthquake occurring every five minutes.

Hokkaido, about the size of Austria, is the second largest of Japan's four main islands and has a population of more than five million. The capital, Sapporo, hosted the 1972 Winter Olympics.

Memories are still vivid in Japan of the earthquake in the western city of Kobe that killed more than 6,400 people eight years ago. That quake measured 7.2 on the Richter scale.

The Great Kanto earthquake of September 1, 1923 measured 7.9 on the Richter scale and killed more than 140,000 people in Tokyo and the neighbouring port city of Yokohama.

The last quake of 8.0 or higher in Japan was in 1994.

TSUNAMI WARNING

The meteorological agency issued a tsunami warning for the coastal areas in eastern and central Hokkaido and a tsunami alert for the coastal areas in western Hokkaido as well as the northern Japanese prefectures of Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima.

The "warning" was later downgraded to an "alert" before it was called off completely at 6:30 p.m. In 1993, a tsunami caused by a quake measuring 7.8 killed about 200 people on the island of Okushiri, off western Hokkaido.

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued a tsunami warning for Russia as well as Japan. It also issued a lower-level tsunami watch for the Philippines, Taiwan, Guam, and a number of islands in the Pacific Ocean.

Reuters


5TH QUAKE - EARTHQUAKE on 26/09/2003 at 02:35 (UTC)

HOKKAIDO, JAPAN, REGION

MAGNITUDE: mb 5.9

Data provided by: GFZ INGV LDG LED NEWS NOR ODC SED

Latitude = 42.58 N

Longitude = 144.64 E

Origin Time = 02:35:15.5 (UTC)

Depth = 33 Km

RMS = 0.58 sec

Gap = 325 degrees

95% confidence ellipse: - Semi major = 49.0 Km

- Semi minor = 24.4 Km

- Azimuth of major axis = 147 degrees

Number of data used = 146

Preliminary location computed on Fri Sep 26 02:57:22 2003 (UTC)

Done by Remy Bossu

Comments :  Message number: 194

All magnitudes estimations :

mb6.2 (GFZ) M 5.9 (INGV) mb5.6 (LDG)

mb5.5 (LED) mb5.3 (NEWS) mb5.5 (NOR)

mb5.8 (ODC) mb5.9 (SED)


5TH QUAKE - EARTHQUAKE on 26/09/2003 at 06:26 (UTC)

HOKKAIDO, JAPAN, REGION

MAGNITUDE: mb 6.2

Data provided by: BUC GFZ INGV LDG LED LJU LVV NEWS NOR ODC   RNS SED

Latitude = 42.62 N

Longitude = 145.27 E

Origin Time = 06:26:58.0 (UTC)

Depth = 33 Km

RMS = 0.57 sec

Gap = 314 degrees

95% confidence ellipse: - Semi major = 42.3 Km

- Semi minor = 21.6 Km

- Azimuth of major axis = 145 degrees

Number of data used = 161

Preliminary location computed on Fri Sep 26 07:05:18 2003 (UTC)

Done by Remy Bossu

Comments : Message number: 195

All magnitudes estimations :

mb5.4 (BUC) mb6.3 (GFZ) mb6.1 (LDG) mb5.5 (LED)

mb5.3 (NEWS) mb6.0 (NOR)

mb6.0 (ODC) mb5.6 (RNS) mb6.1 (SED)


QUAKE #7 - Subj: INFO: mb 6.0 HOKKAIDO, JAPAN, REGION 26/09/2003 20:38 (UTC)

Date: 9/26/2003 2:17:14 PM Pacific Daylight Time

EARTHQUAKE on 26/09/2003 at 20:38 (UTC)

HOKKAIDO, JAPAN, REGION

MAGNITUDE: mb 6.0

Data provided by: GFZ INGV LDG LED LJU NEWS NOR ODC OGS RNS   SED

Latitude = 42.52 N

Longitude = 144.92 E

Origin Time = 20:38:23.8 (UTC)

Depth = 33 Km

RMS = 0.57 sec

Gap = 316 degrees

95% confidence ellipse: - Semi major = 39.4 Km

- Semi minor = 21.6 Km

- Azimuth of major axis = 146 degrees

Number of data used = 200

Preliminary location computed on Fri Sep 26 21:08:34 2003 (UTC)

Done by Remy Bossu

Comments : Message number: 196

All magnitudes estimations :

mb6.4 (GFZ) M 5.8 (INGV) mb5.9 (LDG) mb5.7 (LED)

mb5.2 (NEWS) mb5.9 (NOR)

mb6.0 (ODC) mb5.5 (RNS) mb6.1 (SED)


8TH QUAKE - EARTHQUAKE on 28/09/2003 at 04:17 (UTC)

HOKKAIDO, JAPAN, REGION

MAGNITUDE: mb 5.7

Data provided by: GFZ IMP LDG LED LJU NEWS NOR ODC RNS SED

Latitude = 42.96 N

Longitude = 145.38 E

Origin Time = 04:17:54.4 (UTC)

Depth = 33 Km

RMS = 0.59 sec

Gap = 324 degrees

95% confidence ellipse: - Semi major = 54.3 Km

- Semi minor = 23.4 Km

- Azimuth of major axis = 159 degrees

Number of data used = 135

Preliminary location computed on Sun Sep 28 08:55:05 2003 (UTC)

Done by Remy Bossu

Comments :  Message number: 204

All magnitudes estimations :

mb5.8 (GFZ) mb5.4 (LDG) mb5.3 (LED) mb5.4 (NEWS)

mb5.8 (NOR) mb5.6 (ODC) mb5.0 (RNS)

mb5.6 (SED)


9TH QUAKE - EARTHQUAKE on 29/09/2003 at 02:36 (UTC)

HOKKAIDO, JAPAN, REGION

MAGNITUDE: mb 6.5

Data provided by: GFZ INGV LDG LJU NEWS NOR ODC RNS SED THE

Latitude = 42.78 N

Longitude = 144.76 E

Origin Time = 02:36:54.8 (UTC)

Depth = 33 Km

RMS = 0.59 sec

Gap = 322 degrees

95% confidence ellipse: - Semi major = 47.7 Km

- Semi minor = 20.8 Km

- Azimuth of major axis = 147 degrees

Number of data used = 184

Preliminary location computed on Mon Sep 29 03:20:12 2003 (UTC)

Done by Remy Bossu

Comments : Message number: 205

All magnitudes estimations :

mb6.6 (GFZ) M 6.2 (INGV) mb6.2 (LDG) mb5.7 (NEWS)

mb6.5 (NOR)

mb6.5 (ODC) mb5.7 (RNS) mb6.3 (SED)


Two Earthquakes Hit Northern Japan

Tuesday October 7, 2003 8:46 AM

By KENJI HALL

Associated Press Writer

TOKYO (AP) - Two fairly strong earthquakes rattled the northern Japan island of Hokkaido on Tuesday as experts warned the fault that caused the world's strongest quake in 2 years has not expended all of its pent-up energy.

The quakes early Tuesday were the most recent to hit Hokkaido since last month's magnitude-8 temblor there left more than 700 people injured.

The first, of magnitude 4.8, occurred around 1:28 a.m. off Hokkaido's remote southeastern coast, about 525 miles north of Tokyo, Japan's Meteorological Agency said. The second, magnitude 5.6, hit off the eastern coast three hours later, it said.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

But a researcher at the Japan Marine Science and Technology Center predicted Tuesday that the region could be hit again by a quake of similar destructive power to the one that slammed Hokkaido on Sept. 27.

That tremor - the world's strongest seismic jolt since a magnitude-8.4 temblor that killed 74 people in Peru in June 2001 - damaged homes and roads, leaving about 756 people injured, 59 seriously. Two fishermen were missing and believed to have been swept away by tsunami waves, some as high as 13 feet.

Using seismic sensors to pinpoint the epicenter of last month's temblor, marine researcher Kenji Hirata said his team found that the undersea fault where it occurred appears to have only partially collapsed, releasing just a fraction of the energy it unleashed during a quake 30 years earlier.

More crumbling along the 60-mile fault, where two tectonic plates collide, could generate a magnitude-7.5 quake and tsunami of at least 13 feet to 23 feet tall, Hirata said.

``It's impossible to know for sure if or when this might happen,'' he said in a telephone interview from a conference where he was presenting his findings.

Japan sits atop four tectonic plates - or slabs of the earth's surface - and is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries.

Guardian Unlimited © Guardian


EARTHQUAKE on 08/10/2003 at 09:06 (UTC)

HOKKAIDO, JAPAN, REGION

MAGNITUDE: mb 6.1

Data provided by: BUC GFZ INGV IRSA LDG LED LJU MAD NEWS NOR ODC RNS SED

Latitude = 43.31 N

Longitude = 144.70 E

Origin Time = 09:06:58.7 (UTC)

Depth = 33 Km

RMS = 0.85 sec

Gap = 314 degrees

95% confidence ellipse: - Semi major = 42.4 Km

- Semi minor = 28.3 Km

- Azimuth of major axis = 164 degrees

Number of data used = 195

Preliminary location computed on Wed Oct 8 09:53:53 2003 (UTC)

Done by Jocelyn GUILBERT

Comments : Message number: 210

All magnitudes estimations :

mb6.6 (GFZ) mb6.1 (LDG) mb5.8 (LED) mb5.9 (MAD)

mb5.7 (NEWS) mb5.7 (NEWS) mb6.1 (NOR)

mb6.1 (ODC) mb5.8 (RNS) mb6.3 (SED)


Strong earthquake hits northern Japan

ASSOCIATED PRESS

TOKYO, Oct. 8 — A strong earthquake shook Japan's northern island of Hokkaido on Wednesday — the fourth large tremor to jolt the region in two days, and the latest since a powerful quake injured more than 700 people less than two weeks ago.

There were no immediate reports of major damage from the magnitude 6.3 quake.

The latest quake struck at 6:07 p.m. (5:07 a.m. EDT) about 30 miles under the ocean floor just off the island's eastern coast, Japan's Meteorological Agency said. There was no danger of tsunami, a potentially dangerous ocean wave triggered by seismic activity, it said.

''It shook a little,'' said Makoto Hara, a police spokesman in Nemuro, a city on the eastern coast of the island. ''But it wasn't big enough to send things falling off shelves.''

He added there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage in his district but police had dispatched a patrol car to survey the area.

A magnitude 5.1earthquake struck the same area at 2:41 a.m. Wednesday (1:41 p.m. EDT Tuesday).

The quakes come a day after two similar temblors, including one of magnitude 5.6, rattled the region, and followed a new warning that a major fault line in the area still has pent-up energy to release.

A researcher at the Japan Marine Science and Technology Center predicted the region could be hit by a quake similar to the magnitude 8 one that slammed Hokkaido on Sept. 27.

That quake damaged homes and roads, leaving 756 people injured, 59 seriously. Two fishermen were believed to have been swept away by tsunami waves as high as 13 feet.

Using seismic sensors to assess an undersea fault, the researcher said the Sept. 27 quake hadn't expended all the energy built up there, and that another magnitude 7.5 quake is possible.

A magnitude 5 quake can damage buildings; a magnitude 7 is capable of causing widespread, massive damage. Japan sits atop four tectonic plates and is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries.

© 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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