At 11.46am, an earthquake measuring 7.2 on the richter scale hit the north-east coast of Japan. The epicentre of the quake was believed to be 20km below the ocean. Tsunamis warnings were issued but lifted 90 minutes after the quake. Two small tsunamis were triggered but measured on 4inches high. Japan suffers from regular earthquakes and as such is an earthquake savy nation, being well prepared for the event of an earthquake. As it stands up to 80 are believed to be injured although there have been no reports of fatalities. In a less well prepared country, an earthquake of this size would have had a much greater impact.

Article Entry - 16th August 2005

Follow up Links:

Earthquake Rocks Northern Japan (BBC News)

Earthquake Hits Japan (Guardian)

Other sites of interest:

How Earthquakes Happen

Japan's Earthquake Watch

In Pictures - Kobe 10 years on

Syllabus Links:

Year 12 – Unit 1 Physical Environments: Plate Tectonics - how earthquakes occur

Year 13 – Unit 6 Synoptic Paper: Hazards - impact on people and variations in hazard impact according to a countries level of development