A patch of heavy rain might force you to change your plans for a few days. But for the residents of a few Japanese districts, torrential showers have begun to shake up a little more than their daily itineraries, a new bit of shocking research has shown.<br /><br />A groundbreaking study has found that certain <keyword id="20097135" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="weather-phenomena" source="keywords">weather phenomena</keyword> — particularly heavy snowfall and rain — might have been secretly inducing a flurry of <keyword id="19916432" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="earthquakes" source="keywords">earthquakes</keyword> in some parts of northern Japan in the past few years. This is the first time scientists have found that our weather can have a noticeable effect on <keyword id="20314127" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="seismic-activity" source="keywords">seismic activity</keyword>.<br /><br />These quakes occurred in Japan's <keyword id="20053808" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Noto-Peninsula" source="keywords">Noto Peninsula</keyword>, where a series of ongoing seismic events have rattled communities since late 2020. Earthquakes typically start off as a localised main shock — typically the effect of <keyword id="21643577" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="tectonic-activity" source="keywords">tectonic activity</keyword> — followed by some aftershocks. However, Noto’s quakes were spread all around, meaning that it didn’t seem like there was a main trigger to them.<br /><br />Surprisingly enough, the researchers found that these quakes often coincided with heavy precipitation events, particularly when there was intense snowfall activity. This prompted the authors to look into a potential link between the two phenomena.<br /><br />To get to the bottom of this mystery, the scientists simulated how seasonal precipitation alters pore fluid pressure within the Earth's bedrock. <keyword id="21643576" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="pore-pressure" source="keywords">Pore pressure</keyword> refers to pressure exerted by groundwater when it is trapped within the tiny pores in rock or soil.<br /><br />"When it rains or snows, that adds weight, which increases pore pressure, which allows <keyword id="21287585" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="seismic-waves" source="keywords">seismic waves</keyword> to travel through slower," study author <keyword id="21643578" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="william-frank" source="keywords">William Frank</keyword> explains. "When all that weight is removed, through evaporation or runoff, all of a sudden, that pore pressure decreases and seismic waves are faster."<br /><br />They found that pore pressure within these Nota Peninsular rocks were being supercharged at some seasonal point, usually during extreme snowfall events. These moments of excess pressure often coincided with the earthquake swarms, meaning that they could be contributing to the tremors.<br /><br />"When we first want to understand how earthquakes work, we look to plate tectonics, because that is and will always be the number one reason why an earthquake happens," Frank says. "But, what are the other things that could affect when and how an earthquake happens? That's when you start to go to second-order controlling factors, and the climate is obviously one of those."<br /><br />As Earth's climate evolves, with projections of more extreme weather events due to <keyword id="19942740" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="global-warming" source="keywords">global warming</keyword>, understanding the nuances of this climate-earthquake nexus becomes increasingly crucial.<br /><br />The findings of this research have been published in <em>Science Advances </em>and can be accessed <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.ado1469" data-type="tilCustomLink">here</a>.<br />

As rain and snow events become more intense, so could our earthquakes, study finds

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Japan's Noto Peninsula has newly exposed beaches due to the earthquake that struck Monday.</li><li>The quake raised land along the coast, extending the coastline by up to 820 feet in some places.</li></ul><p>According to satellite imagery, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/japan-braces-16ft-tsunami-after-struck-powerful-earthquakes-waves-wajima-2024-1">Japan's Noto Peninsula</a> was rattled and slightly enlarged when a 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck on January 1.</p><p>Preliminary <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/space-photos-show-japan-earthquake-destruction-2024-1">satellite analysis</a> and on-the-ground surveys have found that the earthquake raised land along the coast — a process called uplift — by as much as 4 meters, roughly 13 feet.</p><div type="image" title="people on a platform beside the sea with a clear water line about 12 feet above the ocean and newly exposed sea floor covered in algae and muck beside it" height="865" width="1298" msid="106586120" hostid="261" sizebytes="151776"></div><p>That means the sea floor along the coast has now risen above the water in many places on the Noto Peninsula, creating newly exposed beaches.</p><div type="image" title="two satellite images of the same coastline before and after new coast land rose out of the ocean" height="1500" width="2000" msid="106586121" hostid="261" sizebytes="114170"></div><p>In some places, the earthquake extended the coastline by as much as 250 meters, or about 820 feet, according to a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.eri.u-tokyo.ac.jp/eq/20465/">statement</a> from the University of Tokyo. That's about the length of 2.2 American football fields.</p><div type="image" title="gif alternates between two gray satellite images showing new land appearing along a coastline" height="311" width="538" msid="106586122" hostid="261" sizebytes="16992"></div><p><span>Locals fishing in a bay on the peninsula reported that "the entire coastline was uplifted at the time of the </span><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/japan-earthquake-tsunami-satellite-photos-2024-1"><span>earthquake</span></a><span>, that the uplift in the bay occurred at the same time as the earthquake, and that the tsunami in the bay did not run up to the raised port," the university's statement said, according to a Google translation from Japanese to English.</span></p><div type="image" title="wide beach with dry grass extending to bare sand with a wall of black barriers with more bare sand beyond with puddles of water here and there before reaching the ocean" height="974" width="1299" msid="106586123" hostid="261" sizebytes="181936"></div><p>The Geospatial Information Authority of Japan <a target="_blank" href="https://www.gsi.go.jp/uchusokuchi/20240101noto_pwr.html">published</a> a preliminary satellite analysis of the Noto Peninsula. Comparing satellite images from June 2023 with images from the days after the earthquake, the agency identified multiple regions where new coastline has emerged.</p><p>The university said its investigation along the coast was ongoing.</p>

Space photos show Japan's 7.6-magnitude earthquake lifted land out of the sea, extending parts of its coastline by as much as 2 football fields

<ul class="summary-list"><li>An Eeyore performer at Tokyo Disneyland is going viral for staying in character during an emergency.</li><li>The actor was videoed calming visitors down during an earthquake warning on Monday.</li></ul><p>Japan's had a rough start to the year, with a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/japan-airlines-plane-crash-earthquake-relief-coast-guard-2024-1">fiery plane collision at the Tokyo airport</a> on Tuesday and a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/japan-braces-16ft-tsunami-after-struck-powerful-earthquakes-waves-wajima-2024-1">slew of tsunami-risk earthquakes slamming the archipelago's west</a> the day before.</p><p>But at least it's got this Disneyland actor, who was videoed staying fully in character as park visitors steeled themselves for an earthquake.</p><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/C1k-P4RhCY5/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14" style=" background:#FFF; 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font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;">View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"><div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style=" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"></div></div></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"></div></div></a><p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/C1k-P4RhCY5/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Jason Hill (@jasnhill)</a></p></div></blockquote> <p>The clip was shot by Jason Hill, a Disney and travel enthusiast who visited Disneyland's Tokyo park earlier this week.</p><p>Dozens of park visitors can be seen crouching next to shops and attractions as an announcer urged people to "prepare for a strong earthquake."</p><p>Amid the tense crowds, our heroic actor, dressed in an Eeyore suit, attempted to calm visitors down while bobbing up and down in character.</p><p>Hill's clip has since gone viral, with over 14 million views on Instagram, and was flooded with praise for the actor's dedication.</p><p>Disney did not respond to a request for comment asking if its park performers are trained or expected to interact with guests in character during an emergency.</p><p>Performing standards for <a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/disney-parks-fur-character-questions-answered-2022-4">Disneyland's character performers</a> have long been scrutinized by hardcore fans of the House of Mouse. These actors are typically expected never to break character.</p><p>The strongest earthquake recorded on Monday <a target="_blank" href="https://earthquaketrack.com/jp-40-urayasu/recent">measured 7.6 in magnitude</a>, with its epicenter in the Noto peninsula of the Ishikawa Prefecture, about 185 miles from Tokyo Disneyland.</p>

It turns out Tokyo Disneyland actors stay in character even during tense earthquake warnings

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Japan is still coping with the aftermath of a powerful earthquake earlier this month.</li><li>With its history of natural disasters, Japan is one of the countries best prepared for emergencies.</li></ul><p>Japan's Noto Peninsula is reeling from its most powerful earthquake in a century, but the death toll is remarkably low.</p><p>The 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck the peninsula in central Japan on January 1, violently rattling buildings, triggering landslides, starting fires, and even forcing land upward to create new beaches on the coast.</p><p>Such quakes can be incomprehensibly deadly. When a pair of tremors of similar magnitude <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/turkey-syria-earthquake-death-toll-disaster-of-the-century-2023-2">hit Turkey and Syria</a> last year, the disaster resulted in at least 56,000 deaths. In 2010 in Haiti, a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-haiti-gets-earthquakes-tectonic-plates-2021-8">7.0 earthquake</a> and its aftershocks killed up to 300,000 people. In 2005, a 7.6 quake killed at least 79,000 <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/massive-earthquake-strikes-afghanistan-2015-10">in Pakistan</a>.</p><p>As of Friday, however, the death toll from Japan's latest temblor was 94 people, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/japan-accept-earthquake-relief-us-only-nikkei-2024-01-05/">Reuters</a> reported.</p><p>It's no coincidence. Just look at the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/photos-show-damage-of-japans-2011-disaster-2016-3">mega-disaster Japan experienced</a> in 2011, much bigger than this latest quake. That March, a 9.0-magnitude earthquake <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/r-special-report-tsunami-evacuees-caught-in-30-billion-money-trap-2014-10">triggered a tsunami</a> and a nuclear power-plant meltdown.</p><p>While over 18,000 people died, the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2021/03/11/learning-from-megadisasters-a-decade-of-lessons-from-the-great-east-japan-earthquake-drmhubtokyo"><u>World Bank</u></a> noted that Japan's history of preparedness helped many evacuate and likely saved lives.</p><p>The situation on the Noto Peninsula is dire, to be sure. The January 1 quake may have been the strongest one felt in the region in over 100 years, according to <a target="_blank" href="https://affiliate.insider.com?h=78c307dc166559a9feb42cd4ed0c915313e37c21a03e940f84ae266fbd02e1d3&amp;postID=6597228fa62cdd3ed8f380bd&amp;postSlug=japan-earthquake-safety-disaster-preparedness-2024-1&amp;site=bi&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nature.com%2Farticles%2Fd41586-024-00010-1"><u>Nature</u></a>. Over 200 people are unaccounted for and 30 villages remain inaccessible, while the rubble-ridden Wajima city is short of food and water for roughly 11,000 evacuees sheltering there, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/japan-quake-death-toll-rises-73-search-survivors-enters-fourth-day-2024-01-04/">Reuters reported</a>.</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/earthquake-osaka-japan-2018-6">Japan's quake resilience</a> isn't perfect, but experts say the nation is doing some things right: investing in infrastructure, enforcing strict building codes, and training its citizenry.</p><p>"Japan has lessons that they can give to everyone," Daniel Aldrich, a professor of political science and public policy at Northeastern University who studies disasters and civil society, told Business Insider.</p><h2>Japan invests in its buildings</h2><p>Japan sits on four tectonic plates, making it an extremely <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ap-magnitude-66-earthquake-hits-northern-japan-near-major-city-2018-9">seismically active country</a>. The plates' constant grinding can cause 1,500 earthquakes a year. As a result, Japan has been honing its earthquake preparedness for many decades.</p><p>After a series of natural disasters following World War II, Japan enacted the Disaster Countermeasures Basic Act in 1961, which increased its investment and planning around earthquakes and floods.</p><p>Japan now has some of the strictest building codes of any country in the world, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/12/world/asia/12codes.html"><u>The New York Times</u></a> reported after the 2011 earthquake. Through decades of studying how the country's temblors affect its buildings, Japanese engineers have homed in on quake-resilient construction.</p><p>Japan designs new buildings to rock side to side with an earthquake's movement, rather than staying still and letting that movement stress the structure.</p><p>In tall buildings, giant pads made of rubber and steel help absorb some of the shaking from earthquakes, as do hydraulic shock absorbers. Many older structures were retrofitted to withstand disasters better.</p><p>However, sometimes surviving the quake itself isn't enough. For example, BBC News reported that many older wooden structures in Wajima went up in flames after a fire broke out following the 2024 earthquake.</p><p>Of course, Japan's wealth gives it an advantage over other quake-stricken countries. However, some of its seismic safety is more about mindset than money.</p><h2>Japan maintains a culture of emergency preparedness</h2><p>September 1 is Disaster Prevention Day in Japan. Officials designated the day in 1960 to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/disneyland-tokyo-eeyore-performer-stays-character-during-earthquake-warning-2024-1">prepare citizens for emergencies</a>.</p><p>When he lived in Japan, Aldrich said he and his neighbors ran comprehensive drills for the day each year, practicing tourniquets, slings for broken arms, and how to spray house fires with a hose.</p><p>"Wherever you are in Japan, everyone has those drills," including children, Aldrich said. The government constantly communicates their importance," Aldrich said, adding, "Are you ready? What have you done? Do you know your neighbors? Can you help in a disaster? What skills can you bring?"</p><div type="image" title="Visitors crouch under a pink structure as an earthquake hit the region at Universal Studios Japan in Osaka in 2024" height="1500" width="2181" msid="106584886" hostid="261" sizebytes="449920"></div><p>Students participate in earthquake drills, and the government conducts simulations to test its readiness. The government also recommends people keep an emergency kit ready at all times.</p><p>That's crucial to survival because affected regions can be cut off from emergency services for days after a disaster, just as much of the Noto Peninsula is now.</p><p>In those cases, Aldrich said, your neighbors are your first responders. In over a decade of researching disasters, he's found that social relationships are a major predictor of survival. He said that community earthquake drills teach people what to do and help them trust their neighbors.</p><p>In 2007, the Japan Meteorological Society launched its "Earthquake Early Warning System" (EEWS). The J-Alert system can also broadcast to TVs, radios, and cellphones.</p><p>Tokyo even has a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jun/02/japan-vending-machines-to-automatically-offer-free-food-if-earthquake-hits"><u>radio-equipped vending machine</u></a> that sounds an alarm to park-goers.</p><div type="image" title="Workers stand on a road where a car is stuck on a broken road after an earthquake in Japan" height="1500" width="2000" msid="106584887" hostid="261" sizebytes="286896"></div><p>Warnings come through a few seconds to a few minutes before the quake hits, giving people some time to get to a safer location. They're also crucial for rail travel. Japan Railways trains automatically halt when the earthquake detection system kicks in.</p><p>In 2022, a bullet train derailed after a 7.4-magnitude quake, but none of the 78 passengers and crew were seriously injured, <a target="_blank" href="https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2022/03/f2bf62a8bb81-quake-hit-bullet-train-services-to-fully-resume-around-april-20.html">Kyodo News</a> reported. The train slowed significantly from its typical speed of up to 186 miles per hour, according to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/03/18/national/tohoku-train-derailment-shinkansen/">The Japan Times</a>.</p><h2>Japan installs resilient infrastructure</h2><p>Much like its buildings, Japan has the experience and the money to fortify its infrastructure against earthquakes.</p><p>During that <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/japanese-economic-disaster-impact-2011-3">2011 disaster</a>, rapid response teams were able to quickly repair roads to help move supplies and assistance to affected areas. In one case, a torn-apart road took only six days to fix, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/mar/24/japan-disaster-reconstruction-road-recovery"><u>The Guardian</u></a> reported.</p><div type="image" title="Japan earthquake" height="1286" width="1715" msid="106584890" hostid="261" sizebytes="133282"></div><p>A 2021 World Bank report said the country learned several lessons from the 2011 disasters, from improving water supply infrastructure to fortifying backups to the undersea cables that power the internet.</p><p>Aldrich said the biggest lesson was in revamping nuclear plant safety regulations.</p><p>After the 2011 Fukushima meltdown, Japan was slow to restart using nuclear power. The Japan Times reported that 10 of its 33 reactors are in operation after being shut down over a decade ago.</p><p>Experts are also concerned about the possibility of a very large "megaquake" occurring sometime in the next four decades, per <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jun/02/japan-vending-machines-to-automatically-offer-free-food-if-earthquake-hits"><u>The Guardian</u></a>. In 2020 a Japanese government panel <a target="_blank" href="https://www.thesun.ie/news/5352026/japan-predicts-mega-earthquake-100ft-tsunami-obliterate-fukushima-plant/">warned</a> that another large tsunami could inundate the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/japan-release-fukushima-nuclear-disaster-radioactive-wastewater-treated-safe-2023-8">Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant</a> at any time.</p><h2>The double disaster of a tsunami</h2><div type="image" title="A massive tsunami wave rushing over trees and houses in Natori, Miyagi Prefecture in northeastern Japan in 2011" height="1500" width="2351" msid="106584891" hostid="261" sizebytes="643428"></div><p>One of the reasons an earthquake in Japan can be so dangerous is the possibility of tsunamis.</p><p>During the 1980s and '90s, Japan constructed seawalls to hold back gigantic waves. But in 2011, a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.npr.org/2011/07/05/137611026/what-went-wrong-in-fukushima-the-human-factor"><u>40-foot tsunami</u></a> rushed over the 19-foot seawall at the Fukushima plant. The plant suffered a meltdown as a result.</p><p>Despite a long history of disasters, the country wasn't fully prepared for the tsunami that developed following the 2011 earthquake, according to a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2212420912000027"><u>2012 report</u></a>.</p><p>In some areas, buoys outfitted with sensors monitor for tsunamis. As with earthquake alerts, the Japan Meteorological Agency uses TV, radio, and mobile phones to distribute the warnings. Sirens also sound, often giving people several minutes of warning that a wave may strike.</p><p>In contrast, the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami hit a number of islands with no formal warning system and resulted in over 200,000 deaths, per <a target="_blank" href="https://www.noaa.gov/jetstream/2004tsu_max">NOAA</a>.</p><p>According to the World Bank, historical knowledge may have helped save lives during Japan's 2011 tsunami. Some survivors knew how far waters could encroach due to stone markers residents had placed after earlier tsunamis. Some of the monuments are hundreds of years old.</p>

Japan takes earthquake safety seriously. Here's how its culture of preparedness keeps so many people alive.

<div type="image" title="A screengrab from a video show people sitting on the ground that is cracked in a city in Japan after an earthquake hit Wajima, Ishikawa prefecture, Japan." height="2447" width="3263" msid="106454103" hostid="261"></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>Japan issued tsunami alerts after a series of powerful earthquakes.</li><li>Quakes hit from 2 a.m. ET Monday off the coast of Ishikawa, one of them with a magnitude of 7.6.</li></ul><p>Japan has issued <a target="_blank" href="https://www.jma.go.jp/bosai/map.html#5/39.079/136.846/&amp;elem=warn&amp;contents=tsunami&amp;lang=en">tsunami warnings and evacuation orders</a> after a series of powerful earthquakes hit the country overnight, destroying buildings and disrupting electricity and cellphone services.</p><p>Waves could reach up to about 10 feet (five meters), according to the Japanese Meteorological Agency, which urged people to flee to high land.</p><p>Japanese public broadcaster NHK TV had previously reported waves were expected to reach up to 16.5 feet (five meters), but the predictions have now been downgraded. Evacuation orders are still in effect, per NHK TV.</p><p>"We realize your home, your belongings are all precious to you, but your lives are important above everything else. Run to the highest ground possible," an NHK presenter said, according to the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-67855990">BBC</a>.</p><p>It comes after the Japan Meteorological Agency reported 21 earthquakes registering 4.0 magnitude or stronger struck central Japan in just over 90 minutes on Monday. One of them had an estimated magnitude of 7.6.</p><p>Videos broadcast on Japanese TV appear to show cracks in roads, subway trains shaking and buildings collapsing.</p><p>The agency added there is a 10 to 20% chance more earthquakes of similar magnitude could hit within the next few days.</p><div type="image" title="a map shows areas that are under tsunami warning in Japan on January 1." height="1144" width="2356" msid="106455234" hostid="261" sizebytes="85816"></div><p>Japan has a history of devastating tsunamis. A<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/photos-show-damage-of-japans-2011-disaster-2016-3"> tsunami</a> that hit Japan in 2011 following a 9.0 magnitude earthquake caused the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster and the death of more than <a target="_blank" rel=" nofollow" href="https://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-fukushima-nuclear-cleanup-20150311-story.html"><u>18,000 people.</u></a></p><p>Waves during that tsunami reached heights up to almost 130 feet.</p><p>Government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi said that nuclear plants in the area had not yet reported any problems. He added that it was critical for people in coastal areas to get away from the oncoming tsunami.</p><p>"Every minute counts. Please evacuate to a safe area immediately," he said.</p><p>The city of Wajima in Ishikawa prefecture has already reported tsunami waves of almost four feet, according to NHK. Toyama prefecture, and Kashiwazaki, Niigata prefecture, also reported smaller tsunami waves.</p><p>Warnings of waves up to a meter three feet high were also issued for parts of North Korea and Russia. Russian officials issued a tsunami alert for the island of Sakhalin.</p><p>Officials of Ishikawa Prefecture's Suzu City have confirmed that several houses and power poles have been brought down by a local earthquake, which registered at 7.4 in magnitude, <a target="_blank" href="https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20240101_18/">per NKH TV</a>.</p><p>Around 33,000 households are without power with temperatures forecast to drop to 33 degrees Fahrenheit, NKH TV reported.</p><p>Six people are thought to be stuck under rubble in collapsed houses on the Noto Peninsula, and no information has been released on their condition, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/jan/01/japan-tsunami-earthquake-warning-latest-updates-live#maincontent">per The Guardian</a>. Multiple people were also reported to be trapped in collapsed houses in Suzu, Ishikawa, per NHK TV.</p><p>Meanwhile, a fire has broken out in Wajima City, per The Guardian.</p><p>Small tsunami waves are common and cause little damage, but any waves with runups over one meter (3.28 feet) can be particularly dangerous to people living near coastal areas, per the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.noaa.gov/jetstream/tsunamis/tsunami-dangers">US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration website</a>.</p><p>The force of the waves themselves can cause substantial damage, but tsunamis are also dangerous because they cause flooding, erosion, and strong currents that can drag people out to sea. They can also bring in floating debris like trees and cars, that can act like battering rams, per NOAA.</p><p>The Japan Meteorological Agency had previously issued a "major tsunami warning" for Noto, Ishikawa Prefecture, warning of waves as high as 16 feet. This has since been downgraded to a "tsunami warning."</p><p><em>Update January 1, 2023: The story has been updated to reflect the latest advisory from the Japanese Meteorological Agency. Tsunami waves are now expected to hit 10 feet (3 meters) in height, rather than 16 feet. </em></p>

Japan is bracing for a tsunami with waves as high as 10 feet after more than 20 earthquakes hit in just over 90 minutes

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A powerful earthquake that struck Japan this week killed dozens and destroyed roads and buildings.</li><li>The 7.6-magnitude quake was powerful, but nothing compared to the magnitude 9.0 that struck in 2011.</li></ul><p>Over 20 powerful <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/japan-braces-16ft-tsunami-after-struck-powerful-earthquakes-waves-wajima-2024-1">earthquakes hit Japan's</a> Noto Peninsula on January 1, including one with a magnitude of 7.6, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.</p><p>So far, at least 84 people have been killed and thousands are without power or have evacuated their homes. While this is one of the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biggest-earthquakes-ever-2011-3">most powerful earthquakes</a><strong> </strong>Japan has experienced this century, it's not the most powerful in history.</p><p>That notorious title goes to the great Sendai earthquake — a devastating 9.0-magnitude temblor that struck offshore in 2011 and triggered a tsunami that killed more than 18,000 and led to the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/inside-abandoned-fukushima-hospitals-12-years-after-nuclear-disaster-2023-4"><u>Fukushima Power Plant</u></a> meltdown.</p><p>Both the 2024 and 2011 earthquakes caused catastrophic damage on such massive scales that could be seen from space. The following photos show satellite imagery from both quakes.</p><h2>Homes and buildings seemed to disappear in Ishinomaki in 2011.</h2><p>The epicenter of the 2011 earthquake triggered a massive tsunami that destroyed the northeast coast of Japan. Ishinomaki, shown below, witnessed waves as high as 32 feet tall, according to the <a target="_blank" href="http://itic.ioc-unesco.org/index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=article&amp;id=1949:2011-japan-tsunami-before-after-photos&amp;catid=2044&amp;Itemid=2365"><u>International Tsunami Information Center</u></a>.</p><div type="image" title="Before and after images of the 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami with many buildings gone in Ishinomaki" height="3000" width="3000" msid="106554123" hostid="261" sizebytes="1473498"></div><h2>Sendai's airport was damaged as a result of the 2011 disasters.</h2><p>It took about a month for Sendai's airport, shown below, to reopen after the 2011 tsunami, according to the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/incidents/gallery1.html">Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan</a>.</p><div type="image" title="Before and after of the Sendai airport after the 2011 tsunami" height="3000" width="3000" msid="106554124" hostid="261" sizebytes="657678"></div><h2>The 2011 tsunami caused severe flooding near Natori Port.</h2><p>During the 2011 tsunami, waves reached as high as 130 feet, according to the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/day-2011-japan-earthquake-and-tsunami"><u>National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration</u></a>. Water flooded fields near Natori Port, shown below.</p><div type="image" title="Before and after image of Natori Port after the 2011 tsunami" height="3000" width="3000" msid="106554125" hostid="261" sizebytes="986732"></div><h2>Following the 2011 tsunami, the Fukushima Daiichi Power Plant melted down.</h2><p>Though the plant automatically shut down its reactors and turned on the generators to keep the reactors cool, a 46-foot wave flooded the plant. The generators shut off, and the reactors overheated and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-56252695"><u>partially melted</u></a> the cores, according to the BBC.</p><div type="image" title="A before and after image of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant after the 2011 tsunami" height="3000" width="3000" msid="106554126" hostid="261" sizebytes="1004898"></div><h2>During the 2024 earthquake, buildings and homes were leveled in Wajima.</h2><p>A fire following the earthquake engulfed wooden stalls and homes in the fishing town of Wajima, per <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-67872944">the BBC</a>.</p><div type="image" title="On the left is an aerial view of a Japanese city before a major earthquake. On the right, is an aerial view of the same region after the earthquake, showing massive destruction to homes and roads." height="963" width="2765" msid="106554129" hostid="261" sizebytes="459584"></div><h2>Boats capsized off the coast of Suzu City when the 2024 earthquake hit.</h2><p>Japan issued tsunami warnings after the January 1 quake, and a small one hit Suzu, the BBC reported. Waves were as high as 4 feet in some areas, per <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/03/japan-earthquake-death-toll-emergency-warnings-landslide-aftershock-ishikawa">The Guardian</a>. Smaller aftershocks continued to shake the peninsula in the days following.</p><div type="image" title="Capsized boats and damaged buildings in Suzu City after a powerful earthquake hit Japan." height="4752" width="8000" msid="106554130" hostid="261" sizebytes="1328284"></div><h2>The 2024 earthquake also destroyed homes along the coastline.</h2><p>Due to its position on top of four tectonic plates, the area around Japan experiences about 18% of the world's earthquakes, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/01/03/japan-earthquake-reason-2024-tsunami/"><u>The Washington Post reported</u></a>.</p><p>This week's earthquake left thousands without power.</p><div type="image" title="Photo of a coastal town in Japan before and after a tsunami flooded it." height="957" width="2807" msid="106554131" hostid="261" sizebytes="203450"></div><h2>Roads cracked open as a result of the 2024 earthquake.</h2><p>The 2024 earthquake's epicenter was near Suzu. It lifted the ground as much as 13 feet in some areas.</p><div type="image" title="The left image shows a road in Japan destroyed by an earthquake. The right image is a satellite photo of a giant crack in the ground in Japan from the same earthquake." height="897" width="2828" msid="106554132" hostid="261" sizebytes="282644"></div><p>The total death toll and overall destruction from the 2024 quake are still unclear as rescuers scramble to save people trapped under rubble.</p><p>However, what is clear is that this event will claim a small fraction of lives compared to the 2011 quake.</p><p>The 2011 quake was significantly more powerful than the 2024 event and it occurred offshore, triggering a much larger tsunami that reached speeds of about <a target="_blank" href="https://sos.noaa.gov/catalog/datasets/tsunami-historical-series-japan-2011/">500 mph</a> as it traveled toward land.</p><p>Japan is known for its earthquake preparedness, helping save lives during these natural disasters.</p><p>For example, a similarly powerful 7.8-magnitude quake struck Turkey last February killing more than 50,000, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/03/01/world/turkey-syria-quake-50000/#:~:text=A%20devastating%20earthquake%20that%20struck,6%20earthquake.">The Japan Times</a> reported. Many of the country's old buildings don't meet modern codes, according to <a target="_blank" href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-2023-turkey-syria-earthquake-government-istanbul-fbd6af578a6056569879b5ef6c55d322">AP News</a>.</p>

Satellite photos of earthquakes in Japan in 2024 and 2011 show the destruction each left in its aftermath

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a2956ff3dbef4db018baa35-1500/japan%20ghost%20ship.jpg" border="0" alt="japan ghost ship" data-mce-source="Kyodo via Reuters" data-mce-caption="A wooden boat, which drifted ashore with eight partially skeletal bodies and was found by the Japan Coast Guard, is seen in Oga, Akita Prefecture, Japan, in this photo taken by Kyodo on November 27, 2017."><p class="source"><span>Kyodo via Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">The Japan Coast Guard found this wooden boat carrying eight partially skeletal bodies in Oga, western Japan, in November 2017.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div><ul><li><strong>An empty wooden vessel was found drifting off Japan's western coast earlier this week.</strong></li><li><strong>It was found floating in a rocky area around 164 feet off the island of Hokkaido.</strong></li><li><strong>Though it's not clear where the boat came from, town authorities think it may be from North Korea.</strong></li><li><strong>Dozens of "ghost ships" from North Korea have drifted on Japanese shores in the past.</strong></li></ul><hr><p><br>An empty, overturned wooden boat has been found drifting off Japan's western coast, and it could mark the start of another flood of "ghost ships" from North Korea to wash up on Japan's shores.</br></p><p>The vessel, measuring 8-meters (26-feet) long, was found floating in a rocky area off the island of Hokkaido on Wednesday afternoon, <a href="https://www.sankei.com/affairs/news/180712/afr1807120034-n1.html">Japan's&#xa0;Sankei Shimbun reported</a>.</p><p>An unidentified man spotted it while driving around the town of Matsumae-cho around 5:30 p.m. that day.</p><p>The Hokkaido Cultural Broadcasting TV station aired a photo of the boat on Thursday:</p><p>Although it's not clear where the boat came from, local media has reported town and maritime authorities as saying it could be from North Korea.</p><p>Local divers who examined the boat on Thursday morning, which by then had drifted about 50 meters (164 feet)&#xa0;off the Hokkaido coast, reported seeing neither crew members, nor writing, nor symbols indicating where it might come from.</p><p>But the shape and color of the boat found on Wednesday resembled other boats from North Korea that had drifted ashore in the past, <a href="https://www.sankei.com/affairs/news/180712/afr1807120034-n1.html">the Sankei Shimbun reported</a>, citing town authorities.</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5b48c064062a6b1a008b4a16-1200/hokkaido%20wooden%20ship%20sighting.jpg" border="0" alt="hokkaido wooden ship sighting" data-mce-source="Google Maps/Business Insider"><p class="source"><span>Google Maps/Business Insider</span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div><p><a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/north-korean-ghost-ships-in-japan-show-kim-jong-un-is-losing-control-2018-1">One hundred and four "ghost ships"</a> - vessels discovered with no living crew - were found along Japan's shores last year,&#xa0;the highest since authorities started collecting data in 2013. Many were found with dead bodies in them, whlie others were empty.</p><p>While Japanese authorities haven't been able to definitively identify the origins of the boats found last year, multiple factors have suggested that they were from North Korea.</p><p>A boat found on the island of Sado last November <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/ghost-ships-suspected-to-be-from-north-korea-showing-up-in-japan-2017-12">contained what appeared to be North Korean cigarette packets</a>, and jackets with Korean writing on them.</p><p>Two bodies recovered from another boat found in Yamagata prefecture in December also wore pins showing the face of Kim Il Sung, the grandfather of Kim Jong Un.</p><p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/565e281584307663008b69d3-2400/japan%20mystery%20boats_mill.jpg" border="0" alt="Japan Mystery Boats ship ghost" data-mce-source="Kyodo News via AP" data-mce-caption="This Nov. 29, 2015 photo shows a ship of unknown nationality in Wajima, Ishikawa prefecture, central Japan, after it was found in mid-November off Noto peninsula and was towed to the shore. Japanese authorities are investigating nearly a dozen wooden boats carrying decomposing bodies found drifting off the northwestern coast over the past month."><p class="source"><span>Kyodo News via AP</span></p><p class="caption">This ship was found drifting off Japan's Noto peninsula in November 2015.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div></span></p><p>It remains unclear exactly who&#xa0;those people were, or why they showed up in Japan. Experts have posited theories including <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/ghost-ships-suspected-to-be-from-north-korea-showing-up-in-japan-2017-12">food insecurity in North Korea</a>, Kim Jong Un's <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/north-korean-ghost-ships-in-japan-show-kim-jong-un-is-losing-control-2018-1">weakening security on his eastern coast</a>, and local fishermen being forced to travel beyond their limits due to annual quotas and a <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/north-korea-china-fishing-rights-deal-could-be-reason-for-ghost-ships-2017-12">fishing rights deal between North Korea and China</a>.</p><p><a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/without-diplomatic-relations-japan-struggles-with-north-korean-ghost-ships-2017-12">Japan has been struggling to deal with the remains</a>. Some cities want to send the remains back to North Korea, but that could prove difficult by the lack of diplomatic relations between the two countries.</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a33d4c94aa6b5b51a8b500a-1500/kim%20jong%20un%20fish%20farm.jpg" border="0" alt="kim jong un fish farm" data-mce-source="KCNA via Reuters" data-mce-caption="North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the Samchon Catfish Farm, in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang on February 21, 2017. KCNA/Handout via Reuters"><p class="source"><span>KCNA via Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">Kim Jong Un at a catfish farm in February 2017.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div><p>Jeffrey Kingston, the director of Asian studies at Temple University Japan, has urged caution on determining whether the ship found this week is from North Korea.</p><p>North Korea's fishing season typically runs from October to February, he previously told Business Insider, so seeing a vessel in Japanese waters in the summer appears to be an anomaly. The last report of a ghost ship sighting in Japan was <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/north-korean-ghost-ships-in-japan-show-kim-jong-un-is-losing-control-2018-1">this January</a>.</p><p>"Much unknown about this case so hard to draw implications," Kingston told Business Insider on Friday.</p><div><iframe width="800" height="440" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/qRLLamqayi8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/border-patrol-agents-us-mexico-border-video-2018-7">I spent a day with Border Patrol agents at the US-Mexico border</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/cix8xBqz-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div></hr>

You Searched For "Noto Peninsula" and got 7 results

As rain and snow events become more intense, so could our earthquakes, study finds

Ankush Banerjee

Space photos show Japan's 7.6-magnitude earthquake lifted land out of the sea, extending parts of its coastline by as much as 2 football fields

Morgan McFall-Johnsen

It turns out Tokyo Disneyland actors stay in character even during tense earthquake warnings

Matthew Loh

Japan takes earthquake safety seriously. Here's how its culture of preparedness keeps so many people alive.

Jenny McGrath,Morgan McFall-Johnsen

Japan is bracing for a tsunami with waves as high as 10 feet after more than 20 earthquakes hit in just over 90 minutes

Marianne Guenot

Satellite photos of earthquakes in Japan in 2024 and 2011 show the destruction each left in its aftermath

Jenny McGrath

An empty wooden ship washed up in Japan - and it looks like another mysterious North Korean 'ghost ship'

Alexandra Ma