World Quake Shifted Japan; Towns Now Flood at High Tide

[Sundowner]

Ummm...Wow..just.....WOW.

Regards,
Sun

ISHINOMAKI, Japan –  When water begins to trickle down the streets of her coastal neighborhood, Yoshiko Takahashi knows it is time to hurry home.

Twice a day, the flow steadily increases until it is knee-deep, carrying fish and debris by her front door and trapping people in their homes. Those still on the streets slosh through the sea water in rubber boots or on bicycle.

"I look out the window, and it's like our houses are in the middle of the ocean," says Takahashi, who moved in three years ago.

The March 11 earthquake that hit eastern Japan was so powerful it pulled the entire country out and down into the sea. The mostly devastated coastal communities now face regular flooding, because of their lower elevation and damage to sea walls from the massive tsunamis triggered by the quake.

In port cities such as Onagawa and Kesennuma, the tide flows in and out among crumpled homes and warehouses along now uninhabited streets.

A cluster of neighborhoods in Ishinomaki city is rare in that it escaped tsunami damage through fortuitous geography. So, many residents still live in their homes, and they now face a daily trial: The area floods at high tide, and the normally sleepy streets turn frantic as residents rush home before the water rises too high.

"I just try to get all my shopping and chores done by 3 p.m.," says Takuya Kondo, 32, who lives with his family in his childhood home.

Most houses sit above the water's reach, but travel by car becomes impossible and the sewage system swamps, rendering toilets unusable.

Scientists say the new conditions are permanent..........

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/05/09/quake-shifted-japan-towns-flood-high-tide/#ixzz1LuZUf8Xa

[SFRT - Frenchy]

    poor bastards.

[oakranger]

Why couldn't this happen to parts of California? 

[Karnak]

Why couldn't this happen to parts of California? 

Can't speak to southern California, but northern California is in an uplift situation where a large movement of the Pacific plate being shoved under causes California to be lifted higher.  You can see the hill pattern this creates pretty clearly in the coastal areas of northern California where I grew up.

[oakranger]

Can't speak to southern California, but northern California is in an uplift situation where a large movement of the Pacific plate being shoved under causes California to be lifted higher.  You can see the hill pattern this creates pretty clearly in the coastal areas of northern California where I grew up.

So, when the big one hits Cal, we will see the gound liquefied and slid into the ocean.

[Stoney]

So, when the big one hits Cal, we will see the gound liquefied and slid into the ocean.

Well, one interesting characteristic of the Cali situation is that in something like 6 million years, L.A. will be a suburb of San Fran.  Pretty amazing what Mother Nature is capable of...

[Pigslilspaz]

Don't say that! I couldn't get far enough from LA if I wanted.  (No offense to you folks out there, only had bad experiences while in SoCal)

[100Coogn]

Guess the grass ain't greener on the other side.
Suppose I'll just tuff out the Michigan weather...

Coogan

[Karnak]

So, when the big one hits Cal, we will see the gound liquefied and slid into the ocean.

Of course not.  Where do you get such absurd ideas?

Was Japan "liquefied"?  Why would California be "liquefied"?  It isn't like California hasn't had absolutely massive quakes in the past.

[Saxman]

Blahblahblahblah California. You do realize that the faults in California are chump change compared to New Madrid, right? If New Madrid ever REALLY went off, the entire country could be torn apart along the Mississippi River valley. That's not just a fault over here, New Madrid is a full-on rift zone.

[Shuffler]

Amazing what happens in those tumultuous few seconds of a powerful quake.




New Madrid???  What about the molten rock under Yellowstone National Park. The large rolling hills southwest of there were created by huge amounts of water from the last time that erupted. Another game changer from Mother Nature.

[ImADot]

What about the molten rock under Yellowstone National Park. The large rolling hills southwest of there were created by huge amounts of water from the last time that erupted. Another game changer from Mother Nature.

Yep...
Researchers report the super-volcano underneath the state of Wyoming has been rising at a record rate since 2004. Its floor has gone up three inches per year for the last three years indicating the fastest rate since records began in 1923.  Yellowstone Lake has been moving to the south...

[Yossarian]

Yep...
Researchers report the super-volcano underneath the state of Wyoming has been rising at a record rate since 2004. Its floor has gone up three inches per year for the last three years indicating the fastest rate since records began in 1923.  Yellowstone Lake has been moving to the south...

I wouldn't worry too much, the magma's still about 10 kilometers beneath the surface.

To quote this:

"At the beginning we were concerned it could be leading up to an eruption," said Smith, who co-authored a paper on the surge published in the December 3, 2010, edition of Geophysical Research Letters.

"But once we saw [the magma] was at a depth of ten kilometers, we weren't so concerned. If it had been at depths of two or three kilometers [one or two miles], we'd have been a lot more concerned."

[Saxman]

Amazing what happens in those tumultuous few seconds of a powerful quake.




New Madrid???  What about the molten rock under Yellowstone National Park. The large rolling hills southwest of there were created by huge amounts of water from the last time that erupted. Another game changer from Mother Nature.

I thought we were talking specifically about earthquakes, not volcanic hot spots. :-P

[Shuffler]

I thought we were talking specifically about earthquakes, not volcanic hot spots. :-P

Discussions ebb and flow like the sands of time.