Huge Japan Earthquake Triggers Tsunami

The 8.9 magnitude earthquake that struck Japan this morning was the 2nd this week, and triggered a Tsunami that has already passed the coast of Kauai, as coastal evacuations proceed in Oregon, Washington, and California. President Barack Obama has already offered help to the people of Japan, and has a news conference scheduled for later this morning.

"Michelle and I send our deepest condolences to the people of Japan, particularly those who have lost loved ones in the earthquake and tsunamis..."

U.S. President Barack Obama

Twitter is sluggish as the information flows; the two best hashtags are #japan and #tsunami as of now. Further information, including how to help, is available via CrisisWiki.org

Obama offers help to #Japan after quake, FEMA and Coast Guard ready in states as CA and OR opt for #tsunami evacs http://bit.ly/hFG2Wa

@kabiu Tweet

Record 8.9 earthquake, 2nd quake in 3 days, hits japan, triggering tsunami. http://reut.rs/ehpuKV Hawaii evacs in progress

@kabiu Tweet

Political Correspondent Thomas Hayes is a former Congressional Campaign Manager; he's a journalist, communications consultant, photo/videographer, entrepreneur, and union supporter who contributes regularly on topics ranging from economics and politics to culture and community.

You can follow Tom as @kabiu on twitter. Tweet

LA HIT BY 5.8 RICHTER SCALE QUAKE - NO SERIOUS DAMAGE

On CNN there are extensive reports of a 5.8 Richter Scale Earthquake, centered in Chino Hills, about 29 miles south of LA. The quake wasn't large enough, fortunately, to cause major damage at least as reported thus far. A water main broke, but traffic's still moving through LA.

And now the earthquake was reduced to a 5.4 Richter Scale quake in size by the U.S. Geological Survey.

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - Strong Earthquakes Hit Indonesia

Strong Earthquakes Hit Indonesia
By NINIEK KARMINI, Associated Press Writer
Sunday, November 25, 2007

(11-25) 09:52 PST JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) --

Strong earthquakes shook western and eastern Indonesia on Sunday, sending panicked residents fleeing from their homes. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
A 6.1-magnitude quake early Sunday was centered 110 miles from Bengkulu, a coastal town on Sumatra island that has been hit by a series of tremors in recent months, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
It was followed 13 hours later by a quake with a preliminary strength of 6.7 on Sumbawa island, to the west, the agency said.
The morning temblor near Sumatra had a depth of just six miles beneath the ocean floor, the USGS said, but did not trigger a tsunami.
"It was very strong ... even utility poles were shaking," said Dina Ramadani, a resident in Bengkulu, adding that people started screaming after one pole toppled over and crashed into a street.
The later quake on Sumbawa struck 27 miles from the town of Raba at a depth of 18 miles, the USGS reported. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was a "very small possibility of a local tsunami," but none materialized.
Local officials said there were no reports of damage.
Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago, is prone to seismic upheavals due to its location on the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanos and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.
In December 2004, a massive earthquake struck off Sumatra and triggered a tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people in a dozen countries, including 160,000 people in Indonesia's westernmost province of Aceh.
Two months ago, an 8.4-magnitude quake off Bengkulu that was followed by two tremors measuring 7.8 and 7.1 killed 23 people and destroyed thousands of buildings. The region has since been hit by hundreds of aftershocks.

EARTHQUAKE - CHILE - Magnitude 7.7 - ANTOFAGASTA, CHILE

Magnitude 7.7
Date-Time
Wednesday, November 14, 2007 at 15:40:53 UTC
Wednesday, November 14, 2007 at 12:40:53 PM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location 22.189°S, 69.843°W
Depth 60 km (37.3 miles)
Region ANTOFAGASTA, CHILE
Distances 40 km (25 miles) ESE of Tocopilla, Chile
100 km (60 miles) WNW of Calama, Chile
170 km (105 miles) NNE of Antofagasta, Chile
1245 km (780 miles) N of SANTIAGO, Chile
Location Uncertainty horizontal +/- 8.6 km (5.3 miles); depth +/- 12.3 km (7.6 miles)
Parameters Nst=192, Nph=192, Dmin=106.7 km, Rmss=1.09 sec, Gp= 76°,
M-type=moment magnitude (Mw), Version=6
Source
USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Event ID us2007jsat