NASA Shows Topography of Tsunami-Damaged Japan City

The topography surrounding Sendai, Japan is clearly visible in this combined radar image and topographic view generated with data from NASA's Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) acquired in 2000. On March 11, 2011, a magnitude 8.9 earthquake struck offshore about 130 kilometers (80 miles) east of Sendai, the capital city of Japan's Miyagi Prefecture, generating a tsunami that devastated the low-lying coastal city of about 1 million residents.

The city is centered in the image and lies along the coastal plain between the Ohu Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. The eastern part of the city is a low-lying plains area, while the city center is hilly (the city's official elevation is about 43 meters, or 141 feet). Sendai's western areas are mountainous, with its highest point being Mt. Funagata at an elevation of about 1,500 meters (4,921 feet) above sea level.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the earthquake occurred as a result of thrust faulting on or near the subduction zone interface plate boundary between the Pacific and North America plates. At the latitude of this earthquake, the Pacific plate moves approximately westwards with respect to the North America plate at a velocity of 83 millimeters (3.3 inches) per year. The Pacific plate thrusts underneath Japan at the Japan Trench, and dips to the west beneath Eurasia. The location, depth and focal mechanism of the March 11 earthquake are consistent with the event having occurred as thrust faulting associated with subduction along this plate boundary.

This image combines a radar image acquired in February 2000 during the SRTM mission, and color-coding by topographic height using data from the same mission. Dark green colors indicate low elevations, rising through yellow and tan, to white at the highest elevations.

The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission is a cooperative project between NASA, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) of the U.S. Department of Defense and the German and Italian space agencies. It is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C.

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This earthquake was deep, at 616 kilometres near the Sierra Nevada mountain range. No aftershocks have yet been reported. The quake was most felt in the province of Malaga, report said. Numerous earthquakes are guessed in excess of 4.0 magnitudes to strike the region within 7 days after an earthquake of this strength.

Meanwhile, about a month ago Spanish Geologist Luis Eugenio Suarez said that Granada could suffer an earthquake within the short term, & with an intensity similar to that of February 27 Cauquenes, Chile earthquake.

The last earthquake that struck Spain was in Arenas del Rey, in Granada, 126 years ago, & a magnitude 6.6 leaving between 750 & 900 dead, 1000s injured & material destruction.

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The moderate earthquake was about 11 miles close to the west-southwest of Guadalupe VIctoria, Baja California, & about 32 miles south-southeast of Mexicali, Baja California&.8217;s capital, the USGS said.

The earthquake occurred at 9:44 a.m. & it is having 6.2 miles deep, the USGS said. It has no damages.

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The earthquake was struck at 8:19 a.m. The epicenter was placed near to the 56km north-east of Anchorage & was 30km deep.

The West Coast & Alaska Tsunami Warning Centre says the quake cause no tsunami warning.

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6 people on Simeulue island were wounded when the quake hit, & 2 houses collapsed under the violent shaking, Police said.The island is just off the coast of Banda Aceh, a city at the northern tip of Indonesia's Sumatra island where residents lost power after the temblor.

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2 aftershocks came before the giant one, and 2, measuring 6.9 & the other 6.0, followed, the US Geological Servey said. The major aftershock, measured at 7.2 by the US Geological Survey, set off scenes of panic between dignitaries gathered for Pinera's opening ceremony, with 7 Latin American heads of state.

Pinera went ahead & took the oath of office at the seat of the Chilean Congress in Valparaiso, and the parliament was evacuated after local officials issued a tsunami alert. The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, however, said there was no threat of a "destructive widespread tsunami."

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The quake struck late at nighttime 74 miles (119 kilometers) southeast of Pagai Selatan, an island off the western coast of Sumatra, Indonesian Meteorology & Geophysics.

The quake struck 6 miles under the Indian Ocean bed. There was no tsunami possible, he said. When quake strikes people fled their homes & rushed to higher ground. Indonesia rests on a sequence of fault lines that create the extensive archipelago nation one of the most earthquake-prone.

In Taiwan earthquake strike injuring 11 peoples, stopping transport & creates minor damage & fires. The quake also set off 5 fires, with one at a textile factory. Helicopters were used to drop extinguishers to help easiness the blaze.One more 6.2 Earthquake strike in chile.

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