West Coast prepares for Japanese tsunami debris

SALEM, Ore. – A large dock that washed ashore in Oregon this week more than a year after it was ripped from Japan's shoreline by a tsunami is adding urgency to preparations for a wave of such debris expected to hit the USA's Pacific Coast in coming months.

By Rick Bowmer, AP

A woman looks at the massive dock that washed ashore on Agate Beach on Wednesday in Newport, Ore. The dock was torn loose from a fishing port in northern Japan by last year's tsunami and drifted across thousands of miles of Pacific Ocean.

By Rick Bowmer, AP

A woman looks at the massive dock that washed ashore on Agate Beach on Wednesday in Newport, Ore. The dock was torn loose from a fishing port in northern Japan by last year's tsunami and drifted across thousands of miles of Pacific Ocean.

"We've got a looming threat. There's great public concern about this," says Phillip Johnson, Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition director. "At this point, we don't know if we're going to have a major problem."

Beach cleanliness is vital to residents in Oregon, the only state whose entire coastline (362 miles) is public. Thousands of people turn out twice a year for beach cleanup events. Others adopt portions of the coastline, cleaning and monitoring it year-round. So it's no surprise that residents are worried about the tsunami debris, Johnson says.

On Wednesday, Oregon confirmed the dock that washed ashore this week was from the tsunami. The dock — 7 feet high, 19 feet wide and 66 feet long — is the first official piece of tsunami debris to reach the state.

A dozen volunteers on Thursday scraped the dock clean of marine organisms and sterilized it with torches to prevent the spread of invasive species, said Chris Havel of the state Department of Parks and Recreation.

Japanese officials estimate that 5 million tons of debris washed into the Pacific Ocean after the March 11, 2011, quake and tsunami, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). About 70% of that sank, leaving about 1.5 million tons floating.

Most of the debris still is north of Hawaii, says Nir Barnea, West Coast regional coordinator for NOAA's Marine Debris Program.

Scientists expect more debris to hit the West Coast in coming months and through 2014. "It will arrive intermittently and not all at one time and place," Barnea says. "It may be difficult to tell what is tsunami-related and what is not. Even floats with Japanese writing are not necessarily from the tsunami."

Although scientists expect much of the floating debris to follow the currents to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, an accumulation of millions of tons of small bits of plastic floating in the northern Pacific, tsunami debris that can catch the wind is making its way to North America. In recent weeks, a soccer ball washed up in Alaska and a Harley-Davidson motorcycle in a shipping container reached British Columbia.

Just how the dock happened to turn up in Oregon was probably determined within sight of land in Japan, says Jan Hafner with the University of Hawaii's International Pacific Research Center, which tracks the debris.

That's where the winds, currents and tides are most variable, because of changes in the coastline and the features of the land, even for two objects a few yards apart, he says. Once the dock got into the ocean, it was pushed steadily by the prevailing westerly winds and the North Pacific Current.

In April, a group of volunteer organizations teamed with NOAA and the state to hold 11 public meetings across Oregon to address concerns about tsunami debris. About 400 people attended, says Jamie Doyle, an educator with Oregon Sea Grant.

"A lot of people were concerned about radiation," Doyle says, referring to the nuclear power plant accident in Japan that was triggered by the earthquake and tsunami. "But it's thought to be highly unlikely."

That's because most of the debris was washed out before the radiation release and because radiation would have dissipated by now, Barnea says.

Body parts also are not expected, because they would have decomposed by now.

The most important message, Barnea says: "If you don't know what it is, don't touch it. Don't move it. Report it to local authorities, 911 or the national response center."

A mobile application at marinedebris.engr.uga.edu can help people report debris. It is a partnership of the NOAA Marine Debris Division and the Southeast Atlantic Marine Debris Initiative of the engineering school at the University of Georgia.

In addition to Oregon, other Pacific Coast states are educating residents about tsunami debris cleanup, Barnea says.

•In Alaska, some lighter debris, such as plastic bottles and Styrofoam floats, is showing up. The first volunteer cleanup project in the state took place in Montague Island this month.

•In Washington, authorities have distributed fliers with instructions on how to handle items found on beaches.

•In California, officials say coastal currents may deflect most debris back toward Hawaii. Even so, the state's Coastal Commission has issued guidelines for volunteers helping with tsunami debris removal.

"We'll continue to work on the planning, continue to work with volunteers," Barnea says. "It's a real teamwork of state, federal and local agencies, non-governmental organizations, and the public."

Loew also reports for the Statesman Journal in Salem, Ore. Contributing: John McAuliff, USA TODAY; the Associated Press.

For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.

View the original article here

Offshore quake causes panic, no tsunami in Chile (AP)

SANTIAGO, Chile – A magnitude-6.2 earthquake struck Monday just off the shore of south-central Chile, the same area devastated by a massive temblor two years ago. But there were no immediate reports of damage and authorities said it would not cause a tsunami.

Monday's quake was centered 31 miles (50 kilometers) northwest of Concepcion, and relatively shallow at 12 miles (20 kilometers) deep. But Chile's navy announced that it wasn't the kind of quake to generate a deadly tsunami of the kind that ravaged nearby coastal cities when an magnitude-8.8 quake devastated Chile in 2010.

The U.S. Geological Service said this quake struck at 1:04 p.m. local time (1604 GMT) with a magnitude of 6.2. Chilean seismologists measured it as a less-powerful 5.8.

Chile's national emergency office said there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

Cellphone service was briefly interrupted as people tried to reach loved ones, and radio stations and social networks lit up with comments, including many who said the shaking made them panic. Light fixtures swayed in many homes, but the power remained on.

The much-stronger quake that struck on Feb. 27, 2010, killed 524 and caused 31 disappearances, wrecking 220,000 homes and leaving $30 billion in damage. The disaster agency and the navy shared the blame for a botched tsunami warning then that gave some coastal dwellers a false sense of security.

View the original article here

Magnitude-6.3 quake hits Pacific; no tsunami alert (AP)

SUVA, Fiji – A magnitude-6.3 earthquake has shaken the Pacific region south of the Fiji islands.

There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries, and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center did not issue any alerts or warnings after the quake.

The United States Geological Survey reported the earthquake struck Tuesday afternoon 472 miles (759 kilometers) south of Fiji, at a depth of 362 miles (583 kilometers).

View the original article here

Flotsam from Japanese tsunami reaches West Coast (AP)

PORT ANGELES, Wash. – Some debris from the March tsunami in Japan has reached the West Coast.

A black float about the size of a 55-gallon drum was found two weeks ago by a crew cleaning a beach a few miles east of Neah Bay at the northwest tip of Washington, the Peninsula Daily News reported (http://is.gd/9jSz9q) Wednesday.

The float was displayed at a Tuesday night presentation at Peninsula College by Seattle oceanographers Curtis Ebbesmeyer and Jim Ingraham, consultants who produce the "Beachcombers Alert" newsletter.

Tons of debris from Japan will likely begin washing ashore in about a year, from California to southern Alaska, they said. Items that wash up may include portions of houses, boats, ships, furniture, portions of cars and just about anything else that floats, he said.

That could include parts of human bodies, Ebbesmeyer said. Athletic shoes act as floats.

Flotsam in a current travels an average of 7 mph, but it can move as much as 20 mph if it has a large area exposed to the wind, Ebbesmeyer said. The latest float sits well atop the water, has a shallow draft and is lightweight. Similar floats have been found on Vancouver Island in British Columbia.

Models show currents could pull some Japanese tsunami debris into the Strait of Juan de Fuca as far as Port Townsend.

"All debris should be treated with a great reverence and respect," Ebbesmeyer said.

If the debris has any kind of identifiable marking, such as numbers or Japanese writing, it may be traceable, Ebbesmeyer said. Families in Japan are waiting to hear of any items that may have been associated with their loved ones.

Ebbesmeyer is retired from a career that included tracking icebergs, the 1989 Exxon Valdes oil spill and Puget Sound currents that affect sewage outflows. He wrote the 2009 book, "Flotsametrics and the Floating World: How a Man's Obsession with runaway Sneakers and Rubber Ducks Revolutionized Ocean Science."

Ingram has retired from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, where he created computer models of ocean currents.

___

Information from: Peninsula Daily News, http://www.peninsuladailynews.com

View the original article here

Quake off east Indonesia panics many; no tsunami (AP)

JAKARTA, Indonesia – A strong earthquake hit waters off eastern Indonesia on Monday, sending people on nearby islands fleeing from their homes in panic. Fearing a tsunami that never came, villagers living along coastlines ran to high ground.

The 6.3-magnitude quake was centered 12 miles (20 kilometers) beneath the Molucca Sea, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

Many people in Ternate, the town in North Maluku province that was closest to the epicenter, scurried from shaking buildings, said George Rajaloa, a resident.

"I ran with everyone else," he said.

Suhardjono, from the Indonesian meteorological and geophysics agency, said at that magnitude and depth there was no danger of tsunami.

But residents fled beaches all the same.

Indonesia straddles a series of fault lines that make the vast island nation prone to volcanic and seismic activity.

A giant quake off the country on Dec. 26, 2004, triggered a tsunami in the Indian Ocean that killed 230,000 people, half of them in Indonesia's westernmost province of Aceh.

View the original article here

Aerial view of tsunami zone: cleaner but barren (AP)

SENDAI, Japan – From 1,000 feet (300 meters) up, the view of the tsunami-battered Japanese seaside communities shows striking progress: much of the rubble, crumpled cars and other debris are gone.

Yet seen from a helicopter Friday carrying Associated Press journalists, there are few signs of rebuilding eight months after the March 11 disaster, triggered by a magnitude-9.0 earthquake off the tsunami-prone coast.

What remains — the brown, barren, emptiness where bustling towns once stood — is a sobering reminder of how much work still lies ahead.

On the ground, people living in the tidy rows of temporary houses that dot the surrounding areas say they are frustrated that authorities aren't moving ahead more quickly with reconstruction plans. They are anxious to rebuild their lives, yet remain uncertain of how to proceed.

"I want to leave this place as soon as possible and move into our own house, but the feeling I'm getting from the banks and government is that's going to be hard," said Yuki Numakura, 36, from Natori, near Sendai, who shares a unit with her mother, brother, grandmother and pet dog Seven.

"The future looks really murky," she said.

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's government plans to spend at least 18 trillion yen ($234 billion) over the next five years to fund the reconstruction, 6 trillion yen of which has been approved by parliament. So far, the government has built 51,886 temporary houses — almost all of the 52,500 needed — in seven prefectures (states) affected by the disaster.

Ultimately, decisions about reconstruction of each town fall to local town leaders, but uncertainty about the extent and speed of aid from the central government has caused some towns to move cautiously.

The towns have just begun to come out with longer-term reconstruction plans, which include input from residents and seek ways to better protect their communities from future tsunamis. Many are also reluctant to rebuild in low-lying areas for fear that another massive wave may strike again sooner or later, given that four have hit the coastline in the last 120 years.

The fishing town of Minamisanriku, which lost 70 percent of its buildings in the disaster, calls for building residential areas on higher ground, even cutting into the surrounding hills, and possibly raising the town's commercial district slightly from the fishing docks, a key hub of activity. To help people better escape from future tsunamis, the town plans to widen evacuation routes and increase the number of elevated shelters.

Minamisanriku's reconstruction plan extends 10 years into the future. Facing a shrinking and aging population, it seeks to revive its local economy through promoting tourism and drawing new business.

The biggest challenge facing town leaders at this point is balancing residents' demands to restore homes and jobs quickly while coming up with a viable long-term plan, said Tsuneaki Fukui, a civil engineering professor at the University of Tokyo who is helping the major fishing port of Kesennuma, further up the coast, draw up its reconstruction plans.

"The scale of this — the entire coastline — makes it all so overwhelming," he said. "It's something even we professionals haven't ever encountered."

The disaster left 15,839 dead and 3,647 missing, according to the official toll. The high number of missing is because the dead are only counted when a body is identified.

Further south, the tsunami also touched off a nuclear crisis when it slammed into the Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant, forcing about 100,000 people to flee their homes. They still have no idea when they can return.

Disposing of all the debris — an estimated 23 million tons — is another huge headache. While most has been removed from town centers, completely disposing of it will likely take another 2 1/2 years, the government estimates.

A large amount of debris has wound up in Natori, a flat area near the Sendai airport, where it has been carefully divided into huge mountains of wood, metal, hazardous waste and other materials. On Friday, dozens of cranes and backhoes picked away at the stuff, dumping it into waiting trucks to be hauled off.

Some of it is recycled. Concrete, for example, is sent to cement factories for reprocessing into small pebbles for use in road construction, the Environment Ministry says. The rest is to be incinerated and used as landfill — although incinerators in the prefecture are overwhelmed by the volume and have asked for help from elsewhere.

Just a few miles (kilometers) away from the whirring construction vehicles, 75-year-old Yaeko Sai, who lost her Natori home in the tsunami, thinks anxiously about the future in the shadow of her temporary housing block.

"My friends have scattered everywhere," she said. "I'm really not sure how I could make it if I had to leave this place."

___

Associated Press writer Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report.

View the original article here

Indian Ocean tsunami warning system tested (AP)

JAKARTA, Indonesia – Nations along the Indian Ocean are testing a U.N.-backed early tsunami warning system put in place after the massive 2004 wave off western Indonesia that left more than 230,000 people dead or missing.

Wednesday's exercise — the first full-scale test of the system — tested communication and emergency response. Evacuation drills were held in India and Malaysia, with bulletins sent by telephone, email, SMS and fax to more than 20 countries taking part.

The switch was flipped by officials at Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency at 8:05 a.m. — the same time a magnitude-9.2 earthquake triggered a tsunami on Dec. 26, 2004, that barreled into a dozen nations.

The agency said the test would last until 8 p.m. and that no glitches were immediately detected.

View the original article here

USGS: 5.3 magnitude quake off OR coast, no tsunami (AP)

PORTLAND, Ore. – A magnitude 5.3 earthquake jolted an area about 140 miles off the southern Oregon coast Wednesday night. A National Earthquake Information Center spokesman in Golden, Colo., says there was no danger of a tsunami from the shallow quake, which was felt by residents in southern Oregon and northern California.

The quake was originally rated at magnitude 5.9 but that was adjusted downward based on additional information.

Geophysicist Rafael Abreu says there were no immediate reports of damage.

He says reports of people feeling the quake ranged from Coos Bay and North Bend on the Oregon coast as far north as Portland, Ore. In California, "felt reports" came from Santa Rosa and Sebastopol, north of San Francisco.

Abreu says the quake occurred in an area of the Pacific where the Juan de Fuca Plate and the Pacific Plate are sliding past each other in a horizontal motion.

View the original article here

Japan marks 6 months since earthquake, tsunami (AP)

By TOMOKO A. HOSAKA, Associated Press Tomoko A. Hosaka, Associated Press – Sun Sep 11, 11:58 am ET

TOKYO – Up and down Japan's devastated northeast coast, survivors prayed and communities came together Sunday to mark six months since the massive earthquake and tsunami struck on March 11, a date that changed everything for them and their country.

As the world commemorated the 10th anniversary of the World Trade Center attacks, Japanese parents hung colorful paper cranes for their lost children and monks chanted in front of smashed buildings. Thousands also marched in the streets to demand that the country abandon nuclear power because of damage to the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant.

At precisely 2:46 p.m., they stopped and observed a minute of silence.

The magnitude-9.0 earthquake produced the sort of devastation Japan hadn't seen since World War II. The tsunami that followed engulfed the northeast and wiped out entire towns. The waves inundated the Fukushima plant, triggering the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl.

Some 20,000 people are dead or missing. More than 800,000 homes were completely or partially destroyed. The disaster crippled businesses, roads and infrastructure. The Japanese Red Cross Society estimates that 400,000 people were displaced.

Half a year later, there are physical signs of progress.

Much of the debris has been cleared away or at least organized into big piles. In the port city of Kesennuma, many of the boats carried inland by the tsunami have been removed. Most evacuees have moved out of high school gyms and into temporary shelters or apartments.

The supply chain problems that led to critical parts shortages for Japan's auto and electronics makers are nearly resolved. Industrial production has almost recovered to pre-quake levels.

But beyond the surface is anxiety and frustration among survivors facing an uncertain future. They are growing increasingly impatient with a government they describe as too slow and without direction.

Masayuki Komatsu, a fisherman in Kesennuma, wants to restart his abalone farming business.

But he worries about radiation in the sea from the still-leaking Fukushima plant and isn't sure if his products will be safe enough to sell. He said officials are not providing adequate radiation information for local fisherman.

"I wonder if the government considers our horrible circumstances and the radiation concerns of people in my business," said Komatsu, who also lost his home.

Another resident, 80-year-old Takashi Sugawara, lost his sister in the tsunami and now lives in temporary housing. He wants to rebuild his home but is stuck in limbo for the time being.

"My family is not very wealthy, and I only wish that the country would decide what to do about the area as soon as possible," Sugawara said.

He might be waiting for a while. The Nikkei financial newspaper reported this week that many municipalities in the hardest-hit prefecture of Miyagi, Iwate and Fukushima have yet to draft reconstruction plans.

Of the 31 cities, towns and villages severely damaged by the disaster, just four have finalized their plans, the Nikkei said. The scale of the disaster, the national government's slow response and quarrels among residents have delayed the rebuilding process.

Workers at the Fukushima nuclear plant are still struggling to meet a goal of bringing it to a cold shutdown by early next year.

"We are barely keeping the reactors under control and the situation is still difficult," Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency spokesman Yoshinori Moriyama said in Tokyo.

In Fukushima city, dozens of citizens rallied Sunday outside a government-backed international conference at which scientists agreed that the radiation danger from the nuclear plant was far less than Chernobyl. The protesters accused conference organizers of trying to underestimate the risk for children.

Citizens also demonstrated in major cities like Tokyo and Osaka, where thousands of anti-nuclear protesters demanded that the country give up nuclear power. Activists circled the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry holding banners saying, "Nuclear power? Goodbye."

Criticism of the government's handling of the disaster and nuclear crisis led former Prime Minister Naoto Kan to resign. Former Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda took over nine days ago, becoming Japan's sixth new prime minister in five years.

He spent much of Saturday visiting Miyage and Iwate prefectures, promising more funding to speed up recovery efforts and trying to shore up confidence in his administration.

But the trip was overshadowed later in the day by his first big political embarrassment. Noda's new trade minister Yoshio Hachiro resigned, caving into intense pressure after calling the area around the nuclear plant "a town of death," a comment seen as insensitive to nuclear evacuees.

Public support for the new government started out strong, with an approval rating of 62.8 percent in a Kyodo News poll released last Saturday. Hachiro's resignation will likely translate into a drop and new doubts about Noda's ability to lead.

Regardless of politics, what's clear is that the road ahead will be long.

"Given the enormous scale of the destruction and the massive area affected, this will be a long and complex recovery and reconstruction operation," Tadateru Konoe, the Red Cross president, said in a statement. "It will take at least five years to rebuild, but healing the mental scars could take much longer."

___

Associated Press writer Mari Yamaguchi in Fukushima and APTN videojournalist Miki Toda in Kesennuma contributed to this report.

View the original article here

Six months after Japan's tsunami, residents worry their plight is fading from view (video) (The Christian Science Monitor)

Minami-Sanriku, Japan – As memorial services were held across the northeast coastal regions to mark six months since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, recovery from the vast disaster is proving to be painfully slow in many places.

Some of the worst-hit towns still resemble wasteland. More than 80,000 people remain in temporary accommodation. The nuclear crisis at Fukushima triggered by the tsunami is ongoing, and the new industry minister resigned over the weekend after making disparaging comments about the city.

“We pray for the lost lives and for the missing to be found as early as possible. We hope that people can return to this town and we can hear cheerful voices again,â€

RELATED: IN PICTURES: Japan's nuclear fallout

Mr. Sato had been in the town hall along with 130 staff when the tsunami struck. He was one of only 10 survivors when the 50-ft. waves came across the roof of the building and washed away 20 of the 30 people who had made it that far.

Most of the residents of the town returned for the service from other areas, as Minami-Sanriku remains largely uninhabitable. Thousands of tons of debris were piled into mountains of wood, earth, metal, and concrete along the waterfront.

A boat rests on the second floor of the former city hospital, facing away from the sea, where the tsunami deposited it as the huge wave pulled back to where it came from after obliterating 95 percent of the town.

Related video:

newslook

Recognizing sacrifices Red steel girders are all that is left of the town’s disaster response center where a young local government worker, Miki Endo, famously stayed at her post sounding an alarm and urging residents to evacuate, until the tsunami engulfed the building and she went missing.

People came from as far as Tokyo to pay their respects at the small makeshift shrine that has appeared in the shell of the building, dedicated to Ms. Endo’s sacrifice. Some residents of Minami-Sanriku want the remains of the building to be turned into a permanent monument to her heroism.

A cluster of 20 prefab housing units behind the Bayside Arena, where Sunday morning’s service was held, is now home to a fraction of the town’s people who lost their homes on March 11.

Kaeko Gyoba was in a club for Minami-Sanriku’s elderly residents with her husband when the earthquake struck. They made it up to the fourth floor and were spared as the waves swept through the three stories below, but left the building standing when the waves receded. It was one of the few buildings spared in the entire town.

“We spent two nights up there until a Self-Defense Force helicopter was able to land at the elementary school nearby and get us out,” says Ms. Gyoba.She stayed with relatives near Tokyo after the disaster, but she returned last month to be with the rest of her family, who now occupy five of the small, flimsy-looking temporary houses.

“It’s very tough living here, I just can’t get used to it. There’s nowhere in the town to shop, you need a car to go anywhere, and I worry how cold it will be in the winter,” says Gyoba. “And none of the family have jobs now. They all worked on the ocean, farming seaweed and oysters. Everything was swept away.”

Fading from public consciousness? Despite the nationwide attention that the six-month memorials have been receiving, some of those still struggling to put their lives back together feel they are gradually fading from people’s consciousness in the rest of the country. There is also anger at politicians in Tokyo who they see as more concerned with partisan fighting than focusing on helping the region’s recovery.

Even the leadership contest to replace former Prime Minister Naoto Kan – heavily criticized for his handling of the crisis – was seen as a self-indulgent distraction by many in the region. His replacement, Yoshihiko Noda, has already lost his trade and industry minister, only eight days after being sworn in.

On his first visit to the disaster zone last week, Trade Minister Yoshio Hachiro joked with a reporter accompanying him on the trip about infecting him with radiation by wiping his jacket on the journalist after coming out of the no-go zone around the Fukushima nuclear plant. The minister went on to describe the area around the stricken facility as, “really like a town of death.”

Hachiro’s behavior provoked outrage not just among residents of Fukushima, but across Japan’s north-east coast. For many, the minister’s attitude betrayed a lack of real empathy from Tokyo politicians with the victims of the triple disasters, and his tearful apology afterward convinced few.

Get daily or weekly updates from CSMonitor.com delivered to your inbox. Sign up today.

View the original article here

Coastal towns rethink tsunami evacs from ground up (AP)

LONG BEACH, Wash. – When the next devastating earthquake strikes off the Northwest coast, it is expected to send a tsunami so fast that it could leave coastal communities with perhaps 20 minutes to escape the surge of water.

For small towns like Long Beach, which sits on a long spit just above sea level, the wave's speed will leave minimal options for getting away: People can literally run for the hills, but the first elevated areas are more than a mile to the east, difficult to reach and likely unknown to tourists. Or people can try to drive, cramming roads that could be ravaged by the quake and follow the ubiquitous blue evacuation signs — assuming they still exist.

"If you have a major earthquake, God only knows which way those signs are going to point," said Long Beach city administrator Gene Miles.

Recognizing the ominous options they currently face and the Japan tsunami that displayed the potential destruction, some areas along the Northwest coast are working on plans to build massive hills or structures that could be used to escape the tsunami's reach. The so-called vertical evacuation sites have been adopted in parts of Japan but have never been pursued in the United States.

Communities in Washington, working with state officials and university researchers, have identified a series of about 40 potential evacuation sites and are now working on more for areas on the Olympic Peninsula. Officials in Bay City, Ore., have discussed the possibility of a site in a low-lying area. Crescent City, Calif., plans to use an existing assisted living facility — the tallest building in town — to shelter people who can't get to higher ground in the event of a sudden tsunami.

For those looking at building new sites, here's one glaring problem: The ideas are expensive. Miles estimates that his plan to build a 40-foot berm — about as high as the tallest buildings in town — would cost $250,000. The reinforced earthen mound would sit near a school and close to the city center, allowing people to scale the hill and wait out the destruction on top.

Only 1,392 people live in the town, although it fills with vacationers during the summer.

Costs were a factor in the decision by Cannon Beach, Ore., officials to back away from a proposal to rebuild its city hall to withstand a tsunami and refuge people in upper levels. Now officials there are in early discussions about the possibility of creating some sort of evacuation platform, said Mayor Mike Morgan.

Scientists believe it is only a matter of time before the next mega-quake strikes at the Cascadia Subduction Zone just off the Northwest coast. Those quakes, which can send tsunamis straight onto shore, strike every 400 to 500 years — with the last one happening about 300 years ago.

The earthquake would likely last about five minutes and trigger perhaps six feet of land subsidence along the coast. Rushing in from just 50 miles offshore, the tsunami could arrive within 20 minutes.

Oregon's Department of Geology is in the process of reassessing the potential devastation that a tsunami could inflict on the coast. New maps recently produced for the small city of Bandon illustrate potential damage from the surge.

Some people who would be on the waterfront in Bandon would have nearly a mile to travel to reach high enough terrain. And, since the tsunami's inundation would grow deeper as it crashes into higher ground, scientists project that evacuees in certain locations may need to get to an area 100 feet above sea level to be safe.

Officials in Bandon still believe the hillsides are the greatest refuge and are not looking at building any vertical structures. That's the case in many communities along the Oregon coast that have hilly, amphitheater-style backdrop that can be used for escape.

Ian Madin, the chief scientist at the Oregon Department of Geology, said the vertical evacuation sites could be useful in some communities but that steep terrain makes them unnecessary in many areas. He cautioned that the Japan earthquake and tsunami should not trigger a panic that leads to pointless spending on costly projects.

"You're not going to solve the problem in six months, and the odds are that you will have decades to prepare," Madin said. "I hate to see people stampeded into rash decisions."

Washington state also has a rugged coastline, but it includes more lowlands that are vulnerable. That's part of the reason behind Project Safe Haven, a coordinated analysis of evacuations between federal, state, local and tribal officials.

Leaders behind the effort believe several population areas along the Washington coast — including parts of South Beach, Westport and the Tokeland peninsula — are not close enough to natural evacuation spots.

John Schelling, who leads the earthquake program at the Washington Emergency Management Division, said the towers, berms and buildings under consideration each have pros and cons — from costs to accessibility to usability during regular living. But he said the plans that communities are adopting will help set the stage for making a funding pitch in the future.

Some of the early stages of the planning came after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Schelling said this year's disaster brought a renewed focus and helped to engage citizens.

"The Japan event really reinvigorated tsunami planning and preparedness efforts," Schelling said.

___

Associated Press Writer Mike Baker can be reached at -http://twitter.com/MikeBakerAP

View the original article here

US: No tsunami threat from East Coast quake (AP)

ATLANTA_ U.S. officials say there is no threat of a tsunami along the East Coast after an earthquake centered in Virginia rocked the region.

The National Weather Service's West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center said the location of the quake was far enough inland that it didn't threaten to trigger a tsunami on the coast.

Director Paul Whitmore said the center has gauges up and down the East Coast and none of them were detecting tsunami activity.

View the original article here

Strong quake hits eastern Japan, no tsunami threat (AP)

TOKYO – Officials say a strong earthquake has hit near Japan's eastern coast, but there is no danger of a tsunami.

Japan's Meteorological Agency says the quake struck Monday evening and registered a preliminary magnitude of 6.0. It was centered off the coast of Ibaraki, about 140 miles (220 kilometers) east of Tokyo, at a depth of 20 miles (30 kilometers).

The agency says there is no danger of a tsunami. No injuries or damage have been reported.

Some 20,000 people died or were left missing across Japan's northeastern coast after a massive earthquake and tsunami on March 11. The disaster damaged a nuclear power plant, forcing another 100,000 people to leave their homes because of a radiation threat.

View the original article here

Biden lauds Japan's resolve in tsunami zone visit (AP)

SENDAI, Japan – U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday praised the resolve of the Japanese people in their efforts to recover from the tsunami and reaffirmed the two countries' alliance as vital for regional peace and prosperity.

In a speech at Sendai's airport, which American military personnel helped clear of debris after the tsunami, Biden spoke of the U.S. public's admiration of Japan after the March 11 disaster, which left about 20,000 people dead or missing and ravaged hundreds of miles (kilometers) of coastline.

"The disaster met its match in the legendary industriousness and relentless perseverance of the Japanese people," he said.

Biden, who also visited China and Mongolia during his eight-day Asian trip, stressed the strong economic and military ties between Japan and the U.S., calling their security alliance the "foundation of this region's security and prosperity for over half a century."

Under the pact, nearly 50,000 American troops are stationed in Japan, many of whom participated in a humanitarian relief mission called "Operation Tomodachi," or Operation Friend, after March's threefold disaster — earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis.

Biden's visit comes as China's rising economic, military and political clout somewhat overshadows Japan, which is wrestling with a two-decade economic slump, a bulging deficit and aging population — and now recovery from catastrophe. In his first trip to Asia as vice president, Biden spent five days in China, but will be in Japan only two.

Still, he stressed Japan's importance to U.S. interests in the region.

"The United States is and will remain a Pacific power. America's focus on this critical region will only grow in the years to come as Asia plays an ever-increasing role in the global economy and international affairs," he said. "The anchor of that relationship will be Japan."

Biden laid flowers at the site of a destroyed home not far from the airport and visited evacuees living in temporary housing, where he chatted, shook hands and handed out baseball caps.

Earlier Tuesday, he met with Prime Minister Naoto Kan, who thanked him for the "enormous assistance" from the U.S. after the disaster. Kan said the vice president's trip demonstrates that "Japan is open for business."

Biden told Kan that the American public was impressed with the stoicism and courage of the Japanese people, calling it a model for the whole world.

Kan is widely expected to resign in coming weeks or even days over his administration's perceived lack of leadership in handling the triple crisis.

Referring to the natural disaster in Japan and budget problems in the U.S., Biden told Kan that "there are voices in the world who are counting us out. They are making a very bad bet."

During his time in China, Biden had extensive time with the country's expected future leader, Xi Jinping, and delivered a strong message of the interdependence between the U.S. and China, the world's two biggest economies.

Biden also made the case for continued U.S. economic vitality despite current budget woes and sought to reassure China's leaders and ordinary citizens about the safety of their assets in the United States following the downgrading of America's credit rating.

On Wednesday, Biden plans to visit a U.S. air force base west of Tokyo to thank military and civilian personnel for helping with relief and recovery efforts after the disaster.

___

Associated Press writer Malcolm Foster in Tokyo contributed to this report.

View the original article here

Japan Tsunami Is First Tracked by Radar (LiveScience.com)

Scientists in California got an early look at the tsunami generated by the massive earthquake in Japan as it rippled across the Pacific Ocean.

The March 11 Japan tsunami was picked up by high-frequency radar in California and Japan as it swept toward their coasts, according to U.S. and Japanese scientists. This is the first time a tsunami has been observed by radar, raising the possibility of new early warning systems.

"It could be really useful in areas such as southeast Asia where there are huge areas of shallow continental shelf," said John Largier, an oceanographer and study team member from the University of California, Davis. The continental shelf is the perimeter of a continent that is underwater and gradually descends to the ocean floor.

Largier and his colleagues have been using a high-frequency radar array at their lab to study ocean currents for the last 10 years. Together with collaborators from Hokkaido and Kyoto universities in Japan and San Francisco State University, the researchers used data from radar sites at Bodega Bay and Trinidad, Calif., and two sites in Hokkaido, Japan, to look for the tsunami offshore.

The radar detection is the latest in the string of new ways the Japan earthquake and tsunami were observed.Satellite images found that the tsunami was so powerful that it broke off huge icebergs thousands of miles away in the Antarctic. Scientists also found that the earthquake rattled the planet's upper atmosphere.

In the new study, scientists noticed that the radar picks up not the actual tsunami wave — which is small in height while out at sea — but changes in currents as the wave passes.

The researchers found they could see the Japan tsunamionce it entered shallower coastal waters over the continental shelf. As the waves enter the shallower water, they slow down, increase in height and decrease in wavelength until finally hitting the coast.

The continental shelf off California is quite narrow, and approaches to the coast are already well-monitored by pressure gauges, Largier said. But he said radar detection could be useful, for example, on the East Coast or in Southeast Asia, where there are wide expanses of shallow seas.

The study was published in the August edition of the journal Remote Sensing.

View the original article here

240,000 Chilean residents in quake, tsunami drill (AP)

SANTIAGO, Chile – Some 240,000 residents have mobilized on Chile's northern coast to test responses to a simulated earthquake and tsunami. It's the biggest such exercise ever conducted in the South American nation.

Friday's drill of more than an hour involved police and volunteer organizations who practiced spreading the alarm, helping people take protective measures and overseeing evacuations.

The exercise is part of the Chilean government's efforts to prevent a repeat of the tragedy accompanying the 8.8-magnitude earthquake of February 2010. The quake and tsunami it set off killed 524 people.

Experts from Japan's security agency monitored the drill to offer advice.

(This version CORRECTS that those mobilized were residents as well as emergency workers)

View the original article here

Earthquake hits northwestern Japan, no tsunami warning issued (Reuters)

TOKYO (Reuters) – An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.5 hit central Japan on Thursday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

The epicenter of the earthquake was in Nagano prefecture, the agency said, adding that no tsunami warning had been issued.

(Reporting by Shinichi Saoshiro; Editing by Chris Gallagher)

View the original article here

No tsunami for coastal Alaska after strong quake (AP)

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A magnitude-7.2 earthquake shook a large swath of Alaska's Aleutian Islands on Thursday evening, sending residents of small coastal towns to higher ground as officials issued a tsunami warning in the temblor's wake.

The quake was centered about 122 miles east of Atka, about 1,200 miles southwest of Anchorage. It was recorded at a depth of 26 miles, the Alaska Earthquake Information Center said.

The quake was felt through the central Aleutians and as far east as Dutch Harbor and Unalaska, but no damage was reported, said Jeremy Zidek, a spokesman with the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

"It was shaking, it was just a little rumbly" and lasted about 20 seconds, said Atka resident Rodney Jones.

The West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center posted a tsunami warning for some coastal areas of Alaska, but canceled the warning about an hour after the quake. The warning covered an area from 80 miles northeast of Dutch Harbor to about 125 miles west of Adak.

Jones said it appeared all of the town's 61 residents took to higher ground when they heard the tsunami warning, which he heard issued over CB radio. The townspeople gathered on a high hill for about an hour, near the city's new water tank.

During their wait for the all-clear signal, he said a priest with the town's Russian Orthodox Church recited prayers.

In Dutch Harbor, longshoreman Jim Paulin said warning sirens caused also caused hundreds of people to begin climbing up a nearby hill.

"Right now there's hundreds of people up on the hilltop," he told The Associated Press before the all-clear was given. "I can look across the bay and see people on another hilltop."

After the tsunami warning was canceled, he said everybody was "calm. It seems like everybody's kind of enjoying it. It's good weather."

Paulin said no one seemed panicked because the city has been evacuated in the past. But, he said, "It's better to be safe than sorry."

___

Associated Press writers Kathy McCarthy in Seattle and Michelle Price in Phoenix contributed to this report.

View the original article here

Huge quake triggers tsunami alert in Alaskan islands (AFP)

DUTCH HARBOR, Alaska (AFP) – A powerful 7.3-magnitude earthquake shook Alaska's Aleutian Islands late Thursday, triggering a tsunami warning that sent people heading for high ground before the alert was canceled.

Hundreds of people walked, drove and rode in the back of pickup trucks as they fled the the coast after the earthquake struck 80 miles (130 kilometers) northeast of the seafood port of Dutch Harbor, home to some 4,400 people.

The temblor struck at 7:10 pm local time (0300 GMT Friday), triggering a tsunami warning from the West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Center (WCATWC).

Sirens rang out, officials ordered people to move to at least 50 feet above sea level, and fishing boats could be seen steaming out of the harbor as a precaution in case waves strike the coast line.

"Those feeling the earth shake, seeing unusual wave action or the water level rising or receding may have only a few minutes before the tsunami arrival and should move immediately," warned the WCATWC.

"Homes and small buildings are not designed to withstand tsunami impacts. Do not stay in these structures," officials warned.

But about an hour later it was all over. "We've confirmed that no wave has been generated," acting public safety director Matt Betzen said at 8:21 pm (0421 GMT). "We're giving the all-clear."

There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries in near the remote island chain. Fire engines and police cars drove up and down the hillsides telling residents it was safe to return to their homes.

The United States Geological Service reported the earthquake was at a depth of about 25 miles. It could be felt in and around Dutch Harbor.

The quake struck more than 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) west of the major Alaskan city of Anchorage.

View the original article here

Japan lifts tsunami warning after strong quake (AFP)

TOKYO (AFP) – Japan issued a tsunami warning Thursday after a magnitude-6.7 earthquake struck in the northeast of the country, rattling the areas hardest hit by the March 11 quake and tsunami disasters.

But the meteorological agency lifted the warning about an hour after the latest jolt hit at 6:51 am (2151 GMT Wednesday) some 50 kilometres (31 miles) off the east coast of Miyako, Iwate prefecture, at a depth of 20 kilometres in the Pacific.

USGS also registered the quake at 6.7 in magnitude at a depth of 32 kilometres.

The Japanese agency had warned that a 50 centimetre (20-inch) tsunami could be expected in the region, but no warning was issued to Fukushima at the centre of the nation's nuclear crisis.

Public broadcaster NHK reported there were no immediate reports of damage from the quake while no sizable high waves were seen.

Local authorities issued evacuation orders to some 8,000 households in Iwate, NHK said.

Shinkansen bullet train services were temporarily suspended, while there was no new damage to the Onagawa nuclear power plant in Miyagi, south of Iwate, which has been out of operation since the March 11 disaster, NHK added.

The northeast coast of Japan's main Honshu island was ravaged by a 9.0 magnitude quake and monster tsunami on March 11 which left some 23,000 people dead or missing.

The disasters also crippled the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, triggering the world's worst atomic accident since Chernobyl in 1986 and forcing hundreds of thousands of residents to leave their homes.

View the original article here