On the morning of the 25th, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck off the coast of Iwate Prefecture, injuring 11 people. Why are there so many large earthquakes in the Tohoku region? Experts are pointing to the possibility of “unbroken cracks.”
■ “Long shaking” causes building exterior to collapse There is footage from this morning that captures the characteristics of the earthquake. A camera set up in front of Morioka Station in Iwate Prefecture shook violently and tilted downwards. The shaking continued, and a minute later the camera was still shaking. It did not subside for some time after that. Experts say about the “long shaking” that lasted for several minutes…
Professor Junichi Nakajima of Tokyo University of Science, who specializes in “seismology,” said, “Large earthquakes release ‘seismic waves’ that contain many relatively long shaking. Therefore, this earthquake was ‘large in magnitude’.” At around 7:30 a.m., a magnitude 7.2 earthquake occurred off the coast of Iwate Prefecture at a depth of 44 kilometers. An intensity of 6-plus was observed in Hashikami Town, Aomori Prefecture. In Hachinohe City, where an earthquake of magnitude 6.0 was observed, damage was found throughout the city. Inside a building housing restaurants and other businesses, the interior was flooded. It seems that a tank on the roof burst due to the shaking of the earthquake. Toshinori Kikuchi, who runs a bar in the building, said, “I don’t think we can operate because there is no water. I think we may be without water for about two months… I don’t know what to do.” So far, nine injuries have been confirmed in Aomori Prefecture and two in Iwate Prefecture.
■Perhaps remaining cracks? Earthquakes continue in Tohoku In Tohoku, earthquakes of magnitude 5.0 or higher have occurred every month since April. Looking specifically at Hachinohe City, there was a magnitude 6.0 in December last year and a magnitude 5.0 in April. Noritake Hashimoto of Hikari Sushi said, “(Q. Is this (this time) stronger than in December last year…?) It’s much bigger, the lateral shaking was stronger than I expected, and I felt such strong shaking that it was difficult to maintain my balance.” “(Q. The earthquakes are continuing…?) I have a lot of anxieties, but there’s nothing I can do, so I’ll do my best.” Professor Junichi Nakajima: “It’s a place that’s naturally prone to large earthquakes, but…” Experts point to a connection with past earthquakes.
Professor Junichi Nakajima: “An earthquake occurred north of this earthquake in December of last year, and south of this earthquake in April of this year. The area affected by this earthquake is exactly in between, with the north side ‘cracked’ and the south side ‘cracked’, leaving the area in between ‘uncracked’.
Therefore, it is thought that so-called ‘strain’ had accumulated in this area. It is thought that this earthquake occurred as a result of the accumulation of strain. We would like you to live your life assuming that earthquakes of this magnitude may occur for at least a few days to a week.” [TV Asahi NEWS]
