Magnitude 7.6 quake triggers a tsunami on Japan's northern coast

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: Associated Press

WORLD NEWS
Magnitude 7.6 quake triggers a tsunami on Japan’s northern coast

BY MARI YAMAGUCHI
Updated 12:18 PM EST, December 8, 2025
Leer en español

TOKYO (AP) — A powerful 7. 6-magnitude earthquake struck late Monday off northern Japan, triggering a tsunami of up to 70 centimeters (27 inches) in Pacific coast communities and warnings of potentially higher surges, the Japanese Meteorological Agency said. ... Several people were injured, media reports said.

The quake struck at about 11:15 p.m. (1415 GMT) in the Pacific Ocean about 80 kilometers (50 miles) off the coast of Aomori, the northernmost prefecture of Japan’s main Honshu island, the agency said.

A tsunami of 70 centimeters was measured in Kuji port in Iwate prefecture, just south of Aomori, and tsunami levels of up to 50 centimeters struck other coastal communities in the region, the agency said.

The agency issued an alert for potential tsunami surges of up to 3 meters (10 feet) in some areas, and Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara urged residents to immediately head to higher ground or take shelter inside buildings or evacuation centers until the alert is lifted.

{snip}

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/japan-quake-hokkaido-tusnami-alert-13b3149989918a8f860903ec48b1af92

[littlemissmartypants]

1. I hope that they get the help that they need from world neighbors. 💧💔

[CentralMass]

2. I'm not sure if the U.S. meets that criteria under the Mango Malefactor.

[littlemissmartypants]

3. We don't. Not anymore. That's why it makes me so sad.

[slightlv]

4. Has anyone else noticed the increasing violence

of the Pacific Rim? Volcanoes, earthquakes. I swear, I've heard about one or the other every day for the last few days. It's like Mother Earth is trying to shake us off or something!

[Martin68]

6. It is normal in a volcano arc region. When I lived in Japan, earthquakes were a fact of life. Barely a month went by in

Tokyo without an earthquake. Most are fairly minor, but noticeable, but some are quite scary, rattling doors and causing entire buildings to sway. Only the really big ones are reported. I'm glad to be living on a passive continental margin here in Virginia, but a few years ago we had an earthquake that reached as far away as Washington, D.C. and cause considerable damage to the Washington Monument and the National Cathedral.

[RazorbackExpat]

5. The highest tsunami was only 27 inches and it was in just one area

But the epicenter was close to the 9.0 megaquake epicenter.

The weather lady on the TV is explaining how a 7.3 earthquake was a precursor to the 9.0 earthquake that occurred two days later in March 2011.

[Martin68]

7. What I learned watching videos of the Fukushima tsunami that caused a nuclear disaster was that a 27-inch tsunami has

an enormous amount of energy behind it that carries it far inland along streams and rivers. Two feet of water can do considerable damage to houses and land along the way.

[RazorbackExpat]

8. The worst Tohoku tsunamis were far higher than that

In Sendai, for example, the tsunami at the airport was up to 20 feet in depth. The tsunami at Minami Sanriku was high enough to completely inundate the 3-story city office. The tsunami at Fukushima Dai-ichi was 50 feet high. A 27-inch tsunami won't go too far inland and won't do a lot of damage.

[Martin68]

9. I realize they were much higher. My point is I never realized the energy behind the waves, which drives them far inland.

The water level rose quite slowly at first, but kept rising and moving farther inland. The energy of the flow carried cars and building along with it. My image of a tsunami had always been that a towering wave crashing on a town, but it was a surge rather than a wave. While a 27-inch tsunami would do far less damage, it could be a great deal more damaging than your average 27-inch ocean wave, which breaks harmlessly on a beach and immediately withdraws. That's what I was trying to say. Structures along streams could be seriously damaged.

My wife's family had a farm and numerous buildings near a small river located between the two power plants in Fukushima. They had lived there for several hundred years. There was nothing left of any of the buildings except for concrete foundations. The people managed to escape in time. They arranged for me to accompany them on a visit to the site. The only thing remaining intact was the family graveyard on the top of a hill. Our time there was strictly limited, and we had to wear disposable protective clothing and overshoes to avoid carrying any radioactive soil with us when we left. The background radiation was quite low. It was interesting to see how nature had taken over.