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

[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.