sunrise 0 Posted October 24, 2004 Share Posted October 24, 2004 little shakers and some jolts. Don't usually have a second one 10 mins later. Anyone know where it was centred? Link to post Share on other sites
slow 0 Posted October 24, 2004 Share Posted October 24, 2004 Niigata 6 Gunma 5 Tokyo 3 I'm in the office now. Saikin yure sugi... Link to post Share on other sites
sunrise 0 Posted October 24, 2004 Author Share Posted October 24, 2004 lots of little aftershocks.... Link to post Share on other sites
slow 0 Posted October 24, 2004 Share Posted October 24, 2004 I am still feeling shaking... It will not stop tonight. I hope big one won't come. Link to post Share on other sites
stripper on coke 0 Posted October 24, 2004 Share Posted October 24, 2004 Sheeeeeeeeeeeet That was massive !!! I'm in naeba, and boy oh boy did I aparto move Biggest jolts I have fely in nearly 9 yrs in Japan. I wasn't here for Kobe, so I don't know what that felt like, but, I know how this one felt and that's enough........ On the bright side, at least there is now an offical excuss for a few drinks to settle the nerves Plenty of aftershocks too. had another quite good thump about 20 mins ago - just to keep the feeling alive..... Don't suppose these quakes have anything to do with Mt Asama ? ? ? ? Link to post Share on other sites
Markie 0 Posted October 24, 2004 Share Posted October 24, 2004 I just hope everyone is OK. Take care. Link to post Share on other sites
SnowJapan Admin SnowJapan#Andrew 6 Posted October 25, 2004 SnowJapan Admin Share Posted October 25, 2004 That was MAJOR. I don't think I've ever been as scared in my life, could swear my place moved about 10 meters. Very very frightening. 3 earthquakes over 6 on the scale last night, and I hear over 220 earthquakes up until now since 6pm last night Electtic, gas, water all out in Yuzawa (apart from up there in Naeba I hear), Shiozawa and Muikamachi. Just come back on again in the last hour. Link to post Share on other sites
IIIII 2 Posted October 25, 2004 Share Posted October 25, 2004 Theyre saying it was considerably more wobbly than the Kobe quake What did everyone do when there was no electric overnight? Link to post Share on other sites
sanjo 2 Posted October 25, 2004 Share Posted October 25, 2004 Here was the plan. Go down to meet a friend in Muikamachi (about 40 mins south of Nagaoka, half an hour north of Yuzawa), have a good loud night out on Saturday, chill out on Sunday and then go back. Trust my luck. We're downing a few beers in his aparto and getting ready to go out when the whole place moves and continues to move for what seemed like a couple of minutes (I hear it was 15 seconds). It's hard to describe just how much the place was moving. It was violent, it was noisy, it was scary. I was sure the place was going to collapse around us. Everything flying over the place, making a big big noise, the earth making it's 'angry earthquake noise', etc. Screaming next door. Then the lights go off, as does everything else. Spend the night on a backroad in his car trying to keep warn as all the electric water and gas was cut off. Didn't get a second of sleep, the car kept moving violently with these aftershocks. (Although the shaking in a car is preferable to the flimsy buidling). The lights went back on again around 6am when we could go back to his aparto to see the mess that was left behind. Amazingly the building was still standing. And now I'm facing big problems getting back to Sanjo, which was also rocked big time. Big parts of Route 17 have been broken up and are not passable, and the kosoku is not open either. Neither are the trains running. What with this now and the floods in my town before summer. It was really very frightening. Link to post Share on other sites
2pints-mate 0 Posted October 25, 2004 Share Posted October 25, 2004 That was on the bbc news here. Link to post Share on other sites
sunrise 0 Posted October 25, 2004 Author Share Posted October 25, 2004 woah, that's scary stuff. Maybe you were lucky not to be in Sanjo after all...? I logged onto the chat sometime after the second big one that we felt in Tokyo to see if anyone was talking about it, saw SJ's name there, but no response (now I know why!). After awhile I felt another small aftershock and SJ 'left' the chat soon after - maybe the power went off up your way at that point? I read a discussion online talking about how many rural families continue to live in inherited family houses which aren't very earthquake-safe and this can be the reason for damage to houses that collapse while the ones next door to them don't. However, seeing photos of totally ripped up roads, I think if the ground decides it wants to crack and buckle right underneath a house, I don't think an even 'earthquake safe' house is still going to prevent the house collapsing. Phew! Around this time last year the quakes were even stronger, but less damage, more rural. Link to post Share on other sites
SnowJapan Admin SnowJapan#Andrew 6 Posted October 25, 2004 SnowJapan Admin Share Posted October 25, 2004 You're right sunrise, I was cut off.... Taking a nervous rest today, although the intermittent shaking isn't making it much fun. Like sanjo, I didn't sleep at all last night. From what I can tell, Sanjo (the city) is about the same as down here. The earthquakes centre was basically about half way in between here and Sanjo. sanjo, good luck getting back, seems that route 17 and the expressway are torn up in quite a few places. Link to post Share on other sites
slow 0 Posted October 25, 2004 Share Posted October 25, 2004 I hope you guys in Niigata are OK. I didn't expect that it was so bad last night. We can get the information how big it was from meteorological bureau website very quickly but the damage report is always brought to us very late. Now, the 7-11 and ItoYokado bring Onigiri for those people in Niigata. So, another many people from all kinds of industry, like housing company, general construction company will go there to help people. And I go to 7-11 to donate a little money for the people who are living in the disaster area. Don't be so depressed. Link to post Share on other sites
2pints-mate 0 Posted October 25, 2004 Share Posted October 25, 2004 I'm sure glad I've not experienced that. All the best over there. Link to post Share on other sites
sunrise 0 Posted October 25, 2004 Author Share Posted October 25, 2004 Wow SJ, you're still getting aftershocks. There's been a couple here that feel like I could 'almost' feel something but not quite, barely noticeable and only for a fraction of a second. That would have been a pretty shaky experience. I don't think I'd have gotten much sleep either if i'd been out your way. Link to post Share on other sites
rach 1 Posted October 25, 2004 Share Posted October 25, 2004 Hold on in there. I saw that interview with the old grandma who said she had lost a grandchild and her husband was badly injured. Sad. Link to post Share on other sites
joshnii 2 Posted October 25, 2004 Share Posted October 25, 2004 I cant speak for Yuzawa and sanjo, but there are still aftershocks going on here quite regularly. It doesn't seem to want to quit. sanjo, I hope you can get back to your place ok and find it to be ok. That was ****ing shit scary, I'll tell ya. I thought I bus had crashed into the side of my house with that first bang Link to post Share on other sites
scouser 4 Posted October 25, 2004 Share Posted October 25, 2004 How abnormal is this 250+ aftershocks thing? That sounds REALLY excessive! Link to post Share on other sites
nzlegend 1 Posted October 25, 2004 Share Posted October 25, 2004 Scouser check out the earthquake site http://www.tenki.jp/qua/quake_21.html click on the arrows at the top right, every couple of minutes there are decent shocks going on up there, little little little big little little big etc Link to post Share on other sites
stripper on coke 0 Posted October 25, 2004 Share Posted October 25, 2004 still been a couple of strong ones this evening......the power stayed on here, I think it was cut off to around the Kagura carpark area. I managed to sleep last night, albiet very close to my money, passport and torch (pays to be ready......) After reading the above comments, I'd just like to also mention the noise . I don't know if it's just my apartment (I doubt it), but the sound is something like a jet engine roar coming at you really quickly.........scary...... Sanjo, I hope you got home ok. Route 17 is going to be a real mess now. No trains, the expressway is out, route 17 is falling apart in places, and, this coming week, route 17 is going to be closed just north of town for 3 hours during each day......good time to stay off the road..... Link to post Share on other sites
sunrise 0 Posted October 25, 2004 Author Share Posted October 25, 2004 hope you can sleep tonite... Interesting article: http://mdn.mainichi.co.jp/news/20041024p2a00m0dm009000c.html Niigata quake registers record high acceleration The killer earthquake that struck Niigata Prefecture Saturday evening registered a record high maximum acceleration in Japan, well above the figure recorded in the Kobe quake in 1995, a national research institute said Sunday. Acceleration is an index used to measure the strength of vibrations in earthquakes. An earthquake measurement device called, "K-NET," in Ojiya shows that the temblor registered the maximum acceleration rate of 1,500 gals, according to the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention (NIED). The figure far surpassed the maximum acceleration of 818 gals that the Kobe Marine Observatory recorded at the time of the Great Hanshin Earthquake on Jan. 17, 1995, which devastated Kobe and surrounding areas in Hyogo Prefecture. Experts say people and objects are thrust upward if an earthquake with 980 gals or above strikes, suggesting that the record high acceleration is responsible for massive damage caused by the Niigata quake. The earthquake moved the earth's crust in extensive areas, according to the government's Geographic Survey Institute (GSI). The GSI estimated that the active fault that triggered the temblor shifted 1.4 meters horizontally after examining the movement of the earth's crust along the fault. GSI officials noted, however, that the figure may be subsequently revised because no data at nine observation points near the focus of the quake are available because of a power failure. (Mainichi Shimbun, Japan, Oct. 24, 2004) Link to post Share on other sites
BagOfCrisps 24 Posted October 25, 2004 Share Posted October 25, 2004 Scary stuff indeed. Link to post Share on other sites
nulla 0 Posted October 26, 2004 Share Posted October 26, 2004 just heard about this now from Australia HOPE EVERYONE IS OK!!!!!!!! Link to post Share on other sites
Yuki's Passion 1 Posted October 26, 2004 Share Posted October 26, 2004 I was out in Matsue on the lake watching what seemed to be at least 200 people photographing the sunset drinking some beers. Walking back to my hotel and walking by some small denkiya san on their only TV I see Niigata crumbling to pieces. I was scared just looking at the TV let alone actually being there I hope everyone gets through it - seems to be quite a shortage of food/drinks in a few areas Link to post Share on other sites
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