Analysis by a professor at Tohoku University in Japan… “Arrived at Suzu City, Ishikawa Prefecture in 1 minute.”
The Yomiuri Shimbun reported on the 5th that an analysis suggests that the tsunami caused by a strong earthquake on Japan’s Noto Peninsula may have reached the local coast within one minute of the earthquake.
The newspaper reported this and, based on the analysis results, explained, “It appears that the tsunami struck without the residents having time to begin evacuation.”
Earlier, at 4:10 pm on the 1st, a magnitude 7.6 earthquake occurred on the Noto Peninsula. As a result, it is over 1m20cm in Wajima City, Ishikawa Prefecture, and 50cm in Nanao City. A tsunami of 80 cm was observed in Toyama City.
Data was not collected in Suzu City. This is because the Korea Meteorological Administration’s tide gauge stopped collecting and communicating immediately after the earthquake. The specific situation was not known at the time.
Professor Fumihito Imamura, in charge of tsunami engineering at Tohoku University, reproduced on a computer the situation in which a tsunami of more than 50 cm reached the coast in each place based on data such as the fault that caused this earthquake.
As a result of the reproduction, it was calculated that the first tsunami wave struck Suzu City 1 minute after the earthquake occurred.
It was calculated that a tsunami may have reached Nanao City two minutes after the earthquake.
Based on data, the Japan Meteorological Agency calculated that the tsunami would have reached Nanao City about 30 minutes after the earthquake. However, analysis suggests that it was actually faster than this.
The fact that the tsunami reached the coast so quickly appears to be due to the fact that the earthquake fault was close to the coast.
Professor Imamura said, “Tsunami waves caused by earthquakes that occur along the coast of the Sea of Japan (Japan’s East Sea) tend to arrive sooner compared to the Pacific Ocean. “Vigilance is still needed in the future,” he pointed out.
Yomiuri reported that in Toyama Bay, a large-scale landslide may have occurred on the seafloor almost simultaneously with the earthquake. In Toyama Bay, there are places where the seafloor is sloped, so an underwater landslide occurred during the 2007 Noto Peninsula earthquake.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.