Fears of a catastrophic ‘mega-quake’ are mounting after Japan was rocked by a 7.7 magnitude tremor.
The earthquake, off the northeastern coast, sent shockwaves felt tons of of miles away in Tokyo.
Tsunami alerts flashed on phones as 10ft waves hit the Iwate prefecture and Hokkaido.
Social media footage captured the moment power lines swayed and kitchenware rattled inside people’s homes.
Experts have now raised the probability of a follow-up mega-quake from 0.1% to 1% – a tenfold increase in the standard risk level.
What’s a mega-quake?
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A mega-quake is defined as a large tremor with a magnitude higher than eight. The strongest ever recorded was a 9.5 which struck Chile in 1960.
Richard Walker, professor of tectonics on the University of Oxford, warned these events are uniquely destructive.
He told Metro: ‘Although these really large earthquakes are rare, they may be very damaging as they produce strong shaking and since they’ve the potential to supply tsunami waves that may inundate coastal regions, including places far-off from the earthquake itself.’
Scientists are actually reviewing historical data, noting the same pattern of quakes that led as much as the magnitude 9.1 that struck in March 2011.
That disaster triggered a tsunami that killed 19,000 people and destroyed the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
Professor Walker said the present warning is important for ‘careful messaging and education on find out how to prepare and react’.
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Japan stays highly vulnerable since it sits on the Ring of Fire fault lines and has a mean of three earthquakes a day, in keeping with the University of Tokyo.
Could Britain ever face one?
In brief, the UK stays safely shielded from such extreme seismic activity.
The country sits in the course of the Eurasian tectonic plate, removed from deep ocean trenches.
The tremors that do shake the British Isles are inclined to be clustered across the Midlands Microcraton – a triangle of rock stretching from the Peak District to Swansea and London.
The British Geological Survey says there are around 300 a yr, but only 30 are felt.
A ‘major’ UK quake in 2023 measured just 4.2, which is a fraction of the strength in comparison to Japan’s standards.
Professor Walker reassured us saying: ‘The UK is much, far, away from the closest deep ocean trench, with distinguished global examples being those within the Caribbean, offshore western South America and Alaska, and along the eastern margin of Asia (including Japan).’
For further reassurance, the last major geological upheavals within the UK happened tens of hundreds of thousands of years ago, when volcanic activity formed landmarks equivalent to Giant’s Causeway and the Isle of Skye.
The closest Britain has come to a strong earthquake in modern times was the Dogger Bank earthquake of 1931.
Measuring 6.1 in magnitude, it caused widespread damage and was linked to the death of a girl in Hull who suffered a fatal heart attack through the tremor.
What’s a mega-quake?
The strength of earthquakes is measured on a scale of magnitude. The upper the number on the dimensions, the more powerful the quake.
Mega-quakes are far larger and more destructive earthquakes defined as those with a magnitude of greater than eight.
The most important was in 1960, when a magnitude 9.5 earthquake flattened a 1,000-mile-long stretch of Chile.
How one can prepare for an earthquake – and what to do when one happens
The Earthquake Country Alliance, an earthquake coordination organisation, recommends that folks secure items of their home, equivalent to bookcases, that might easily topple over.
The identical goes for fragile items like TVs or heavy pieces like a hot water heater.
Official guidance in Japan recommends people keep their footwear by their bed and be able to evacuate at any time, even through the night.
Keep an emergency kit of basic supplies – ID, money, water and medication- and hearken to official broadcasts on the radio and web for updates.
‘Keep away from fragile block partitions,’ it adds. ‘Be ready for collapses brought on by earthquakes.’
Get in contact with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
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