The Big Wobble : Waiting For The "BIG ONE!"—Last night's magnitude 7.2 earthquake, (reduced to 7.0 by USGS) off the east coast of Russia's Kamchatka is another massive reminder to Japan— It's coming! —Just two days after Japan withdraw "MEGAQUAKE" warning!

Map USGS, should read Mag 6 or higher!

Last night's magnitude 7.2 earthquake, (reduced to 7.0 by USGS) off the east coast of Russia's Kamchatka will not have helped the Japanese government's confidence after it issued a rare higher-than-usual risk of a "megaquake" off the Pacific Coast just after the very shallow mag 7.1 earthquake rocked Southern Japan on August the 8th. Five major quakes (mag 6 or higher) have been recorded along the same plate-line in the last two weeks.

The Japanese weather agency said Thursday that the risks of a massive earthquake occurring around the Nankai Trough that runs along the Pacific coast have become higher than usual, issuing the first such advisory of its kind. However, a couple of days ago the Japanese Government eased that warning.

In the worst-case scenario, a powerful temblor could shake a wide area of Japan -- from the Kanto region centring on Tokyo to the southwestern Kyushu region -- and high tsunami waves could engulf the coastal areas of Kanto to Okinawa, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. A panel of experts in Tokyo assess whether there is any link between the Nankai Trough and the earthquake that jolted southwestern Japan on Aug. 8, 2024. (Kyodo) The Japanese government has predicted a 70 to 80 per cent chance of a magnitude 8 to 9 quake along the Nankai Trough within the next 30 years, with a 2012 estimate showing that the number of deaths could reach up to 323,000. Naoshi Hirata, the head of an advisory body to the weather agency that assessed the latest quake, said the probability of a major earthquake along the Nankai Trough has now increased by "several times" compared to usual.

The Nankai Trough extends a distance of approximately 800 kilometres where the Eurasian and Philippine Sea tectonic plates intersect. The Japanese weather agency started operating a system to release special information regarding the Nankai Trough quake in 2017, which is activated when an earthquake with magnitude 6.8 or above hits areas where megaquakes are predicted or when unusual crustal movements are observed at plate boundaries. region at a depth of 51 km (32 miles), the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said on Saturday.

Last night's magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck off the east coast of Russia's Kamchatka region at a depth of 51 km (32 miles), the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said on Saturday. The U.S. National Tsunami Warning Center said there was a tsunami threat from the quake. But the Kamchatka branch of Russia's emergency ministry reported that there was no threat of tsunami and that the recorded aftershocks from the quake ranged in magnitude from 3.9 to 5.0.

Japan's Big Problem

Map USGS

In just the last nine months 14 major quakes (mag 6 or higher) have hit Japan or the surrounding area. If we look below at the same map since March 2011, when the 9.0 megaquake struck the East Coast of Japan 214 major quakes have struck the area. No wonder the Japanese government are worried about another megaquake striking their shores.