March 11, 2016

Top News Stories –

Japan earthquake: Tsunami hits north-east –
Japan’s most powerful earthquake since records began has struck the north-east coast, triggering a massive tsunami. Cars, ships and buildings were swept away by a wall of water after the 8.9-magnitude tremor, which struck about 400km (250 miles) north-east of Tokyo. A state of emergency has been declared at a nuclear power plant, where pressure has exceeded normal levels. Officials say 350 people are dead and about 500 missing, but it is feared the final death toll will be much higher. In one ward alone in Sendai, a port city in Miyagi prefecture, 200 to 300 bodies were found. The quake was the fifth-largest in the world since 1900 and nearly 8,000 times stronger than the one which devastated Christchurch, New Zealand, last month, said scientists. Thousands of people living near the Fukushima nuclear power plant have been ordered to evacuate. [BBC] See Video of the Day

Video of the Day –

Japan Tsunami Footage

List of the Day –

List of ten most powerful earthquakes [Wikipedia]

Rank Date Location Event Magnitude
1 May 22, 1960 Valdivia, Chile 1960 Valdivia earthquake 9.5
2 March 27, 1964 Prince William Sound, Alaska, United States 1964 Alaska earthquake 9.2
3 December 26, 2004 Indian Ocean, Sumatra, Indonesia 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake 9.1
4 March 11, 2011 Pacific Ocean, Tōhoku region, Japan 2011 Tōhoku earthquake 9.0
5 November 4, 1952 Kamchatka, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union 1952 Kamchatka earthquakes 9.0
6 August 13, 1868 Arica, Chile (then Peru) 1868 Arica earthquake 9.0 (est.)
7 January 26, 1700 Pacific Ocean, USA and Canada (then part of the British Empire) 1700 Cascadia earthquake 8.7–9.2 (est.)
8 July 9, 869 Pacific Ocean, Tōhoku region, Japan 869 Sanriku earthquake 8.9 (est.)
9 December 2, 1611 Pacific Ocean, Hokkaido, Japan 1611 Sanriku earthquake 8.9 (est.)
10 April 2, 1762 Chittagong, Bangladesh (then Kingdom of Mrauk U) 1762 Arakan earthquake 8.8 (est.)

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