The following was released by the College of Charleston’s Lowcountry Hazards Center:
At 2:46 PM Japan time March 11, 2011 (12:46 AM Charleston time) a magnitude 8.9 earthquake struck off the coast of northeastern Japan. This earthquake has created a massive tsunami that struck Japan within minutes of the earthquake and is now (~7:30 AM Charleston time) racing across the Pacific Ocean towards Alaska, Hawaii, the US West Coast and other nations around the Pacific.
“This was a shallow earthquake where part of the Pacific Ocean floor slides beneath the islands of Japan along what is called a subduction zone”, said Steven Jaumé of the College of Charleston’s Lowcountry Hazards Center, which is housed in the Department of Geology and Environmental Geosciences. “Earthquakes of this type produce the largest tsunamis – the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was created by the same type of earthquake. DART (Deep ocean Assessment And Reporting of Tsunamis) buoys off the south coast of Alaska have detected tsunami waves approaching the Aleutian Islands. The seismic waves of this massive earthquake have also been recorded worldwide, including here in South Carolina.”
While the tsunami will not effect the South Carolina coastline, Dr. Jaumé said the Lowcountry Hazards Center will be monitoring the situation throughout the day and will be providing further updates.
