Everyone get to high ground... please... ; ;

You are not safe anywhere on this planet...

Not for nothin' here but in my lifetime, I haven't seen so many earth moving situations happen within a couple years spread.

Seems there has been an amazing amount of geographical situations going on that if they were any worse, could kill thousands. From Hurricanes and Tornado's to Earthquakes and Tsunami's.

I have a strange feeling that the "BIG" one is yet to come and soon. Guess if this is true & if it does indeed happen, I'd wish then that I was one of those doomsday prepares that I feel are over doing it.

The Japanese must always be on edge after the Tsunami that hit last year. I can imagine what they go through after each one of these quakes and those Tsunami sirens go off. Jumping out of bed, grabbing what they can and taking off in their cars on the routes they've been practicing for just such a situation...

The plain simple fact of the matter is that there is no unusually large number of earthquakes this year (or the last couple of years).

More to come i would move

HAARP and weather control

@ gumps The whole world is shifting. You aint seen nothing yet. The world is off center.

The whole world is shifting? Have you just learned this? Golly, plate tectonic theory has been around for decades - I guess its better late than never for catching up. As for the world being "off center"- what the Hell does that mean? The earth has always been tilted on its axis...

3 foot waves is a calm day here on Lake Michigan.

Japan really should go German's way to abandon nuke energy gradually and use alternative energy resources instead. their entire island is in quake zone, and there's always the danger of that causing nuke leak and contamination.

Karma is Stalking Japan.

@ANNIE, there is a major difference between a "wave" and a tsunami.

A wave is just that, it has a peek and a valley.

A tsunami is an abrupt increase in the level of water that does not stop.

@Mary Jones, If the earth was not "off center" we would not have the seasons.

@Grumps, Ding,Ding,Ding, correct.

However, we have seen in earth records that nature can be a MAJOR player.

Expect a very large catastrophe, probably in the next 25 years.

Earthquake, super volcano or meteor strike, any of which are likely.

(not to mention the crap people pull)

Oh, thanks for setting us all straight Monad; as if we didn't know. Ever hear of just a conversational figure of speech, Nostradamus?

Michel de Nostredame^[1] (14 or 21 December 1503^[2] – 2 July 1566), usually Latinised as Nostradamus, was a French apothecary and reputed seer who published collections of prophecies that have since become famous worldwide. He is best known for his book Les Propheties (The Prophecies), the first edition of which appeared in 1555.

Not even close.

I never said I was a SEER.

Perhaps you meant "Einstein" as his name is usually invoked to purport excessive intelligence.

I am not that intelligent, but I know that a 3 foot tsunami is a potential disaster.

wonder if quakes are a result of something that happened years ago that might have changed the plates, feel bad for these people

The plain simple fact of the matter is that there is no unusually large number of earthquakes this year (or the last couple of years).

References, Gumps? Just because it's your opinion doesn't mean a thing if you can't support it with published data.

We continue to be asked by many people throughout the world if earthquakes are on the increase. Although it may seem that we are having more earthquakes, earthquakes of magnitude 7.0 or greater have remained fairly constant.

A partial explanation may lie in the fact that in the last twenty years, we have definitely had an increase in the number of earthquakes we have been able to locate each year. This is because of the tremendous increase in the number of seismograph stations in the world and the many improvements in global communications. In 1931, there were about 350 stations operating in the world; today, there are more than 8,000 stations and the data now comes in rapidly from these stations by electronic mail, internet and satellite. This increase in the number of stations and the more timely receipt of data has allowed us and other seismological centers to locate earthquakes more rapidly and to locate many small earthquakes which were undetected in earlier years. The NEIC now locates about 20,000 earthquakes each year or approximately 50 per day. Also, because of the improvements in communications and the increased interest in the environment and natural disasters, the public now learns about more earthquakes.

According to long-term records (since about 1900), we expect about 17 major earthquakes (7.0 - 7.9) and one great earthquake (8.0 or above) in any given year.

from usgs...

AtticusRules, I'm sorry - I thought you'd be capable of doing a little basic research on your own instead of being spoon fed. For your sake, here you go:

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqarchives/year/eqstats.php

Hey, 12/21/12 is just around the corner!!

And so is 12/22, 12/23, 12/24,....

And so is 12/22, 12/23, 12/24,....

LOL!

Happy New Year!!!!

I don't want to see anyone injured or killed. But isn't it ironic ... 71 years ago today Pearl Harbor was bombed. May we never forget our own fallen that day!

No, it is not ironic - the two events are completely unrelated.

How do you know?? Whoooooo

Gumps - do you even know what "ironic" means?

AtticusRules - golly, I have to look up definitions for you as well:

Something is ironic if the result is the opposite of what was intended, as taken from:

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/ironic

My original statement stands - the two events are unrelated and therefore one could not reasonable infer that an attack on Pearl Harbor would not cause an earthquake/tsunami decades into the future.

yeahhhhhh thats not how you use the word ironic. there's nothing ironic about a natural disaster.

Dude, they were 3 foot waves. Not exactly epic proportions...

when will it end-2085868

Dude, they were 3 foot waves. Not exactly epic proportions...

May want to check the times between your post and Freedom4Everyone's. Freedom posted right when the news came out, not after they updated information stating the waves were only 3ft high.

Luckily they didn't get the waves they were estimating. Always good to have an emergency plan regardless if later you find out that some of the warnings turned out to be minor.

Glad to hear there was no significant waves, and no damage.

Dude, they were 3 foot waves. Not exactly epic proportions...

Dude, these stories get updated and changed. The waves hadnt hit when I posted that, the Earthquake had just been reported.

Did you read the article?

Obviously not. Too small to even surf :-)...

Gumps and when will it end,

Did you even read what time NyNy made that post? Obviously not.

I think everyone should have to take a college level Geology class. It's quite educational, and freaks you the heck out. Such a volatile planet we live on. We've been lucky so far, and the earth is just getting warmed up for another round of clearing her throat...

Agreed...either that, or just pay attention for 15 minutes of "Earth Science" class in high school. Both the planet and everything on it are constantly in motion- I'm no scientist, but I learned enough to know that. Japan, by the way, had better not be the only one watching for a tsunami- that deal could pretty much go in any direction.

Phil is right, we are just ants on the surface. We can still do a lot of damage, but for the rest of the world, it can do damage right back. We have no way to control most of what goes on, we must ride it out. Our planet is a living, breathing, moving, and shaking place. We just need to roll with the punches.

Best wishes to the folks in Japan, I know it must be terribly scary.

Ants?

Shades of "The Dome" by Steven King....in my humble opinion his best work since "The Stand".... great read....

Sending good vibes your way, Jean, and to all who might be affected. I too hope no casualties.

thanks Lisa. It looks like it was not too bad.

"3 feet" is actually pretty misleading. It's not just the height of the waves, but the power behind them. Those are still very strong waves that could do plenty of damage to someone... if they didn't get out of the way.

Thankfully, the Japanese know to do that, but there have been other places where people have gone to 'see the big waves' in this kind of situation and die as a result.

So, yeah, people were probably okay, but I do think it's important to get away from thinking of tsunamis in terms of how many feet tall they are.... it's not helpful.

Japan is right near several major tectonic plate boundaries. Heck, the entire island chain is the result of tectonic plates moving against each other. They have a long history of earthquakes. So, yeah, the odds are pretty good that they'd get another quake near the same place. As long as there are no casualties, it's not that big of a deal.

That said, Japan is a pretty cool country. It's not without it's flaws but what place isn't. I'm glad for the people there that this wasn't another big disaster. I'm hoping to take a vacation next year and visit Japan again.

The term "tidal wave" is incorrect as it has nothing to do with the tides. This has been pointed out for decades. As for haboob, I first heard of it while living in Arizona - it is an arabic word, meaning violent windstorm. Of course, many right wing lunatics living in Arizona object to the local weatherman using this word because it originated in the middle east. I suspect you are one of those...

DadinAZ, Gumps,

You both make good points. On one hand, "tidal wave" is less descriptive of the phenomenon than "tsunami". On the other hand, not many of the PC crowd hollered so much about saving wetlands and rain forests when they were swamps and jungles.

Except that "tsunami" and "haboob" aren't politically correct words.

A politically correct version of tsunami would be, "temporary oceanic volume displacement". Or some such nonsense.

Tsunami is very appropriate terminology here as it is a Japanese word and the tsunami hit Japan.

tsu·na·mi (ts-näm)

n. pl. tsu·na·mis
A very large ocean wave caused by an underwater earthquake or volcanic eruption.

[Japanese : tsu, port + nami, wave.]

biff johnson-2053495

http://howell.patch.com/articles/japan-ambassador-donates-500k-to-hurricane-sandy-victims-ef6fc646

Look it up, it takes 5 seconds to find. Japan sent $500,000 to hurricane Sandy relief efforts.

Japan Donates $500K to Hurricane Sandy Victims

While on a tour of New Jersey, Japan Ambassador stopped in Freehold and announced a donation to help rebuild New Jersey.

Never heard of it. What Foreign country ever does Anyhting for the U.S.? They all have their hands out looking for something from Uncle Sucker.

Tarzan

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/dis_hur_kat_int_aid_res-hurricane-katrina-international-aid-response

The countries that helped just for Katrina.

Starbuck - thanks for posting the links!

1. Your bigotry is showing.

2. Japan actually did contribute to Sandy, and more so for Katrina.

3. Part of the reason why we 'defend' Japan is because we forced them to sign a treaty which has resulted in them only having defensive forces, with a constitutional policy of pacifism.

4. We don't defend Japan out of altruism. It's in our national interest, and we do it despite the fact that the people in the area don't want us there. We wouldn't be very quick to let them ask us to leave, either.

5. If our troops and ships are in a position to easily help out in any situation of crisis (natural disaster, terrorist attack, etc.) in any country, I'm for it. The costs are minimal when the troops are nearby and already out to sea, and the goodwill we receive will pay off in dividends for a long time to come. Hell, if a major earth quake struck Russia, Iran or North Korea and tens of thousands of lives were at stake, I'd even be willing to let our forces help out them, if they'd take it! (Though I doubt they would.)

I'm not sure this situation rises to that level -- Japan is well prepared for earth quakes of this size and its people are well trained to deal with them -- but we should of course extend offers of goodwill when the circumstances arise. Other countries have, in fact, helped us in the past, too.

so quick to demonize japan without even knowing the facts! japan did contribute to sandy relief and i believe they donated to katrina relief as well.

Or maybe you just believe in superstitious nonsense.

OK, Carnac the Magnificent, tell us when this big quake is coming in actual calendar terms, instead of "soon". To me, the word "soon" can be one day short of "never".

When Fla was hit hard it all most put Allstate out of business.They could not pay the people back to rebuild the Insurance company made every excuse not to pay the people..Insurance = scam...

When Fla was hit hard it all most (sic) put Allstate out of business.

Hardly. Insurance companies have enough reserves to handle claims. Not all Allstate customers live in Florida.

Allstate has stated intentions of reducing its exposure in hurricane-prone Florida. In November 2006, Allstate did not renew 120,000 policies that were expiring at that time. Governor Charlie Crist and the Florida Cabinet passed a 90-day emergency order to temporarily prevent insurance companies from nonrenewing policies.^[35] On February 20, 2007, Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty clarified the order, stating that insurance companies can nonrenew policies if they satisfy certain conditions, including filing new, lower rates with the state and give customers 100 days’ notice.

It drove down profits to the point they would not renew policies.

But it did not almost put Allstate out of business as paragus asserted.

No, It did not. In all probability, someone got a bonus for figuring out how to shortchange their clientele.

tell us when this big quake is coming in actual calendar terms, instead of "soon"

Unfortunately, no one can give the exact timing, except that it's a matter of "when," not "if." In recent years, there has already been a series of small quakes, which typically precede the big one. Pressure is building up along the many sizable tectonic faults as we speak. I wouldn't be surprised if there's an all-in-one disaster that includes Mt. St. Helen's-type explosions of the remaining volcanoes, along with tsunamis of unprecedented magnitude washing away miles of coastal communities. It might even get the roaches.

You're not saying anything that we didn't already know - from watching the Discovery Channel. But a series of small quakes does not necessarily mean that a large one is coming - each small quake can relieve a little pressure. But what causes a large quake is when the plates get hung up and suddenly break free. Again, this is nothing new. You're orignal post implied that a major disaster in the northwest is imminent - or at least within the next 5 years, given that Mitt lost. I'm willing to bet that no such disaster will occur in that timeframe.

I've encountered bigger waves in Mrytle Beach.

I reiterate, a "wave" and a tsunami are NOT the same thing.

Imagine a "wave" that never stops.

If a 3 foot tsunami hit Florida, it would go half way across the state.

It has a peek but no valley.

It is constantly followed by more water at the same level.

"Remember Pearl Harbor"? Really? I hope you're just trolling, or maybe I missed the joke, that has to be it. Last time I checked, we haven't been enemies with Japan since 1945. With no sign of warlike intentions having emerged from Japan towards us ever since. We don't live in the same political world that existed 70 years ago. Why exactly do you need to wave the flag of jingoism towards Japan now? Maybe we should "Remember Lexington and Concord!" too, and maintain hostilities towards Britain as well. Heck, we could take it all the way back to Biblical times. Oh, wait...

Tim - good one!

Tim: you my freind are an IDIOT. Of course it's a joke how old are you? Idiot.

Well said Tim!

a tsunami is different from a wave in that it picks up a lot of momentum. while 3 feet may seem small, with a tsunami's speed and strength, the results could actually be pretty scary.