M5.3 quake hits Hokkaido; no tsunami danger

Didn't feel like much in Sapporo, where we've been having several tremors a week, but the keitai alarm was going nuts.

And next the typhoon

farmboy - why would a 5.3 quake on the shindo scale be barely news as you put it? Esp in light of the powerful recent quake and aftershocks.

Many factors determine the severity of a quake. Of late people have now begun to understand the dangers of liquefaction, landslides, power-blackouts, gas line ruptures etc all possible with quakes of 5.3 shindo reading.

Just because buildings don't topple, doesn't mean there are not serious inherent dangers.

And if people are only familiar with and thinking in the "Magnitude Scale", then they might be mistakenly lead to believe that 5.3 is a shake.

Oddly yesterday at 15 past midnight there was an emergency alert broadcasted about a strong earthquake off the Chiba coast. I've not heard one of those alerts for a while, but nothing was felt here in my small part of Central Tokyo. (It was a 4.8, so not as significant as that in Hokkaido).

farmboy - thanks.

But I made no comment re tsunami.

I referred only to your remark "..is barely news.."

It was quite big news for citizens in that area and as I mentioned any earthquake over 5 is capable of causing dangerous situations.

Unfortunately excessive nonchalance and complacency has contributed to problems with past disasters.

After my in-laws gas pipe cracked (it was wrongfully covered in concrete by a snake of a fly-by-night company) in a not so severe quake (4.8 I think) I never take such lightly.