M6.6 quake hits southwestern Japan; over 10 injured

The alarm is often scarier than the event itself.

Michael Machida

Today 07:23 am JST

I have been up since 3:00am and now it's 7:24am. Did not feel a thing.

You shouldn't take Viagra alone

Very few places could shrug off a M6.6 earthquake without massive numbers of dead and huge physical destruction the way Japan does. For all the carping we read hear about the supposed failures of Japan, the earthquake preparation in Japan is to be greatly admired.

Stay safe everyone…

Very few places could shrug off a M6.6 earthquake without massive numbers of dead and huge physical destruction the way Japan does. For all the carping we read hear about the supposed failures of Japan, the earthquake preparation in Japan is to be greatly admired.

I'm all for praising Japan for coping with natural disasters but what matters here is not the magnitude, it is the magnitude, the depth, and probably the subsoil composition. You cannot look at the magnitude alone. A deep or very deep M6.6 will not cause much damage. Very shallow, say 5km to 10km from the surface, and it is likely to cause massive localized damage, depending on the subsoil composition. To this end, the subjective Japanese "shindo" number is much more useful. It informs us how much shaking happened at the surface, which is causes destruction.

Woke me up at about 1:12 am. Even in Fukuoka it was very noticeable and lasted about 10 seconds.

I wonder if the alarm could be made less scary.

I wonder if the alarm could be made less scary

I now have mine set to vibrate only.

I have been up since 3:00am and now it's 7:24am. Did not feel a thing.

That's because it happened at 1:08am, you slept through it.

The alarm was more frightening than the actual quake.

Are they all related?

News of the aftermaths of Tonga's disastrous volcanic eruption are still coming in.

In early December last year Indonesia's Mt. Semeru volcano erupted suddenly and caused extensive disasters. A shallow earthquake hit southern Pakistan in October in the same year, causing many casualties. In November a 6.4 magnitude quake hit Albania, also causing many casualties.

An underwater volcano in the Bonin Islands erupted in August, spewing a massive amount of pumice which reached the shores of Okinawa islands two months later, threatening fisheries and tourist industries. A series of tremblers are hitting the Tokara islands in southern Kyushu.

And now this M-6,6 trembler in Miyazaki and Oita also in Kyushu.

Are these events all related?

Always amazed how quickly the quake alarm makes me jump out of bed. The alarm does not give you much time to do anything, but it does get you ready to think about whether to head for the door. Not too strong where we are, but did rattle around for a while. Spooked the cats but the dog slept through it.

I didn't feel a thing.

Then again, I live in Massachusetts.

Rarely shakes in Hiroshima but this one came through. Short but relatively strong.

The alarm on my phone woke me up just as I was sliding into deeper sleep. About fifteen seconds later I heard a faint creak in the rafters.

Checking the meteorological page on Yahoo this morning I discover that there have been 24 earthquakes there including that first initial biggie in the Hyuga Nada.

Here in Miyazaki it was quite strong. It lasted about 30 seconds with up and down and side to side shaking. We live in an older house and it was rocking real good. My wife immediately went to work adding to our evacuation kit. It was the largest I’ve felt in my 13 years here.

Are these events all related?

This is why it is called the Pacific Ring of Fire. Volcanic eruptions and earthquakes are the norm. Be glad. If not for the churning mantle of molten metal beneath the surface of the Earth, the source of the plate techtonics that creates those volcanos and earthquakes the Earth would have no magnetic field to protect our atmosphere and the life we all enjoy.

First my cellphone sounded an alarm, followed immediately by the public address system with a recorded alarm and message.

I was out of bed when the first shudder started. Not strong but certainly noticeable. My 75lb German Shepherd jumped up as soon as I did and came right to my side, as trained.

Line messaged both my sons to make sure they and their families were ok. Eldest replied immediately that they were ok. The youngest took a little longer. Said since he was up anyway, he had a beer before going back to bed. ;-)

Otake-shi, Hiroshima-ken.

Thoughts & prayers for the people of Kyushu and all of southwest Japan.

snowymountainhellToday  08:12 am JST

Earthquakes are usually expressed as “Magnitude 2.0, 4.7, 6.6,…”.  Perhaps the No.2 someone else here felt elsewhere between 1:08am and 7:46am was probably something else, like gas or geothermic energy

Yes that’s exactly what happens every morning in our household too.

Does it mean Earth has entered an active period for tectonic movements?

In Kobe and I slept through it.

Unlike the 1995 quake, I woke up but at that brime a friend in Kobe also slept through it-amazing

Can’t sound the alarm before the first quake but do appreciate the alarms as a harbinger of possible tsunami.

- @Phil 8:26am: “…alarm makes me jump out of bed. The alarm does not give you much time to do anything, but it does get you ready to think about whether to head for the door.” -

… and/or higher ground.

Earthquakes are usually expressed as “Magnitude 2.0, 4.7, 6.6,…”. Perhaps the No.2 someone else here felt elsewhere between 1:08am and 7:46am was probably something else, like gas or geothermic energy being released.

I have been up since 3:00am and now it's 7:24am. Did not feel a thing.