Japanese earthquakes

jonniebgood1

Japan has a long history of earthquakes. For anyone whos interested there is a Life magazine article on a quake in western Japan in 1948. I am not certain but it is possibly a different fault line to that of the recent quake. If anyone else is interested it may be worthwhile posting pictures or newspaper accounts if availiable of recorded events such as this. I wonder have similar Tsunami events occured to cause similar damage. Anyhow I will post more as I come across them in the next few days.

The series of 1948 photos is here: http://www.life.com/image/first/in-gallery/57761/earthquake-in-japan-june-1948

It was not as strong as the current quake by a large margin given the logorithmic scale of richter measurements.

The 1948 Fukui earthquake (福井地震, Fukui jishin?) was a major earthquake in Fukui Prefecture, Japan. The magnitude 7.1 quake struck at 5:13 p.m. on June 28, 1948 (the then Japan Daylight Saving Time; JDT). The strongest shaking occurred in the city of Fukui, where it was recorded as 6 (equivalent to the current 7) on the Japan Meteorological Agency seismic intensity scale. The coordinates of the earthquake were 36゜10.3'N　136゜17.4'E (around the town of Maruoka).

from wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1948_Fukui_earthquake

jonniebgood1

The 1923 Great Kantō earthquake struck the Kantō plain on the Japanese main island of Honshū at 11:58:44 am JST on September 1, 1923. Varied accounts hold that the duration of the earthquake was between 4 and 10 minutes.

The quake had a magnitude of 7.9 on the Richter scale, with its focus deep beneath Izu Ōshima Island in Sagami Bay.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1923_Great_Kant%C5%8D_earthquake

The following account is of hysteria following the earthquake (known as The Great Kanto Earthquake Massacre) and the targeting of minorities by some people based on newspaper reports. http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?menu=c10400&no=320400&rel_no=1

The earthquake's devastation was unbelievable, but the firestorms that followed were horrific. The flames spread through the cities, incinerating victims who were trapped in the ruins of their buildings and those who sought shelter in the supposed safety of the open squares and parks. Perhaps the worst example of this was the incineration of nearly 30,000 people who sought refuge at the Military Clothing Depot in downtown Tokyo, only to be trapped by the flames and perish horribly.

Though the acts of Mother Nature were horrendous, they paled in comparison to the behavior of humankind. Because it was nearly lunch, many of the Japanese mothers and wives were cooking when the earthquake struck -- the subsequent fires were primarily due to these small stoves. However, rumors quickly spread that Korean activists, in league with the Japanese socialists, were responsible for the fires and the poisoning of wells. These rumors spread just as quickly and were just as deadly as the firestorms.

Newspapers in the United States were filled not only with the accounts of the horrible devastation in Japan, but also with the massacre of Koreans that followed.

On Sept. 4, The Dunkirk Evening Observer reported: "Rioting has broken out at Tokio [sic], adding its horror to those of the flames. The population is in desperate need of food. Koreans are reported to be taking a leading part in looting and pillaging and martial law, which has been proclaimed after the disaster has been extended." Other newspapers reported that 200 armed Koreans were driven from Tokyo after battling with the Japanese military, Korean looters were being shot, and that the Japanese population was being armed by the police to deal with the Koreans and the socialists.

Reverend H.V.S. Peake noted that the young Japanese men were armed with "heavy sticks, sections of pipe, and in some instances with antiquated swords," but very few firearms. One newspaper described them as "wildly excited mobs of 'young men's societies' -- a sort of Ku Klux Klan-Fascist combination."

Miss Martha Johnson, an American tourist aboard the steamship Empress of China in Yokohama harbor, told of her own experiences in the days that followed the quake: "A Korean caught by [the] Japanese and tied to a pole at the edge of the city [was] beaten by every passing native as reprisal for the terrorism carried on by robbers alleged to be his countrymen."

A reporter noted that: "A Korean's life wasn't worth a plugged nickel that night. They were bumped off where they were found -- beaten to death with clubs, hacked to pieces with swords; pierced with spears. Just to be a Korean -- or to be a Japanese 'Red' or Socialist -- was sufficient to sign a summary death warrant at the hands of the roaming bands of frenzied 'loyalists.'"

Not all the victims were Korean. Roderick O. Metheson witnessed a young Japanese man, possibly a Socialist, who was beaten to death by a crowd of young Japanese men (18-25 years old) armed with crowbars......

jonniebgood1

Some video footage of Tokyo after 1923 quake.

Corsendonk

Comprehensive list of major Japanese earthquakes and links to articles.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_earthquakes_in_Japan