Hello everyone, Happy New Year!

Yesterday, around 4:10 PM on January 1st, there was an earthquake in Japan.

Today, I would like to talk about that earthquake.

The sea sandwiched between the Asian continent and Japan is called the Sea of Japan.

The earthquake occurred in Ishikawa Prefecture, facing the Sea of Japan. Ishikawa Prefecture is known for its castle, its Japanese garden, and its art museum.

In particular, Kanazawa City in Ishikawa has a Kyoto-like atmosphere. In Ishikawa Prefecture, there is a peninsula jutting into the sea called the Noto Peninsula.

A Shindo 7 earthquake occurred there. As of today, January 2nd, at 1 PM, 30 people have been confirmed dead.

It is expected that this number may increase. (Now the number is 48.)

In Japan, the intensity of an earthquake is measured on "Shindo," Japanese seismic intensity scale.

Shindo ranges from 0 to 7. Shindo 7 is the most intense shaking, described as 'People will be tossed around and will be unable to move by their own will.' Shindo 6 feels like you can't keep standing.

I have only experienced up to Shindo 4, which is described as 'considerable fear, most people become frightened.' During the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, when I was in Yokohama, the intensity was Shindo 4, and it was terrifying.

The earthquake's size is also expressed in magnitude, and this one had a magnitude of 7.6.

Magnitude represents the overall size of the earthquake.

So, whether you are in Ishikawa or Tokyo, the magnitude of this earthquake is 7.6.

However, 'Shindo' represents the intensity of shaking felt in a specific region, so it can vary for the same earthquake in different locations. In Ishikawa, there were areas with Shindo 7, Shindo 6, and Shindo 5.

Tokyo experienced Shindo 1 or 2.

I was with my family in Tokyo at that time, and due to walking, we didn't feel the shaking at all.

What surprised me this time was the occurrence of a tsunami.

Tsunamis happen when the waves generated by an earthquake hit the land and increase in size when they bounce back.

The Pacific Ocean is vast, and we know from the 2011 tsunami that it can lead to significant tsunamis. However, I thought the Sea of Japan was too narrow for a tsunami to occur.