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Nerves rattled in Japan as alert for magnitude 9.9 quake withdrawn minutes later (www.japantimes.co.jp)
submitted 3 weeks ago by to c/world
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[–] 13 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (3 children)

For context, the strongest earthquake on record (Chile, 1960) is generally estimated between 9.4–9.6 moment magnitude.

And the scale is logarithmic.

  • 9.4 is about 8 exajoules.
  • 9.6 is about 16 exajoules.
  • 9.9 would be about 44.5 exajoules.

Nearly three times as strong as the rough upper end of the strongest recorded quake in history. I cannot even fathom.

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  • [–] 6 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

    When I saw 9.9 I thought house of cards on top of those flimsy foldable tables. Everything ruble.

    Chile 1960
    Chile 1960

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  • [–] 6 points 3 weeks ago (1 child)

    The scariest for me is the potential for liquefaction. Soil becomes essentially a liquid and everyone gets swallowed.

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  • [–] 3 points 3 weeks ago

    and everyone gets swallowed.

    Fortunately, this is not at all how liquefaction works. I learned that my neighborhood was prone to liquefaction during the Tohoku Earthquake. It means your neighborhood is more fucked than others, more buildings collapsing, etc. It's not like a sudden sinkhole.

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