Earthquakes and Tsunamis: Quake hits Los Angeles 3/17/14

On Monday, March 17, 2014 - St. Patrick's Day -- there was an earthquake in Los Angeles.  Although the quake was measured at a 4.4-magnitude earthquake on the Richter scale, you can clearly see the impact on people during an earthquake.

There were at least six aftershocks, with the strongest being measured at a 2.7-magnitude temblor. Some fear that this quake could mark the end of the several year "earthquake drought" that the area has experienced.  Below is a video of newscasters live when the earthquake hit.




The earthquake also made us recall the 2011 Japanese earthquake and Tsunami. All of Japan moved about 10 feet!

Earthquake Moves Japan's Coast 8 feet; Tsunami; Radioactivity

Below is some information about the powerful earthquake on Friday, March 11, 2011 that struck Japan and sent tsunamis all the way to the northern US coast.  The quake struck at 2:46 pm local time (12:46 am ET).  The death toll may rise to over 1,000 -- and there are signs of radioactivity near Japanese nuclear power plants as the plants struggle to control the temperature of radioactive material.

CNN reports: The powerful earthquake that unleashed a devastating tsunami Friday appears to have moved the main island of Japan by 8 feet (2.4 meters) and shifted the Earth on its axis.

Read more here:
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/12/japan.earthquake.tsunami.earth/index.html?iref=NS1
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Timeline:

• 12:46 am ET: Quake strikes, sending tsunami and 30-foot wall of water across Japan.  
• 8:07 am ET: Less than 8 hours later, the tsunami struck Hawaii almost 4,000 miles away with 7-foot waves / swells.  
• Afternoon, ET: Tsunami brings 8-foot waves to northern California, about 2,400 miles from Hawaii.  

CNN reports: The tsunami struck the Hawaiian Islands shortly after 3:07 a.m. Friday (8:07 a.m. ET) -- less than eight hours after the magnitude 8.9 earthquake struck off Japan, where nearly 300 people had been reported killed by early Saturday. The Hawaiian capital Honolulu is nearly 3,800 miles (6,100 km) from the epicenter of Friday's quake.

It brought six-foot waves to Maui, where harbors remained closed Friday night, and brought 8.1-foot waves to Crescent City, California...

Read more here:
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/11/japan.quake/index.html?iref=NS1

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/US/03/11/tsunami/index.html?hpt=T2