USGS shake map for the first Christchurch, New Zealand earthquake

Three large earthquakes have rocked the Christchurch, New Zealand region. The first, currently listed as a magnitude 5.8 by the US Geological Survey, struck at 1:58 pm local time. It was followed by a shock measuring magnitude 5.3 at 2:06 pm. A third earthquake of magnitude 5.8 occurred on the south Island of New Zealand while this report was being prepared. (Third quake may be an error by USGS.)

The New Zealand region was devastated by a magnitude 6.3 earthquake on February 21, 2011. That quake all but wiped out the central business district of Christchurch, resulting in dozens of deaths and millions in property damage.

The local Christchurch Emergency Operations Center has been activated. Initial reports are that rockfalls and some liquefaction has occurred. The local airport and the central business district (CBD) are closed. No deaths and only very minor injuries are being reported at this time. There is no tsunami threat.

Sam Law was in the Riccarton mall. His tweets from the earthquake:

Wow large aftershock. The mall is terrifying.
Standing in Stevens while glasses and plates break and people scream and run. My hands are shaking but I’m ok.
Normally people are fairly calm but this time upstairs in Riccarton mall was pandemonium. People dropping things to run to the escalators.
I assume people freaked out because we haven’t had a good shake in a while, and there were so many people in the mall.

News from Twitter:

• @3NewsBreaking
• @nzherald
• @Project7NZ_eqnz

An earthquake currently being measured as 5.9 on the Richter Scale struck central Virginia at 1:51 pm EDT today. The epicenter was located 39 miles NW of Richmond, Virginia. The US Geological Survey report on the earthquake can be found at http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsus/Quakes/usc0005ild.php. The quake was felt from South Carolina to Binghamton, New York.

Current reports on Twitter are that many buildings in Washington DC have been evacuated, the Pentagon and the Capitol among them. Many East Coast airports have instituted ground stops. Damage reported to brick buildings in DC’s Chinatown.

Hartford, CT felt the quake. New York City felt the quake. Philadelphia felt the quake.

Here is an interesting tale from the Japanese tsunami. As part of the US relief efforts, we are cleaning the school up so that it can resume its original task, education.

Soldiers help to clean-up a school in Matsushima, Japan, during Operation Field Day, April 15.Operation Field Day is part of Operation Tomodachi, which provides assistance to the Japanese citizens affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake. Photo by Spc. Cody Thompson

Fire trucks raced down the street as sirens blared and fire men shouted “the tsunami is coming, the tsunami is coming,” Takayuki Watabe, the chief curriculum coordinator at a school in Matsushima, Japan, recalls the day the Great East Japan Earthquake struck the area, March 11.

“As they were driving the tsunami was following right behind them,” Watabe said. “They arrived at the school and made it upstairs before the tsunami struck, but unfortunately some of the elderly stayed in their homes and didn’t make it.”

The children and teachers, who were at school at the time, were safe from the wave that was rushing toward them at an estimated speed of approximately 200 mph.

“We were worried because if the water levels had risen anymore it would have flooded the second floor,” Watabe explains. “We pushed kids back from the windows, but a few were still able to see their houses wash away.”

After all of the lights and ways to communicate with the outside world went dead, the children and teachers had to wait a few days in the damp, cold conditions before some of the parents arrived.

“Once the children saw a few of the parents march across the field to the school, their morale raised and they began to encourage each other,” Watabe said. “A few kids lost parents and grandparents, but the teachers went to the shelter with them and still gave classes in the new location.”

Since the events ravaged the Tohoku and Kanto regions of Japan, the U.S. military has provided assistance by cleaning-up a few of the local schools, which includes the Matsushima school.

“We just want to help,” Maj. Gen. Michael T. Harrison, the commanding general for U.S. Army Japan and I-Corps (FORWARD), said.

The U.S. Military’s role is to assist and augment the efforts and capabilities of the Japanese government by cleaning schools, providing showers and kerosene, handing out backpacks and playing music for displaced citizens.

Watabe sees hope for the children because of the role the joint efforts of the U.S. and Japanese military.

“There were 400 people huddled together that night offering encouragement to each other,” Watabe said. “Thank you for helping to clean the schools so that eventually the children can come back.”

DVIDS
Story by Spc. Cody Thompson

Barge YOGN-115, carrying 1.04 million litres, 275,000 gallons, of fresh water, departs Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka to support cooling efforts at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. CFAY port operations cleaned and filled two barges, totaling nearly 1.89 million litres, 500,000 gallons, of fresh water. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Mikey Mulcare

A team of Marines specifically trained to operate in chemical, biological, nuclear and radiological environments is deploying to Japan, Defense Department officials said today.

A 155-member initial response force composed of Marines from Naval Support Facility Indian Head, Md., could arrive in Japan as early as tomorrow, said Navy Cmdr. Leslie Hull-Ryde, a Pentagon spokeswoman.

The unit is part of the Chemical, Biological, and Incident Response Force. The initial response force will support the U.S. on-scene commander by providing a rapid response capability. If requested, it could also advise Japanese authorities.

The Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant is leaking radioactive materials, and the extent of the damage to the plant is not known. The Marine force will bring equipment for agent detection and identification; casualty search, rescue and personnel decontamination; and emergency medical care and stabilization of contaminated personnel.

U.S. Navy barges containing 500,000 gallons of fresh water from Yokosuka are being used at the crippled nuclear power plant. The water will be used to replace salt water in the reactor cooling system to lessen the corrosive impact of salt from the sea water still being used for emergency cooling.

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
Department of Defense

Hat tip to Information Dissemination

The U.S. military continues to assist the voluntary departure from Japan of eligible Defense Deparment family members. To date, a total of 7,001 eligible family members, including 394 pets, have been transported in the voluntary authorized departure, known as Operation Pacific Passage. Most families choosing to temporarily relocate were transported by military contract aircraft. The few remaining family members will be transported over the next few days.

Joint Task Force 505 was recently established to conduct Operation Pacific Passage at the direction of the commander of U.S. Pacific Command, Adm. Robert Willard.

“Our current focus has the been the orderly processing and movement of eligible military family members who have chosen to temporarily relocate to the United States,” said Lt. Gen. Kenneth Glueck, commanding general of III Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Bases Japan, and commander of the recently established Joint Task Force 505.

“We are taking all necessary steps to ensure the safety of our personnel during this dynamic time. The safety of our military personnel and family members remains a top priority,” he added.

On March 17, the office of the under secretary of defense authorized DoD eligible family members, located in selected prefectures on the island of Honshu, Japan, to depart for designated locations of the United States and other designated safe haven locations.

“These actions will in no way diminish ongoing relief operations in support of the government of Japan,” said Glueck. “We remain absolutely committed to this effort for as long as our assistance is required.”

A joint task force is a command with a specific designation that is composed of two or more military departments, operating under a single commander. It is capable of responding to the full range of contingencies across the operational scale such as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts anywhere in the Asia-Pacific region.

Joint Task Force 505 is headquartered on Okinawa with a forward operating element at Yokota Air Base near Tokyo.

DVIDS