WORLDWIDE — Even though it was offshore and 231 miles from Tokyo, an 8.9-magnitude earthquake that hit Japan is being called the country’s most devastating ever.
Hudson County’s Japanese population is approximately 906 people out of 608,975 people living in the county, according to the U.S. Census.
Aside from causing massive injuries and deaths, CNN reports on the quake: “The National Weather Service issued warnings for more than 50 countries and territories. The wide-ranging list includes Russia and Indonesia, Central American countries like Guatemala, El Salvador and Costa Rica and the U.S. state of Hawaii, where warning sirens were sounded in the morning. A tsunami warning was also issued for areas along the United States and Canadian west coasts. While some officials feared that waves from the tsunami could be high enough to wash over entire islands in the Pacific, at least one expert said it was unlikely…The tsunami could cause damage ‘along coastlines of all islands in the state of Hawaii,’ warned the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Urgent action should be taken to protect lives and property.’ Tsunamis are a series of long ocean waves that can last five to 15 minutes and cause extensive flooding in coastal areas. A succession of waves can hit — often the highest not being the first, said CNN meteorologist Ivan Cabrera.”
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