waves & destruction

Big news this morning about a deadly earthquake which hit the northern coast of Japan and is now hitting Hawaii in the form of a tsunami. Obama's going to deliver a presser at 11:15am, and Japanese officials have estimated between 200-300 casualties thus far (with added reports of missing trains & boats).

Great chart which places this event within the proper context (courtesy ABC News):

Large Quakes since 1900

	Location	Date	Magnitude
1.	Chile	1960 05 22	9.5
2.	Prince William Sound, Alaska	1964 03 28	9.2
3.	Off the West Coast of Northern Sumatra	2004 12 26	9.1
4.	Kamchatka	1952 11 04	9.0
	TODAY’S QUAKE		8.9
5.	Offshore Maule, Chile	2010 02 27	8.8
6.	Off the Coast of Ecuador	1906 01 31	8.8
7.	Rat Islands, Alaska	1965 02 04	8.7
8.	Northern Sumatra, Indonesia	2005 03 28	8.6
9.	Assam - Tibet	1950 08 15	8.6
10.	Andreanof Islands, Alaska	1957 03 09	8.6
11.	Southern Sumatra, Indonesia	2007 09 12	8.5
12.	Banda Sea, Indonesia	1938 02 01	8.5
13.	Kamchatka	1923 02 03	8.5
14.	Chile-Argentina Border	1922 11 11	8.5
15.	Kuril Islands	1963 10 13	8.5