...what's going on with the unusually high earthquake frequency these days?

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/faq/?faqID=110

In my country we have Geonet:http://www.geonet.org.nz/Earthquakes are as much a part of life here as Snow is a part of life in Canada or Northern USA. Truth is snow kills more people in North America then earthquakes kill people here in New Zealand. The difference is an earthquake kills a lot of people at once. A snow storm probably kills one or two people a day but over time snow is the larger killer.I'd rather live with the earthquakes then the snow as I enjoy my sunny days. I guess the same goes for the folks who live in California as well.

This earthquake is a terrible thing. My hopes and best wishes for the people of Japan and all those caught up in this.

Where's all the planes???

I think its a smaller and relatively calm airport (RJSS), and all the departures of the day already took place. The airliners anyway, I did see an image of some Cessna and Piper types being carried away by the waters.

Where's all the planes???

http://tvde.web.infoseek.co.jp/cgi-bin/jlab-dat/s/791811.jpg

In my country we have Geonet:http://www.geonet.org.nz/Earthquakes are as much a part of life here as Snow is a part of life in Canada or Northern USA. Truth is snow kills more people in North America then earthquakes kill people here in New Zealand. The difference is an earthquake kills a lot of people at once. A snow storm probably kills one or two people a day but over time snow is the larger killer.I'd rather live with the earthquakes then the snow as I enjoy my sunny days. I guess the same goes for the folks who live in California as well.

I live in Minnesota (I'm also a former resident of San Diego CA) and the ratio of snowy weather in years (let's say 40) doesn't have near the fatalities combined of India and Japan's disasters... Snow storms don't kill people on this scale even if you add numbers up over years. You could go back 50 or 60 years and still don't see the numbers add/stack up in loss of life to what a single event like what's happened in Japan has caused. You can't compare the two plus when you factor in the crime rates of warmer populated areas to colder climate locations further debunks the theory.

I live in Minnesota (I'm also a former resident of San Diego CA) and the ratio of snowy weather in years (let's say 40) doesn't have near the fatalities combined of India and Japan's disasters... Snow storms don't kill people on this scale even if you add numbers up over years. You could go back 50 or 60 years and still don't see the numbers add/stack up in loss of life to what a single event like what's happened in Japan has caused. You can't compare the two plus when you factor in the crime rates of warmer populated areas to colder climate locations further debunks the theory.

Hi Dillon- I would guess that at least a couple of thousand people are killed each year in North America in vehicle accidents, due specifically, to snowy/icy roads. Go back 50 years and you have a tenth of a million deaths!(Close to 40,000 MVA deaths in Canada/USA each year.)Here on Vancouver Island, I'm currently reinspecting my earthquake 'Go' bags to see what needs replacing!AR

HAARP!!!Hard to beleive, but i guess in a way maybe possible?

<br />I live in Minnesota (I'm also a former resident of San Diego CA) and the ratio of snowy weather in years (let's say 40) doesn't have near the fatalities combined of India and Japan's disasters...  Snow storms don't kill people on this scale even if you add numbers up over years.  You could go back 50 or 60 years and still don't see the numbers add/stack up in loss of life to what a single event like what's happened in Japan has caused.  You can't compare the two plus when you factor in the crime rates of warmer populated areas to colder climate locations further debunks the theory.<br />

You didn't read what I said....what I said was "snow kills more people in North America then earthquakes kill people here in New Zealand"New Zealand currently has 460 people killed in earthquakes in our recorded history. That number may go up by another 30 as they are currently still searching in Christchurch.You say you live in Minnesota, would you say that snow has killed more then 460 to 490 people in the state of Minnesota? If so then more people die from snow related deaths in your state then people die from earthquakes in my country.Of course Japan and India have higher numbers, as those are ancient countries with an extremely dense population. Their population densities do not compare to the USA, New Zealand, Canada or any of the young nations. Completely different situations.According to Geonet, New Zealand gets 15000 minor earthquakes a year and 250 larger ones. That is a lot more earthquakes then Minnesota gets snow. Yet our casualty rate is under 500 still. I think snow has probably killed more then 500 people in the history of great state of Minnesota.

HAARP!!!Hard to beleive, but i guess in a way maybe possible?

Planet Earth is actually very quiet geologically, compared with the past.And the current Japan quake is relatively small in comparison to past events.For comparison, in 1883, Krakatoa, a tiny island island between Java and Sumatra, blew up with a bang heard up to 3000 miles away. The resulting Tsunami or so called tidal wave, was detected on the river Thames at London!It is calculated that this 'quake was 13,000 times more powerful than the Hiroshima atomic bomb.(But living on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", I do keep an emergency Go bag by the front door!)AR

Planet Earth is actually very quiet geologically, compared with the past.And the current Japan quake is relatively small in comparison to past events.For comparison, in 1883, Krakatoa, a tiny island island between Java and Sumatra, blew up with a bang heard up to 3000 miles away. The resulting Tsunami or so called tidal wave, was detected on the river Thames at London!It is calculated that this 'quake was 13,000 times more powerful than the Hiroshima atomic bomb.(But living on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", I do keep an emergency Go bag by the front door!)AR

Very true. The biggest difference between today and our history is our forefathers didn't have CNN. We are the first people in the history of the world to watch these events unfold live on CNN. Therefore we oversensationalize our modern disasters because we get a front row seat.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0d/Great_Wave_off_Kanagawa2.jpg/800px-Great_Wave_off_Kanagawa2.jpgApparently the print is not of an actual tsunami…but the point is only a few years ago we didn’t even have good photographs of a tsunami.Now we have instant video of any event…often in real-time. It’s the gathering and transmitting of information that’s sped up.Sorry to say it’s also this technology that’s giving borderline schizophrenics a chance to spread some sadly paranoid delusions.The idea of connecting HAARP to this disaster is so offensive on so many levels.Maybe I take this stuff too seriously :( …but I'd hate to see anyone taken in by it.If you really think HAARP attacked Japan...here's your sign :(

man, they say that the world is going to end. and i heard on youtube that the tsunami is coming towards california. im hoping it does not. when i went to sleep i put my computer screen flat and my laptop, joystick throttle, xbox on the floor to make sure if it does happen nothing wont break. it doesn't hurt to be too carefull

Hey Dmaher that woman is completely nuts.

I agree that haarp shouldnt even he discused along side of the Japan earthquake, its way too far fetched and ridiculous.But you cant deny that HAARP is an odd and scary so called "reasearch" facility.

Very true. The biggest difference between today and our history is our forefathers didn't have CNN. We are the first people in the history of the world to watch these events unfold live on CNN. Therefore we oversensationalize our modern disasters because we get a front row seat.

That's a by-product of our technological society; especially in a time when where cell phones, digital technologyand the Internet allow someone to bear witness to incredible sights and then transmit them with the push of a button. The media, in the rush to be "first with the story" seek out those people and use what they captured.(i.e. CNN's iReporters)What's critical is how the media use that information, which at times can be very questionable. :( Anyway... it's so sad to see all of those displaced people, and I hope aid can get to them as soon as possible. It just goes to show that Mother Nature's wrath can affect anyone... from Haiti, Chile, Christchurch to Sendai.Please keep the people of the Northeast Japanese Coast in your thoughts. :( Alan :(