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Cuban Geologists Send Message of Support to Japanese Colleagues.

CUBA, March 21, 2011.- Representatives of the Cuban Geology Society sent a message of solidarity to their Japanese colleagues and families on the consequences of the earthquake and tsunami that recently swept the north Pacific coast of the Asian country.

"We are deeply sorry for the human and material losses caused by the tremor and hundreds of aftershocks, said Manuel Iturralde," president of the Society in the message.

Iturralde told ACN that in response to the Cuban Society’s message, Ryuji Tada, professor with the University of Tokio, thanked the gesture and gave him details of the earthquake of 9.1 degrees in the Richter scale, which he said was 10 times stronger than expected.

Tada said the area of origin of the earthquake was of 200x500 km off the Pacific coast of the north of Japan. The tremor was felt even in Tokyo, said the Japanese and added that tsunamis flooded more than 10 middle-size cities along the eastern coast of the island of Honshu. However, he said that thanks to alarm systems and anti-seismic constructions millions of people still saved their lives.

Tada said the disaster is not over yet as the Japanese fear the fusion of the nuclear power plant of Fukushima, south Sendai, where the pressure of one of its reactors had to be released to prevent it from exploiting.

“All the people living up to 20km from the station were evacuated,” said Tada.

Japanese and Cuban geologists have been working in Cuba for more than five years on the study of tsunamis from the geological past and the impact of a meteorite 65 million years ago, of which there is unique evidence in Cuba.

The Japanese contributed ideas on how to determine the occurrence of seaquakes that served to draw a swell forecast map for Cuban coasts. (Cubaminrex-AIN)

 

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