The big one: Is it a global warning?

Today the largest earthquake in its history struck Japan. A magnitude 9.1 quake struck at 38.322 lat., 142.369 lon., with a focus 24.4 km beneath the ground, making this the fourth largest recorded earthquake in history. It occurred off the east coast of the island of Honshu. The USGS provides a list of the earthquake swarms before and after the ‘big’ one.

Because of its relatively shallow focus, the magnitude 9.1 (originally called as 8.9) offshore quake unleashed a 23-foot (seven-meter) tsunami and was followed by more than 50 aftershocks lasting hours.  Many of the aftershocks had magnitudes above 6.0. As of 10 am EST 88 people are confirmed dead and thousands are missing. These numbers continue to increase, and the death toll may be in the many thousands.

In photos, from the National Post, one can see how the tsunami caused large fishing boats and other sea vessels to ride into the cities, slamming against or scraping under overpasses and snapping power lines along the way. Cars and houses are seen bobbing in the water. The tsunami washed anything in its path inland before reversing directions and carrying the cars, homes and other debris out to sea.

US officials in Oregon and California warned residents in some coastal areas to evacuate. Some evacuations are taking place in the northernmost Californian county of Del Norte and in the San Mateo county just south of San Francisco. The California Emergency Management Agency predicts that these areas are the most likely to be hit by big waves, with amplitudes of 6 feet or more.

While earthquakes are devastating, it is actually tsunami’s that take most lives. This is particularly true in highly geo-engineered nations like Japan. Their earthquake hardened buildings bring them honor, but what can one do in the face of tsunamis? Not much.

Japan’s worst previous quake was in 1923 in Kanto, an 8.3 magnitude monster that killed 143,000 people. A 7.2 magnitude quake in Kobe city in 1996 killed 6,400 people.

Japan lies on the “Ring of Fire” — an arc of earthquake and volcanic zones stretching around the Pacific where about 90 percent of the world’s earthquakes occur, including the one that triggered the Dec. 26, 2004, Sumatra-Andaman tsunami that killed an estimated 230,000 people in 12 nations. A magnitude 8.8 quake that rocked Chile last February also generated a tsunami and killed 524 people. Nor can we forget the magnitude 7.0 quake that resulted in the deaths of over 300,000 Haitians in 2010. The Christchurch, NZ earthquake just a couple of weeks or so ago (February 22, 2011) was magnitude 6.3; 166 beautiful people are confirmed dead.

What can we learn?

Loss of life due to disasters is quite common on this cursed planet. Much as we may wish it, Earth is no Garden of Eden.

We forget that there are about fifty recorded earthquakes daily, though most are not as extreme as what happened in Japan. We forget because it is only in relatively wealthy countries that we have the luxury to ignore the harsh reality of natural disasters. Where humans have had the liberty to flourish and exercise dominion, fears of the restless Earth have receded.

Japan is a nation of 130 million people packed densely on several islands with a total land area just about half the size of Texas. And much of this land is mountainous, so most Japanese live in megacities near the coast. This Japanese earthquake plus tsunami thus had the potential to be a Sumatra tsunami and Haiti earthquake all rolled into one. Instead all official reports indicate that the death toll, while horrific, will be much lower. So the Japan earthquake and tsunami of 11 March 2011, while a huge humanitarian disaster, is not on the same scale of human suffering as a Haiti or Sumatra. One can hardly compare.

The reason for this difference in suffering is that wealthy Japan was far better prepared to deal with disaster than Haiti or Sumatra (or Louisiana, for that matter). One must note, however, that the tsunami in Japan was not as powerful as had been in Sumatra. But in general,the Japanese were better prepared because they were able to devote resources to things like strong skyscrapers that rocked and rolled but did not fold like a house of cards filled with stale cigarette smoke. The Haitians and Sumatrans, by comparison, hardly have time to patch holes in the roofs of their shanty towns. In lands of extreme corruption, and poverty, finding the next meal is much more important than building things that last.

Wealth produces health and prosperity, and a healthier environment. It requires a certain amount of liberty to produce this wealth, and a view of the world that places human welfare first. The earthquake that hit Japan today packed a punch nearly 1,000 times more powerful than the one that struck Haiti. As my child and I watched the tsunami I wondered out loud when the global warming crowd would try to get in their kicks. Well, it was not long before we heard the invocation of global warming by BBC News. They are not the only ones to go hysterical. In fact, global warming itself has little, if anything, to do with global warming (Just ask Al Gore). This latest natural disaster is more like a global warning.

For what may we be grateful?

Prior to the siege of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. Jesus warned his followers to be ready to run. Then it happened. The Romans crucified thousands of Jews, and ripped open the bowels of 2000 of those that fled in one night on a report that they had swallowed gold. Years before Jesus warned (Matthew 24:20-21) about this, perhaps including another great tribulation prior to his coming. He said,

But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

For the sake of his elect the days were shortened. How terrible when a disaster, whether brought by Romans or brought by flood, comes and we are caught unprepared or unable to avoid it.

It was a mercy that the massive quake found Japanese buildings that were earthquake hardened. The initial deaths due to the quake were mercifully low. (The tsunami is quite another story.)

Earthquakes do not worry about the weather (unless you speak with a global warmist), so what a mercy to the Japanese that this did not occur during typhoon season. It did not occur in mid-winter during a blizzard. Here we see the severity of God in allowing the Japanese to suffer so terribly. Like them, we also deserve the judgment of God, for we all are sinners under God’s wrath. But here we see also the mercy of God in limiting the damage and loss of life. Many idols were toppled today in Japan, a land covered with idols. Will they be set again in their place, or will Japan repent and turn to God, as Jonah saw the Ninevites do so long ago? Pray for Japan.

Tagged as: earthquake, global warming, Japan, natural hazards, tsunami