Update: Quake moved Japan 8 feet as Nuclear threat worries

Images released by NASA show Japan's northeast coast before, left, and after flooding from the quake-induced tsunami

(CNN) — The powerful earthquake that unleashed a devastating tsunami Friday appears to have moved the main island of Japan by 8 feet (2.4 meters) and shifted the Earth on its axis.

“At this point, we know that one GPS station moved (8 feet), and we have seen a map from GSI (Geospatial Information Authority) in Japan showing the pattern of shift over a large area is consistent with about that much shift of the land mass,” said Kenneth Hudnut, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

Reports from the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology in Italy estimated the 8.9-magnitude quake shifted the planet on its axis by nearly 4 inches (10 centimeters).

The temblor, which struck Friday afternoon near the east coast of Japan, killed hundreds of people, caused the formation of 30-foot walls of water that swept across rice fields, engulfed entire towns, dragged houses onto highways, and tossed cars and boats like toys. Some waves reached six miles (10 kilometers) inland in Miyagi Prefecture on Japan’s east coast.

Update: Blast at Japan nuke plant; 10,000 missing after quake

SENDAI, Japan (AFP) – An explosion at a Japanese nuclear plant triggered fears of a meltdown after a massive earthquake and tsunami left more than 1,000 dead and at least 10,000 unaccounted for.

As workers doused the stricken reactor with sea water to try to avert catastrophe, the plant operator Sunday said another reactor at the quake-hit facility was in trouble after its cooling system also failed.

Friday’s 8.9 magnitude quake, one of the biggest ever recorded, unleashed a terrifying tsunami that engulfed towns and cities on Japan’s northeastern coast, destroying everything in its path in what Prime Minister Naoto Kan said was an “unprecedented national disaster”.

In the small port town of Minamisanriku alone, some 10,000 people are unaccounted for — more than half the population — public broadcaster NHK reported.

Even as Japan struggled to assess the full extent of the devastation, the nation faced a growing atomic emergency as cooling systems damaged by the quake failed at two nuclear plants and residents in the area were ordered to evacuate.

Sources: Yahoo News

My Comment:

The Bible tells us that these signs of the end will continue in frequency. 10,000 people dead so far in Japan, with the amount likely to rise in the next days.

Matthew 24:4-8

⁴ Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. ⁵ For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. ⁶ You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. ⁷ Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. ⁸ All these are the beginning of birth pains.

Do not be spiritually blind and fall for this sinful world. Our hope is in Our King and there is nothing for us here. It is time to accept Christ, for no one knows what tomorrow will bring. Our King is near!

Matthew 24:30-35

³⁰ “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth^[c] will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. ³¹ And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

³² “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. ³³ Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it^[e] is near, right at the door. ³⁴ Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. ³⁵ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

Written by: Gloria