8.9 Quake Sets Earthquake Domino Effect In Motion

By Tony Elliott

At 13-foot tsunami strikes the northern coast of Japan, washing away cars and damaging buildings, after a powerful, magnitude 8.9 earthquake strikes the country. Courtesy: FOXNEWS  

Photo: AP

Now that a devastating earthquake of magnitude 8.9 has occurred off the northwest coast of Japan, 3/11/11, we must face the fact that yet another quake will strike in the world within the next five days with a magnitude of at least 7.5 or above. 

At the time of this writing volcano eruptions have began in Indonesia and the Philippines as the displacement from the Japanese quake puts stress on the rest of the world's fault lines.

As I have stated before the world's fault line system is interrelated. When a strong quake of magnitude 6.5 or above occurs in an area of the world the displacement from the initial quake will put the same amount of stress on all fault systems and a rupture will happen.

With such a strong quake as this in Japan, the next quake will be in the neighborhood of at least 8.0. The location may be in Indonesia because of the recent seismic activity there keeping the plate system in a state of flux. However, stress is now on all fault areas in the world with the west coast of the Americas taking on the most because of the proximity to the movement in Japan.

It will be an interesting next few days as both earthquakes and volcano eruptions will be making news.

Publisher's Note: All of our hopes and prayers are with the peoples of Japan and others caught in the turmoil of this disaster.