Footage of Sony Kumamoto factory after the earthquake

[Jakov Minić]

Akira, my condolences too! Forces of nature always remind us how insignificant we are at times.
I am no expert on the Ring of Fire but it's fascinating to learn.
Is Iceland on this ring, because when I visited Iceland I had the impression that they are the most endangered when it comes to earthquakes and volcanoes.

[Akira]

Bill, I agree.  To me, the term "Ring of Fire" is not really scientific but rather an ironical one inspired by a movie or something like that.  I don't know how long this term has been used, though, and I don't really appreciate the term.

Dave and Bill, indeed we share the same fear and sorrow in relate to the earthquake...

Hugh, I well remember the severe earthquake in Christchurch just a couple of weeks before the totally devastating one in the northeastern part of Japanese archipelago.  Again, we share the same fear and sorrow.

According to the modern study of the earthquakes in the eastern Asia area, the earthquake attacked Japan in 2011 is said to belong to the series of ones that would occur once in every millennium.  And the earthquake would occur as a set of the earthquakes that attacks the north-eastern, central and south-western part of the archipelago.  We have only had the north-eastern one yet, we stay warned and horrified.

[Akira]

Jakov, I appreciate your condolence.  Iceland is not on the ring we are talking about.  It should belong to the similar one in the Atlantic area.

[Bill De Jager]

David, there are well-known volcanic risks in California, but they're generally located fairly distant from the large metropolitan areas.  Mt. Shasta and Lassen Peak are the two best-known volcanoes in the state, but there other locations that have been active in recent centuries such as the Mono Craters near Mono Lake.

On the plus side, we have so much spectacular scenery to photograph here precisely because of all the tectonic activity in recent millions of years.  The same is true of other  tectonically active areas around the rim of the Pacific Ocean such as Japan, Alaska, New Zealand, etc.

[David H. Hartman]

My family has been lucky so far. I don't remember which earthquake, the fireplace and house moved about 6-7mm (1/4") apart. The fireplace was intact with no cracks in the chimney so we calked the gap. Many chimneys fell in the neighborhood. A few cars were crushed. No one was on the streets in the wrong place so no deaths from falling bricks. There will often be a few deaths from heart attacks.

Earthquakes like I've experienced in lessor developed countries often result in multiple thousands of deaths from collapsing buildings. Building codes save many lives.

In nearby Cajon Pass I've been on dirt roads and crossed numerous train tracks and the come out in to rock formations I'd seen in western movies made in the '50s. I don't know why I don't have photographs from the adventure. Maybe I didn't take a camera. I usually did.

My impression is that Japan has suffered the worse earthquakes in the last 25 years while California has been fairly quiet.

Dave