A first of its kind warning across Japan Thursday for a long-feared "megaquake", following a powerful 7.1-magnitude earthquake that rocked the country's southern coast.
继日本南部沿海发生7.1级强烈地震后,日本当局于周四首次发布了人们长期以来恐惧的“特大地震”预警。
Reverberations felt for miles, caught on cameras in the offices along the coast and at an airport.
几英里外都能感受到震动,沿海地区办公室和机场的摄像头都拍下了这一画面。
Tsunami warnings issued following the quake, urging some residents to leave the seaside, but so far injuries and damage have been minimal.
这场地震后,有关当局发布了海啸警报,敦促市民远离海边,不过到目前为止,伤亡和损失都很小。
Researchers have long warned of a megaquake, 8 or 9-magnitude, potentially even more damaging than the 9.1 that set off a tsunami in 2011 and ravaged Japan's northeast coast.
长期以来,一直有研究人员警告称,可能会发生8级或9级的特大地震,其破坏性可能比2011年引发海啸并肆虐日本东北海岸的9.1级大地震更大。
The disaster was one of the worst in this century, killing more than 18,000 people, leaving parts of the country in ruin, including a nuclear disaster at Fukushima that rattled the world.
那场地震堪称本世纪最严重的一场灾难之一,共造成超过1.8万人死亡,日本部分地区陷入废墟,还包括震惊世界的福岛核事故。
"There was a magnitude 7.3 earthquake that happened two days before that earthquake.
“在那场9.1级地震的前两天,发生了一场7.3级地震。
And about 5% of the time, we see that there is an earthquake called 'foreshock' that precedes a larger event."
大概有5%的概率,我们会在更大的地震发生之前会先经历一场被称为‘前震’的地震。”
Japan sits on the Circum-Pacific Belt, known as the Ring of Fire, where tectonic plates meet leading to lots of quakes and volcanic activity.
日本位于环太平洋地震带,也就是众所周知的火环带,在这里构造板块交汇,导致了许多地震和火山活动。
The US's Pacific coast also on the Ring of Fire. Experts believe we should be ready for one of those megaquakes, too.
美国太平洋沿岸也位于火环带。专家认为,我们也应该为某场大地震做好准备。
Preparing for what seems unthinkable but might be inevitable.
要为看似不可想象但可能不可避免的事情,做好准备。