耿艺菲

This is the VOA Special English Technology Report.
A powerful earthquake strike the northeastern coast of Japan at 2:46p.m.  local time on M*.Japan's media relogical angency released its first tsunami warnings just three minutes later.The country has one of the best earthquake early warning systems in the world.
There are more 4000 science make intensity meters in place through out Japan to measure earthquake activity.These meters provide information within two minutes when  earthquake happening. Information about the strength and the center of the earthquake can be learned within three minutes.There are also concrete seawalls around much of the Japanese coast line.But these measures proved no match for the powerful earthquake and tusnami.
K* is a tusnami  expert with the deparment of seawall and environmental engineering at the university of southern California in Los Angeles.
Japan is one of the most well prepared country when the earth *  even tsunami warnings.They had a warning,but I think what is wrong is they had not *
He says there are two reasons for this.Japan has not had any event anywhere near as biggest this one in the last 150years.And scientists  had not expected such a large earthquake happening of the coast of Japan.
The 9.0 magnitude earthquake was the fourth most powerful earthquake ever recalled worldwide.It was also the worst earthquake ever to hit Japan.
The tusnami waves that  followed were reported to have reached as high as 13 meters in some areas.K* says Japan's concrete seawalls were not build the handdle such high sea waves.
The concrete sea walls in many places in Japan are about 5meters  which about 33 feet.In the Sandai there were about 3meters was about 10 feet.So  that's using a missing gap area they were not expecting a such  size of waves.  
A tusnami wave can travel as fast as 800 kilometers per hour.The get the higher ground ,people would often have to travel for many kilometers.This can take more time than  the fast traveling tusnami will permit.
This is especially ture in cases like Japan  where the center of the earthquake struck so close to the coast line.The tusnami waves followed amost immediately.Experts say early warning systems will  continue to be limited by this facts until earthquakes and tsunamis could be predicted.
And that's the VOA Special English Technology Report written by June Simmis.You can find more news about the disaster in Japan at our website voaspecialenglish.com.You can also find transcripts mp3s and broadcasts of our reports.And you can find us on Facebook and U tube at voalearning english.I'm Steve Ember.




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