An earthquake measuring 7.9  (new reports now say 8.8) on the Richter scale has struck Japan. The quake was centered 60-80 miles off the coast nearest to the Miyagi Prefecture. Reports are of a 24 km depth which is relatively shallow.

There are reports that a tsunami could have been created, possibly as high as 20 feet and of course this could come in several waves. Areas all over the Western Pacific could be impacted by the tsunami.

At this point it does not appear there was major damage on the land, but of course the tsunami could change that. No reports of deaths or injuries yet either. In addition with this big of a quake I have to assume we are going to have serious damage. Right now I am seeing smoke and fire on CNN along with some big waves coming in.

But given the distance we might avoid huge casualties.