Big quake could hit Tokyo within 4 years, researchers warn

Unlocking Word Meanings:

1. Tremors - a shaking, vibrating movement of the earth
in e.g Small TREMORS are still felt several days after the earth quake.

2. Meteorological -  a science that deals with the atmosphere and the weather (meteorologists: people who studies the weather and atmosphere)
in e.g There are METEOROLOGICAL factors that contributes to the spread of malaria.

3. Seismic - related or caused by an earthquake
in e.g SEISMIC waves are energy that travel throughout the world.

4. Crippled - has great damage (could also mean the inability to walk or move normally)
in e.g Corruption has CRIPPLED the economy

5. Meltdowns - an accident in which the core of a nuclear reactor melts and releases radiation
in e.g The Chernobyl accident is the worst nuclear MELTDOWN in history.

Big quake could hit Tokyo within 4 years, researchers warn

Japanese researchers have warned of a 70% chance that a magnitude-seven earthquake will strike Tokyo within four years, a report said Monday—much higher than previous estimates.
Researchers at the University of Tokyo’s earthquake research institute based the figure on data from the growing number of tremors in the capital since last year’s March 11 earthquake off northeast Japan, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported.

According to the meteorological agency, an average of 1.48 earthquakes with magnitudes ranging from three to six have occurred per day in and near Tokyo since March.
That is around five times as many as before the disaster, the researchers said, according to the Yomiuri.
The Japanese government has forecast that the chance of a major quake of magnitude seven or more in the Tokyo region is 70% over the next 30 years.

Naoshi Hirata, one of the University of Tokyo researchers, said the results showed that seismic activity had increased in the area around the capital, which was expected to lead to a higher probability of a major quake.
The 9.0-magnitude earthquake last year and the resulting tsunami left more than 19,000 people dead or missing and crippled the cooling systems at the Fukushima nuclear power station, causing meltdowns in some of its reactors.

link: http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/big-quake-could-hit-tokyo-within-four-years-researchers-warn