VIDEO OF 7.1 MAGNITUDE QUAKE IN JAPAN – FLASHING LIGHT SEEN

A 7.1-magnitude earthquake rattled Japan  today according to the AP.

The quake, which occurred during the Japanese night on Thursday, hit 60 miles east of the city of Sendai and about 90 miles from Fukushima, where the beleaguered Daiichi nuclear plant is located; Tepco, the plant’s operator, released a statement noting none of its facilities received further damage from the quake.

A bright bluish flash is seen in the video. Earthquake Lights or electrical transformers are two possible explainations.

Characteristics of Earthquake Lights

Earthquake lights occur before, during and after earthquakes. They are cool and quiet, colored white or blue or red. They are usually dim, but sometimes are brighter than moonlight.

They take various forms: globes, bands, rays, sheets, clouds. They tend to rise from the ground. They have been reported at sea. They may flicker or shine steadily. They may be silent or accompanied by a crackling or bristling sound. Sometimes light boils from the ground like flames. They may be as brief as lightning or glow for several minutes.

Earthquake lights have been accompanied by low-frequency radio noise in the 10 to 20 kHz range.

Earthquake lights have been seen weeks before or after earthquakes and hundreds of kilometers from the epicenter. They are more common in areas of hard, crystalline rocks and near dip-slip rather than strike-slip faults.