Examining_An_Earthquake_Warning_System___August_20,_2024(360p)

Aizal Khan

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00:00Hello, and happy Tuesday, everyone. I want to start by giving a shoutout to all the teachers

00:15out there, uplifting, informing, inspiring us. Students, dap up your teacher. Give a

00:20handshake or high five. Let them know you appreciate them. I m Coy Wire. This is CNN

00:2410. And we re going to start today with news out of Japan. The island country in East Asia

00:29located in the Pacific Ocean is worried about a once-in-a-century megaquake. But does it

00:35need to be? On August 8th, parts of the western Japan area felt the ground shake from a 7.1

00:41magnitude earthquake, prompting both local and national government agencies to react.

00:47Meteorologists quickly issued a first-of-its-kind nationwide warning that a major earthquake

00:53could hit within the next week. The concern was that the smaller quake could trigger a

00:58much larger one from Japan s Nankai Trough, which is considered the nation s most dangerous fault.

01:04The alert caused officials to close beaches, cancel events, slow down trains, and even

01:09stockpile supplies. In the end, most advisories were lifted, and thankfully, there was no major

01:16damage from the 7.1 magnitude quake. Still, the country remains on high alert, prepping for any

01:21potential emergencies. One week after the advisory, Japan lifted the warning about a potential

01:28megaquake. The event has experts questioning whether an alert system like this is accurate

01:33or even necessary, and it has some scientists wondering when they should step in if they see

01:39clues that an earthquake may be on the horizon. As one seismologist in the US put it, you don t

01:45want a mass evacuation panic that s not warranted, but you want people not to go on their merry ways.

01:51Japan is no stranger to strong earthquakes. It s located in the Ring of Fire, an area known for

01:57intense seismic and volcanic activity around the Pacific Ocean. The most devastating quake

02:03in recent Japanese history was the 9.1 magnitude Tohoku earthquake in 2011, which caused a tsunami

02:10and killed some 20,000 people. CNN s Hanako Montgomery has more. Why is Japan concerned

02:16about a megaquake? Japan is an earthquake-prone country, and it s been dreading the big one for

02:21years. But in early August, it issued its first ever megaquake advisory, meaning there s now an

02:27increased risk of it happening. The big one, also known as the Nankai Trough earthquake,

02:33would hit somewhere along the southern coast and could be massive, measuring eight or higher in

02:38magnitude. It could trigger huge tsunamis, like what we saw during the March 11th disaster,

02:43causing trillions in damage and potentially killing hundreds of thousands. Japan advised

02:49people to stay prepared, but it didn t suggest any evacuations and downplayed any immediate danger.

02:56Still, the prime minister cancelled his trip abroad, people are stockpiling food,

03:01and some are cancelling their summer plans. It sounds alarming, but how worried should we really

03:06be? Government experts estimate that within the next 30 years, there s a 70-80% chance of this

03:12megaquake happening. And even with the risk increase right now, the chances of it happening

03:17are still under 1%. This 30-year estimate is also based on just one theory that uses past

03:23quake data and records of seabed changes in southern Japan. We don t yet have the science

03:28to predict when, where, or how big an earthquake will be. But those in Japan remain prepared because

03:35an earthquake can happen anytime, anywhere. Pop quiz, hot shot. Which one of these nations

03:42is often referred to as a hermit kingdom? Switzerland, Germany, South Korea, or North Korea?

03:54With known secrecy and willful isolation from the rest of the world,

03:57North Korea is the answer here. Now, imagine how interesting it would be if you got a rare

04:03window into that secretive hermit kingdom of around 25 million people that sits across the

04:08northern border of South Korea. That s what happened when one man in Canada used his hobby

04:13of surfing satellite channels to stumble on the North Korean state television and then shared

04:19what he is seeing on YouTube. Using his backyard satellite dish, Peter Fairlie was just scanning

04:27for sports channels. There we go. We have a signal. But the Canadian engineer from outside Toronto

04:35stumbled upon something he never expected. And that s when I saw the color bars, the test card,

04:41and the Pyongyang written on it. That triggered my curiosity, like was this really coming from

04:48North Korea? Sure enough, it was a live satellite feed of North Korean state television. From daily

05:00dancer size to cooking programs to patriotic propaganda. It s very kind of 1980s too. It s

05:09very MTV, their videos. Broadcasting mass games, military parades, and yes, missile launches to

05:23some 26 million people who call Kim Jong-un s secret state home. The videos all of Kim,

05:30how great he is and everybody crying and loving him. Peter began recording.

05:47Do you feel like these programs do have power to influence people s minds?

05:52Absolutely. After watching one full day of the North Korean content,

05:57for two nights in a row, I just had a lot of very bizarre dreams as if I was there.

06:04Posting an edited version on his YouTube channel.

06:10Did you think this was going to go viral? No, absolutely not.

06:15Go viral, he did. Peter s videos racking up almost two million views in less than two months.

06:22People were basically giving comments that were all over the spectrum from they loved it to

06:26they were terrified by it. Peter s pirated Pyongyang propaganda, a window into what

06:32the North Korean state wants its people to see and believe. Continuing with our CNN 10

06:40Olympian series this week, I caught up with Team USA swimmer Katie Ledecky,

06:44whose work ethic, Zoom-like focus and discipline are the stuff books could be written about.

06:49With nine Olympic golds now, 14 medals in all, she s the most dominant female swimmer we ve ever

06:55seen. Let s go inside the mind of Katie Ledecky, the most decorated female American Olympian of

07:00all time. What are some of the things that maybe you take for granted that you do or have done

07:05over the years that other people might find fascinating? I think I just try really hard

07:09to be consistent each year. You know, it s not just every four years for me. I m competing at

07:15world championships in between Olympics and a lot of other meets as well. So it s not just a few

07:21races every four years. It s a lot of training, a lot of races in between these big moments.

07:27What s one of the sacrifices your family made that was either quirky or just something you re

07:31going to look back and say, wow, they really loved me? Well, definitely a lot of early mornings. I

07:36think any swim parent or swimmer would say that. We have early morning practices. When I was,

07:43you know, in middle school, high school, some of those practices would start at 4.45 in the morning.

07:47So my parents would be up at 4, make me a quick breakfast, drive me to the pool, you know,

07:53definitely sacrifice some hours of sleep and just were great sports about it all. It was never a

07:59sacrifice to them. They were just supporting me and supporting my goals. You must be so proud.

08:05Now, Simone Biles told me she would be a honey badger in the gym, a sloth at home though. What

08:12would your spirit animal be to describe the aura of Katie Ledecky? I think I would have to say a

08:17porpoise because my summer league swim team, we were the Palisades porpoises. So that s my go-to

08:24answer. And obviously I love the water. So that s pretty good. Picture me this. The year is 2052.

08:30You ve just finished your last Olympics. Oh, come on. No, no, no, no, no. Coach Ledecky,

08:37would you like that? I feel like you d be good at that. I don t know. I, you know, I love swimming

08:42and I think no matter what I do beyond my swimming career, I think I ll always stay in the sport in

08:48some capacity. Today s story getting a 10 out of 10 is making some waves. Literally on the coast

08:59of Rhode Island, Anita and Dwayne Ratchford are driving a Rolls Royce shaped boat on the water.

09:06They ve been together for more than 20 years. He s a car enthusiast. She s an ocean lover.

09:10And schooner than later, they decided to bring their passions together. How about that? They

09:15said sometimes they get some stern looks, but mostly just smiles and waves. I ve never seen

09:21any rudder one like it. That reminds me of one of my favorite tongue twisters. Say toy boat as fast

09:26as you can five times without messing up. Toy boat, toy boat, toy boat, toy boat, toy boat.

09:30All right. Remember tomorrow s hashtag Your Word Wednesday. So follow me at CoiWire on Instagram,

09:35Snapchat, and TikTok. Put your unique vocabulary word and definition in the comment section of my

09:41most recent post and we ll choose a winner to work in tomorrow s show along with a shout out for you

09:46and your school. So put that in there too. Our shout out today goes to Dwight D. Eisenhower

09:51Middle School in Goddard, Kansas. Rise up. Let s do it again tomorrow, y all. I m CoiWire and we are CNN10.

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