Local expert: Aftershocks will continue for months

The effects of the massive earthquake that rocked Japan last week will continue to send aftershocks through the country for months, an earthquake expert says.

Rick Polad, an earth science instructor at Aurora University, said there have been hundreds of aftershocks since the 8.9 magnitude earthquake on March 9 that has so far claimed more than 1,400 lives.

“The aftershocks will go on for quite a while, months,” Polad said from his Carol Stream home on Sunday. “There have been more than 200 aftershocks since the 8.9 one. The aftershocks we are seeing are in the 4 to 5 (magnitude) range, but once in awhile we’ll get a 6.”

Polad said an iPhone application that tracks earthquake activity across the globe has been sending updates every 10 to 15 minutes from the region. Those aftershocks, like Friday’s earthquakes, are offshore in the Pacific Ocean, he said.

“Almost every one of those aftershocks, if they would have been somewhere else in the world, would cause significant damage,” Polad said.

Although there is not an exact science to predict earthquakes, Polad said, the likelihood of an earthquake of that magnitude occurring in the near future is slim.

“You can’t be 100 percent sure, but when that much energy is released, you’re not going to see another of the same size for many hundreds of years,” Polad said. “It’s part of what the Earth does.”

The threat from tsunamis has passed, Polad said. The big problem now will be cleaning up and rebuilding, he said.

“Unfortunately, people live in areas that are prone to earthquakes,” Polad said. “People live on fault lines because that’s where cities grew up. But Mother Nature is in charge, not us.”