gal, peak ground acceleration

According to data recorded by seismometers at the lowest floors of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant and released by TEPCO on Friday, the No. 2 reactor building suffered tremors of 550 gals, 1.25 times stronger than the maximum standard of 438 gals. (A gal is a unit that measures peak ground acceleration in earthquakes).


GAL
(gal)

(mechanics) The unit of acceleration in the centimeter-gram-second system, equal to 1 centimeter per second squared; commonly used in geodetic measurement. Formerly known as galileo. Symbolized Gal. gallon