Japan hit by tsunami caused by 8.9 quake; tsunamis landing elsewhere
Hawaii is to be hit soon, and there are apparently warnings for the west coast of the U.S. and Canada. The tsunami's reach also affects much of the South Pacific.
The magnitude of destruction is devastating. They had live footage of the waves on the news last night. Quote:
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This is so scary. Be safe, TFPers and all who may be impacted.
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Been listening to the radio for news updates on this all morning. I hope that people are able to evacuate before the next wave hits. Terrifying stuff.
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Unfortunate news. What I find odd is why an island has several nuclear power plants when something like this could occur?
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wow. i feel a little badly about looking at footage and/or photos because i feel like a disaster tourist or, worse, a voyeur.
that said: Earthquake in Japan - Alan Taylor - In Focus - The Atlantic |
to all affected i am sorry and my thoughts are with you.
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On a positive note: after the first waves hit, there were no major issues in Hawaii.
No major U.S. damage from tsunami waves |
Anyone else starting to feel like the Mayans knew what they were doing with their calendar?
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I hope, if bundy is still living in Japan, he's alright.
(edit- hehe, wherever he's living, I hope he's ok.) Also, flyman, get thee to the roof! Condolences to the families of those that have perished, and here's hoping we'll see no more lives lost. |
as far as i know bundy was still living there. hope he's ok.
Japan, stay strong! |
Looks like Hawaii and the Americas missed most of the waves. That's good news. The bad news is that Northern Japan is seriously fucked up.
I think I remember that bundy was in Tokyo, in which case there's a better chance of him being ok. Anyone else remember that? They have nuclear reactors because they don't have a better way to produce electricity, Jove. No big rivers, no big coal deposits, no big natural gas deposits - those are the usual ways to generate power. Most of the reactors seem to have held up just fine. Unfortunately, it may not be all of them. |
I believe the most recent death toll estimate is a little over 1,000. For what it's worth, my thoughts are with the families and loved ones of those who had their homes destroyed, or were injured or killed in this disaster.
Japan has been dealing with tsunamis and earthquakes for a very long time, and every generation technology and planning has improved to deal with the effects. While this was a devastating quake and tsunami, the largest earthquake in the 140 years of records, ultimately the damage is much much less severe than it would have been elsewhere, like here in California, because of brilliant civil engineering and disaster management planning. I would venture a guess that Japanese nuclear plants are among the most safe in the world when it comes to earthquakes and tsunamis. |
I think Sty and Ratman are also in Japan. I think Ratman is on the east coast though. I don't know about Sty.
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My friends in Okinawa said they were doing okay this morning,
but no one has heard from them since about 9 am EST. I haven't heard if that area was impacted, just that there was concern about low-lying islands. I am geographically-retarded when it comes to this area of the world, even with google maps, should we still be worried about them in that area? |
Okinawa is way south of the main part of Japan. The main impact was felt in the north east part of Japan. I haven't read anything to suggest that the south felt much of the earthquake or was impacted by the tsunami.
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Got to admit, the nuclear power problems are pretty scary to me. Not sure why back-up on site generators would cut out after a short period and lead to the concerns that are currently making the news, but I would bet the "fallout" (not even trying to be funny here folks) from this could be much worse than any earthquake/tsunami double punch if they don't get on top of it pdq.
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Waves are even felt in space - The Kibo lab on the International Space Station is taking directions from Houston since their base in Tsukuba was heavily damaged in the earthquake.
Snippets quoted below, read the full article here: Japan Earthquake & Tsunami | Earthquake Shuts Down Japan's Space Station Center | International Space Station, Japanese Astronauts | Space.com Quote:
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NBC, msnbc.com and news services
updated 6 minutes ago 2011-03-12 T09:35:41 breaking news "Explosion rocks quake-hit Japanese nuke plant TV footage shows building's crumbled walls; 'We are now trying to analyze what is behind the explosion,' official says " I do not like this head line. I do not like it one little bit. |
I've had REM in my head since yesterday and it's not funny anymore.
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One of Japan's nuclear reactors just exploded.
BBC News - Japan earthquake: Explosion at Fukushima nuclear plant Youtube video: This is VERY BAD. I get the feeling the Japanese nuclear officials have been lying to us. First it was everything is OK, then maybe a leak, maybe not, then we have to vent some steam, but everything is fine, now this. |
Crazy video, Kirk. Thank you for sharing.
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Im not sure they were lying, I thnk there was some overconfidence and they really didn't believe that it would really get this bad. I was watching al jazeera last night because they rarely censor or make things "viewer friendly", plus they never say "chair-noble", and it seemed like they were convinced their technology would hold.
However, I did feel a little comfort on the lack of mushroom cloud from the explosion. I'm not near a real computer, any word on the core? Whether it held or not? |
Please tell me there are other things in that plant that would cause an explosion, other than a meltdown.
Also, dear lord, I hope no lizards lived near that nuclear power plant... |
Not my favorite source, but CNN is reporting that there is no core leak.
CNN--Japanese official says pumping system caused nuclear plant blast |
I keep looking at the footage and all I'm waiting to see is Godzilla in the background. It is so devastating that I still have a hard time fathoming that I'm not watching some sort of kaiju movie when I was a kid.
I've been trying to find out if Sty is okay, but I haven't heard anything. |
Oh no, Sty is there? I hope that he is all right.
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Not really a laughing matter, but Cyn's comment about Godzilla almost made me spit coffee. I've been thinking the same thing. After seeing the whirlpool that formed yesterday, I keep seeing scenes from a movie flashing through my head, thinking 'Holy shit, they knew' . I still can't remember the name of the movie though. It's the one with the aliens, Jajaguar (sp) the transformer robot thing.. I think it was MegaGodzilla. Anyway, thanks Cyn, I was beginning to think I was loosing it.
To all those affected, I hope you're doing well. Saw a brief on the USGS web site. They estimate the Earth quake moved Honshu 8" and the Earth's pole 10". WOW .. . |
Looks like the reactor isn't leaking. Thank god.
Also, a Chernobyl is impossible there because of the primary and secondary containment systems they that the Soviets didn't. Which is one reason why the US Nuclear Insurance Pool won't extend into Soviet-bloc countries. |
i knew you had the insurance bit taken care of jazz..
i heard that the earthquake made the day 1.6 of a billion of a second longer. who knew you could measure it to that precision? |
I've got nothing to do with that kind of insurance, although I know folks who do.
There's a thought that this could signal the beginning of a global shift in the industry, though, towards higher prices. The initial numbers I'm hearing are in the hundreds of billions of dollars in insurance claims. |
I heard a spokesman from AFLAC being interviewed, that company insures 1 out of 4 Japanese. They'll take a hit but I would imagine they've covered the risk with reinsurance agreements.
Also saw that this quake did not occur where the 'big one' was predicted to occur. Meaning, the 'big one' in Japan is still possible. This one was certainly big enough, it moved the coast of Japan by 8 feet and moved the Earth's axis by 4 inches! The physics required to do that is just staggering. |
More likely than not, Craven. But that's just disability insurance for the injured. Honestly, the loss probably won't be that big for that niche. Commercial property losses are going to be astronomical. The runway at the airport is going to have to be replaced. The nuclear plant will probably be decommissioned. The refinery will have to repaired. Whole blocks will be torn down.
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It makes me so sad to see that this has happened to such a great country. A few friends of mine have posted some things on Facebook, saying people have said this is "payback" for the Pearl Harbor bombing, back in 1941. I was like... really? It makes me so aggravated when people show their true ignorance like that.
I pray for the families of those affected. Truly tragic. :( |
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I say ignorance mixed with malice.
The ignorance is tied into the thought that something like an earthquake can in any way be related to human actions from decades ago. Yeaaah.... Pearl Harbor somehow caused the earthquake.... |
The latest from aljazeera is that the Japanese Meterological Society has revised their rating to a 9.0 earthquake... and that two of the cores may have already experienced meltdowns, they can't see them. I keep watching with a sense of morbid fascination. I dislike that about myself, but there's something about it that feels more real than the last horrific tsunami or the Katrina mess.
I'm glad none of my facebook friends are that stupid. They'd be decommissioned immediately and with extreme prejudice. |
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I have a friend who is strongly anti nuclear power, who believes that whole part of the world will turn into a wasteland, like Chernobyl. Sad, but I almost think that he would like to see that end of it turn out badly for the Japanese, who have been leaders in nuclear generation of electricity.:shakehead: I hope my friend is disappointed. Lindy |
2nd explosion at Japanese nuclear plant - World - CBC News
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also, in more news of people trying to be dicks in the face of tragedy. Are the people who made this image http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h2...es/japan-1.jpg posted it up in a youtube video. The logo in the image belongs to Austrailian Radioation Services. the Image came out on friday, ARS was closed until Monday and was not able to react to the image in a timely manner, leaving this image to develop in to a flashmob of mass hysteria. They released an official statement Quote:
Now I tried to figure out why someone would incite hysteria like this. The user who posted the video posted stuff like Quote:
While linking to Potassium Iodide Tablets for sale online, trying to sham people for money out of mass hysteria and misinformation. It's the y2k thing all over again. So between that, the people talking shit about pearl harbor, and all asswipery that people have been displaying online during this disaster, I'm reminded that while 50% of the people out there are above average in common sense, intelligence, and compassion for their fellow human being, the other half is full of people that just remind me of everything that's wrong with our society. |
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