The Last Bass Outpost
Main Forums => The Outpost Cafe => Topic started by: uwe on March 11, 2011, 06:35:28 PM
-
News is still pouring in, like a doomsday sci fi movie, people here have relatives and friends there, I hope they are alright and everyone in those regions waiting to be hit remains safe. Teaches you humility. No nanotechnology can stop this, nature can still teach us a lesson or two.
Amazing though that Japan gets hit by an 8.9 quake and actually survives. Imagine what this would have done to a Third World country.
-
I have some friends over there that I lost touch with many years ago. It would upset me greatly if I found out anything had happened to them. I'm encouraged that the death toll isn't higher.
-
I'm afraid the death toll may go much higher. The Sendai area is still a big city and 8.9 is huge.
-
My sister and her family are over there (Missawa AFB). Thankfully all of them are fine. She said they felt the quake and the aftershocks. House is a mess but everyone is fine. They had a smaller one last week too. Nothing compared to this one tho.
-
Amazing though that Japan gets hit by an 8.9 quake and actually survives. Imagine what this would have done to a Third World country.
No need to imagine, it happened on Boxing Day, 2004 ..... 230,000 killed in 14 developing countries.
-
At this point the death toll is strictly realitive to what they are able to report and they have priorities bigger than counting and reporting the bodies. I expect to hear some staggering numbers :sad:.
The aerial camera shots of all this little debris that looked like bits of gravel being washed away like someone was hosing down their driveway. Then you get a better look at what those little bits of gravel like debris actually are, stuff like houses , boats, ships, cars and trucks. I've never seen anything like it.
Rick
-
incredible on all counts.
-
And now a cooling system explosion that apparently has collapsed the walls of a building surrounding a reactor.
-
Not to mention four trains are missing :o. Some pretty serious circumstances when you can lose four trains.
Rick
-
I heard from my cousin in Tokyo - she and her two brothers are safe - more importantly, her mom & dad (my aunt & uncle) who live in Iwate prefecture much closer to the epicenter are ok. Still waiting to hear about my father in law - he is on the coast of Hokkaido in a tsunami warning zone. Hokkaido doesn't seem to be in as bad shape as the area around Sendai, but I would still like to hear that he is safe...
Phone contact is sporadic - I heard a rumor that phone lines were shut down by the government for emergency use only, I just heard a report on NHK news that a lot of cell phone companies are still out of commission, but some people are managing to get in touch. I have a lot of friends in Japan or with family in Japan on facebook, and it's a relief when they check in with messages that they or their families are ok.
UPDATE: just heard this morning - my wife's family members in Hokkaido are ok!!!
-
Good luck with the family Harry, one and all...
The Moon is closer to the earth than usual at present, which has not helped geological stability... The 2004 event was 9.3 iirc - seems like the strength of the event rises exponentially
Something that may be of interest...
Earthquakes are measured using the Richter Scale, which is a logarithmic scale ranging from 0-9. (Logarithmic means that with each increase of one on the Richter scale, there is a tenfold increase in energy.) The scale is as follows:
Less than 2.0 : Micro : Not felt.
2.0-2.9 : Minor : Not felt, but recorded.
3.0-3.9 : Minor : Felt, but rarely cuse damage.
4.0-4.9 : Light : Noticable shaking of items, damage unlikely.
5.0-5.9 : Moderate : Damage to poorly constructed buildings, unlikely damage to specially designed buildings.
6.0-6.9 : Strong : Destructive for up to 100 miles across populated areas.
7.0-7.9 : Major : Serious damage over large areas.
8.0-8.9 : Great : Serious damage over areas of several hundred miles.
9.0-9.9 : Great : Devastating damage in areas thousands of miles across.
10.0+ : Great : Yet to be recorded.
How many of you have seen geological strata planes at odds with our horizontal - most of my home Island is a slipped plate left over when Canada went on holiday, with the plane at about 70 degrees to the norm... Nature will have the last laugh on us all...
-
This was horrible news :sad: Glad to hear that friends & family of you guys are so far safe and accounted for. Thoughts are with you.
-
Thoughts and prayers for your family and friends Harry.
-
I'm impressed with how stoically the Japanese are dealing with the earthquake.
-
I remember when I moved to Japan in 1982 - I was 11 - the hotel we were staying at was something like 24 stories, and at the base, there were these big rubber sections so that the building would be flexible in an earthquake. I remember experiencing a couple of little ones while we were staying there, nothing like the one that just happened. But the Japanese nation has been preparing for earthquakes and tsunami like this for a long time - in fact, tsunami is a Japanese word...
-
I'm happy to hear that your family is safe, Harry.
-
Man, nothing scares the s*!t out of you like an earthquake, it really reminds you of how helpless you are against natures forces. Best wishes to all the people involved.
Fortunatly Japanese has a strong mentality (and a solid pair of coglioni) to go on, fix and continue the daily routine.
-
And now a cooling system explosion that apparently has collapsed the walls of a building surrounding a reactor.
The quake was 8.9 & the tsunami was 23 feet but the explosion at Fukushima power plant & the threat of meltdown is the worst problem by far!!!
This could be the end of Japan! wow
Glad you're safe, hieronymous! Sounds like you better get as far from Fukushima as possible...
-
When I was there for my job I felt some eartquakes, my colleagues were perfectly calm while I was extremely nervous. I am worried, but not so much about the collapse of the building in the nuclear plant. I am Phd in safety of nuclear plants and looking at the videos it looks that it was not the reactor building, but an an auxiliary building.
It is clear that the steel structure is still on place and only roof and wall panels were blown by the explosion. The reactor building is not done like that. It is in concrete with steel liner and is much smaller.
I am worried a lot of the tsunami wave: if it destroyed the emergency generators trouble will come, but apparently they were able to turn on the system for flooding of the reactor core. I really hope that there is water in that reactor now.
-
you would think that the Japanese would have built the plants with earthquakes in mind and have thought of all of the possible worst case scenarios. Here's hoping that they prepared properly.
-
From what I have heard, the earthquake cut power leaving the backup generators running but those were killed by the tsunami leaving just back up batteries with only enough power for 8 hours. More information can be found here. (http://bigthink.com/ideas/31595)
-
Happy to hear everyone is safe, Harry.
-
This could be the end of Japan! wow
Uh, let's not get carried away. That's not reality. Remember that this country has had two active atomic bombs dropped on it, and that wasn't "the end of Japan". Localized disaster (even multiple disasters) does not equal the end of a country.
Japan has its problems, especially on the economic front, but it's a strong, healthy country and it will rebound.
-
It will not be the end, but what concerns me is whats next, another major California quake ?
-
It will not be the end, but what concerns me is whats next, another major California quake ?
Good question! The stories about the devastation will continue, and we'll learn more. It does appear that they have - and will perhaps have more - low-level releases of radiation, too.
-
I was able to speak to my sister on skype last night. There were three aftershocks in the hour that we spoke. She has removed all remaining hanging objects from the walls so they get less damage. She has heard from friends in the regions most affected and everyone is safe.They live about 170 miles from where the quake hit the worst. They have begun rationing certain food supplies, right now two cases of water and two loaves of bread is the limit. She expects the rationing will get tighter on most items soon. Electricity comes and goes. They were able to get the house warmed up again at least. Its winter time and it has been pretty cold over there (down to the 20's at times).
-
Authorities are now saying at least 10,000 dead and it's early yet.
I just made an Ebay purchase and they have "donate a dollar" check box set up on the PayPal site - seemed like the right thing to do.
-
Third reactor threatening to go into meltdown mode and a volcano erupts. If this was one of those doomsday films, you'd now leave the theater muttering to yourself what an unrealistic buch of crap you just saw.
-
Third reactor threatening to go into meltdown mode and a volcano erupts. If this was one of those doomsday films, you'd now leave the theater muttering to yourself what an unrealistic buch of crap you just saw.
No kidding! The stories out of the damage from this event are just starting to emerge, and I don't think anyone realizes how it will total up yet. This may turn out to be the widest-spread devastation recorded in any developed country (outside of warfare).
-
I have a friend who lives in Tokyo and he told me the news reports are actually downplaying things. Where he is hasn't been affected as much but in the north it's even worse than how it's being reported.
-
Third reactor threatening to go into meltdown mode and a volcano erupts. If this was one of those doomsday films, you'd now leave the theater muttering to yourself what an unrealistic buch of crap you just saw.
No kidding - sorta like that that horrendous "2012" movie, except real.
"The Japan Meteorological Agency on Sunday revised its assessment of the quake’s magnitude to 9.0 from 8.8, and said there was a 70% chance of a magnitude 7.0 aftershock occurring in the next three days. The U.S. Geological Survey’s assessment put the earthquake’s magnitude at 8.9.
The quake appears to have moved the main island of Japan by 8 feet and shifted the Earth on its axis, according to media reports citing USGS scientists." (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/japan-faces-new-outages-as-power-crisis-deepens-2011-03-13?pagenumber=1)
-
I have a friend who lives in Tokyo and he told me the news reports are actually downplaying things. Where he is hasn't been affected as much but in the north it's even worse than how it's being reported.
I can believe it. And a death toll of 10,000 is unrealistically low. There are that many people missing and feared dead in the town of Minami Sanriku (http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/minami-sanriku-the-town-that-disappeared-in-the-japan-earthquake/story-e6freuy9-1226020730156). The same article says that Kesennuma (pop. 74,000) is missing three-quarters of its residents. Another article says the town of Minamisoma (pop. 71.000) is also wiped out. Now there are reports that the coastal town of Rikuzentakata (pop. 24,000) is completely submerged.
-
I can believe it. And a death toll of 10,000 is unrealistically low. There are that many people missing and feared dead in the town of Minami Sanriku (http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/minami-sanriku-the-town-that-disappeared-in-the-japan-earthquake/story-e6freuy9-1226020730156). The same article says that Kesennuma (pop. 74,000) is missing three-quarters of its residents. Another article says the town of Minamisoma (pop. 71.000) is also wiped out. Now there are reports that the coastal town of Rikuzentakata (pop. 24,000) is completely submerged.
Yeah~ Here's Rikuzentakata:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScjHs9bClyc
Crikey!
-
Just announced that a third reactor has blown at Fukushima
-
No kidding! The stories out of the damage from this event are just starting to emerge, and I don't think anyone realizes how it will total up yet. This may turn out to be the widest-spread devastation recorded in any developed country (outside of warfare).
Sorry Al, like Mark said earlier people need to remember that the last big Tsunami took out 230,000 people across fourteen countries. While I have the utmost sympathy for those in Japan I cant help feeling a bit irked by the coverage and attitude of the media towards Japan as compared to their relative indifference to countries like Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia. I have a great difficulty is seeing these countries as third world. No offence intended but we are talking 23 times the number of dead.
-
I'm afraid the death toll will be many times 10,000. On top of what we had already heard, I read tonight that in the town of Otsuchi, people 12,000 people are missing out of a population of 15,000. There may be more stories like this. Two different places reported about 1000 bodies each washed up on shore this morning. How many more are lost at sea forever?
The 2004 tsunami got lots of coverage in the US. Not as much as this, but media coverage of anything is more intense today. On top of that, you have the whole nuclear issue.
-
This is of interest...
Jackie heard a report that Japan has physically moved; she heard 7.5 feet yesterday... I heard nearly 9 feet today... BBC science page reports a minor axis change/time change...?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12732335 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12732335)
There now concerns on a fourth reactor...
-
"The quake probably shifted Earth on its axis by about 6.5 inches (16.5cm) and caused the planet to rotate somewhat faster, shortening the length of the day by about 1.8 millionths of a second."
Man that sucks. My days are not long enough already. :sad:
-
Japan before and after (http://www.abc.net.au/news/events/japan-quake-2011/beforeafter.htm)
Move your cursor from right to left and it overlays the same picture with the after.
There's a view of Minamisanriku on the second page. I can see why over half the population is missing.
-
Those are some very sobering sights. :-\
-
That is one of the most chilling sets of photos I have seen!
-
The Story about the "Faceless 50" is truly an inspiring story- The 50 workers who went back to the plant knowing it will probably kill them.
http://orgtheory.wordpress.com/2011/03/16/the-faceless-50/
-
I have always had great respect for the courage and dignity for the people of Japan. There is a presiding sense of selfless duty that is deeply ingrained in their culture and that's the stuff that a hero is made of.
During Katrina half the news coverage was about the looting and robbing that was going on. Not to say that some of this isn't happening in Japan, but it seems that in general, their hearts and heads are to a far greater extent, in the right place.
Rick
-
The Story about the "Faceless 50" is truly an inspiring story- The 50 workers who went back to the plant knowing it will probably kill them.
http://orgtheory.wordpress.com/2011/03/16/the-faceless-50/
I hope they at least get a nice place in the Shinto Shrine. Not a sarcastic remark, I'm serious. It will mean something to them and their families. Some of that old Kamikaze spirit lives on.
-
I hope they at least get a nice place in the Shinto Shrine. Not a sarcastic remark, I'm serious. It will mean something to them and their families. Some of that old Kamikaze spirit lives on.
This got me thinking - the original "kamikaze" (god wind) was a typhoon that destroyed the invading Mongol fleet. In that case, a natural disaster benefited Japan. But this article relates the ambiguity of the gods and nature in Japanese spirituality:
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/episodes/by-topic/jeffrey-richey-commentary-on-japan/8391/ (http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/episodes/by-topic/jeffrey-richey-commentary-on-japan/8391/)
I think that almost any religion has its good and bad sides, just like any nation or culture. I hope that in Japan's case the positive aspects like compassion and perseverance continue to hold...
-
The Story about the "Faceless 50" is truly an inspiring story- The 50 workers who went back to the plant knowing it will probably kill them.
http://orgtheory.wordpress.com/2011/03/16/the-faceless-50/
I was listening to one of the helicopter pilots that dumped water on Chenobyl yesterday. He now lives in Sydney. He said that he was told that it was his job to fly over the reactor and drop the water and that if he refused then the next man inline in his unit would be made to do it and so on. I was surprised that the guy was even still alive let alone in good health and living here.
-
Believe it or not...
http://www.tourkiev.com/chernobyltour/ (http://www.tourkiev.com/chernobyltour/)
(http://cache1.asset-cache.net/xc/57077104.jpg?v=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=77BFBA49EF878921F7C3FC3F69D929FDE1A2FA4B6EB44E2D910ABBECE01448CA1C1AC00CD7BDAFB1B01E70F2B3269972)
-
This bit counts me out straight away ;D "Important - Passage to "Rossokha" village, cemetery of military machineries - ACCESS FORBIDDEN BY THE GOVERNMENT STARTING APRIL 2008"