Japan earthquake & tsunami

[slimjim]

Not had the news on this morning so I've only just heard about this... a very powerful quake, 8.9 magnitude, hit Japan with tsunami causing major destruction inland.

Currently tsunami warnings in place for most of the Pacific basin coastlines... If you're in those areas take care guys

http://anonym.to/?http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12307698

 

[slimjim]

Latest news: a tsunami has reached Jakarta, but thankfully only approx. half metre high.. nowhere near the size - up to 10m (33ft) that hit Japan

 

[jeansGuyOZ]

Latest news: a tsunami has reached Jakarta, but thankfully only approx. half metre high.. nowhere near the size - up to 10m (33ft) that hit Japan

This doesn't mean much. If you look at the map, waves travelling from the earthquake epicentre east of Japan towards Jakarta are partially blocked by various landmasses, such as Japan itself and the islands of the Philippines. To the east, there is little to block their passage, so places like Hawaii and the Pacific coast of North America are highly vulnerable.

 

[slimjim]

Yeah... sea depth has a major influence too.. the BBC website is saying that officials in Hawaii are predicting up to 2m (6.5 ft) waves... California is predicting up to 1.8m (6ft)

 

[diklik]

It's still okay here although it is quite stressful right about now.

Just got near my computer (and privacy) and had only heard about the quake and tsunamis this morning. Happy to know that Bora Bora is not doing too badly, Nilstreet. Take care. Tried emailing a buddy in Yokohama, but no reply yet. Not shocked, as who knows what is functioning or not in Japan. Holding good thoughts and prayers for everyone touched by this.

 

[diklik]

This doesn't mean much. If you look at the map, waves travelling from the earthquake epicentre east of Japan towards Jakarta are partially blocked by various landmasses, such as Japan itself and the islands of the Philippines. To the east, there is little to block their passage, so places like Hawaii and the Pacific coast of North America are highly vulnerable.

How's it going down under for you, OZ? Any major disruptions due to the quake, etc.?

 

[jeansGuyOZ]

How's it going down under for you, OZ? Any major disruptions due to the quake, etc.?

It's much too far away for us to have felt anything, and the tsunami waves, which in any case appear to be less severe than first feared (except of course in Japan) are pretty much prevented from reaching Oz by the presence of Indonesia and New Guinea.

Cyclones and flooding rains have been quite enough for us, thank you, without haing an earthquake to deal with as well.

 

[gb2000ie]

To everyone on the board who's directly affected by this disaster, or who's worrying for the safety of family and friends in the danger areas all around the pacific rim, my thoughts are with you all - and I hope things work for you and yours.

To everyone else - please consider joining me in making a donation to the International Red Cross to help deal with the humanitarian impact of this catastrophe.

B.

 

[Rozas]

Special for ore Japanese friends.

How far you are.
How bad it is.
You do not suffer alone, we are with our hearts with you.

 

[ritsuka]

I heard the tsunami warning sirens last night, but I didn't know anything until this morning. Thankfully there was only some damage to coastal homes and hotels here on the island. I'm glad to hear everything is ok on Bora Bora too, nilstreet.

The devastation that Japan has incurred is terrifying, especially as they are still trying to securely shut down their nuclear plants. I hope the trauma can be contained, and the death count doesn't continue to climb.

 

[serlud]

What happened in Japan is terrifying to see those scenes on TV puts chills on your skin, my thinking is close to the Japanese people who have only bad luck to live in a place plagued by earthquakes and tsunamis.

Meanwhile, news from the last hour has increased a thousand times more than the normal threshold level of radioactivity 'recorded in the nuclear power plant in Fukushima. The BCC says, citing the agency Kyodo.Si is one of 11 active stations at the time of the quake that devastated the coasts of Japan, the only one that did not automatically spenta.Intanto the authorities' Chile have increased to alarm the tsunami warning system in Easter Island, in the middle of the Pacific, in anticipation of the arrival of a possible tsunami.

 

[garth33]

To everyone on the board who's directly affected by this disaster, or who's worrying for the safety of family and friends in the danger areas all around the pacific rim, my thoughts are with you all - and I hope things work for you and yours.

To everyone else - please consider joining me in making a donation to the International Red Cross to help deal with the humanitarian impact of this catastrophe.

B.

Thanks gb! The devastation is unbelievable and heartbreaking...please help our world brothers if you can!

g

 

[garth33]

Special for ore Japanese friends.

How far you are.
How bad it is.
You do not suffer alone, we are with our hearts with you.

great sentiment Rozas! When everything goes to sh*t...all we really have is each other...even in cyberspace having SOMEONE/THING to grab onto means something.

peace buddies,
g33

 

[dny]

Whirlpool

Did that ship ever get out of the whirlpool?

 

[gb2000ie]

The Tsunami damage is horrific - but the problems in the five nuclear reactors is even more terrifying. One explosion already is more than a little worrying.

B.

 

[islandfun]

A horrible tragic event, hopefully it never happens here.

 

[gb2000ie]

A horrible tragic event, hopefully it never happens here.

If there's one thing we know for sure it's that it will happen again. The earth runs on plate tectonics, either it dies, or we have earthquakes, tsunami and volcanoes.

No point hoping there will never be earthquakes or tsunami in the future - instead, lets hope that the world learns from this disaster so that more countries will be more prepared in future. Japan is one of the world's best countries for earthquake preparedness - they got there by learning form past experiences, and I have no doubt they'll learn from this experience too - so that next time an 8.9 hits they'll be even better prepared, and many many more lives can be saved. I hope other countries also learn from this, and that lives can be saved in other parts of the world too when the next inevitable big quake hits.

A small thing that should also come out of this is for the Republican Party in the US to update their proposed budget to reverse the 30% cut they want to impose on the funding for the pacific tsunami warning system. That system saved a lot of lives in the last few days - to triply-decimate it is horrifically short-sighted and stupid. It reminds me of Bobby Jindal making fun of Volcano warning systems just before, inevitably, some volcano went off somewhere, as they are want to do.

B.

 

[bremal5]

So much of what we are dealing with all over the world pales to the devastation Japan is dealing with right now. The eyes of the world are on japan right now and they need our support.

 

[diklik]

I hope your friend is doing well. As you said, he might not be able to reach Internet right now, though it doesn't mean he is himself on emergency need.

I got a quick SMS from him about two hours ago - too him that long to get access (shared among several hundred folks) to a small satellite phone. He's okay - shocked by the entire thing, but okay. I'm more at ease, knowing that he's all right. I hurt for those families who have lost loved ones in this disaster. My employer is a communications provider and within hours of the quake notification, they've set up SMS donation portals that can be used to send $5 instant gifts to the relief organizations which are marshalling aid for Japan. I expect that other providers are doing likewise.

 

[subbrew]

The Red Cross is the best to donate to, there are some scammers out there already which makes me made.