Japanese earthquake / tsunami discussion

Thrill · 11-03-2011 10:40am

Extended footage of a clip I watched on the news of the wave as it moved inland, washing all before it. Unreal.........

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12709850

FTGFOP · 11-03-2011 10:40am

[-0-] wrote: »

BBC just showed Sendai airport being swallowed up. Shocking.

I think I'll stop watching now, it gets worse with each video.

[Deleted User] · 11-03-2011 10:41am

sunflower27 wrote: »

Would the people have known after the earhquake that there was going to be a tsunami? Excuse my ignorance, but the earthquake in NZ recently didn't result in a tsunami.

Just wondering how much warning, if any, the people had to get to higher ground?

They have warning systems in place in the Pacific. Bouys located everywhere.
A lot of places have warning sirens that go off to warn the public.

Konata · 11-03-2011 10:41am

Thrill wrote: »

Extended footage of a clip I watched on the news of the wave as it moved inland, washing all before it. Unreal.........

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12709850

That wave is terrifying. You can see how far it came from and the speed at which it's moving. Very scary.

darragh16 · 11-03-2011 10:41am

sunflower27 wrote: »

Would the people have known after the earhquake that there was going to be a tsunami? Excuse my ignorance, but the earthquake in NZ recently didn't result in a tsunami.

Just wondering how much warning, if any, the people had to get to higher ground?

All the coastlines (Japan & America anyway) have tsunami warning sytems in place that come into effect when the Earthquake hits. It has to be a minimum 7.5Mw for warnings to take place. New Zealand didn't have them because it was inland and it wasn't big enough to cause any lasting Earthquake.

Big Daddy Cool · 11-03-2011 10:43am

3 meter high waves now forecast for parts of the hawaii'n islands :eek:

biko · 11-03-2011 10:46am

Yakult, I updated the title.

Map
http://c138.r38.cf3.rackcdn.com/20110311--073100-japan.jpg

Another news link
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110311/local/powerful-quake-off-japan-tsunami-warning-issued

some_dose · 11-03-2011 10:46am

May be a fire in one of the Japanese nuclear power stations. As bad as this is, it may get so so so much worse

Konata · 11-03-2011 10:47am

That footage CNN were just showing of the tsunami rushing across land is terrifying. You can see cars on the roads and next thing they're swallowed up

It's really so, so sad.

Badgermonkey · 11-03-2011 10:48am

I've been to Tokyo on three occasions and loved the place.

The scale and density of the city is hard to comprehend and thankfully it seems not to have suffered extensively from the quake or tsunami.

The pictures were truly frightening but their contingency plans post Kobe and logistical expertise will go a long way towards ensuring its impact will not mirror anything like the destruction seen in Bandah Aceh.

Cantona's Collars · 11-03-2011 10:49am

some_dose wrote: »

May be a fire in one of the Japanese nuclear power stations. As bad as this is, it may get so so so much worse

The power company there has reported that the emergency generators used to power the reactor coolers are inoperable.Not a good sign if they can't get them up and running.

sunflower27 · 11-03-2011 10:51am

Konata wrote: »

Apparently the first tsunami wave hit Sentai port about half an hour after the earthquake. So those people had very, very little time to evacuate. The meterologists would probably not have predicted it in time.

God, i was hoping there was more of a warning but I suspected probably not as some of the footage shows cars doing a u-turn and making a mad dash for it as the water rushes across the farm land.

I don't think those cars would have made it away in time. The water was coming at them so fast, carrying other cars and boats. Maybe they did but the footage cuts out so it is hard to tell

Big Daddy Cool · 11-03-2011 10:53am

fox news just reported the tsunami could swamp some of the smaller hawaii'n islands

some_dose · 11-03-2011 10:54am

The death toll would be a whole lot worse were it not for the incredible ability of Japanese builders and engineers. The fact that buildings are still standing is amazing and has no doubt saved hundreds of thousands/millions of lives

Big Daddy Cool · 11-03-2011 10:56am

the whole californian coastline now on tsunami alert, i could be wrong, but that cant be good news for hawaii considering that will be hit 1st before california

Webmonkey · 11-03-2011 11:00am

Just heard on Sky news a nuclear power plant is now on fire.

SeaFields · 11-03-2011 11:02am

Oh my god the footage on the news is shocking.

Dont like waking up to this type of news

g'em · 11-03-2011 11:02am

I used to live on Oahu so this has all gotten very close to home for me too

Mr Benevolent · 11-03-2011 11:02am

Webmonkey wrote: »

Just heard on Sky news a nuclear power plant is now on fire.

Let's just hope that's Sky/Fox scaremongering again.

some_dose · 11-03-2011 11:03am

At its source, this quake was 8,000 times stronger than that which hit Christchurch.

8,000.

Fuck me

noel farrell · 11-03-2011 11:03am

looks really bad hope there is not huge loss of life , shows how fortunate we are in ireland no major disasters of note

Webmonkey · 11-03-2011 11:03am

Confab wrote: »

Let's just hope that's Sky/Fox scaremongering again.

I hope. But the original source was a Japanese news channel. Must investigate.

Konata · 11-03-2011 11:04am

some_dose wrote: »

The death toll would be a whole lot worse were it not for the incredible ability of Japanese builders and engineers. The fact that buildings are still standing is amazing and has no doubt saved hundreds of thousands/millions of lives

This is very true. Japanese engineers have developed incredible building structures. The buildings shake as the ground shakes - moving with it rather than resisting it. It's truly fascinating and incredible, that even after an 8.9 earthquake, 99% of buildings are still standing.

ThisRegard · 11-03-2011 11:04am

Big Daddy Cool wrote: »

the whole californian coastline now on tsunami alert, i could be wrong, but that cant be good news for hawaii considering that will be hit 1st before california

It's actually the entire west coast of America according to AP.

Shulgin · 11-03-2011 11:05am

Im speechless watching the footage. This is so terrible.
The scale of this is only becoming apparent, worse by the minute.

sunflower27 · 11-03-2011 11:06am

Fire alert at nuclear plant

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/11/quake-japan-nuclear-idUSLHE7E801E20110311

Webmonkey · 11-03-2011 11:06am

Shulgin wrote: »

Im speechless watching the footage. This is so terrible.
The scale of this is only becoming apparent, worse by the minute.

Me too. Not the nicest news to start the day to. Makes you just think...how taken for granted where we live on this world is.

Seaneh · 11-03-2011 11:06am

Confab wrote: »

Let's just hope that's Sky/Fox scaremongering again.

Reuters reported it over half an hour before sky, and local media before That, sky mentioned it in passing but didn't focus on it.

amacachi · 11-03-2011 11:07am

some_dose wrote: »

The death toll would be a whole lot worse were it not for the incredible ability of Japanese builders and engineers. The fact that buildings are still standing is amazing and has no doubt saved hundreds of thousands/millions of lives

True that, money can be a good thing sometimes. Same with Chile last year, huge earthquake but well put-together buildings mitigated the effects.

Big Daddy Cool wrote: »

the whole californian coastline now on tsunami alert, i could be wrong, but that cant be good news for hawaii considering that will be hit 1st before california

Far too early to call, was a big tsunami warning for Hamaii last year that fizzled out. Too hard to know how the wave will behave in the open ocean and/or whether it'll reach anywhere of note. Obviously one hopes it'll dissipate itself.

Lord Trollington · 11-03-2011 11:08am

Was in Japan 9 years ago at the 2002 World Cup.
It is an amazing country. Fantastic cities.
The most friendliest people you will ever meet.
This has the potential to be the biggest disaster in History.
My heart goes out to each and every one of them.

Japanese earthquake / tsunami discussion

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