Massive quake hits Japan 9.0 Magnitude

[bluap84]

11.31am: The Associated Press has more details on the state of emergency issued at nuclear plant after its cooling system failed:

Chief cabinet secretary Yukio Edano says the nuclear power plant in Fukushima developed a mechanical failure in the system needed to cool the reactor after it was shut down in Friday's earthquake.

He said the measure was a precaution and there was no radiation leak at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant. He said the facility was not in immediate danger.


----------------------------------------------

Thats pretty bloody serious.... eeeek

 

[R.Perez]

8ft wave passed Midway Island, 6ft wave expected for Oahu. I live plenty high above sea level, and bought groceries so I am ALL GOOD.

 

[awmazz]

.

 

[rasmasyean]

I'm in Tokyo. The big shake happened around 3 in the afternoon. I was walking around outside. Returned immediately to my apartment. Lots of broken glass and plates. Books have fallen from the shelf and my office was a mess, but my old mother, dog & cats, and Macs are okay. The aftershocks are continuing.

The damage in Tokyo seems to be fairly light. The situation in Sendai (northern part of Japan) is very serious. It's been hit by tsunami. The TV is showing these helicopter shots of tsunami coming in, and you can actually see cars and buildings and sometimes people being washed away. Can't do anything. I stopped watching TV.

Do they take those "people washed away" videos off Youtube or something right away? All I've seen are the same footages of "stuff" being engulfed by the front. It almost looks as if the entire area has been evacuated prior to this. I tried to find ppl, but I don't see any....unless they like instantly die and sink to the bottom or something or are stuck in the cars.

 

[puma1552]

Japanese police are reporting several hundred bodies on a beach near Sendai so it looks like as per the Indonesian tsunami the official toll will skyrocket once the water recedes.

Link?

To get an idea of how massive this one was, I am in Himeji, and just an hour east of me, in Osaka, buildings were swaying. Now if you look at a map of where the quake is and how far away Osaka is, my god.

 

[bluap84]

Link?

To get an idea of how massive this one was, I am in Himeji, and just an hour east of me, in Osaka, buildings were swaying. Now if you look at a map of where the quake is and how far away Osaka is, my god.

Puma not sure if this will be any good but i have been reading this all day...its updated frequently

clicky

 

[eternlgladiator]

This is just crazy. They quoted a girl on cnn from their facebook comments saying the failnami was a big letdown. What a gigantic "tw*t".

 

[bluap84]

This is just crazy. They quoted a girl on cnn from their facebook comments saying the failnami was a big letdown. What a gigantic "tw*t".

+1

didnt know the word tw@t was used over the pond... lol amezzin

 

[yg17]

+1

didnt know the word tw@t was used over the pond... lol amezzin

Yes, **** is used over here quite a bit. Wank, not so much though.

 

[PracticalMac]

Dam... I hope that damage isn't that bad, but it being 8.9 I won't hold my breathe.

Its bad, really bad.

Have relatives there, in Tokyo.

 

[eternlgladiator]

+1

didnt know the word tw@t was used over the pond... lol amezzin

I thought it was appropriate for this line. It's not in my main repertoire but I thought it worked.

 

[awmazz]

.

 

[darkplanets]

NB. I guess the most critical things that can get damaged in Japan are the nuke power stations, the reports so far say none are leaking.

I wouldn't worry about those. They're incredibly well designed. If Japan has any of the new AP1000's, then there's really nothing to worry about.

 

[bluap84]

I thought it was appropriate for this line. It's not in my main repertoire but I thought it worked.

LOL i think it fitted the post just perfectly

back to OP theres a huge fire raging in Kesennumma...this quake is eating japan for breakfast, lunch and dinner...but i have seen some videos on youtube and im amazed that the japan population are just trying to get on with their normal days. Take this one for example: clicky

 

[iAlan]

I was at work when the quake hit. Building swayed (its a 3 year old building) more than anything I've experienced in my 10+ years in Tokyo. And the duration of the quake is what surprised (and unnerved me) the most as most are short - and the epicenter was 350K away from Tokyo.

Dozens of small aftershocks, of varying degrees but thankfully calmed down a bit now, although a little shake 10-15 minutes ago.

Had to walk home as the trains were all suspended. The 1.5 hour walk was better than a workout at the gym!

To all in Japan, stay safe.

Sent from my iPhone

 

[leekohler]

My cousin is in Japan visiting his wife's family. He says they're OK right now, but that could change.

 

[RawBert]

the tsunami videos are horrifying.

 

[rhett7660]

Not to mention the videos of it happening.

Wow.... Devastating to say the least.

 

[joepunk]

businessinsider.com has some updates to the reactor problem.

Update: There's no evidence of any radioactive leakage, but officials have confirmed that the cooling process for the nuclear plant has not yet gone according to plan.
Update 2: Japan has declared a nuclear emergency.
Update 3: 2000 residents near the Fukushima Nuclear Plant have been urged to evacuate.
Update 4: According to reports, Japanese jets have been ordered to fly over the Fukushima Nuclear plant
Update 5: According to Reuters, a Dam has broken in the same region as the at-risk nuclear power plant.

 

[SeattleMoose]

Puts Things In Perspective

I pray the loss of life is minimal. I was in the 6.8 Northridge Quake that hit LA back in the early 90's. That was a very destructive quake that caused whole buildings to tilt and knocked down part of the I-10 freeway.

But 8.9!!!! I can't even imagine...and then to have those Tsunami's on top of it.

 

[joepunk]

From BBC News Live Twitter update thingy

1708: Nuclear physicist Dr Walt Patterson tells the BBC it sounds like there is a "serious problem" at the Fukushima-Daiichi plant. "It's the sort of thing that nuclear engineers have nightmares about," he says. "If it is not resolved in the next few hours it will get serious. If the core is uncovered, then those rods at the top may get hot enough to melt themselves."

1706: The Tokyo Electric Power Company has said the pressure inside the No. 1 reactor at its Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear plant has been rising, with the risk of a radiation leak, according to the Jiji Press news agency. Tepco planned to take measures to release the pressure, the report added. The reactor's cooling system began to malfunction after the earthquake. People living close to the plant were later evacuated as a precaution.

 

[philbeeney]

And to compound matters further, they've had a 6.2 on the west coast in Nigaata prefecture. Not looking good especially with all the aftershocks occurring.

 

[philbeeney]

Yet another one. 6.6 off the north west coast. Here's a link to the USGS website showing all the quake locations in northern Japan.

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Maps/10/140_40.php

 

[Hisdem]

Last year, after having close friends suffering in Chile, I assumed it would be a very long time until the world saw such a powerful quake. Unfortunately, I was wrong. I hope the loss of life is minimal, and I think it will be possible to achieve this goal. Luckily, the japanese people are very well prepared for this kind of situation.

Of course, one can never ever get used to this kind of thing. Best wishes to everyone in Japan, our thoughts are with you all!

 

[skunk]

2149: The Kyodo news agency is now citing a safety panel as saying that the radiation level inside one of the reactors at the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear plant is 1,000 times higher than normal.​

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

Looking hairier by the minute.