Earthquake and tsunami in Japan

[Flyvåpnet]

What a terrible tragedy has struck Japan!  An audio-visual summation of initial events can be seen at:

VIDEO: Her forsvinder en by - TV 2 Nyhederne
Om 54 sekunder er byen på billedet herover væk _ så hurtigt gik det, da tsunamien ramte

Or you can download that presentation here.  It's on my storage Web site.

There's an instructive map, developed by the NOAA / PMEL / Center for Tsunami Research, at Energy_plot20110311.png (PNG Image, 1837x1388 pixels).  You can download it here as well.

I've been following events primarily via Business & Financial News, Breaking US & International News | Reuters.com ("Reuters.com brings you the latest news from around the world, covering breaking news in business, politics, entertainment, technology, and more in video and pictures.") and here's the latest from that journalistic corporation:

Japan's quake toll set to exceed 1,000, world offers help | Reuters
TOKYO (Reuters) - A devastating tsunami triggered by the biggest earthquake on record in Japan looked set to kill at least 1,000 people along the northeastern coast on Friday after a wall of water swept

It's my sincere hope none of our acquaintances, friends, neighbors and relatives in Japan have been injured.  If you live in Japan, please let us know how things are for you.



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[Tragic]

Well, from Tragic's newsroom, SK is alive and well. xD

[Kov]

That's good to hear Tragic. I wanted to go on irc to ask but I forgot, I've been too wrapped up in watching the live broadcasts and reading twitter feeds.

There are some pictures here:
http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2011/03/earthquake-in-japan/100022/

I can't believe what's happened. I wake up to a twitter timeline which won't go back further than 4 hours, usually I can go back 8 hours. It had been flooded with tweets about the earthquake.
Links to TBS, Fuji TV and NHK broadcasts on Ustream were floating around so I was watching them for most of the day.

I know it happened further north but I was reminded of the anime Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 seeing the top of Tokyo Tower bent and a building ablaze in Odaiba.

The power of Twitter and Ustream has really shone through with this event. Not just this one but recent events like what happened in Egypt. They've helped in so many ways it's incredible.

[Silent K]

The live feed out of Sendai when it first happened was surreal. You could see cars trying to outrun, then getting taken over by the waves along with boats and houses just drifting atop the current.

There have been 2 other earthquakes as well, supposedly not directly related because they occurred between separate plates. I didn`t even feel the first one, being on the Japan Sea side of the country, but others told me it was about 30 seconds long in my area and felt like a swaying boat. The two I experienced this morning were not very big either (again, I was far away from the epicenter), but they seemed a tad more jarring.

As of this morning (7am JST), the death toll/missing persons count was 1,000.

[kaznokrad]

I'm really concerned about the nuclear plant in Fukushima. From The Japan Times it sounds like around 30 or so people have been exposed to radiation after fleeing the plant. Yet, the article intimates that others had been exposed at the hospital or on public transportation. What a truly terrifying situation for those that live in the surrounding areas. I'd be afraid of even stepping out of the house!

[0235]

with the power plant, what is worse would be containing it. its an island, so people cant "escape" and also, if a cloud drifted out to sea, then there would be no stopping it

[Flyvåpnet]

I've just now read this terrible news:

Death toll may surpass 10,000 in Miyagi | The Japan Times Online
SENDAI (Kyodo) The death toll from Friday's devastating earthquake and tsunami in northeast Japan will likely surpass 10,000, the police chief of hard-hit Miyagi Prefecture said Sunday.

Thanks, kaznokrad, for that link to The Japan Times.  This is all too overwhelming....



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[Kov]

I read that earlier today. It's really saddening. Seeing some of the images puts it into perspective if it wasn't already obvious what happened.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/events/japan-quake-2011/beforeafter.htm

There are a few videos on the BBC website where reporters have gone to the areas affected. Villages flattened and wiped off the map.

One thing I don't want to repeat that's been happening is all these c***s saying this is karma for Pearl Harbour. This pissed me off, it's as if 2 nukes wasn't enough. But we shouldn't carry this on, it's best to ignore the idiots and do as much as we can to help the people who are in need.

[Flyvåpnet]

Here is an audio-visual presentation which lasts 18 minutes and provides continuous videography from a helicopter:

Entire towns engulfed by tsunami

Here is a map and some some aerial photographs which were made of the stricken area near Sendai by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration:

Earthquake and Tsunami near Sendai, Japan : Image of the Day
On March 11, 2011, a magnitude 8.9 earthquake struck off the east coast of Honshu, Japan, about 130 kilometers (80 miles) east of Sendai. If the initial estimate is confirmed, it will be the fifth largest earthquake in recorded history.

Earthquake and Tsunami near Sendai, Japan : Natural Hazards
Taken on March 12, 2011, this stereoscopic image reveals the height of a plume of smoke rising from the Port of Sendai in the wake of the magnitude 8.9 earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on March 11.

Flooding from Tsunami near Sendai, Japan : Image of the Day
The Japanese coastline near Sendai is flooded in this false-color image, taken March 12, 2011, nearly a day after a earthquake-generated tsunami inundated the coast.

Tsunami flooding near Sendai, Japan : Natural Hazards
Skies over northeastern Japan were entirely cloud-free on March 13, 2011, providing a clear view of tsunami flooding along the coastline.

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[Flyvåpnet]

Have you heard any late news regarding Tashirojima a.k.a. Nekojima or Cat Island?  It's a relatively small place....

A number of buildings on Tashirojima were designed by manga artist Tetsuya Chiba, in honor of departed fellow-artist Shotaro Ishinomori.  For more information, please go here.

There are more cats than humans on Nekojima!  But what's become of both species in the aftermath of those earthquakes and tsunamis is not entirely clear.  However, an umbrella organization is helping domestic animals throughout the stricken areas of Japan:

Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue and Support | Facebook
Welcome to a Facebook Page about Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue and Support. Join Facebook to start connecting with Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue and Support.

I'm hoping they'll be able to reach Cat Island.

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[Captn' Red]

Uh man, remember that tsunami in Thailand a couple of years back?


Mother nature can be one mean bitch at times.

[0235]

that was the boxing day one? think though, this one in japan could have triggered that previous one if it hadnt have happened back then

[Flyvåpnet]

There's a good Web site, here, which passes judgment on journalistic coverage of the disasters presently afflicting Japan.  This front page rather sums up the "bad journalism" being cranked out in the U.S.:

Please click on the image to view its full size.

While we're on the subject of nuclear energy, this might be a good time to review the periodic table of the chemical elements; and there's no better way (There is, but still....) than by listening to Tom Lehrer's song "The Elements" — here.  My thanks go out to Orion for introducing me to that song!

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[kaznokrad]

While we're on the subject of nuclear energy, this might be a good time to review the periodic table of the chemical elements; and there's no better way (There is, but still....) than by listening to Tom Lehrer's song "The Elements" — here.  My thanks go out to Orion for introducing me to that song!

I think Tom Leher's "Pollution" is also an appropriate song to go along with the misinformation: "Don't drink the water and don't breathe the air!"

[Flyvåpnet]

LOL!  I've tried taking Tom's advice, kaznokrad, but whenever I stop breathing a kind of tired feeling comes over me and I fall asleep.  I'm probably just not doing it right.  Well, practice makes perfect so here I go....



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