# Tsunami hits Japan after massive quake



## scanz (Mar 11, 2011)

I'm surprised there's no thread about this already (if there is then i'm blind ), but i've spent most of the afternoon and this evening watching videos of this terrible disaster. I just can't believe what i'm watching, it's truly incredible and devastating. 

The BBC have set up a page showing a map and videos of badly hit areas;

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12716870

The video from Sendai is like something out of a film, the sea taking down buildings and claiming anything in its way. Just terrible. My thoughts go out to those affected by this.


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## am64 (Mar 11, 2011)

did you see the bit of film with the whirlpool in the sea ?


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## scanz (Mar 11, 2011)

am64 said:


> did you see the bit of film with the whirlpool in the sea ?


Yep, never seen anything like it.


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## am64 (Mar 11, 2011)

Mad eh ...and there is absolutely nothing we can do to stop it happening...the power of nature !


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## Monica (Mar 11, 2011)

It's devastating.
Carol has a japanese friend. She emailed her immediately to see if she's ok. They live south of Tokyo, so hopefully it hasn't hit them too badly, if at all.


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## alisonz (Mar 11, 2011)

I've been watching this on the news and its absolutely terrifying. My heart and prayers go out to all those affected by this disaster.


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## Steff (Mar 11, 2011)

My heart goes out to all the families and loved ones of the dead, such a terrible tragedy xx


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## Northerner (Mar 11, 2011)

Just been watching on BBC, truly shocking


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## margie (Mar 11, 2011)

The natural world can be so destructive. 

I was at Mt St Helens in 1991 - and the effects of the eruption 11 years previously were still obvious, thousand upon thousand of tree trunks lying like match sticks on the mountain sides, you could see where tree trunks had snapped in two. 

The pictures are quite shocking, it makes you realise how lucky we are here. I hope that they are able to solve the problems with the nuclear power station - they were worried that there may be a leak.


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## ypauly (Mar 11, 2011)

When I saw those pictures I was lost for words, I am still lost for words.


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## Catwoman76 (Mar 11, 2011)

scanz said:


> I'm surprised there's no thread about this already (if there is then i'm blind ), but i've spent most of the afternoon and this evening watching videos of this terrible disaster. I just can't believe what i'm watching, it's truly incredible and devastating.
> 
> The BBC have set up a page showing a map and videos of badly hit areas;
> 
> ...



I saw it on BBC1 at 8.30, such a terrible thing to happen, it makes my day seem somewhat insignificent, my heart goes out to the people of Japan.  Sheena


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## Robster65 (Mar 11, 2011)

They've apparently allowed a controlled release of some radioactive steam to relieve the pressure at the nuclear plant. 

Just hope there aren't too many aftershocks.

Rob


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## am64 (Mar 11, 2011)

Robster65 said:


> They've apparently allowed a controlled release of some radioactive steam to relieve the pressure at the nuclear plant.
> 
> Just hope there aren't too many aftershocks.
> 
> Rob



now this is frightening ...


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## scanz (Mar 11, 2011)

Northerner said:


> Just been watching on BBC, truly shocking


I've had BBC News on most of the day, must have seen each video at least five times and still can't get over how bad it is. Something they mentioned a few times throughout the day was that Japan is one of, if not the, most prepared country for earthquakes. The technology they use for buildings to withstand tremors/quakes is amongst the best in the world. The people there are made aware of what to do when there is a tremor/quake from a young age at school and the country experiences tremors on almost a daily basis. Kind of makes you think how much worse the damage could have been if it was a less prepared country. For example, the extremely well-built skyscrapers out there that are still standing may have simply crumbled if it was somewhere else.


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## am64 (Mar 11, 2011)

scanz said:


> I've had BBC News on most of the day, must have seen each video at least five times and still can't get over how bad it is. Something they mentioned a few times throughout the day was that Japan is one of, if not the, most prepared country for earthquakes. The technology they use for buildings to withstand tremors/quakes is amongst the best in the world. The people there are made aware of what to do when there is a tremor/quake from a young age at school and the country experiences tremors on almost a daily basis. Kind of makes you think how much worse the damage could have been if it was a less prepared country. For example, the extremely well-built skyscrapers out there that are still standing may have simply crumbled if it was somewhere else.



it is very true re the architecture did you see those building sway !!


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## margie (Mar 11, 2011)

The following is a link which shows earthquakes over a magnitude 4. 

http://www.iris.edu/seismon/

If you click on recent quakes - you can see just how many there are.
Last time I visited relatives in the Pacific North West I took part in an earth quake drill. It's something I had never really thought about before.


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## scanz (Mar 11, 2011)

am64 said:


> now this is frightening ...


From the BBC website...



> 2132: The Tokyo Electric Power Company has said radiation may already have been released at the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear plant
> 
> ...
> 
> 2139: Radiation levels at the damaged Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear plant are continuing to rise. The Jiji Press news agency says the levels are eight times above normal. Its report also cites a ministry official as saying there is a "possibility of a radioactive leak".


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## Robster65 (Mar 11, 2011)

They're saying the pressure/radiation is within engineered limits and they've hooked up some power trucks to get the cooling system running but no idea how long before they get it under control.

What they dont need is a nuclear incident.

Rob


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## am64 (Mar 11, 2011)

Robster65 said:


> They're saying the pressure/radiation is within engineered limits and they've hooked up some power trucks to get the cooling system running but no idea how long before they get it under control.
> 
> What they dont need is a nuclear incident.
> 
> Rob



sadly i think they already have one ...

posted 10 mins ago

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-sci-japan-quake-nuclear-20110312,0,2627198.story


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## Robster65 (Mar 11, 2011)

It's possible that they may catch it in time. There seems to be some nasty reports coming about it though.

The tolerances are so high that we can't really assess at which point it becomes a disaster. I hope it doesn't add to the misery.

Rob


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## scanz (Mar 11, 2011)

Doesn't sound good at all in regards to the nuclear plant.



> 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


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## scanz (Mar 11, 2011)

am64 said:


> it is very true re the architecture did you see those building sway !!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhJzdtzl6KY 

Amazing. If that was anywhere else that building would most definitely no longer be standing.


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## am64 (Mar 11, 2011)

another earthquake had occurred inland 6.6 ..and radiation levels are now 1000xnormal inside the building 

http://twitter.com/#!/search/Fukushima nuclear plant


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## am64 (Mar 11, 2011)

scanz said:


> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhJzdtzl6KY
> 
> Amazing. If that was anywhere else that building would most definitely no longer be standing.



now that is amazing bit of film !! i wonder who the architects and engineers were ..


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## margie (Mar 11, 2011)

This is a list of the recent earthquakes there have been more than 100 over magnitude 4 in Japan today and more than 20 of them have been 6 or above. It must be really quite frightening.
http://www.iris.edu/seismon/last30.html


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## Robster65 (Mar 11, 2011)

2252: The Tokyo Electric Power Company has said the cooling systems of three reactors at second nuclear power plant, Fukushima-Daini, are malfunctioning, according to the Kyodo news agency. The plant is 11km (7 miles) to the south of Fukushima-Daiichi, where the cooling system one of its reactors is not working and pressure is rising.

Not sure I want to look at tomorrow's news in the morning.

Rob


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## scanz (Mar 11, 2011)

Robster65 said:


> 2252: The Tokyo Electric Power Company has said the cooling systems of three reactors at second nuclear power plant, Fukushima-Daini, are malfunctioning, according to the Kyodo news agency. The plant is 11km (7 miles) to the south of Fukushima-Daiichi, where the cooling system one of its reactors is not working and pressure is rising.
> 
> Not sure I want to look at tomorrow's news in the morning.
> 
> Rob


It really doesn't look good...



> 2310: More from the Tokyo Electric Power Company: It says the ability to control pressure in some of the reactors at Fukushima-Daini has been lost. Pressure is stable inside the reactors, but rising in the containment vessels, a company spokesman says


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## shiv (Mar 11, 2011)

oh dear, this is all so terrible


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## am64 (Mar 12, 2011)

_8:59am ( not Brit time)
With a state of emergency declared at another nuclear reactor, there are now five reactors under a state of emergency - two at Fukushima No.1 plant, and three at the nearby Fukushima No.2 plant._

this is not looking good ...i am following stuff on twitter and news channels on line ...the internet is amazing some tweets are from folk saying they are safe in Fukushima... lets just hope so .


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## ypauly (Mar 12, 2011)

I'm still stunned by some of these images. It kind of puts things into perspective and when we worry about what are sometimes trivial things we should actually be gratefull.


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## ypauly (Mar 12, 2011)

I have just read that the earths axis has moved 25cm and that Japan has moved 2.4m 
http://in.reuters.com/article/2011/03/12/idINIndia-55515320110312
It's not looking good for the reactors either.


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## Dizzydi (Mar 12, 2011)

am64 said:


> _8:59am ( not Brit time)
> With a state of emergency declared at another nuclear reactor, there are now five reactors under a state of emergency - two at Fukushima No.1 plant, and three at the nearby Fukushima No.2 plant._
> 
> this is not looking good ...i am following stuff on twitter and news channels on line ...the internet is amazing some tweets are from folk saying they are safe in Fukushima... lets just hope so .



Unfortunately plant 1 has had a massive explosion. If it was not already bad with the earth quake & tsunami having to deal with this as well.

My prayers are with the Japanese at this time of total disaster


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## Sheilagh1958 (Mar 12, 2011)

ypauly said:


> I'm still stunned by some of these images. It kind of puts things into perspective and when we worry about what are sometimes trivial things we should actually be gratefull.[/QUOTE
> 
> It does indeed and  now they have had an explosion at the nuclear.


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## bev (Mar 12, 2011)

This is such a huge disaster and so tragic. Looking at the pictures of it happening the buildings didnt look real - almost like lego tumbling down - so sad.Bev


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## scanz (Mar 12, 2011)

Seems things at the nuclear plants are getting worse by the minute..



> 1019: Japanese chief cabinet secretary confirms radiation leakage occured from explosion at Fukushima nuclear power plant - Reuters
> 
> 1023: Japanese authorities are extending the evacuation zone around the two Fukushima nuclear plants from 10km to 20km, according to local media




In the following image you can see how the building has just crumbled following the explosion (top half before, bottom half after);








And this just adds to the misery..



> 1040: Japanese authorities say troops found between 300 and 400 bodies in the coastal city of Rikuzentakata, which was devastated by the tsunami - NHK.



I suspect they'll be finding a lot more too


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## scanz (Mar 13, 2011)

The rescue and clean-up procedures are well on the way now and this is just amazing;



> Survivors are being found. Japanese troops rescued a 60-year-old man who floated out to sea on the roof of his home after the tsunami hit.
> 
> A spokesman for Japan's military said Hiromitsu Shinkawa was pulled from the sea about 15km off the town of Minamisoma, in Fukushima prefecture, after he was spotted waving a red cloth.
> 
> http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12726297



Can't even begin to imagine what that was like for him 

Apparently the total number of confirmed deaths now stands at 1,351 and could rise to at least 10,000. Sad news, but to be honest i'm surprised it's not more after seeing the images of it all. I think it goes to show just how prepared/aware the Japanese are on what to do when there is such a natural disaster. 

Problems with the nuclear plants remain, but radiation doesn't seem to be too much of an issue, which is some good news. However, to prevent further issues arising at the nuclear plants it appears they are going to shut them down, which will further cut the supplies of electricity, gas and water.


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## am64 (Mar 13, 2011)

link to ABC news before and after ....
http://www.abc.net.au/news/events/japan-quake-2011/beforeafter.htm


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## margie (Mar 13, 2011)

Seeing the devastation from the air - its hard to imagine what it must be like actually on the ground. In one of those pictures there is a lake covering what had been previously built on. So sad for all those made homeless and those killed or mourning.


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## FM001 (Mar 14, 2011)

So sad, the early morning news are saying there are 10,000 dead and possibly more in the days to come.  The devastation caused is breathtaking and we cannot begin to imagine how these poor people are suffering at this awful time.


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## margie (Mar 14, 2011)

I just took a look at the IRIS seismic monitor and it looks like they are getting between 3 and 5 magnitude 4 or above aftershocks an hour. It must feel like there is no end in sight - I can't imagine what the Japanes are going through. I tried standing on a simulator of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake once and that went on for a long time - felt like it wasn't going to stop. This is a lot worse.


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## Monica (Mar 14, 2011)

Monica said:


> It's devastating.
> Carol has a japanese friend. She emailed her immediately to see if she's ok. They live south of Tokyo, so hopefully it hasn't hit them too badly, if at all.


Carol received a reply from her friend saying that they are ok, as they live 1000km away from the devastation.


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## scanz (Mar 14, 2011)

Monica said:


> Carol received a reply from her friend saying that they are ok, as they live 1000km away from the devastation.


That's good to hear.

The nuclear situation doesn't seem to be getting better at all. At one point it looked like they had it under control. However, there's now been a second explosion with 11 people being injured, another cooling system has gone down, numerous cores are exposed and a U.S. helicopter crew have been contaminated with radiation. 22 other people are also receiving treatment for radiation and that's all without mentioning the constantly rising death toll


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## Andy HB (Mar 14, 2011)

scanz said:


> That's good to hear.
> 
> The nuclear situation doesn't seem to be getting better at all. At one point it looked like they had it under control. However, there's now been a second explosion with 11 people being injured, another cooling system has gone down, numerous cores are exposed and a U.S. helicopter crew have been contaminated with radiation. 22 other people are also receiving treatment for radiation and that's all without mentioning the constantly rising death toll



It is worrying. I'm just so surprised that the default position for reactors isn't OFF. It is a bad state of affairs that they have to do something to keep the reactors cool. I'd have thought it'd be better the other way around.

Still, I'm no nuclear scientist!


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## scanz (Mar 14, 2011)

Andy HB said:


> It is worrying. I'm just so surprised that the default position for reactors isn't OFF. It is a bad state of affairs that they have to do something to keep the reactors cool. I'd have thought it'd be better the other way around.
> 
> Still, I'm no nuclear scientist!


Indeed. Thing for me is why build a nuclear plant right on the coast in an area/country that experiences tremors on a regular basis


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## margie (Mar 14, 2011)

I seem to remember that there are some in the US which are close to fault lines.  

You could ask why people choose to live near the San Andreas Fault (the US is a large country) or near Mt Vesuvius, its partially that people don't think things will happen to them.


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## scanz (Mar 14, 2011)

margie said:


> I seem to remember that there are some in the US which are close to fault lines.
> 
> You could ask why people choose to live near the San Andreas Fault (the US is a large country) or near Mt Vesuvius, its partially that people don't think things will happen to them.


True. Just baffles me that they say the plant is 'earthquake proof', which is great, yet they go and stick it on the coast where it's at risk of a tsunami. However, as you said, no one would have thought such a terrible disaster would occur.


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## margie (Mar 16, 2011)

You really have to feel for the people of Japan, more melt downs in reactors, a volcanic eruption and to top it all snow. 

You can tell things are serious when the Emperor known to keep quiet decides to speak.


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## AlisonM (Mar 16, 2011)

OK, so what jobsworth messed this one up then? It comes to something when it's your own embassy preventing your team from helping out. Thunderbirds never had this problem.


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## Ellie Jones (Mar 16, 2011)

scanz said:


> True. Just baffles me that they say the plant is 'earthquake proof', which is great, yet they go and stick it on the coast where it's at risk of a tsunami. However, as you said, no one would have thought such a terrible disaster would occur.



Simples..

Sea water is used to cool the reactors
If there is a leak then more chance of radiation going out to sea.. Where it is less harmful than comtaminate surrounding land

You generally as well see a range of hills behind, this also aids with catching any radation prevent a larger area being comtaminated...

If you look at my local nuclear power station (which is about 10 miles away from me) it's the Bristol Channel that provides the water to cool the reactors, (well 1 of them as A reactor is nearing the end of the 10 year decommissioning programme) and it's sit on low land at the foot of the Quantocks so surrounded by hills...

Oh yes when it was built back in the 60's they did consider and incoraparte earthquate and Tsunami into the design as they have done with all the nuclear reactors within this country!  And there is a record of a Tsunami hitting the coast line in 1609!

As to EDF building 'C' station I have no qualms with this going ahead..


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## margie (Mar 16, 2011)

AlisonM said:


> OK, so what jobsworth messed this one up then? It comes to something when it's your own embassy preventing your team from helping out. Thunderbirds never had this problem.



You would have thought that they could sign a waiver that removes all responsibility from the embassy.


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