japanese earthquake and tsunami

[az]

8.9-magnitude earthquake offshore this morning has created a tsunami waves of up to 10 metres high, the focus recorded sometime this morning (14:46 in japan)

this is the largest quake recorded to hit japan, and the sixth largest ever recorded on the planet

police in sendai already report upwards of 200 people dead and 500 missing, though these numbers are expected to rise dramatically

there have also been concerns about containment following damage to nuclear power plants with japanese prime minister naota kan declaring a nuclear emergency

bbc news has live footage

 

[infernape-5]

this is really bad i wish the tsunami would be over

 

[az]

tsunami has also caused a "huge whirlpool" off the coast

 

[Adm. Empoleon]

my prayers and thoughts go out to Japan. did i say prayers? i meant money.

 

[chocolate-kipp]

We have tsunami warnings in Oregon too now, I have relatives by the coast so I hope they'll be alright.

let's hope the waves don't ruin all the video games they're working on!

 

[PK Gaming]

What a horrible turn of events. The biggest Earthquake in Japan? Thats just awful. My heart goes out to everyone in Sendai who is suffering.

 

[Dan Dan]

I've been following this all day on bbc news... I can't even comprehend the volumes of water I've seen. I read that there's a cruise liner with 100 people that has been swept away, and a passenger train missing after the tsunami and a further 88,000 people unaccounted for.

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

 

[Delko]

I was watching this in the news, it's horrible.

 

[az]

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."

 

[Cartoons!]

I don't know much about nuclear plants, Swagger. What does that imply?

Dan, numbers of people missing have been scaled down dramatically, but it is still very high. This is hard news to view. Does anyone have friends or family there? What area does Chou live in?

 

[az]

it is basically the real life equivalent of the oft-mentioned but rarely explained "nuclear meltdown" -- the danger is basically that radioactive materials are no longer contained due to the compromise of equipment, and thus can be released into the environment, exposing people, animals, the environment etc to radiation

edit: yeah, i'm thinking of everyone who may live in japan or have relations there, but my first mental port of call was also chou

 

[WaterBomb]

As if Japan hasn't been exposed to enough radiation in the last century...

 

[Az_UK]

This is very sad indeed. My prayers and thoughts to Japan, those who lost their relatives, homes, etc


AZ

 

[tape]

All nuclear plants/reactors have been safely shutdown and are not reporting any radioactive leakage.

This is the 7th biggest earthquake recorded in history.

There's a tsunami warning for West Coast of America (mostly North America)

expected tsunami impact

 

[az]

actually nuclear reactors aren't "safely" shut down at all -- heat levels are still a danger with the reactors down and fission at an end. the cooling mechanisms necessary for dealing with this have been damaged, which is why rods are in danger of melting

 

[Curtains]

I did a 20 page paper on earthquakes in my senior year of high school. 8.9 is pretty enormous as far as just the amount of energy released.The amount of long term damage to families and the economy is inconceivable.

 

[Xaqwais]

Prayers goes out, money will hopefully soon go out if I can scrounge some up, but I still feel helpless. Last night they were warning of another large quake will soon hit a bit more north likely, and potentially up to 7 on the magnitude scale. That'd be scary in its own right, but after this it's just be crazy.

It's amazing how well Japan was prepared for this, yet still get devastated, unfortunately.

 

[az]

yeah, and that aftershocks should be as large as seven is insane; that was the magnitude of haiti 2010

 

[tape]

actually nuclear reactors aren't "safely" shut down at all -- heat levels are still a danger with the reactors down and fission at an end. the cooling mechanisms necessary for dealing with this have been damaged, which is why rods are in danger of melting

There's only one plant that needs cooling down right now, and it's functioning on batteries which can last a few hours. Since there's no electricity they're gonna use helicopters to add more batteries, which means there's no nuclear problem right now.

yeah, and that aftershocks should be as large as seven is insane; that was the magnitude of haiti 2010

seven is way too large and blown out of proportion; 6's more correct, with the rare 6.5.

 

[xenu]

first nz, now this. yeah, tectonic plates are pretty much freaking atm.

 

[Bartman101]

RIP

 

[Exarius]

Holy sweet christ... Heard about this today morning, but didn't get any exact numbers except for the strength. Now that I watched some of that live footage... I have no words. That's just horrible.

My thoughts will certainly go out there. Especially since I have a friend living there (not chou). If anybody is interested, here's the map for what areas the tsunami affected.

Also, death count up to 350, 500 or more missing and afterquakes of 5.0 in northern Japan.

 

[Kevin Garrett]

I heard about this on the radio last night. Hopefully people did the right thing and evacuated instead of hanging around. Best of luck to everyone affected by this terrible disaster.

 

[franky]

also expected to occur up to march 15 at most btw

 

[az]

The situation at the nuclear reactor at Fukushima seems to be worsening. Japanese authorities are now to release radioactive vapour to ease pressure, AP news agency reports. Engineers are trying to fix the cooling system to the main reactor, damaged in the quake.

US have offered to help out with supplying emergency coolant fluid