Merged 8.8 quake in Sendai, Japan

[GreyArea]

Something I have not seen mentioned - how much warning in Japan did they have. That will affect the toll from the waves greatly

Almost the very moment I felt the earthquake I heard the bleep of the meterological warning on the TV. Within a couple of minutes the TV was broadcasting a tsunami warning. So, it seemed to be very quick. Even as the earthquake was rumbling the tsunami warnings were flashing up.

MG1962, you can see this for yourself on a YouTube channel I found.

SOLiVE24 appears to be some kind of Japanese weather channel, which is being put online in hour-long chunks. Here is a link to the video just before the alarms go off in the meteorological office.

Twenty seconds later, they have a computer graphic showing the location of the epicenter and (I assume, since I don't know Japanese) a widening circle as the quake propagates. (I am simply gobsmacked that it is possible to pinpoint this and report it so quickly!)

A new graphic appears at 55:18 in the video (two minutes after the alarms went off) with what I think are magnitude measurements for affected prefectures. (Is this interpretation correct, anyone?)

Three-and-a-half minutes after the first alarms are heard, the first tsunami graphic appears. It's in the corner of the screen at first, then they make it full-screen. I think this is a tsunami warning because of the the flashing colors along the coastline, and I think I make out the kanji for "tsunami" (津波) on the screen. And I think the announcer says "tsunami" and 57:11.

So, less than four minutes after the first earthquake alert, they seem to be broadcasting a tsunami alert. And the man keeps announcing!

Even though I don't understand what the man is saying, I understand the emotion in his voice. It's kind of a harrowing video.

 

[jimbob]

This link shows the predicted energies:

I hope the Americans are proud of the USGS

http://wcatwc.arh.noaa.gov/2011/03/11/lhvpd9/energylhvpd9-05.jpg

 

[King of the Americas]

I think those people 'near' any beach are foolish or ignorant...

Don't be skeptical, there's a tsunami headed your way...

 

[King of the Americas]

This link shows the predicted energies:

I hope the Americans are proud of the USGS

http://wcatwc.arh.noaa.gov/2011/03/11/lhvpd9/energylhvpd9-05.jpg

Wow...when does that stuff hit south africa?

 

[HawaiiBigSis]

Has the Tsunami hit Hawaii? Or am I hearing misinformation?

Yeah, its about three feet, full coastal evacuation in effect. With the amount of warning I think our friends on the islands should be okay. Guam was hit as well

Looks like the tsunami at Hawaii topped around 2 m. I have a relative there who's OK, and it doesn't sound like anything significant.

Japan is an entirely different, and terrible, story. My sympathy and prayers for the people there. At least they are about as well-prepared and well-built for such events as any nation can be, but it's still pretty awful.

Kaua'i, O'ahu, and Big Island reported no significant damage; Maui County appears to have been hardest hit.

We're still under warning, and evacuation zones are still closed to traffic. (Shucks, I can't get to work...)

Significant amounts of property damage in some areas, no loss of life being reported.

 

[King of the Americas]

..., no loss of life being reported.

Awesome.

 

[icerat]

Some truly horrendous footage of the tsunami coming out of Japan now ... just watched a 2 or 3 story house wiped out by a wave, as high as the house. Looks like it was a village in a valley, so the water would have been getting pushed up as it came inland ....

 

[Lisa Simpson]

This link shows the predicted energies:

I hope the Americans are proud of the USGS

http://wcatwc.arh.noaa.gov/2011/03/11/lhvpd9/energylhvpd9-05.jpg

I love the USGS. No earthquake is real here until Lucy Jones speaks.

 

[Kestrel]

Kaua'i, O'ahu, and Big Island reported no significant damage; Maui County appears to have been hardest hit.

We're still under warning, and evacuation zones are still closed to traffic. (Shucks, I can't get to work...)

Significant amounts of property damage in some areas, no loss of life being reported.

Stay high and stay safe.

 

[AdMan]

Some truly horrendous footage of the tsunami coming out of Japan now ... just watched a 2 or 3 story house wiped out by a wave, as high as the house. Looks like it was a village in a valley, so the water would have been getting pushed up as it came inland ....

A lot of the footage is truly awful and scary. I'm really hoping there was enough of a warning for most of the people to get to safer ground.

To everyone affected by this disaster--my thoughts are with you.

 

[Lisa Simpson]

A bunch of boats have been pulled from their moorings in Santa Cruz.

 

[AdMan]

Apparently, tsunami waves are still hitting Japan, about one an hour.

http://www.jma.go.jp/en/tsunami/joho.html

 

[plumjam]

From BBC just now --


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.

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 themselve

That's it. Send for Gordon Freeman.

 

[icerat]

some incredible photos -

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12709791

 

[BenBurch]

That's it. Send for Gordon Freeman.

This is not a joking matter.

I have done reactor safety for a living.

This is not anything to make light of.

 

[Olowkow]

I found this video particularly disturbing.

Tsunami blankets Japan coast: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7359299n

 

[plumjam]

This is not a joking matter.

I have done reactor safety for a living.

This is not anything to make light of.

Next time you're doing reactor safety tell them not to put nuclear reactors in earthquake zones.

We now return you to your scheduled program.

 

[jimbob]

Wow...when does that stuff hit south africa?

My info from here:

http://wcatwc.arh.noaa.gov/

and the travel times:

http://wcatwc.arh.noaa.gov/2011/03/11/lhvpd9/13/ttvulhvpd9-13.jpg

so about 9-hours from now I make it.

I take it you meant Chile and South America?

Not good from Japan.

 

[Travis]

What I find remarkable is the amount of fires there are when an earthquake of this size hits Japan. Just like then one in Kobe (as I remember it) there are fires everywhere. Even in the tsunami itself.
In contrast I can't remember seeing a fire on the news from the New Zealand earthquake.

Of course my memory can be faulty.

Japan, like California, uses wood framed structures extensively. Properly built they are very resilient to earthquakes but vulnerable to fires afterward.



Has anyone heard reports about the USA rushing technicians, repair parts and coolant to the problematic nuclear reactor? Obama just mentioned something about it in his press conference.

 

[dudalb]

This is not a joking matter.

I have done reactor safety for a living.

This is not anything to make light of.

Ageed.Not Now.
Making Freeman jokes when something goes wrong with CERN is funny,--and I have so indulged myself.... but not in a tragedy of this kind.