Merged 8.8 quake in Sendai, Japan

[Sabretooth]

I live/work on the East Coast, but the freight carrier I work for is actually a West Coast trucking company. We've gotten a service alert that notes all coastal roadways have been shut down and several of the terminals are evacuated. I'm hoping all is well for you Pacificer's...

 

[volcano]

I live/work on the East Coast, but the freight carrier I work for is actually a West Coast trucking company. We've gotten a service alert that notes all coastal roadways have been shut down and several of the terminals are evacuated. I'm hoping all is well for you Pacificer's...

West Coast of the US? That's definitely not the case in Oregon-- delays of less than 20 minutes on 101 (the coastal highway) as people are returning home after the tsunami warning (according to the info on tripcheck.com, Oregon's Department of Transportation website).

ETA: Parts of 101 in CA appear to still be closed due to the tsunami warnings: http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/roadinfo/us101

 

[technoextreme]

So "as an engineer" you can tell me the difference between "normal" and test or design maximums?

Exactly how bad is "1.5 times normal"?


BTW I "chided" you?

That could range from look out its going to blow to meh.

 

[shadron]

So "as an engineer" you can tell me the difference between "normal" and test or design maximums?

Exactly how bad is "1.5 times normal"?

If you were speaking of air pressure, "normal" is about 14.6 lbs/sqin or 100 kPascals. Thus an 50% overpressure is an additional 7 or so lbs/sqin, or over the size of a 3ftx3ft window, is about 4.5 tons of force. That, I think, is certainly sufficient to break the window (or a cinder block wall). The important point is that, unlike the normal pressure, this added pressure is unbalanced. Now, that's air pressures. Water pressures are much higher; depends on the depth, obviously, but a 50% overpressure there can be very, very grim - perhaps like being within a half mile or so of an underwater nuclear blast. Here's a little 8k nuke going off on the bottom in 150 feet of water:

 

[plumjam]

My biggest concern would be if a radiation leak were to occur, would that spawn a whole new generation of giant monsters to stomp on Tokyo?

Godzilla forbid.

 

[Myriad]

ETA: yeah, I know, it is not a subject for jokes, but sometimes you just got to let them out.

Agreed, but all joking aside: I begin to see how the image of monsters rising up out of the sea and tearing their way through cities found its way into Japanese culture in the first place.

I fear the worst for the missing passenger train. Obviously the death toll is higher than the current known casualties already reported, but I'm hoping that it's not as much higher than some projections have predicted based on disasters in other places.

I wonder if any U.S. military personnel and equipment can be (or have been) deployed to fight fires. That along and trauma medivac are the most acute needs I can imagine those forces actually being able to help with, in the short term. (In the slightly longer term, transporting fresh water.)

Oh, and I find the attention now being given on the U.S. news networks to reports and video of a few small pleasure boats being smashed up in California to be utterly inappropriate -- as if that has any importance at all by comparison.

Respectfully,
Myriad

 

[MG1962]

I wonder if any U.S. military personnel and equipment can be (or have been) deployed to fight fires. That along and trauma medivac are the most acute needs I can imagine those forces actually being able to help with, in the short term. (In the slightly longer term, transporting fresh water.)

During the Christmas Tsunami, US carriers operated like a quickymart for emergency services. Helicopters would refuel, give the carriers lists of things they needed, water, emergency rations etc. Load up and go deliver.

In Australian papers there was an amazing photo of an Australian army chopper, US naval chopper and a private chopper lined up on the deck of a carrier all refueling and getting supplies.... The US navy at its finest

 

[dudalb]

Agreed, but all joking aside: I begin to see how the image of monsters rising up out of the sea and tearing their way through cities found its way into Japanese culture in the first place.

I fear the worst for the missing passenger train. Obviously the death toll is higher than the current known casualties already reported, but I'm hoping that it's not as much higher than some projections have predicted based on disasters in other places.

I wonder if any U.S. military personnel and equipment can be (or have been) deployed to fight fires. That along and trauma medivac are the most acute needs I can imagine those forces actually being able to help with, in the short term. (In the slightly longer term, transporting fresh water.)

Oh, and I find the attention now being given on the U.S. news networks to reports and video of a few small pleasure boats being smashed up in California to be utterly inappropriate -- as if that has any importance at all by comparison.

Respectfully,
Myriad

The US Air bases have trained fire fighting crews..for obvious reasons...and they can help, and the US Navy has trained fire fighters on board ship, but the average US serviceman is not trained in fire fighting, and it has pretty much been proven that putting untrained people in the fireline does more harm then good.
I am betting that a lot of the US Marine Helicopters crews stationed in Okinawa have been alerted for redeployment.

I strongly suspect that a lot of California Search and Rescue crews..whose training has a very heavy emphasis on Earthquake prodecures ..will be headed West. And that LA County Crew in New Zealand won't be going straight home....

 

[DGM]

If you were speaking of air pressure, "normal" is about 14.6 lbs/sqin or 100 kPascals. Thus an 50% overpressure is an additional 7 or so lbs/sqin, or over the size of a 3ftx3ft window, is about 4.5 tons of force. That, I think, is certainly sufficient to break the window (or a cinder block wall). The important point is that, unlike the normal pressure, this added pressure is unbalanced. Now, that's air pressures. Water pressures are much higher; depends on the depth, obviously, but a 50% overpressure there can be very, very grim - perhaps like being within a half mile or so of an underwater nuclear blast. Here's a little 8k nuke going off on the bottom in 150 feet of water:

But if the "normal" is 10 PSI in a closed cooling system that is designed to handle 100 PSI an additional 50% is no big deal.

That's the point I'm getting at. The number used is arbitrary without knowing what is "normal".

 

[The Central Scrutinizer]

I'm late to the thread. Is anyone concerned that this quake will awaken Godzilla and Mothra? That's the last thing Japan needs right now, those two fighting.

 

[INRM]

Earthquake in Japan

I remember Hurricane Katrina, how they quickly started putting together plans for building condos where there were once homes, and how they swiftly dismantled the public school system, and the teachers union, and replaced them with charter schools.

How long do you think it will be before rich powerful corporate interests will exploit the crisis in Japan for their own agenda?

 

[332nd]

Reports of a person on the California coast swept out to sea. Coast Guard looking for him.

 

[volcano]

Reports of a person on the California coast swept out to sea. Coast Guard looking for him.

They've rescued a few in Oregon and have re-sounded the sirens:
http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-n..._four_people_rescued_south_of_gold_beach.html

 

[BenBurch]

They are doing as I said and evacuating the downwind sector.

 

[Belz...]

I'm late to the thread. Is anyone concerned that this quake will awaken Godzilla and Mothra? That's the last thing Japan needs right now, those two fighting.

Not to be a ass, but people are dying in Japan right now, so as much as it seems witty and original to make Godzilla jokes, everybody and their mother has thought about it, and it's a bit in bad taste right now.

 

[One Skunk Todd]

Not to be a ass, but people are dying in Japan right now, so as much as it seems witty and original to make Godzilla jokes, everybody and their mother has thought about it, and it's a bit in bad taste right now.

1. You're not an ass.
2. Different people respond in different ways to this sort of thing. As I sit here in my nice comfy office seven thousand miles away, for me, a bit of levity takes my mind off of the HORRIBLY MADDENING fact that there's nothing I can do to help apart from shooting some money to a charity.

 

[Scott Haley]

Where should I send money?

I assume that there's a Red Cross in Japan--does anyone know if they are an honest and efficient organization? Are the Doctors Without Borders going to Japan?

 

[The Central Scrutinizer]

Not to be a ass, but people are dying in Japan right now, so as much as it seems witty and original to make Godzilla jokes, everybody and their mother has thought about it, and it's a bit in bad taste right now.

People are dying worldwide every day.

Your fake outrage is noted. Ignored, but noted.

 

[The Central Scrutinizer]

I assume that there's a Red Cross in Japan--does anyone know if they are an honest and efficient organization? Are the Doctors Without Borders going to Japan?

I'm sure Red Cross is collecting. They usually do.

 

[Travis]

Last night, when I first watched the news on it, they showed an office building during the quake and all the people in it reacting to it. I remarked to my brother that it would have been epic if someone had had the frame of mind to know about the stereotype and point out the window screaming (with extra mouth movements to make it look like a bad over dub) "It is Godzilla. We must flee!"

You need a good joke to break yourself out of the horror sometimes.