Merged 8.8 quake in Sendai, Japan

[gumboot]

How sad that all those Japanese students were also among those killed in New Zealand.

A lot of them are from the area where this quake hit too. Some of the family here waiting to receive the bodies of their children may find themselves returning home only to identify more bodies.

 

[DGM]

Still, there will be thousands dead, I don't think that is an underestimate.

Sadly, I think you will be right. It's morning there now and new images are not good. This is going to take a long time to sort out.

 

[BenBurch]

CNN reporter talking about boats in Crescent City CA "tossed around as if they were weightless". But strictly speaking, isn't a boat floating in water actually weightless?

With all that warning I'm surprised so many boats were still in the harbor.

Many people who have boats in your typical small craft harbor live quite a way inland.

 

[Belz...]

Belz, are all your friends and family OK?

I'm in Eastern Canada, so yes.

 

[jayh]

And finally, Christchurch in particular is quite an old city in that a very high percentage of the current buildings are original structures, not modern ones. Because of the extreme climate and lack of local wood, most of the buildings are made of brick and stone rather than wood.

some of the photos show apparenty centuries old stone walls and other structures collapsing.

 

[BenBurch]

An expert talks about the nuclear plant situation;

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110311171137.htm

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

This has probably been posted, but here is is again:

Google's Missing People App

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

An expert talks about the nuclear plant situation;

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110311171137.htm

That's reassuring.

So with Chernobyl they were unable to lower the fuel rods. Why is that not enough here?

Chesser said that though reports have stated the reactors were shut down safely, the reactors still must be cooled constantly to avoid a meltdown of the core.

I thought when the rods were lowered, the reaction stopped.

Clearly I don't have the proper picture of this in my mind.

 

[dudalb]

Anybody know the status of the USN base at Yokosuka, on Tokyo Bay? There are a lot of dependents living on the base and it's about 6' above sea level.

It's as fine as anything in Japan today can be. If there had been major damage and casualaties, it would be all over the US news.

 

[dudalb]

So I wake up this morning to the following news:

A 10km radius around the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant is being evacuated because radiation levels in the control room of one of the reactors are now over 1000x normal.

"Much" of Crescent City harbour (CA) is "destroyed".

FOUR trains in Japan are unaccounted for.

WTF?

SOme boats were trashed in Crescent City, but the city/harbor itself is fine.

Crescent CIty is located in the far North of California, it's about 20 Minutes from the Oregon Border. Nice little city, not a major metropolis.

 

[dudalb]

Many people who have boats in your typical small craft harbor live quite a way inland.

Except for a small fishing fleet. Crescent City harbor is pretty much full of recreational small craft.

 

[dudalb]

We have'nt heard from Puppycow for a few hours. Hope he checks in when he gets home....

 

[jayh]

That's reassuring.

So with Chernobyl they were unable to lower the fuel rods. Why is that not enough here?

I thought when the rods were lowered, the reaction stopped.

Clearly I don't have the proper picture of this in my mind.

There is a lot of residual reaction and heat.

What has complicated this is that the standby diesel generators which were supposed to power the circulation of coolant were clobbered by the tsunami. A 'perfect storm' of incredible proportions.

 

[Puppycow]

I'm home! I took a train I don't usually take but it got me where I needed to go.

 

[Puppycow]

There's a town I'm seeing on my TV called Rikuzentakata that was just wiped off the face of the Earth by the tsunami.

Except for a couple large concrete buildings it's just wet rubble.

 

[Alan]

It's good to hear back from you.

I have an internet friend who would have been in Tokyo at the time if his wife wasn't having an operation. He didn't want to be at work because he was worried about her and he left work at 2pm when other people in our group encouraged him to go to be with her. He, his wife and their baby are all fine and the operation went well.

 

[AdMan]

I'm home! I took a train I don't usually take but it got me where I needed to go.

Good to hear, Puppycow!

 

[dudalb]

There's a town I'm seeing on my TV called Rikuzentakata that was just wiped off the face of the Earth by the tsunami.

Except for a couple large concrete buildings it's just wet rubble.

Is that the town that was shown going under on CNN this morning?
That was batcrap scary.Something you expect to see in a Hollywood Disaster epic, but never in real life............

 

[Valkyrie144]

glad you're safe.

 

[Belz...]

I'm home! I took a train I don't usually take but it got me where I needed to go.

Great to have you back !

How are things in Tokyo ? We saw lots of destruction in the north but what about the capital ?