Japanese earthquake

[mayogodhelpus@gmail.com]

Is it true to say that recent natural disasters appear worse to us in comparison in centuries ago simply because there is actually more to destroy now in terms of housing, transport, nuclear stations, people, as well as the extensive coverage?

More people used to die in the past, think it may be the modern media that we can almost see the disaster as it happens. In the past it was a caste of a load of people we will never meet, in a place half of us never heard of, visit, see on t.v./film etc. as opposed to being able to see with our own eyes that these people are as real as us. When things are out of sight they are often out of mind and people are just stats.

[Orangemac]

As harrowing as it is for us to watch, the media love this type of event. They know they can get a weeks worth of it and that the public can't help watching it.

Especially any kind of war they just go to town on it. How many of them would have been embedded with the troops at the Somme?

[Eamonnca1]

BBC reporting another 3m tsunami seen off the coast and on its way to Japan. Could be from the aftershocks.

[nrico2006]

I suppose it is no real surprise but this has to be the best quality filmed and photographed natural disaster.

Definitely, with the technology available in Japan you expect to see more footage from when the Tsunami actually hit.  The like of Friday morning says it all, I woke up and you have helicopters filming the waves progress across the Japanese ground, crazy.  All you really rely on from the 2004 Tsunami is tourist footage.

I take it there is no footage or pictures of the reported 1720 foot tall Tsunami from Alaska in 1958?

[Tony Baloney]

I suppose it is no real surprise but this has to be the best quality filmed and photographed natural disaster.

Definitely, with the technology available in Japan you expect to see more footage from when the Tsunami actually hit.  The like of Friday morning says it all, I woke up and you have helicopters filming the waves progress across the Japanese ground, crazy.  All you really rely on from the 2004 Tsunami is tourist footage.

I take it there is no footage or pictures of the reported 1720 foot tall Tsunami from Alaska in 1958?

I don't think there would be photos of the wave but there are of the aftermath. The most striking showing trees etc. washed away at a level that appears to be halfway up a mountainside.

[Tony Baloney]

Here... http://geology.com/records/biggest-tsunami.shtml

[Kerry Mike]

2nd Explosion this morning at Reactor 3 at the site of the first Explosion and the cooling of Reactor 2 has just packed in.  Hugh worry now about the safety of this nuclear plant, hopefully they can control it.

[orangeman]

2nd Explosion this morning at Reactor 3 at the site of the first Explosion and the cooling of Reactor 2 has just packed in.  Hugh worry now about the safety of this nuclear plant, hopefully they can control it.

Squeaky bums time alright.

[Minder]

I have to say the Japanese come across as a very stoical nation, there was a woman interviewed that was holding onto her daughter but she was unable to hold on and the daughter got washed away, there was just a hint of a tear towards the end of the interview. I read another story about a 70 year old woman that was getting rescued after two days and the first thing she did was apologise to her rescuers for putting them to any bother.

If it was here the oul doll would have been filling the insurance forms on while she was waiting for the rescuers, "and that freezer that got washed away was filled with sirloin steaks mister".

[Declan]

http://www.cringely.com/2011/03/flea-powder-may-be-saving-lives-in-japan/

We have an office in Tokyo and are actively trying to get people out. Two of them have gone to Osaka and others are looking at trying to get out of the country for a while 

[Square Ball]

2nd Explosion this morning at Reactor 3 at the site of the first Explosion and the cooling of Reactor 2 has just packed in.  Hugh worry now about the safety of this nuclear plant, hopefully they can control it.

just announced at a press conference that they cannot rule out a meltdown, next few hours are very critical indeed with this

[orangeman]

From bbc news :

Technicians are battling to stabilise a third reactor at a quake-stricken Japanese nuclear plant, after the latest explosion rocked the facility.

Fukushima Daiichi plant's operators said they could not rule out a fuel rod meltdown, after a cooling system broke.

They are frantically injecting more water into reactor 2 after its fuel rods became almost fully exposed.

[Kerry Mike]

From the BBC website

1055: Chris Hutchinson in Ogikubo, Tokyo, writes: "Hopefully things will get back to normal soon, but the power outages are going to be a problem. My feeling is that TEPCO have really screwed it up - my area is in 'Group 1' which will have outages twice a day and we have both of the most inconvenient times (6am-10am and 5pm-8.30pm) which is when I would be taking showers, cooking or trying to relax. Other areas have it much easier - especially those in group 4 (which, perhaps no surprise, contains many very wealthy areas!) who only have a 2.5hr window during office hours in the early afternoon. The British Embassy has been great so far and provided a lot of information when requested, I would definitely advise any British people to register at https://www.locate.fco.gov.uk/LocatePortal if they haven't already done so. The Japanese authorities have been pretty much useless and unwilling (or unable?) to provide any details regarding specific questions about the earthquake and nuclear situations. I am not planning to leave Japan, but I am ready to do so if instructed to - I have essential things packed and ready to go in the event of the situation deteriorating."

What a f**king idiot !!! I'm sure the Japanese have a few more serious issues to contend with than whether Mr Hutchinson can take a shower or relax !!!

[Kerry Mike]

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/03/13/world/asia/satellite-photos-japan-before-and-after-tsunami.html


Satelite pics of before and after tsunami, drag the blue cursor left and right on each pic, total devastation in these towns.

[Main Street]

The filmed coverage of the sea coming over the wall at Miyako was vivid.




I just the film on CNN of what happened at Minami, where the whole town was washed out to sea.