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

tsunami warning for most pacific basin nations

I'm inland, so no problem, but they have shut off parts of San Fran I see.

The news showed surfers already out there waiting.

If that earthquake had been anywhere but Japan the damage would have been much worse.  Japan has safer buildings.

Well no doubt Japan has worked on the earthquake safe buildings.  But it's not an exact science, lots of different design concepts, no doubt I think people on the West Coast, California in particular pay very careful attention to earthquakes.  It doesn't look like the tsunami is going to hit anywhere else with any force, but it was devastating in Japan and no amount of earthquake engineering can help that stuff.

Some of the videos coming show even the best engineering won't help the clueless.

One video showed people standing on a bridge watching the waters below them rising rapidly as cars and boats rushed underneath.  Within less than a minute the boats were being smashed against the bottom of the bridge.  Suddenly the gapers started rushing to their cars to get off the bridge as the bridge started breaking apart and falling into the rapids.  Curiosity overcomes common sense.

even the best engineering won't help the clueless
I used to tell my engineering students that they could never design anything that was foolproof because fools were very clever.  Now I pretty much live with that every day.

My heart goes out to the people in Japan effected by this.

Japan is probably one of the best prepared countries for this kind of event but so many people have died and so much damage has been done.

I visited Kobe two years ago and I couldn't even tell that there had been an earthquake there.

I just hope things are not as bad as the videos make them seem.

Watching the video just made me physically ill to my stomach

Some things are just far too fascinating for our own good. My girlfriend and I are rather shocked about the missing train... Along with everything else that has and is being reported.

  Latest reports says no damage in the Aleutian chain, 7' swell along the California coast.  Video shows some loose boats in a CA marina.
Special coolant for the downed nuclear reactor in Japan has been flown in from the U.S. already.  Japan is asking for help, very unusal for that country.
  The people on the bridge reminds me of the black and white image from the 1960 tsunami in Hilo, HI.  It showed people looking out over the water waiting for the "tidal wave" at a dock area.  They all died.  We have people who go out and lookie-loo at a tornado in the area and get injured by the flying debris.
  Joelene

Don't worry, at the same time as the wave was hitting people were out walking on the beach.

  It didn't take long.  A report out of northern CA near the Klamath River has 3 men that were washed away while taking pictures.  Two swam back, the other is missing according to the Coast Guard.  Damage in Crescent City, CA was heavier than previously reported.
  Radiation was released into the air to prevent a pressure blowout from the downed reactor in Japan. 
  Joelene

I've been following the news stories throughout the day and am absolutely amazed at the devastating forces of nature

My heart goes out to the Japanese people

Actually, compared to recent disasters Japan should do well.  It's not like Haiti or where the last tsunami hit - it's a first world nation with lots and lots of resources and it's highly (like beyond highly) organized.  It's going to be a how-to manual about how to handle natural disasters.

Quote from: tekla on March 12, 2011, 01:26:26 AM
Actually, compared to recent disasters Japan should do well.  It's not like Haiti or where the last tsunami hit - it's a first world nation with lots and lots of resources and it's highly (like beyond highly) organized.  It's going to be a how-to manual about how to handle natural disasters.

Hopefully, but they also owe a lot of money.

Quote from: tekla on March 12, 2011, 01:26:26 AM
Actually, compared to recent disasters Japan should do well.  It's not like Haiti or where the last tsunami hit - it's a first world nation with lots and lots of resources and it's highly (like beyond highly) organized.  It's going to be a how-to manual about how to handle natural disasters.

The dead are still dead and their love ones still grieve. The injured are still injured and their pain is no less. The homeless are still homeless. The people who watched their friends, relatives and family sucked back into the sea, have those memories for ever.

Organisation will help. But the humanity will always be stained.

I feel for them.

Cindy

I agree with Cindy, no matter how inventive the buildings in Japan are made, the deads will still be dead and there is a lot of grieve by the people who lost the people they loved.

they have my sympathy

annette

I will be praying for the death, injured, and suffering victim's of the Tsunami everywhere. I wish all the Japanese people a quick recovery.

Courage,

Kate

It gets worse.  The Daiichi nuclear plant had a major explosion.  Japanese officials say the core is still intact.  Apparently the building surrounding the core building is what blew.  They've been fighting to cool down the core but things don't look too promising.  They now have extended the evacuation from 6 to 20 miles of the plant.

"it appears that Japan's Fukushima Daiichi plant is moving towards a core meltdown as it has lost control of the cooling system. An explosion has blown the wall of one of the buildings there and radioactive iodine and caesium has been vented from the plant. The Fukushima Daini plant, about 10 km from the Daiichi plant, is also moving in the same direction with a similar loss of control of the cooling system, but without release of radio activity as yet."
LINK



We may be about to witness the worst part of the aftermath of this earthquake.

I'm waiting to hear more about the plants and everything else that's going on.  I have a sister stationed in Japan, near where the earthquake happened and where the second earthquake happened, and I was flipping the f*** out because I had no idea what the hell was going on...and I'm still worried for her because of the situation, though she assures me that she's fine.  What can I say?  She's my younger sister and I'm going to keep on worrying for her.

I hope everything can get sorted out in due time in Japan.