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A powerful earthquake has struck off Japan's north-eastern coast, shaking buildings in Tokyo and forcing people out of their homes, witnesses said.
Japan issued its most serious tsunami warning, saying a wave as high as 6m (20ft) could strike the coast near Miyagi prefecture.
US officials said the 8.8-magnitude quake struck about 250 miles (400km) from Tokyo at a depth of 20 miles.
TV pictures showed a wave crashing into the Pacific coast.
The surge of water carried cars and ships as it surged through a coastal town.


From what I'm hearing, fires have broken out in many parts of Tokyo, and power is also down. Also, around half an hour ago, a Tsunami warning was issued for the US Western Coast as well. A few moments ago, Tsunami warnings were issued for Taiwan and Philippines as well.


And here in Hawaii, we are under Tsunami Warning. We are expecting one within the next 4 hours. Hopefully nothing too serious. I'll keep you posted.

I heard about this. Stay safe, devil dog.

~Burke

Thanks, Bro.

Apparently the chosen mode of survival for a tsunami in the corps is alcoholic stasis. Half way there...

I saw this on yahoo! news.
Here:
TOKYO – A ferocious tsunami spawned by one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded slammed Japan's eastern coast Friday, killing at least 60 people as it swept away boats, cars and homes while widespread fires burned out of control. Tsunami warnings blanketed the entire Pacific, as far away as South America, Canada, Alaska and the entire U.S. West Coast.

The magnitude 8.9 offshore quake unleashed a 23-foot (7-meter) tsunami and was followed by more than 20 aftershocks for hours, most of them of more than magnitude 6.0.

Police said at least 60 people were killed and 56 were missing. The death toll was likely to continue climbing given the scale of the disaster.

Dozens of cities and villages along a 1,300-mile (2,100-kilometer) stretch of coastline were shaken by violent tremors that reached as far away as Tokyo, hundreds of miles (kilometers) from the epicenter.

"The earthquake has caused major damage in broad areas in northern Japan," Prime Minister Naoto Kan said at a news conference.

Japan issued a state of emergency at a nuclear power plant after its cooling system had a mechanical failure. Trouble was reported at two other nuclear plants as well, but there was no radiation leak at any.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said the measure at the nuclear power plant in Fukushima was a precaution and that the facility was not in immediate danger.

Even for a country used to earthquakes, this one was of horrific proportions because of the tsunami that crashed ashore, swallowing everything in its path as it surged several miles (kilometers) inland before retreating.

Large fishing boats and other sea vessels rode high waves into the cities, slamming against overpasses or scraping under them, snapping power lines along the way. Upturned and partially submerged vehicles were seen bobbing in the water. Ships anchored in ports crashed against each other

As long as he doesn't go out & try to give the Tusnami a beer, I'm sure he'll be fine.  ;)

That was the plan before passing out. Well, Hawaii is still floating. I guess that's a good thing, right?

Prayers go out to all the people in Japan and Guam right now, though. They got hit pretty bad.

Yes.. I heard about that earlier today.... It's quite tragic. Hope there won't be many casualties, even though that's very doubtful..

Glad you're alright Cloudy.

Oh no...
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan faced a potential catastrophe Tuesday after a quake-crippled nuclear power plant exploded and sent low levels of radiation floating toward Tokyo, prompting some people to flee the capital and others to stock up on essential supplies.

The crisis appeared to escalate late in the day when the operators of the facility said that one of two blasts had blown a hole in the building housing a reactor, which meant spent nuclear fuel was exposed to the atmosphere.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan urged people within 30 km (18 miles) of the facility -- a population of 140,000 -- to remain indoors amid the world's most serious nuclear accident since the Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine in 1986.

Officials in Tokyo -- 240 km (150 miles) to the south of the plant -- said radiation in the capital was 10 times normal by evening but there was no threat to human health. Around eight hours after the explosions, the U.N. weather agency said winds were dispersing radioactive material over the Pacific Ocean, away from Japan and other Asian countries.

As concern about the crippling economic impact of the nuclear and earthquake disasters mounted, Japan's Nikkei index fell as much as 14 percent before ending down 10.6 percent, compounding a slide of 6.2 percent the day before. The two-day fall has wiped some $620 billion off the market.

Authorities have spent days desperately trying to prevent the water which is designed to cool the radioactive cores of the reactors from running dry.

The authorities said they may pour water into the fuel pool of the most critical reactor, No. 4, within two or three days, but did not say why they would have to wait to do this.

"The possibility of further radioactive leakage is heightening," a grim-faced Kan said in an address to the nation earlier in the day.

"We are making every effort to prevent the leak from spreading. I know that people are very worried but I would like to ask you to act calmly."

Levels of 400 millisieverts per hour had been recorded near the No. 4 reactor, the government said. Exposure to over 100 millisieverts a year is a level which can lead to cancer, according to the World Nuclear Association.

The plant operator pulled out 750 workers, leaving just 50, and a 30-km no-fly zone was imposed around the reactors. There have been no detailed updates on what levels the radiation reached inside the exclusion zone where people live.

"Radioactive material will reach Tokyo but it is not harmful to human bodies because it will be dissipated by the time it gets to Tokyo," said Koji Yamazaki, professor at Hokkaido University graduate school of environmental science. "If the wind gets stronger, it means the material flies faster but it will be even more dispersed in the air."

Despite pleas for calm, residents rushed to shops in Tokyo to stock up on supplies. Don Quixote, a multi-storey, 24-hour general store in Roppongi district, sold out of radios, flashlights, candles and sleeping bags.

In a sign of regional fears about the risk of radiation, China said it would evacuate its citizens from areas worst affected but it had detected no abnormal radiation levels at home. Air China said it had canceled some flights to Tokyo.

Several embassies advised staff and citizens to leave affected areas. Tourists cut short vacations and multinational companies either urged staff to leave or said they were considering plans to move outside Tokyo.

"Everyone is going out of the country today I think," said Gunta Brunner, a 25-year-old creative director from Argentina. "With the radiation, it's like you cannot escape and you can't see it."

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON"

Japanese media have became more critical of Kan's handling of the disaster and criticized the government and nuclear plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) for its failure to provide enough information on the incident.

Kan himself lambasted the operator for taking so long to inform his office about one of the blasts, demanding to know "what the hell is going on?," Kyodo reported.

Kyodo said Kan had ordered TEPCO not to pull employees out of the plant.

"The TV reported an explosion. But nothing was said to the premier's office for about an hour," a Kyodo reporter quoted Kan telling power company executives.

Lam Ching-wan, a chemical pathologist at the University of Hong Kong, said the blasts could expose the population to longer-term exposure to radiation, which can raise the risk of thyroid and bone cancers and leukemia. Children and fetuses are especially vulnerable, he said.

"Very acute radiation, like that which happened in Chernobyl and to the Japanese workers at the nuclear power station, is unlikely for the population," he said.

There have been a total of four explosions at the plant since it was damaged in last Friday's massive quake and tsunami. The most recent were blasts at reactors No. 2 and No. 4.

Concerns now center on damage to a part of the No. 4 reactor's core known as the suppression pool, which helps cool and trap the majority of cesium, iodine and strontium in its water.

Authorities had previously been trying to prevent meltdowns in the complex's nuclear reactors by flooding the chambers with sea water to cool them down.

Murray Jennex, a professor at San Diego State University in California, said the crisis in Japan -- the only nation to have suffered a nuclear attack -- was worse than the Three Mile Island disaster of 1979.

"But you're nowhere near a Chernobyl ... Chernobyl there was no impediment to release, it just blew everything out into the atmosphere," he said. "You've still got a big chunk of the containment there holding most of it in."

VILLAGES AND TOWNS WIPED OFF THE MAP

The full extent of the destruction from last Friday's 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami that followed it was still becoming clear, as rescuers combed through the region north of Tokyo where officials say at least 10,000 people were killed.

Whole villages and towns have been wiped off the map by Friday's wall of water, triggering an international humanitarian effort of epic proportions.

About 850,000 households in the north were still without electricity in near-freezing weather, Tohuku Electric Power Co. said, and the government said at least 1.5 million households lack running water. Tens of thousands of people were missing.

Toshiyuki Suzuki, 61, has a heart pacemaker and takes seven kinds of medicine a day. He lost all of them when the waves swept away his home, along with his father and son.

He cannot go to hospitals because there is no gasoline at local fuel stations. "I am having problems with walking and with my heartbeat. I absolutely need medicine."

Kan has said Japan is facing its worst crisis since World War Two.

Hiromichi Shirakawa, chief economist for Japan at Credit Suisse, said in a note to clients that the economic loss will likely be around 14-15 trillion yen ($171-183 billion) just to the region hit by the quake and tsunami.

Even that would put it above the commonly accepted cost of the 1995 Kobe quake which killed 6,000 people.

The earthquake has forced many firms to suspend production and global companies -- from semiconductor makers to shipbuilders -- face disruptions to operations after the quake and tsunami destroyed vital infrastructure, damaged ports and knocked out factories.

"The earthquake could have great implications on the global economic front," said Andre Bakhos, director of market analytics at Lec Securities in New York. "If you shut down Japan, there could be a global recession."

Hope everything turns out all right for japan.
News (C) Yahoo!

I find it strange that Japan, one of the more technologically advanced countries in the world (plus being in the pacific ring of fire), does not have better fail-safes in their nuclear reactors.
I know it's impossible to anticipate the worst earthquake in... ever, but you can never be too prepared when talking about nuclear reactors.
Especially when talking about nuclear reactors.

Well, now that Noah brings up the impending doom, I should share this here.

(http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa235/maslow25/Fukushima-Nuclear-Radiation-Spread-Map.jpg)

Yeah, this is a predicted course of the nuclear fallout should the plant go off.Almost Half the US is gonna get some of it, as well as a big part of Canada, and half of Mexico.

Where did you get that picture???
And if it's ture...
8O

That map is pretty useless, since RADS aren't the right measurement tool for stuff like this.

EDIT
Also, the map is fake
http://www.australian-radiation-services.com.au/

Welcome to Megaton partner.

Okay, I have been going around the horn debating this with people and I have gotten sick and tired with the whole 'They should've had better fail-safes, they should've had built their stuff better, they don't know how to use a nuclear reactor' crap! Considering they were hit with an Earthquake that released 1000 times more energy than a high end nuclear device, I am giving the Japanese their props in this crisis. They're doing everything they can to save the reactors without resorting back down to sea water, which of course kills the problem right there but leaves the reactor unusable due to corrosion and even then they're having trouble finding the power necessary to run the pumps as the plant seems to have been cut off from the rest of the grid. The reactors were successfully scrammed following the failure of the plant's generators and those engineers are risking life and limb to save the plant with very limited resources.

Anyone wants to debate any part of this or present an 'idea' of how they'd do it better, please, be my guest.

I also have great respect for the engineers and workers risking their lives to prevent the meltdowns, but the most unstable reactors are like 40 years old. I forgot to add that to my former post.
I'm not saying that the Japanese don't know how to do nuclear power, I'm saying that the older plants are the closest to meltdown.
I also know that the fail-safes did kick in, but they were not enough. Like in Chernobyl.

Not exactly like Chernobyl, as the brute force safety measure (containment wall) has yet to be breached by the nuclear fuel. Chernobyl vented nuclear material into the atmosphere but we have yet to see that in this situation. (And I highly doubt we will)

Well you have me there, but my main point is that the reactors in the worst condition are 40 years old and it is unclear how well they can contain a meltdown if one was to occur.

I still feel so terrible about what happened to Japan just now, I kinda am really in a shock. I hope they can fix it all as fast as possible!

I think the bunny year won't bring some more good stuff...

Is that so? Well, I have a certain someone I have to go beat. Be back in a while if I survive.

It was rather horrifying to hear they've found so many dead along the beaches. I hope the rest of the world can pull together to support the Japanese. I've been amazed at how orderly and calmly the Japanese people have been dealing with the disasters that have affected them.

However, I've also been disgusted with the frenzy the parasites in the media are trying to stir up over the situation with the nuclear reactors. And also the scumbags like that writer from Family Guy and 50 Cent making jokes about the situation.

People are making jokes? That's terrible... Why would they? Have they no souls?

Thats why I keep hating programs like family guy...

Thousands of People died because of this and they decide to make fun of it?!!? (>:()
>:[
Those people are total jerk's!!

At least they noticed it...

Thousands of people died in my country the last year and anybody gave a s***... Not even our government...

Trust me, the US government is also messed up.
My parent's work there butt's off and some of there hard earned money goes to government,
and witch some it goes to mars research (NASA), and some of it goes to people who don't work.
GET A JOB PEOPLE!!!

well yeah social support with money and other materials has always two sides. I know it from here that many jobless people NEED it to keep their family a roof and food and all that.
at the other hand there are people using the government to be lazy...on a low status but beeing lazy at home...maybe some illegal work (you know dont pay taxes n stuff).
but overall the most people who can, actually try to get a job to earn more money to get better conditions for themself and their family. maybe the mars reasearch okay...but cutting of taxes for social support.....well guess thats just nasty.

okay back to topic...yeah the nuclear power discussion is quite active here again...we have uhhh 17 reactors i guess and just shut down the oldest 3 plus always one of the others to check everything. its also said that they want to shut down all of them till 2020 and change to wind and solar....guess they wont make it that fast ....but we have "landtagswahlen" (a land is our equivalent to a state in the us;means its something like the election of the gouvener in 4 "states")....so they talk a bit much right now. but still as long as they actually do it within the next years...

Almost everyone- I'm pretty much guilty of the joke making, just the way I'm. Is it in poor Taste? Yes. Am I going to stop? Not likely. I bought a "Tsunami Survivor 2011" t-shirt at Honolulu last weekend. Don't regret it, because at the same time I have a soul, and already done my donation to the red cross.

Noah- you are right. Your parents shouldn't be giving their money to the government to pay my salary. I don't do anything other than put me life in danger every so often.

Well my ant amy abuse's it.

You have an ant named Amy? That's cool... Ants get social security, or something now?
Be naked, No! Naked!!!

The EU has now officially declared the nuclear situation in Japan as out of control.
http://au.news.yahoo.com/japan-tsunami/a/-/world/9023744/eu-energy-chief-says-japan-reactor-out-of-control/

I have volunteered to aid refugees at the airport over here in bkk.
I can't do much, but might as well do what I can.

Indeed it is. Today we had 4 Navy Corpsmen come back from Japan, and it seems all of them tested positive for radiation poisoning.

I'm just going to say, don't jump to any conclusions based on media hype of the Fukushima disaster.  Yes, it is a bad situation, but when I see stuff like that fake fallout map, or hear about american tourists in Osaka (far from the area effected for those of you who don't know your way around Japan) complaining about how their government hasn't come to rescue them, it just makes me frustrated by how stupid people are.  If you really want to know what is going on right from the source, I recommend you watch NHK World's English language channel online for news right from Japan.  http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/

As for the American news, I'm just disgusted with the way some of these people try to spin everything in whatever way will get the most ratings.  Them and all these investor types who only care about how they can make a profit off of all this.

And if you don't fully trust any media, Japanese, American or other, good for you.  It's always best to check things out for yourself when you can.  You can always check the Tokyo Geiger counter, http://www.ustream.tv/channel/geiger-counter-tokyo  Currently, there is 14 cpm (counts per minute) in Tokyo.  Compare that to 45 cpm on an average day in New York City.  But really, anything under 60 cpm is considered "normal".  Over 130 cpm is considered unhealthy.

You are so right Vi...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axXvxpzMe_0

I hear you.

I see stories about people in the U.S. are stocking up and taking radiatiion treatment pills.  (>:()

Just for a taste of reality, Americans, right now are exposed to higher levels of radiation coming from the granite in their office buildings than from anything coming from Japan.

And just here in Toronto, the news tried to scare us about our nuclear plant leaking water into the lake. It's normal non-irradiated water that is cleaner than the water already in the lake.

Lastly, some dude was agruing with my father that Vancouver is already experiencing effects from Japan.

Madness.

By the way, I'm sharing that clip with my friends.

Once all the dust has settled, I look forward to learning more of what happened with those reactors, as well as the compound that allowed this incident to escalate.


A good book I've read (prior to the current events in Japan) is Three Mile Island: A Nuclear Crisis in Historical Perspective.
http://www.amazon.com/Three-Mile-Island-Historical-Perspective/dp/0520246837/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1300384354&sr=8-1 (http://www.amazon.com/Three-Mile-Island-Historical-Perspective/dp/0520246837/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1300384354&sr=8-1)
It describes the events at the 3-Mile Island complex before, during, and after the incident. It was amazing to read just how chaotic & disorganized everyone actually was.
I especially liked the part of the book where they described the dissection of the damaged TMI-2 reactor.

Eventually, I'd also like to get a book detailing the events of the Chernobyl nuclear incident.


All in all, I'm just praying for the folks in Japan, and waiting to see how this turns out.

I'd like to echo Kyo's last statement, if I may.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nbEFhPVM_k  :violet:

Very educational video Violet
I like it!

*

Beautiful... :'(

Hmm... Did Yattaro surpass his fear of earthquakes??

That picture reminds me of all the depressing aspects I hear about that disaster on a daily basis.

yesterday I heard of the notion of school teachers having to explain to their students why 80% of their class is gone without a trace.

You're pic is good for the emotion it brings up.

But it is depressing. Poor Speedy. Makes me think that maybe Polly and Guido are.. gone.

Great... now I'm sad. Thanks a lot.

It's kinda fangirl of me, but when I heard about the men going to Fukushima to risk their lives trying to cool the reactors, it reminded me of Speedy and Bad Bird going off to stop the comet.  They are real life heroes.