Poor Japan

[Mainstream Hipster]

For those of you that aren't aware, Japan has been hit with a large earthquake, anywhere from the upper 7's to the 8's. A tsunami resulted and also hit Japan. Hopefully the damages and losses are minimal, though all my thoughts and prayers go out to them.
In addition, if you are located anywhere close to Japan, stay informed in case you need to move towards higher ground.

 

[Delnoir]

There are times where my wisecracks are inappropriate, and this is one of them.

I hope the losses are minimal.

 

[Torsty]

They say it's going to hit Taiwan, then the Phillipines, then Hawaii, New Zealand and sometime in the night, the west coast of south/central/north-America.

 

[Vay]

To Oro, Nick, Megs, Ala, and myself along with everyone on the soon to be affected coasts at the moment. Good luck to us all.

 

[Fel of the Eternal Forest]

It's funny that the Haiti earthquake doesn't touch my heart near as much as this one in Weeabooland does.
60 Confirmed deaths and 56 missing, and http://i.huffpost.com/gen/255897/thumbs/r-JAPAN-EARTHQUAKE-2011-large570.jpg this doesn't look promising.

 

[Alan]

They say it's going to hit Taiwan, then the Phillipines, then Hawaii, New Zealand and sometime in the night, the west coast of south/central/north-America.

It seems the forecast for a Tsunami has changed a little, as per http://www.weather.gov/ptwc/text.php?id=pacific.2011.03.11.133222

The 8.8 earthquake was felt in Tokyo, about two hours away from its epicenter. That's some shit.

To anyone in the areas affected by the earthquake, and any tsunami that may ensue, I have you all in my thoughts. Stay safe, and please get to higher ground.

 

[DoomOtter]

My heart and prayers go out to the people of Japan. The confirmed casualties I have heard are up to 300. If you live on the west coast, be safe.

 

[Captain Nic]

I have faith that anyone affected by this calamity will be able to cope with it well.

Just hope that tidal wave doesn't go further than it's supposed to.

 

[Zypher]

EVERYONE! IT'S OKAY! MORNING MUSUME IS UNHARMED!

No seriously, that's awful and I feel bad for Japan.

 

[Woodrat]

Link to videos

Goodness...

Anywho, so far the west coast of the united states has been alright... for now.

One major concern is the Nuclear Power Plants in Japan. Any news on the condition/state of them at the moment? Far as I know they've been shut down, but unknown how much damage they've taken.

 

[Fluffy]

Some waves from that tsunami hit Washington, actually. We in Bellingham got a foot of the waves' amplitude! The bays and coastal cities saw the most of it. It's nowhere near terrible as what happened to Japan, though. We only saw the aftershock, so to speak...

My best wishes go out to them. Mother nature was infuriated.

 

[Pirogeth]

Damn, those guys have it rough indeed. Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Atom Bombs, I just hope the waters won't be too rough when they go after the next few targets.

 

[Fel of the Eternal Forest]

People on the west coast need to get the fuck out there with their fucking surfboards. Somebody has to have a good goddamn day out of this. Also; FFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUU at it happening in Japan. There goes my vacation till this clears up.

 

[Sakura]

My heart goes to out to them, too!
the first thing I did was call up my penpals && email my cousins D: im really worried if they're all right! As well as the relatives of some of my friends, too :(
I hope that most of the people were taken to safety!!

If anyone is in the "line of fire" (as they call it), please be safe!
♥

 

[Alan]

According to the US Geological Survey:

a. Due to the earthquakes, the axis of the Earth shifted 10 inches.
b. Japan's coastline has been altered by 2.4 meters.

Might sound really small, but that's a huge shift.

One major concern is the Nuclear Power Plants in Japan. Any news on the condition/state of them at the moment? Far as I know they've been shut down, but unknown how much damage they've taken.

Coolant has been flown inland to the nuclear plant. They're planning to release steam from one of the towers, as the pressure now exceeds 1.5 times normal. Although, just as I was typing this, @nbcnightlynews on Twitter just posted this:

#Tokyo Electric Power Co. is reporting that they have lost control of the pressure in their No. 1 & 2 nuclear reactors with temps rising.

I'm scared. Hold me.

 

[Fel of the Eternal Forest]

I'm scared. Hold me.

I'd rather not.

10 inches? Isn't that a little extreme?

 

[Alan]

10 inches? Isn't that a little extreme?

An 8.9 earthquake is also a little extreme.

Also:
http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2011/03/76962.html

URGENT: Cooling system fails at Fukushima No. 2 plant

TOKYO, March 12, Kyodo The cooling system failed at three reactors of the quake-hit Fukushima No. 2 nuclear power plant Saturday, the operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. said.
The company, which has already scrambled to deal with radiation leaks at its Fukushima No. 1 plant, notified the industry ministry that the failsafe system at the No. 2 plant stopped functioning as the temperature of coolant water has topped 100 C.
==Kyodo

 

[Woodrat]

Damn... there goes any hope of America restarting its nuclear program in the next fifty years.

On the other hand, Japan is a country with somewhere between 50 and 55 nuclear power plants. Sheer fact that the plants affected are still standing now after such an earthquake ought to be a testament to the safety levels that the Japanese hold their plants to.

Though I do wish that the local news media would stop harping on the fantasical notion that the plants will explode in some type of mushroom cloud fashion.

According to the globe 'n mail (link) They still have one more back up system of last resort, but they haven't felt that it warrants the usuage of it yet. Appearently part of that back up might be the usage of battery power, which would go dead in a matter of hours and have to be replaced.

Also a link to some pictures of the earthquake and tsunami (Link)

 

[Alan]

The USGS updated their estimate of the quake to 9.1, but also changed their estimate of axis shift to four inches.

 

[Delnoir]

TOKYO, March 12, Kyodo The cooling system failed at three reactors of the quake-hit Fukushima No. 2 nuclear power plant Saturday, the operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. said.
The company, which has already scrambled to deal with radiation leaks at its Fukushima No. 1 plant, notified the industry ministry that the failsafe system at the No. 2 plant stopped functioning as the temperature of coolant water has topped 100 C.

Last I heard, radiation levels were a thousand times greater than normal.