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Mattfrie1

Japan earthquake

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Mr. T is the only member who would be directly effected by this. Maybe he can give some insight later.

The Pacific has seen some real activity.

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Horrible tragedy :( I know someone who has family back in Sendai. The way I first caught the news, though, was on Twitter when I started seeing the number of tweets from Japanese people I follow increase dramatically. Then when I started seeing the kanji for "earthquake" (地震, jishin), I knew something had happened.

The latest numbers I've seen from TBS News is 400 dead and at least 700 missing, though I've also seen different numbers elsewhere.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned a lot yet is that Japan's strict building codes have actually saved a lot of lives from the quake itself.

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Yes, looking at the ground accelerations, buildings constructed in line with good building codes should have mostly survived. The PGA for this quake is actually a lot less than that for the recent Christchurch earthquake, and many buildings there did actually survive in some form (esp. post-1990 structures). The PGA figure for the Japan earthquake is presumably provisional at this point, and it is only one factor, but the fact that it is mostly within the range that "earthquake-proof" buildings are designed to handle might be some grounds for relative optimism.

The tsunami is surely another matter though, as are any knock-on effects from the widespread damage to infrastucture. It looks like a massive portion of the country is affected.

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My prayers out to those in Japan and Hawaii affected by this and those in California who are not aware of the tsunami. To those who do know and are gathering at the beaches to check it out... not even worth a complet

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From the news reports, and projections of wave size, it sounds like the "tele-tsunami" (the wave after it has crossed oceans) was for the most part damaging (esp. to harbour installations), but not catastrophic. And it has not caused large casualty numbers, thanks to warnings and evacuations. One of the largest amplitudes appears to have been on the Kona Coast, Hawaii, where the land tends to rise quite steeply from the sea, fortunately, and there aren't harbours of the type that would focus the waves.

I recall reading that the 2004 tsunami was unusual in that it had powerful long-wave components (making it a 9.2-9.3 rather than the original estimate of 9.0), and that this was the reason it crossed such huge distances while retaining a large amplitude. Otherwise it would have been dampened much more as it crossed the ocean.

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I'm going to Japan in 3 weeks...

My friend is studying there and I'm going to Osaka to visit her. She told me that Osaka isn't affected by the quake and I hope that there will be no problems with infrastructure etc.

I feel pretty stupid for worrying about my trip when 400 is dead and 700 missing :/

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Mattfrie1 said:

I'm surprised that no one's posted a thread on this earlier.


I was actually quite surprised as well. I've been up all night just following what's been doing on. All the videos that have come out of Japan have just been incredible. To see all the destruction that happened is hard to believe. Too bad they aren't out of the woods yet as far that that nuclear reactor goes.

EDIT: At the end of all this, I wouldn't be surprised it thousands upon thousands died. It's so sad.

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Seeker_of_Truth said:

EDIT: At the end of all this, I wouldn't be surprised it thousands upon thousands died. It's so sad.

Despite past incidents of government incompetence to alert the public, I have no reason to believe that the reactor has been breached such as Chernobyl or Three Mile Island. It's just a contaminant leak.

I'd have more fear in the oil refinery that has been hit, and is both leaking and burning.

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Oh yeah, I don't think there's gonna be a huge problem with the reactor. I was referring to the number of deaths in general with the disaster. I almost forgot about that oil refinery actually. They really need to get that under control as well. It's probably going to be a hard blow for them if they lose it.

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Technician said:

Mr. T is the only member who would be directly effected by this. Maybe he can give some insight later.

The Pacific has seen some real activity.


Doesn't Tatasurd live in Japan as well?

Anyways, this is pretty awful in general. Hopefully the damage isn't too great and the loss of life minimal... What a mess.

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Snakes said:

Doesn't Tatasurd live in Japan as well?

Yes, I believe so, as does Masayan. Hopefully they're both okay.

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The buildings stood up great. Unfortunately there isn't a building standad to protect from tsunamis. Everything south of Tokyo is fine.

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Mr. T said:

The buildings stood up great. Unfortunately there isn't a building standad to protect from tsunamis. Everything south of Tokyo is fine.

Welp, we can strike one off the list. I hope the other two members swing by.

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Seeker_of_Truth said:

I just read on CNN's website that another nuclear reactor is having trouble with its cooling system. Man, that really sucks.

Ok, that is more serious than a leak.

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It is leaking and they have done a "controlled" release of radiation to try and avoid Chernobyl 2011. Meltdown is still possible.

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Mr. T said:

It is leaking and they have done a "controlled" release of radiation to try and avoid Chernobyl 2011. Meltdown is still possible.

As long as they can keep the reactor contained, you won't have a Chernobyl unless the reactor physically ruptures and exposes the core.

Hopefully they can restore power in time to get the pumps operational.

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Having just properly caught up with this, I think my mind simply couldn't comprehend the scale of the disasters all in motion there. The videos of the tsunami marching across the land taking entire buildings with it was awe-inspiring in a terrifying way.

I can't really articulate what I feel for everybody affected, but I hope things improve for them.

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Partition36 said:
Then when I started seeing the kanji for "earthquake" (地震, jishin), I knew something had happened.


Yep, the kanji of earthquake is right. But it should pronounced as "dizhen" in chinese.


I also heard about the earthquake in Japan. OMG, the tsunami is so damn strong, I can see many cars, houses and people get washed away. The most serious thing is the nuclear reactor, if the radiation leak get serious, then it will be a real problem in Japan.

I know about tatsurd, it's lucky that he's alright. He live far away from the earthquake site, at Southern Japan. Yesterday he send me a mail as well as imforming other doomers. What a good news it is!

I have confidence about Japan, Japanese have great knowledge about earthquakes and natural disaster. A few years ago I went to Tokyo, I seen some kids learning about earthquakes in the street. If I remember they went inside a truck for eduaction. Japanese buildings are quite safe too. When it is built, it will ensure that it can withstand earthquakes.

Sad story it is, hope Japan can end this nightmare soon!

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Technician said:

As long as they can keep the reactor contained, you won't have a Chernobyl unless the reactor physically ruptures and exposes the core.

easy there, you won't have a chernobyl no matter what, so don't throw the name around all spreading panic. chernobyl was the combination of an old and very different type of reactor and blatant breach of the most crucial rules of operational safety. you can't reproduce it in modern nuclear power plants even if you air bomb them.

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Daiyu_Xiaoxiang said:

I have confidence about Japan, Japanese have great knowledge about earthquakes and natural disaster [and nuclear power].

This. All that happened sucks big, big time, but I'm confident that Japan can get back on its feet from this better than any other country could.

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I noticed that while everything is on fire and being washed away, all the modern buildings are still standing. That is really impressive for such a huge earthquake. So hooray for Japan's preparedness.

In other news, I went to Uwajimaya yesterday and bought a bunch of Japanese food. Yum, Pocky and yogurt lychee drink. I hope in some small way my money goes to the people of Japan.

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dew said:

easy there, you won't have a chernobyl no matter what, so don't throw the name around all spreading panic. chernobyl was the combination of an old and very different type of reactor and blatant breach of the most crucial rules of operational safety. you can't reproduce it in modern nuclear power plants even if you air bomb them.

The Chernobyl scenario (out-of-control chain reaction) is impossible since the reactor was stopped. However, a disaster of a similar gravity is possible. A core meltdown combined with overpressure bursting open the containment shield would result in a radioactive cloud just like Chernobyl's.

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Danarchy said:

I hope in some small way my money goes to the people of Japan.


I'm planning on donating blood as soon as the opportunity becomes available. What a horrible event.

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Daiyu_Xiaoxiang said:

Yep, the kanji of earthquake is right. But it should pronounced as "dizhen" in chinese.

Ahh interesting. I only knew how to say it in Japanese, not Chinese. But I know now!

Mr. Freeze said:

I'm planning on donating blood as soon as the opportunity becomes available. What a horrible event.

I've already donated some money, but I completely forgot about blood. That's a great idea. I think I'll keep my eyes peeled for the opportunity as well.

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dew said:

you can't reproduce it in modern nuclear power plants even if you air bomb them.

Not saying you're wrong, but the Fukushima reactor is actually older than the Chernobyl one.

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dew said:

easy there, you won't have a chernobyl no matter what, so don't throw the name around all spreading panic. chernobyl was the combination of an old and very different type of reactor and blatant breach of the most crucial rules of operational safety. you can't reproduce it in modern nuclear power plants even if you air bomb them.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12720219

Welp, there has been an explosion at the plant. They insist it is only the housing and not the reactor it's self.

Tough, I know the situation of Chernobyl are unique, as long as the reactor is breached, then the possibility of contaminating the environment, especially with an explosion, is very similar.

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Fukushima does not have a graphite housing and (!!!) is not a component of the core. This was one of the problems of Chernobyl.

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