8.9-magnitude quake triggers devastating Japan tsunami

[Croc]

http://www.msnbc.msn...ws-asiapacific/

TOKYO — Japan was struck by a magnitude 8.9 earthquake off its northeastern coast Friday, unleashing a 13-foot tsunami that washed away cars and tore away buildings along the coast near the epicenter.

TV footage showed massive damage from the tsunami, with dozens of cars, boats and even buildings being carried along by the water. A large ship swept away by the tsunami rammed directly into a breakwater in Kesennuma city in Miyagi prefecture, according to footage on public broadcaster NHK.

A tsunami warning was also issued for Hawaii and the coasts of Oregon, California, Washington and parts of Alaska.

"A tsunami has been generated that could cause damage along the coastlines of all islands in the state of Hawaii," the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center's bulletin said. "Urgent action should be taken to protect lives and property."

The first tsunami wave was expected to hit Hawaii at 2:59 a.m. local time (7:59 a.m. ET), officials said.

Black smoke was also pouring out of an industrial area in Yokohama's Isogo area. TV footage showed boats, cars and trucks floating in water after a small tsunami hit the town of Kamaichi in northern Japan. An overpass appeared to have collapsed into the water.

Kyodo news agency said there were reports of fires in the city of Sendai in the northeast.

Officials were trying to assess damage, injuries and deaths from the quake but had no immediate details.

The tremor was felt as far away as Beijing, China.

The quake that struck at 2:46 p.m. local time (12:46 a.m. ET) was followed by a series of powerful aftershocks, including a 7.4-magnitude one about 30 minutes later. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) upgraded the strength of the first quake to a magnitude 8.9, while Japan's meteorological agency measured it at 7.9.

Citing USGS data, NBC News reported that if the 8.9 reading is correct, it would be the fifth-strongest earthquake since 1900.

Several sharp aftershocks struck later Friday afternoon.

The quake struck at a depth of six miles, about 80 miles off the eastern coast, the agency said. The area is 240 miles northeast of Tokyo.

In downtown Tokyo, large buildings shook violently and workers poured into the street for safety. TV footage showed a large building on fire and bellowing smoke in the Odaiba district of Tokyo. Trains were stopped and passengers walked along the tracks to platforms.

Airports in the region were closed and Tokyo's fire department reported several people were injured when a roof caved in at a graduation ceremony in the city, Sky News reported.

Footage on NHK from their Sendai office showed employees stumbling around and books and papers crashing from desks. It also showed a glass shelter at a bus stop in Tokyo smashed by the quake and a weeping woman nearby being comforted by another woman.

Thirty minutes after the quake, tall buildings were still swaying in Tokyo and mobile phone networks were not working.

Hundreds of office workers and shoppers spilled into Hitotsugi street, a shopping street in Akasaka in downtown Tokyo.

Household goods ranging from toilet paper to clingfilm were flung into the street from outdoor shelves in front of a drugstore.

Crowds gathered in front of televisions in a shop next to the drugstore for details. After the shaking from the first quake subsided, crowds were watching and pointing to construction cranes on an office building up the street with voices saying, "They're still shaking!," "Are they going to fall?"

Asagi Machida, 27, a web designer in Tokyo, sprinted from a coffee shop when the quake hit.

"The images from the New Zealand earthquake are still fresh in my mind so I was really scared. I couldn't believe such a big earthquake was happening in Tokyo."

Japan's northeast Pacific coast, called Sanriku, has suffered from quakes and tsunamis in the past and a 7.2 quake struck Wednesday. In 1933, a magnitude 8.1 quake in the area killed more than 3,000 people. Last year fishing facilities were damaged after by a tsunami caused by a strong tremor in Chile.

Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world's most seismically active areas. The country accounts for about 20 percent of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Hope loss of life/damage is minimized, though it doesn't look good...

[Camino LS6]

When watching the images, it is the sheer scale of disaster that strikes me. All human proportion becomes quickly overwhelmed by nature's immensity. Imagine how small you would feel on the ground in tha path of such power.

[Turbojett]

We're getting Tsunami warning over here in SoCal, too. They're even telling those who live close to the coast to prepare for evacuation if necessary. It's crazy. That's one of the most powerful quakes in recorded history. I've never seen (or experienced) anything that bad.

Edited March 11, 2011 by Turbojett

[William Maley]

[Croc]

We're getting Tsunami warning over here in SoCal, too. They're even telling those who live close to the coast to prepare for evacuation if necessary. It's crazy. That's one of the most powerful quakes in recorded history. I've never seen (or experienced) anything that bad.

Where in the Southland are you?? It looks like we're just going to get a small, 3-ft. surge for a few hours. No biggie for the most part...Balboa Peninsula is the only question, really.

[GMTruckGuy74]

Simply horrible. My heart and prayers go out to the survivors.

[§carlet §wordfish]

My church's secretary is on a cruise in Hawaii right now. I hope she's ok.

That's really frightening.

[Turbojett]

We're getting Tsunami warning over here in SoCal, too. They're even telling those who live close to the coast to prepare for evacuation if necessary. It's crazy. That's one of the most powerful quakes in recorded history. I've never seen (or experienced) anything that bad.

Where in the Southland are you?? It looks like we're just going to get a small, 3-ft. surge for a few hours. No biggie for the most part...Balboa Peninsula is the only question, really.

I live in Costa Mesa, but I work in Huntington Beach. I figured it probably wouldn't be a biggie, but this morning they were sure making a bunch of noise about it.

I also have a Japanese friend I went to uni with that lives back in Osaka (I think?). I still keep in touch with her every so often. I sent her a message this morning, but she still has yet to respond. I really hope she's okay. But then again, it's probably the middle of the night out there right now, and last I heard, communications were down around the country anyway, so I'll wait (impatiently worried) a little while longer for her to get back to me.

Edited March 11, 2011 by Turbojett

[ZL-1]

When watching the images, it is the sheer scale of disaster that strikes me. All human proportion becomes quickly overwhelmed by nature's immensity. Imagine how small you would feel on the ground in tha path of such power.

I agree. In a sometimes strange way, it is amazing how despite all we know and all the influence we have over the World around us, we are still so vulnerable when these natural phenomena happen... I just pray for the victims and their families and hope the human dimension of this tragedy isn't too high.

[Croc]

So I had to get up at 6am to take some friends to the airport, and it's a good thing I did because as I'm driving home, my mother calls me, asking where I am, and imploring me to STAY AWAY from the water and be safe. I live 20 minutes from the coast.

[ocnblu]

Nature rules. We are but parasites and she can destroy us. We have no control over her. We may think we do.

Horrible images. I saw one news video showing the wave coming ashore while vehicles were racing down a road parallel to the coast, trying to escape. The Japanese news crew cut the footage off just as the wall of water was about to obliterate the fleeing vehicles... unimaginably horrible.

[Intrepidation]

Imagine being in that boat.

[frogger]

It's heartbreaking to watch/hear about everything happening there, I hope the nuclear plant issues don't escalate into something horrific.

[daves87rs]

It's heartbreaking to watch/hear about everything happening there, I hope the nuclear plant issues don't escalate into something horrific.

+1

[frogger]

Hard to find up to the minute english links about the nuclear ermergency online http://www.businessinsider.com/fukushima-nuclear-plant-2011-3

[William Maley]

Update on the nuclear reactor..

"FLASH: #Japan nuclear authorities say high possibility of meltdown at Fukushima Daiichi No. 1 reactor - Jiji" from Reuters

[FAPTurbo]

Update 3/12/ 12:26: Now a headline from Kyodo Wire: Fukushima nuke plant might be experiencing nuclear meltdown

http://www.businessinsider.com/fukushima-nuclear-plant-2011-3#ixzz1GMR71rfG

This is very, very scary.

[frogger]

Yeah not going to be able to sleep.. Just unreal.

[Croc]

No no no...the meltdown isn't a Chernobyl-type meltdown...basically this is, worst-case scenario, some equipment damage and slight radiation that won't exceed a 3-km radius according to http://english.aljaz...4353222667.html

'No Chernobyl possible'

However, Naoto Sekimura, a professor at the University of Tokyo, said a major radioactive disaster was unlikely.

"No Chernobyl is possible at a light water reactor. Loss of coolant means a temperature rise, but it also will stop the

reaction," he said.

"Even in the worst-case scenario, that would mean some radioactive leakage and equipment damage, but not an explosion. If venting is done carefully, there will be little leakage. Certainly not beyond the 3 km radius."

Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan said securing the nuclear plants were Japan's top priority. Early on Saturday morning, he left on a helicopter ride to Fukushima to assess the situation at the plants operated by Tokyo Electric Power, and in other areas in the disaster zone.

When Friday's massive quake hit, the plants immediately shut down, along with others in quake-hit parts of Japan, as they are designed to do - but cooling systems at some reactors failed, the government said.

When reactors shut down, cooling systems must kick in to bring down the very high temperatures. This is key to prevent a "nuclear meltdown" and radioactive release. Japan's network of advanced nuclear power plants are designed to shut down as soon as the earth shakes.

Guess I was being naïve as far as what the Japanese government was reporting. Looks like the Japanese still haven't figured out the value of honesty--there's no "saving face" when it comes to nuclear disasters, morons.

Check it:

URGENT: Explosion heard at Fukushima nuclear plant, 4 injured: TEPCO

TOKYO, March 12, Kyodo

Four people have been injured in an explosion that occurred at the No. 1 reactor of the quake-hit Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, the operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Saturday.

The explosion was heard at 3:36 p.m. following large tremors and white smoke was seen at the facility in Fukushima Prefecture, the company said.

The four workers were working to deal with problems caused by a powerful earthquake that hit northeastern Japan on Friday.

==Kyodo

Japanese officials say they can contain it...but they also said this wasn't a possibility before. Sweet, I can't wait to experience radiation sweeping eastward.

Edited March 12, 2011 by Croc

[PurdueGuy]

Japanese officials say they can contain it...but they also said this wasn't a possibility before. Sweet, I can't wait to experience radiation sweeping eastward.

CNN was saying the explosion was near the plant, not at the reactor. An explosion in/of the reactor is such an incredibly remote possibility that it's hardly worth even thinking about. Chernobyl was a horribly designed plant that wasn't maintained properly and run by people who made mistake after mistake reacting to the situation. This is a modern plant that, in the case of a meltdown, should be almost completely self-containing. Freaking out about the plant isn't called for at all.

*edit* Look at what happened when Three Mile Island melted down... external to the plant, nothing. TMI is still running the other reactor at the plant. No one was hurt. All that happened was it ruined that one reactor and showed that the safety systems worked, but everyone freaked out anyway. I suppose it's possible that this event could be a bit worse than that in a worst case scenario, but that's considering the plant got nailed with a freakishly nasty series of earthquakes and a massive tsunami. It's still, in the worst case scenario, not going to come anywhere near the events of Chernobyl.

Edited March 12, 2011 by PurdueGuy

[ZL-1]

CNN was saying the explosion was near the plant, not at the reactor. An explosion in/of the reactor is such an incredibly remote possibility that it's hardly worth even thinking about. Chernobyl was a horribly designed plant that wasn't maintained properly and run by people who made mistake after mistake reacting to the situation. This is a modern plant that, in the case of a meltdown, should be almost completely self-containing. Freaking out about the plant isn't called for at all.

*edit* Look at what happened when Three Mile Island melted down... external to the plant, nothing. TMI is still running the other reactor at the plant. No one was hurt. All that happened was it ruined that one reactor and showed that the safety systems worked, but everyone freaked out anyway. I suppose it's possible that this event could be a bit worse than that in a worst case scenario, but that's considering the plant got nailed with a freakishly nasty series of earthquakes and a massive tsunami. It's still, in the worst case scenario, not going to come anywhere near the events of Chernobyl.

Edited March 12, 2011 by ZL-1

[Z-06]

And Russians were testing fissile explosions in Chernobyl.

The energy released in a 8.9 Ritcher scale is incomprehensibly MASSIVE. FYI, energy released by Chernobyl reactor blast was "only" about 11,000,000,000 (equivalent to a 3.5 Ritcher Scale) Joules compared to nearly 1,400,000,000,000,000,000 Joules released in the earthquake.

Nothing man makes can prevent the destruction or be safe from this energy. In some ways an instant meltdown and blowup did not happen after such a massive earthquake can be considered a feat of engineering.

[CSpec]

Thankfully prosperity saved many thousands of lives in Japan. That was a huge quake, but since they don't live in huts this wasn't a repeat of 2004 Indonesia where over 230,000 people perished. And yes nuclear power is fine.

[frogger]

I think their building standards saved millions. Had 8.9 hit a modern city that wasn't built to deal with being on the ring, it would be ugly.

Edited March 12, 2011 by frogger

[CSpec]

I think their building standards saved millions. Had 8.9 hit a modern city that wasn't built to deal with being on the ring, it would be ugly.

True, but you need money to afford buildings that aren't shacks. Haiti had plenty of building codes but no one followed them because the country is desperately poor.

[frogger]

I think their building standards saved millions. Had 8.9 hit a modern city that wasn't built to deal with being on the ring, it would be ugly.

True, but you need money to afford buildings that aren't shacks. Haiti had plenty of building codes but no one followed them because the country is desperately poor.

True and it was weaker at 7.0

I wonder how the building standards in California compare to those of Japan.

[Intrepidation]

Dunno, but Japan does have the highest building standards in the world because they are so prone to Earthquakes.

But even so... Blast at Japan nuke plant after quake and tsunami

[PurdueGuy]

The situation at the nuclear plant has gotten worse than most anyone could have expected. While it's very concerning, it's still nowhere near worth comparing to Chernobyl. It's also good to note that this is a pretty old plant.

[Chevy Nick]

This Nuclear Reactor incident will set back nuclear power development (public opinoin at least) in this country 10-20 years. It's a damn shame.

Edited March 12, 2011 by Chevy Nick

[FAPTurbo]

While the current situation is nowhere near Chernobyl, the PR fallout will likely be similar in scope. It may actually be worse, seeing as Japan's reactor will be viewed as something that was 'superior,' as opposed to the 'rickety' Soviet RBMK. Anti-nuclear activists will claim that if Japan cannot make a reactor that's safe, then North America can't either, even though no power generation method is actually 100% safe.

What if it were hydroelectric dam's instead? The consequences would be very dire if a crack in one were to form.

It's a shame, because the argument over nuclear generation was finally becoming more rational and thoughtful.

[Drew Dowdell]

There is much newer and much safer nuclear technology available now that doesn't even rely on external cooling and has an automatic overheat failsafe.

You don't stop driving cars just because someone got hurt when they wrecked their '83 Cavalier.

[Intrepidation]

No, but to be fair, a wrecked Cavalier tends not to release toxins that can contaminate a larger area and many people for years to come.

[Croc]

Japanese officials say they can contain it...but they also said this wasn't a possibility before. Sweet, I can't wait to experience radiation sweeping eastward.

CNN was saying the explosion was near the plant, not at the reactor. An explosion in/of the reactor is such an incredibly remote possibility that it's hardly worth even thinking about. Chernobyl was a horribly designed plant that wasn't maintained properly and run by people who made mistake after mistake reacting to the situation. This is a modern plant that, in the case of a meltdown, should be almost completely self-containing. Freaking out about the plant isn't called for at all.

*edit* Look at what happened when Three Mile Island melted down... external to the plant, nothing. TMI is still running the other reactor at the plant. No one was hurt. All that happened was it ruined that one reactor and showed that the safety systems worked, but everyone freaked out anyway. I suppose it's possible that this event could be a bit worse than that in a worst case scenario, but that's considering the plant got nailed with a freakishly nasty series of earthquakes and a massive tsunami. It's still, in the worst case scenario, not going to come anywhere near the events of Chernobyl.

I never invoked Chernobyl, so why are you arguing that with me? I'm well aware of the deficiencies of Chernobyl, namely the utter lack of a containment facility. And a building housing a reactor DID explode.

Listen, I'm a fan of nuclear power...however, I am NOT a fan of governmental disinformation during a crisis, and that's what the Japanese have been doing this whole time, as has been reported on every major news network. "Oh, everything's fine, minor damage, backup systems are working as designed" turns into "primary backup systems have failed, but the secondary backups are working as designed," which then becomes "we ran out of batteries, but everything's fine because we have a team of scientists and experts flying in to assist and worse-case scenario is that a little radiation leaks, but no explosion is possible." soon followed by an explosion.

Sorry, but depending on how this $h! blows across the ocean, I'm in the line of fire for radiation exposure. I want to know what is actually happening so I can prepare accordingly to protect myself. And I certainly don't trust the US government to tell me the truth, either.

[CSpec]

Japanese officials say they can contain it...but they also said this wasn't a possibility before. Sweet, I can't wait to experience radiation sweeping eastward.

CNN was saying the explosion was near the plant, not at the reactor. An explosion in/of the reactor is such an incredibly remote possibility that it's hardly worth even thinking about. Chernobyl was a horribly designed plant that wasn't maintained properly and run by people who made mistake after mistake reacting to the situation. This is a modern plant that, in the case of a meltdown, should be almost completely self-containing. Freaking out about the plant isn't called for at all.

*edit* Look at what happened when Three Mile Island melted down... external to the plant, nothing. TMI is still running the other reactor at the plant. No one was hurt. All that happened was it ruined that one reactor and showed that the safety systems worked, but everyone freaked out anyway. I suppose it's possible that this event could be a bit worse than that in a worst case scenario, but that's considering the plant got nailed with a freakishly nasty series of earthquakes and a massive tsunami. It's still, in the worst case scenario, not going to come anywhere near the events of Chernobyl.

Sorry, but depending on how this $h! blows across the ocean, I'm in the line of fire for radiation exposure. I want to know what is actually happening so I can prepare accordingly to protect myself. And I certainly don't trust the US government to tell me the truth, either.

Since Sendai is like 5300 miles away from you, how much radiation are we talking? An X-ray? A fraction of an X-ray? A PET scan?

[SAmadei]

I wonder how the building standards in California compare to those of Japan.

Well, in San Fran, building standards between 1906 and 1950 were virtually non-existent. Many of these buildings still stand and will become a pile of tinder in a real earthquake. Whats worse, from my reading, is that recently San Fran passed laws that any new renovations (for example, to retrofit better quake protection) requires that the owner add parking... which means turning the first floor into a garage.

I would hope standards would be better elsewhere, but the Northridge quake was also an eye-opener.

While Cali's screwy politics and high costs are one thing, I'm used to much of that in NJ... but Cali's quakes are what keeps me from realistically moving there. Especially considering its been a fairly quiet time the last 30-40 years, and they are overdue for a big one.

No, but to be fair, a wrecked Cavalier tends not to release toxins that can contaminate a larger area and many people for years to come.

Toxins that might be found in a Prius battery pack, perhaps? ;-)

[Drew Dowdell]

No, but to be fair, a wrecked Cavalier tends not to release toxins that can contaminate a larger area and many people for years to come.

but you don't abandon an entire technology just because one of the models built 30-40 years ago just barely survived a Top-5-Ever-Recorded earthquake.

[ocnblu]

Agreed. We should also go back to drilling in the Gulf ASAP. Yes, the spill was a disaster, but it was one incident in how many operating offshore oil rigs over how many years?

[Intrepidation]

Drilling in the gulf wouldn't do a whole lot of good. It's a short term answer to a long term problem.

Come to think of it, if that plant does metldown I bet it would do less damage than the BP rig did.

[PurdueGuy]

Japanese officials say they can contain it...but they also said this wasn't a possibility before. Sweet, I can't wait to experience radiation sweeping eastward.

CNN was saying the explosion was near the plant, not at the reactor. An explosion in/of the reactor is such an incredibly remote possibility that it's hardly worth even thinking about. Chernobyl was a horribly designed plant that wasn't maintained properly and run by people who made mistake after mistake reacting to the situation. This is a modern plant that, in the case of a meltdown, should be almost completely self-containing. Freaking out about the plant isn't called for at all.

*edit* Look at what happened when Three Mile Island melted down... external to the plant, nothing. TMI is still running the other reactor at the plant. No one was hurt. All that happened was it ruined that one reactor and showed that the safety systems worked, but everyone freaked out anyway. I suppose it's possible that this event could be a bit worse than that in a worst case scenario, but that's considering the plant got nailed with a freakishly nasty series of earthquakes and a massive tsunami. It's still, in the worst case scenario, not going to come anywhere near the events of Chernobyl.

I never invoked Chernobyl, so why are you arguing that with me? I'm well aware of the deficiencies of Chernobyl, namely the utter lack of a containment facility. And a building housing a reactor DID explode.

Listen, I'm a fan of nuclear power...however, I am NOT a fan of governmental disinformation during a crisis, and that's what the Japanese have been doing this whole time, as has been reported on every major news network. "Oh, everything's fine, minor damage, backup systems are working as designed" turns into "primary backup systems have failed, but the secondary backups are working as designed," which then becomes "we ran out of batteries, but everything's fine because we have a team of scientists and experts flying in to assist and worse-case scenario is that a little radiation leaks, but no explosion is possible." soon followed by an explosion.

Sorry, but depending on how this $h! blows across the ocean, I'm in the line of fire for radiation exposure. I want to know what is actually happening so I can prepare accordingly to protect myself. And I certainly don't trust the US government to tell me the truth, either.

I was a bit worked up, because on top of the lack of good information being released, the horrible lack of understanding of nuclear plant technology by the news agencies makes the disinformation exponentially worse. Frankly I was shocked to find out that the containment building did explode, and the news I was hearing at the time just indicated that there was an explosion in the area, it wasn't clear what it was that blew.

The whole situation is worse than I and many others thought it could become. Still, even if the worst what-if scenarios happen, the safety record of the nuclear power industry is miles better than that of most other power generation industries.

As has been said, the biggest shame about this is that it will further sour public opinion of nuclear power and set its development back, even though we're talking about a 40 year old reactor lacking in many safety design characteristics of modern plants.

[FAPTurbo]

It also doesn't help that many people's opinions of nuclear power were formed by Homer Simpson. If Matt Groening had an agenda, it was incredibly successful.

[Drew Dowdell]

It would be nice if the news agencies had... actual scientists... on to interview (I'm glaring at you CNN) One of the people on CNN claimed the Japanese reactor was graphite cooled...

[Drew Dowdell]

Apparently the quake has also been upgraded to 9.0 from the original 8.8

[loki]

It would be nice if the news agencies had... actual scientists... on to interview (I'm glaring at you CNN) One of the people on CNN claimed the Japanese reactor was graphite cooled...

says graphite was used in chernobyl... (quick google)

[Drew Dowdell]

Graphite was used at Chernobyl.... but this guy was saying that the Japanese reactors were graphite cooled

[Robert Hall]

Graphite was used at Chernobyl.... but this guy was saying that the Japanese reactors were graphite cooled

Maybe they were..outside of Japan, does anyone really know (unless they work in the nuclear power plant industry)..

[Intrepidation]

I hope Japan's automotive manufactures help out like the Big 3 did after Katrina.

In fact I'm just thinking, GM, Ford, and Chrysler should donate vehicles or money to help out the Japanese people first. Would be a great PR move.

[Drew Dowdell]

and now CNN is using Bill Nye the Science guy as their reactor science corespondent?

[Robert Hall]

I hope Japan's automotive manufactures help out like the Big 3 did after Katrina.

In fact I'm just thinking, GM, Ford, and Chrysler should donate vehicles or money to help out the Japanese people first. Would be a great PR move.

Random thing I noticed in the footage of cars after the waters receeded--a black Dodge Magnum in photos on CNN and a silver '05-10 Dodge Charger in pics on the BBC website, amidst Hondas, Toyotas, etc..

[ocnblu]

The CNN video of the newsguy walking around a park in the midst of the quake was like science fiction. The park was built by filling in a part of Tokyo Bay, and, as the cracks widened, swayed and ground together, water emerged from the man-made earth... Nature will have her way.

[Intrepidation]

So it appears Unit 1 may be in partial meltdown and Unit 3 at Fukushima Dai-ichi, and Unit 1 has also lost power. Both reactors are now total loss as they try to keep them cool with sea water. Tokai Dai-Ni has lost one of its pumps, although another is still working.