8.4-9 Magnitude Quake Hits Japan!

Its been incredible the amount of footage and news we have had coming out of this.

I know as soon as I heard about the major earthquake, after work, I had the missus on the phone to the inlaws, even though we couldn't get through for a while.

I am fascinated because the internet has been very handy in this situation. We tried several mobile numbers and couldn't get through, but we ended up emailing people's mobile email and got hold of friends, who then managed to contact my mother in law. Luckily for me everyone s sfae, but everytime I see some story from the Sendai area about that tsunami, I almost can't believe what I am seeing. So so many sad stories I think.

It's not over yet either. Rolling blackouts, my brother inlaw has blackouts at 6-10 am and pm! Food has been all bought out, petrol rationing, food rationing will probably happen soon if it hasn't already.

I feel sorry for the whole towns that have been wiped out and some of the stories that have been creeping through. I almost can't believe it.

I think myself lucky as well, I was supposed to fly out to Japan tonight. If this happened a week later I would have been in it.
NHK have really stepped up I think.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Hursticon

Admittedly, I kind of had the same thought yesterday. :o

---

isn;'t it just ssooooo unbelievably riduculous, no rest , no food, tsunami alerts, hundreds of times, aftershocks , geez one cant even find their house and more so their loved ones... everything but Godzilla has been thrown at them in one fell swoop :(:(
well Im not trying to be insensitive about what's happening to these poor people but Im just , I dont know in great disbelief and a little angry... like how many more calamity after calamity after calamity are they gonna have to endure, come ooon give em a break for crying out loud!!.... hence the Godzilla comment

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by liegeprime

isn;'t it just ssooooo unbelievably riduculous, no rest , no food, tsunami alerts, hundreds of times, aftershocks , geez one cant even find their house and more so their loved ones... everything but Godzilla has been thrown at them in one fell swoop :(:(
well Im not trying to be insensitive about what's happening to these poor people but Im just , I dont know in great disbelief and a little angry... like how many more calamity after calamity after calamity are they gonna have to endure, come ooon give em a break for crying out loud!!.... hence the Godzilla comment

---

I hear you dude, I hear you. :o
My thoughts were on a similar line - They've had just about everything thrown at them it's like the only thing left could be Godzilla. :(

How about an M6 'aftershock' in Shizuoka. Nearer Tokyo that one.

I for one am getting more than a bit concerned.:(

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Tetsuwan Convoy

How about an M6 'aftershock' in Shizuoka. Nearer Tokyo that one.

I for one am getting more than a bit concerned.:(

---

geez, that's not good, and now there another fire on another reactor, freaking heck how many reactors do they got in there?? :(:( I have no idea on Nuclear reactors so when they say it's getting hotter and might meltdown ... cant' they cool it with like erm liquid nitrogen ? nothing's cooler than that I think?

Seismoligists were predicting a M7.0 aftershock within 3 days, I hope this M6 aftershock is the tail end of this thing. :(

Tiger Convoy has confirmed that he's fine as expected since he lives in Shiiga-ken which is far far away from Sendai/Fukushima. <phew> Thank Primus. :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by liegeprime

geez, that's not good, and now there another fire on another reactor, freaking heck how many reactors do they got in there?? :(:( I have no idea on Nuclear reactors so when they say it's getting hotter and might meltdown ... cant' they cool it with like erm liquid nitrogen ? nothing's cooler than that I think?

---

Its the left over fissionable materials in the core of the reactors that are releasing massive amounts of heat due to radioactive decay that's causing the problems. With the damaged cooling and power systems of the plant, they can't circulate enough cooling water fast enough to reduce the heat build up. You can't drop liquid nitrogen on it because the material is housed inside the core of the reactor, which for obvious reasons, you can't get access to.

Mind you, I'm not an expert nor am I in possession of all the facts so I could be quite mistaken.

Am quite interested this now and will have to go google how radioactive decay heat is removed during a "normal" reactor shutdown.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by klystron

Am quite interested this now and will have to go google how radioactive decay heat is removed during a "normal" reactor shutdown.

---

Apparently normal reactor shutdown takes a couple of weeks for cooling. I think one of them was in the process of being shutdown before the tsunami.

I don't think we've seen the tail end of JP earthquakes... a 6.4M hit Sendai a couple of days ago.

Registered with UGS equivalent in JP and there are more eq activities in Northern JP.

Spoke to a good friend of mine that had geology interest, said that the tectonic plates are due for another major shift (the earth changing ones)

Really worried that I won't be able to visit that beautiful country.