8.9 Magnitude quake hits offshore Japan

[Barnes]

Happy 200th birthday earthquakes.

[transplant99]

new live pictures coming in...I think we know now where those missing trains full of commuters are....swept miles in land.

[4X4]

Originally Posted by transplant99

Also, now reporting 3 reactors are in trouble. The original one is giving off radiation 1000 times normal inside the plant. This could be really really really bad news. Meltdown is being bandied about.

Kinda blows my mind that the Japanese can build earthquake resistant skyscrapers, but their nuclear power plants somehow remain susceptible. Makes no sense to me. There has to be an explanation. Anyone?

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by 4X4

Kinda blows my mind that the Japanese can build earthquake resistant skyscrapers, but their nuclear power plants somehow remain susceptible. Makes no sense to me. There has to be an explanation. Anyone?

Tsunami is the explanation.

[4X4]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

Tsunami is the explanation.

Aye. So they fail at waterproofing. Maybe they need to get some Dutch engineers in there to show them how to manage seawater.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by 4X4

Aye. So they fail at waterproofing. Maybe they need to get some Dutch engineers in there to show them how to manage seawater.

I don't really know for sure. I just kind of thought that was what was going on.

[Knut]

Backup generators failed. So they are having trouble keeping things cool enough. There are emergency backups in place to prevent a full out meltdown.

At three mile island they did a pressure release (similar to what they are talking about doing now) to stabilize the core.

[Delthefunky]

Originally Posted by 4X4

Aye. So they fail at waterproofing. Maybe they need to get some Dutch engineers in there to show them how to manage seawater.

Haha yeah because the Dutch are masters of the tsunami. Face it that thing was unstoppable.

[Resolute 14]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...031103673.html

Overall, a decent look at the issues facing the nuclear power situation, but including this 'everybody panic' statement:

The reactor, owned by Tokyo Electric Power Co., is drawing on battery power that may last only a few hours. Without electricity, the reactor will not be able to pump water to cool its hot reactor core, possibly leading to a meltdown or some other release of radioactive material.

[HOZ]

It has been a very solemn day here.

Here is NHK in English for news in Japan

442 confirmed deaths but that number will go up. They are speculating about 1300 deaths when it is all said and done.

[HOOT]

so what exactly would happen if one of these nuclear plants couldn't keep it cool at all because of no power or backup power...is it something they can prepare for

[4X4]

Originally Posted by Delthefunky

Haha yeah because the Dutch are masters of the tsunami. Face it that thing was unstoppable.

Originally Posted by HOOT

so what exactly would happen if one of these nuclear plants couldn't keep it cool at all because of no power or backup power...is it something they can prepare for

Pretty much what I'm wondering. I mean, you're on an island, and you want to build a nuclear power plant. Assuming all possible natural disasters should probably be part of the strategy. Higher ground? Dykes? Many layers of backup power in the event that local power is cut?

Just a thought. I'm not condemning anyone here.

[Finny61]

Originally Posted by Delthefunky

Haha yeah because the Dutch are masters of the tsunami. Face it that thing was unstoppable.

[browna]

Seems that they may have to release some pressure and thus radioactive material, to keep things under control in the next few hours. From what I read, will be the second "official" intentional release of radiation in nuclear history.

If power doesn't come back online soon to start cooling those reactor cores, that's going to be a much bigger story then the earth quake or tsunami.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by browna

Seems that they may have to release some pressure and thus radioactive material, to keep things under control in the next few hours. From what I read, will be the second "official" intentional release of radiation in nuclear history.

If power doesn't come back online soon to start cooling those reactor cores, that's going to be a much bigger story then the earth quake or tsunami.

Wouldn't it be the third.

I thought that they intentionally released some in Chernobyl, and I know they did at three mile Island.

List of reactor incidents

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...lear_accidents

[fanman]

Very morbid day here. Still feeling pretty uneasy as there was another quake Farther south in the Nagano area this morning. Just checking the news there were 10 recorded tremors in the last hour. I only felt 2 of them but there is still some quake activity going on. The northeastern shore of Honshu is devastated and my heart goes out to the people living there.

We were actually planning to go out to eat with the kids yesterday, and just found out that shopping center in my city where we were going to go had the roof collapse last night. I've been very fortunate here as the big tsunami waves didn't hit here, but there is still a very sad and uneasy feeling all around and the tsunami warnings are still high on the tv. Didn't sleep much last night as every little tremor woke me up. The major highways are still closed, especially the one running beside the ocean. Again I can't believe the images on the news here from the north. In some areas it looks like the cities were never there. Just foundations and rubble remaining. There's a lot of people there who don't know where friends and family members are.

One good piece of news is that it looks like many people in the Tokyo area are finally making their way home. Some of the transportation services have started running again. Must've been a hard night sleeping on concrete in or near a train station, and not knowing if your family is ok. Hopefully they figure out the problem with the nuclear power plant. It's pretty far away from where I am, but still uncomfortably close. I need a drink, thank god the 7-11 is still open.

[pylon]

Originally Posted by fanman

Very morbid day here. Still feeling pretty uneasy as there was another quake Farther south in the Nagano area this morning. Just checking the news there were 10 recorded tremors in the last hour. I only felt 2 of them but there is still some quake activity going on. The northeastern shore of Honshu is devastated and my heart goes out to the people living there.

We were actually planning to go out to eat with the kids yesterday, and just found out that shopping center in my city where we were going to go had the roof collapse last night. I've been very fortunate here as the big tsunami waves didn't hit here, but there is still a very sad and uneasy feeling all around and the tsunami warnings are still high on the tv. Didn't sleep much last night as every little tremor woke me up. The major highways are still closed, especially the one running beside the ocean. Again I can't believe the images on the news here from the north. In some areas it looks like the cities were never there. Just foundations and rubble remaining. There's a lot of people there who don't know where friends and family members are.

One good piece of news is that it looks like many people in the Tokyo area are finally making their way home. Some of the transportation services have started running again. Must've been a hard night sleeping on concrete in or near a train station, and not knowing if your family is ok. Hopefully they figure out the problem with the nuclear power plant. It's pretty far away from where I am, but still uncomfortably close. I need a drink, thank god the 7-11 is still open.

Thanks for the updates. It just shows what a global reach this forum has. Hang in there, if ANY country can bounce back from something like this in record time it is Japan. I have nothing but incredible respect for the Japanese people and their culture. I have never had anything but incredibly pleasant business dealings with Japanese people as well. A handshake holds more value than cash and the only people I will do business with on a handshake agreement.

I can only hope the worst has been seen already. My thoughts are with you.

[Jake]

The smaller wave that hit the Big Island:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91Wh0...layer_embedded

[Ozy_Flame]

When I was travelling through Hokkaido in 2009, I was taking a train along the coastline from Sapporo to Otaru. It was literally only a few feet higher than sea level, and I thought to myself at the time that if any massive tidal wave hit, there would be nothing left. That day, it was pretty stormy out over the ocean, and I felt really uneasy taking that train. I can only imagine what the people in northern Honshu are going through right now. This is really terrible.

[Nage Waza]

Have a look at the New Madrid seismic zone, this thing packs a punch and could (is going to) literally rip a hole into the United States.