7.9 and 8.8 Earthquakes in Japan

Local news has vid of tsunami waves hitting the Oregon coast, which at this point merely appear to be the tide rolling in

NHK reporting 95 people dead. Officials bracing for deathtoll equalling the Kobe earthquake (~6k iirc), there are still numerous people missing/MIA.

Parents back home. Skyped. Chatted. They are fine. Yay.

BBCBreaking BBC Breaking News
#Tokyo Electric Power Co: pressure inside reactor at its Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear plant rising; risk of radiation leak, from Reuters

D:

So that story about 300 bodies on the beach was bullshit then?

This is really horrible. Hoping all ilx0rs and their loved ones are okay.

1708: Nuclear physicist Dr Walt Patterson tells the BBC it sounds like there is a "serious problem" at the Fukushima-Daiichi plant. "It's the sort of thing that nuclear engineers have nightmares about," he says. "If it is not resolved in the next few hours it will get serious. If the core is uncovered, then those rods at the top may get hot enough to melt themselves."

he US has sent emergency supplies of coolant to a Japanese nuclear plant affected by the massive earthquake, Hillary Clinton has revealed.

"We just had our Air Force assets in Japan transport some really important coolant to one of the nuclear plants," the US secretary of state said in Washington DC.

"Japan is very reliant on nuclear power and they have very high engineering standards but one of their plants came under a lot of stress with the earthquake and didn't have enough coolant."

...how much is enough to start with?

Fukushima Nuclear Reactor situation "under control", "precautionary measure":
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/12/world/asia/12nuclear.html

So that story about 300 bodies on the beach was bullshit then?

― Matt DC, Friday, March 11, 2011 9:09 AM (1 minute ago)

What was the source on that? Maybe even if they did locate bodies and haven't ID'd them, than they may not have entered the official death toll yet?

Meanwhile in the Daily Mail it is all the fault of the what astrologers are calling the 'supermoon' o_O:

http://t.co/qOfhmPH

So that story about 300 bodies on the beach was bullshit then?
― Matt DC, Friday, March 11, 2011 9:09 AM (1 minute ago)

What was the source on that? Maybe even if they did locate bodies and haven't ID'd them, than they may not have entered the official death toll yet?

It's the current banner over the BBC coverage.

http://grab.by/9q8a

http://grab.by/9q8c

BBC's report:

"The death toll is unclear, but police say 200 to 300 bodies have been found in the port city of Sendai.

At least 90 other people are reported to have died, and many more are unaccounted for."

http://grab.by/9q8o

WOAH

What's that one from?

caek's atlantic link i think -- either way it's 'worth seeing' (not sure how to phrase that)

http://grab.by/9q8D

im getting these all from http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/gallery/2011/03/record-89-magnitude-earthquake-rocks-japan-unleashes-tsunami.php

Yeah just found same link somewhere else and am looking now. Insane.

Those seriously look like matchbox cars and toy planes. :(

Cars and airplanes swept by a tsunami are pictured among debris at Sendai Airport, northeastern Japan March 11, 2011. There were several strong aftershocks and a warning of a 10-meter tsunami following the quake, which also caused buildings to shake violently in the capital Tokyo. (REUTERS/KYODO) #

apparently one of the bullet trains is missing?

Just finished watching the 15 minute helicopter video linked above. The most apocalyptic thing I have ever seen. Jesus, the cars, trying to drive away from it! And right at the end, the people gathered on a rooftop as it hits... the waves are not even waves of water anymore, they're a solid mass of trucks buildings and debris...

The cars trying to escape look like they're driving so slowly-- which I assume means that, rather, the waves are going very fast...

i repeat

holy shit

this one is just like

http://cdn.theatlantic.com/static/infocus/jpq03111/s_j04_RTR2JQXI.jpg

via in focus http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2011/03/earthquake-in-japan/100022

http://cdn.theatlantic.com/static/infocus/jpq03111/s_j12_11116542.jpg

this just makes me want to cry

can you imagine being in one of those houses

I don't even want to think about that.

I sat up watching the live footage til 1am...the images are just... had the worst night's sleep of recent memory, like I think I was just lying in bed with my eyes open in shock for like 2 hours, because I couldn't stop seeing the waves of moving debris
and knowing that 'debris' included people and, yeah...and just talking about 'wah I coudn't sleep' makes me sound like an asshole bc there's a whole population of people homeless injured etc jesus

I haven't checked back into the newsfeed fully...what's the word on the crazy oil refinery fire? last I saw it was exploding in huge flaming mushroom clouds

Lots grim shots here
http://totallycoolpix.com/2011/03/japan-hit-by-massive-earthquake-and-tsunami/

http://totallycoolpix.com

^^ uhhhh

this just makes me want to cry

For real. The thought of folks like me caught up in that with their kids is just too much.

Lucky office workers here
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12713266

apparently one of the bullet trains is missing?

― max, Friday, March 11, 2011 9:22 AM (10 minutes ago)

source? no mentions on NHK/Kyodo in english or japanese. just that service is halted.

(service is halted to NE Honshu that is).

the bullet train thing is mentioned here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1365229/Japan-earthquake-tsunami-Fears-massive-death-toll.html

yeah, that's the only source I saw in google news search... and as soon as I was Daily Mail, I figured it was false.

daily mail is just the top source dummies

According to East Japan Railway, 14 bullet trains were between stations with passengers still aboard, after the quake triggered emergency safety systems. The whereabouts of at least one train near the coast in Miyagi prefecture was unknown late Friday, Kyodo News said.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-japan-quake-20110311,0,1950058.story

There is nothing (as of right now) anywhere on the Kyodo site referencing a missing bullet train fwiw.

Nothing here either:
http://www.google.co.jp/search?q=新幹線&hl=ja&biw=1279&prmd=ivnsu&source=univ&tbs=nws:1&tbo=u&sa=X&ei=jWF6TYnSFpPrrAH725ncBQ&ved=0CEQQqAI

maybe the LA Times and the Daily Mail have a scoop?

or maybe kyodo news reported something and then took it back?

or maybe they reported it on air and not on their website?

so many possibilities, really

maybe la times has the train now

it's even possible that not every bad thing that has happened has been reported... but idk this is a slightly distasteful pissing contest that steve has won

maybe la times has the train now

guilty lol

http://totallycoolpix.com

^^ uhhhh

how gross is it that they watermarked all the pictures, too. wonder how many years these will be floating around with "totallycoolpix" on them? hope they get their asses sued for putting their logo on other people's pictures.