Japan just hit by magnitude 8.9 earthquake

Kinda scary how things are progressing today, several sources have commented saying the situation at the plant is out of control.

  1. 1535:French Environment Minister Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet has said "the worse case scenario is possible, and even probable, around the Fukushima plant," Reuters reports.
  2. 1525:The EU's energy chief Guenther Oettinger has said that in the coming hours "there could be further catastrophic events, which could pose a threat to the lives of people on the island". He told the European Parliament the Fukushima nuclear site was "effectively out of control". "The cooling systems did not work, and as a result we are somewhere between a disaster and a major disaster."
Yick :(
 
I just saw on the news that a local restaurant owner who lost his home, but not his restaurant, is feeding people for free. It's always nice to see people helping each other like that, especially during times like this.
Which pretty much says it all really. (y)

On a side note, slightly OT but if you'll indulge...
[OT]
It's suddenly occured to me that thread "likes" especially if any of our boards runs this story/topic and if your board is set up to "like" not "recommend".
Facebook sharing of threads doesn't show "x likes this" - I had to frantically check!! It's just the terminology of the setting...phew!
As you can imagine, "liking" a natural disaster will quickly lose you friends.
[/OT]
 
After watching the latest news on this just now I'm very heartbroken for the people of Japan. They are now saying that rods are exposed in the open and my understanding is the Government of California has declared a state of emergency due to the damage caused by the Japan Tsunami and the fear of radiation reaching the United States Coast. :(
 
Update: 12:03 PM JST / Thursday:

Went to work this morning, local Tokyo trains running at ~90% or better in some areas. Office staff attendance is hovering around 89%, while pregnant women were told to avoid coming into work to avoid unnecessary stress and the possibility of elevators being out-of-service. The only other comment was that people working today should leave early enough to make sure they can make it home in a reasonable amount of time. (Deeper suburban areas affected by blackouts are still having train reduction schedules)

Lunchtime is here and so far it appears that the usual street vendors have setup shop outside and a majority of the usual eateries are opening for business today.

It's a beautiful, partly-cloudy & cool day -- hard to believe that anything is going wrong up north. I brought my camera to snag some images of how things are going around the office area. Maybe will post some of them later...

The battle of Fukushima continues...

More later today.
 
Yes some whales got angry and ordered Mother Nature to strike back :rolleyes: Nature is not striking back, two tectonic plates pushed together and made the crust tremble, which in turn pushed the sea towards the Japanese coast.
 
Odd that most only react to a single incident.... I guess everyone is so desensitized or ignorant(do not take it as a personal attack) to more pressing matters... They do need our support for a brief time, but only that.
 
Update: 1:49 PM JST / Thursday

Here are some pictures from around my office area and Tokyo station:

-- Office Workers: Most have left for lunch, 12:05 PM JST [Full Size]

JP_TOKYO_1.jpg


--Street vendors in front of the building: People lining up for lunch. (this is normal, except tables and chairs are not out to due to high wind today) [Full Size]

JP_TOKYO_2.jpg


--Train schedules for those going further out of Tokyo: Narita Express (Airport express) train is not running. [Full Size]

JP_TOKYO_3.jpg


--Northbound Shinkansen Schedules: Running frequently to limited destinations in the north. [Full Size]

JP_TOKYO_4.jpg


--Shinkansen Ticket Center: Tokaido Lines, going south, green circles on the screen indicate reserved seats are still available. Not unusually busy for a holiday, 3-day weekend. [Full Size]

JP_TOKYO_5.jpg


--Video Advertisements: Turned off to conserve energy. (Tokyo Station) [Full Size]

JP_TOKYO_6.jpg


--Tokyo Gran Station - Shopping Area: Full stocks of most prepared foods. Crowd size is usual for the lunchtime rush. [Full-Size]

JP_TOKYO_7.jpg


--Construction on new building next door, continues today. [Full-Size]

JP_TOKYO_8.jpg


--Tokyo Sky Tree - Construction continues and it's still standing straight! :P [Full-Size]

JP_TOKYO_9.jpg


Life continues on, for now.
 
Life continues on, for now.

Crazy world, life continues on.. yet some miles just from you is just trashed :eek:
In the paper today there was a picture of a women holding the hand of her mother who was buried alive.. Shocking images in this dam paper >.> Tho there website don't show it.

Be safe man who knows what gaia has in store ..
 
Odd that most only react to a single incident.... I guess everyone is so desensitized or ignorant(do not take it as a personal attack) to more pressing matters... They do need our support for a brief time, but only that.
They need our support for only a brief time? Jeeze I'm glad I'm not counting on you for support. :rolleyes: The people of Japan are going to need the support of the people of this world for years to come.

I don't see this as a reaction to a "single" incident at all. This thread started with the earthquake and tsuanami yes. And has continued to be concerned with the more "pressing matters" such as the reactors, the japanese people's safety, the loss of life on an ongoing basis, etc. Our concern for these people is genuine and will continue to desire updates on their wellbeing. *shrugs*
 
They need our support for only a brief time?
I don't see this as a reaction to a "single" incident at all.
I agree, Peggy.

The Japanese will need support, esp moral support for a long time to come. Even if the nuclear crisis had not happened, the rest was bad enough to come close to crippling their economy for several years. Between losing thousands of their people, losing so much of their infrastructure that now has to be rebuilt, etc.

Yes, the area around Tokyo that ENF shows us looks in good shape but the north needs rebuilt and that will take time. So they need our support and for as long as they need us, not just a BRIEF time.
 
I agree, Peggy.

The Japanese will need support, esp moral support for a long time to come. Even if the nuclear crisis had not happened, the rest was bad enough to come close to crippling their economy for several years. Between losing thousands of their people, losing so much of their infrastructure that now has to be rebuilt, etc.

Yes, the area around Tokyo that ENF shows us looks in good shape but the north needs rebuilt and that will take time. So they need our support and for as long as they need us, not just a BRIEF time.

Most economic snapshots as of the moment say that following this horrible disaster, the overall effect will be beneficial to their economy. The current "problem" is that the Yen is and will be highly volatile until the (excuse the term) fallout from everything settles, yesterday the Yen finished on an all time high since WWII.

I have not had time in the last few days to read any detailed economic reports, but given the efficiency of the Japanese people I imagine moral support will be all they need, and that once all major roads have been cleared and the infrastructure to get machinery moving again is sorted that they will quickly be able to handle the rest by themseleves, and that further interferance from abroad may only be a hinderance.

People have lost their homes, places of work have been wiped off the map, people will need jobs, and the rebuild will hopefully be able to provide some relief.
 
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