8.9 magnitude quake hits japan

[kramwest1]

On the upside, very good additional reason to stop eating red tuna and blue-fin tuna before it's entirely gone extinct.

Hell, they might come back in a big way with superpowers.

 

[Vincent Vega]

Godzilla is a tuna!

 

[corianderstem]

In post-nuclear Japan, sushi eats YOU!





I'm so sorry.

 

[Vincent Vega]

 

[Irvine511]

there was just another quake. 7.1. tsunami warning.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

so when's the big multi-channel japan benefit concert?

 

[corianderstem]

I'm assuming the celebs aren't scrambling into Defcom 4 because Japan isn't a "poor" country?

I'm certainly not going to bag on them for not Clooneying up, but I can see how it lends to criticism when you only do it for some disasters and not all. Not that I think it should lead to criticism, but I see how it could.

 

[Vincent Vega]

They'll get criticised anyway. If they do it: "Oh, there they go again!" If they don't do it: "Where's star xy to raise money for that disaster?"

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

It's not just celebrities-overall donations are lower because of the perception that Japan is such a wealthy country

 

[yolland]

So many people I know have expressed a sense recently of feeling numb, like they're living through a bad dream but can't quite seem to nudge themselves awake, and almost all of them mention watching the disaster in Japan unfold as the origin of it (rapidly followed by Libya, the budget crisis, etc. ...). In a way it's a ridiculously childish and selfish feeling--I can only imagine how I'd feel if I were a Japanese person from the affected area, hearing Americans talk about how merely watching it on TV knocked the wind out of their sails--but emotionally it does make sense.

 

[corianderstem]

I think also hearing that donations to the Red Cross earmarked for a disaster don't seem to quite ever make it to where you want them to go (or take agonizingly long) put a damper on the feeling of need to pull out the credit card to send money to help.

The last few disasters, I've seen calls to NOT donate money, but instead to save it for a time when there's not a huge disaster. Give them your money then, for them to do their ongoing work (due to the aforementioned issues of donating).

 

[anitram]

What a terrible situation.

When the disaster happened, I was in the Cayman Islands, vacationing with a group of friends. One of my closest friend had a brother who lived close to the epicentre and as you can imagine, they were glued to the TV for days. They didn't hear from him for 4 days. Then he was evacuated because he was in the Daiichi radiation zone, at which point he made his way to Tokyo (slowly) and returned to Toronto. He said that initially his apartment didn't suffer a lot of damage (except for things that fell to the floor and broke - TV, laptop, etc). But in the aftermath, they had no power, which meant they had no heat so he and his girlfriend spent several days with another couple, sleeping on the floor of their living room. He says that the most shocking thing to him is that he never imagined, growing up in Canada, that he would go hungry someday. And they had ramen noodles and no hot water so they ate them crunchy.

He is glad to see his family but is itching to go back. He can't return to his school (unusable and radiation concerns) but feels that there will be lots of jobs opening up for English teachers since a number of Westerners left permanently. Another thing is that his girlfriend is Australian and she's in Sydney and now they're both sort of miserable. Plus he says he has no way of knowing how most of his students are since it was vacation time there and part of him fears going back to find out some of their fate.

I can't even imagine what it's like to still be there, living through the nightmare, seeing your entire life changed overnight.

 

[yolland]

The Daily Beast, April 7

While many here in Japan have become used to the frequent aftershocks—over 1,000 recorded since the 9.0-magnitude earthquake—today’s earthquake was more than just a tremor. The largest aftershock since March 11, this one violently jolted northeast Japan and Tokyo, and shook buildings as far away as Osaka in western Japan. In a chilling déjà vu sequence, tsunami warnings were issued, people told to run to higher ground, and power was cut in areas near the epicenter, this time close to midnight in Japan.

Japan, a nation that is still reeling from the twin disasters of March 11 and the fear of increased nuclear radiation levels, has been reluctant to let its guard down. Ongoing seismic activity coupled with frightening tsunami and radiation warnings have taken a psychological toll on the Japanese public, especially since many have no idea when they can resume their normal lives. It’s this feeling of uncertainty that many Japanese speak about on a daily basis. Just today, I met two soft-spoken, friendly women who fled the northeast disaster zone in the days after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. This afternoon, they strolled through a quiet street in Kyoto, 500 miles away from their hometown of Sendai, which was completely devastated last month. As they admired the cherry blossoms that have started to bloom all over Kyoto, they talked with uncertainty about their plans to return home. They mentioned going back to the northeast coast in a few days, and like so many hospitable Japanese, invited me to stay at their homes with their families. However, this new strong quake renewed distress levels, and I’m not sure when they will feel safe going back to Sendai.

...When I first lived in Japan in 2003, I experienced for the first time the deep calm that comes with living in a society with little crime or violence. I still remember seeing people leave the keys in the ignition of their unlocked, brand new Mercedes Benz cars as they shopped inside a convenience store. I felt completely safe biking home through remote rice paddies or sitting in a train alone in the middle of the night. In this society, where it’s rare to be fearful of anything, people are now scared of what could happen next. This fear has caused a sense of depression among many Japanese, who are unsure of how long the recovery process will take.

Even here in Osaka, located hundreds of miles from the earthquake zone, people have cut back on consumption, causing some leaders, including Osaka’s Governor Toru Hashimoto, to urge people to spend more to boost the economy. Osaka’s usually brightly lit landmarks, including Osaka Castle and the famous, large neon signs in the city’s Dotonbori district (the Times Square of Osaka), went dark after the earthquake. Though Osaka did not experience electricity shortages, the city decided to darken some of its well-known illuminations in solidarity with earthquake and tsunami survivors. The dimming of lights across Osaka, one of Japan’s largest cities, is a reflection of a grieving nation. Many here feel they cannot act as they normally would, since it would appear unseemly. Just a few days ago, I spoke to several Osaka residents in one of the city’s shopping districts. They told me they were voluntarily restraining themselves from spending money and using electricity in an effort to be mindful of those who are suffering in the tsunami-ravaged northeast. This practice of self-restraint, called jishuku in Japanese, has become quite commonplace here in recent days.

The uncertainty of not knowing when it’s safe to return home has also affected Tokyoites, particularly families with young children who fear exposure to radiation. I recently talked to a mother of a 3-month-old baby about her decision to leave Tokyo with a group of other young mothers and pregnant friends. She was very emotional about leaving her home in this time of crisis, but worried about reports of higher than usual levels of radiation around Tokyo. It’s the first time she’s ever had to worry about her child’s safety, and she doesn’t know how long she’ll have to stay here in Osaka, away from her own home.

Along Japan’s affected coastal areas, rescue teams, volunteers, military forces and residents have been clearing out massive amounts of debris. Volunteer groups on the ground are making good progress every day. But today’s aftershock serves as a shocking reminder of the incredibly difficult nature of the recovery process for Japan.

 

[yolland]

New York Times, April 20

tsunami stone, Aneyoshi​

Tsunami Warnings, Written in Stone


ANEYOSHI, JAPAN — The stone tablet has stood on this forested hillside since before they were born, but the villagers have faithfully obeyed the stark warning carved on its weathered face: “Do not build your homes below this point!” Residents say this injunction from their ancestors kept their tiny village of 11 households safely out of reach of the deadly tsunami last month that wiped out hundreds of miles of Japanese coast and rose to record heights near here. The waves stopped just 300 feet below the stone, and the village beyond it. “They knew the horrors of tsunamis, so they erected that stone to warn us,” said Tamishige Kimura, 64, the village leader of Aneyoshi.

Hundreds of these so-called tsunami stones, some more than six centuries old, dot the coast of Japan, standing in silent testimony to the past destruction that these lethal waves have frequented upon this earthquake-prone nation. But modern Japan, confident that advanced technology and higher seawalls would protect vulnerable areas, came to forget or ignore these ancient warnings, dooming it to repeat bitter experiences when the recent tsunami struck. “The tsunami stones are warnings across generations, telling descendants to avoid the same suffering of their ancestors,” said Itoko Kitahara, a specialist in the history of natural disasters at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto. “Some places heeded these lessons of the past, but many didn’t.”

The flat stones, some as tall as 10 feet, are a common sight here along Japan’s rugged northeastern shore, which bore the brunt of the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami on March 11 that left almost 29,000 people dead and missing. While some of the stones are so old that the characters are worn away, most were erected about a century ago after two deadly tsunamis here, including one in 1896 that killed 22,000 people. Many of the stones carry simple warnings to drop everything and seek higher ground after a strong earthquake. Others provide grim reminders of the waves’ destructive force by listing past death tolls or marking mass graves.

Aneyoshi’s tsunami stone is the only one that specifically tells where to build houses. But many of the region’s place names also seem to indicate places safely out of the waves’ reach, like Nokoriya, or Valley of Survivors, and Namiwake, or Wave’s Edge, a spot three miles from the ocean that scholars say marks the farthest reach of a deadly tsunami in 1611.

Local scholars said only a handful of villages like Aneyoshi heeded these old warnings by keeping their houses safely on high ground. More commonly, the stones and other warnings were disregarded as coastal towns grew in the boom years after World War II. Even communities that had moved to high ground eventually relocated back to the seaside to be nearer their boats and nets. “As time passes, people inevitably forget, until another tsunami comes that kills 10,000 more people,” said Fumio Yamashita, an amateur historian in Iwate Prefecture, where Aneyoshi is located. He has written 10 books about tsunamis. Mr. Yamashita, 87, who survived the recent tsunami by clinging to a curtain after waters flooded the hospital where he was bedridden, said Japan had neglected to teach its old tsunami lore in schools. He said the nation had put too much store instead in newly built tsunami walls and other modern concrete barriers, which the waves easily overwhelmed last month.

The four-foot-high stone stands on the side of the only road of the small village, which lies in a narrow, cedar-tree-filled valley leading down to the ocean. Downhill from the stone, a blue line of paint has been newly sprayed on the road, marking the edge of the tsunami’s advance. Last week, a university group said the waves had reached their greatest height in Aneyoshi: 127.6 feet, surpassing Japan’s previous record of 125.3 feet reached elsewhere in Iwate Prefecture by the 1896 tsunami.

Just below the painted line, the valley quickly turns into a scene of total destruction, with its walls shorn of trees and soil, leaving only naked rock. Nothing is left of the village’s small fishing harbor, except the huge blocks of its shattered wave walls, which lie strewn across the small bay. Mr. Kimura, a fisherman who lost his boat in the tsunami, said the village first moved its dwellings uphill after the 1896 tsunami, which left only two survivors. Aneyoshi was repopulated and moved back to the shore a few years later, only to be devastated again by a tsunami in 1933 that left four survivors. After that the village was moved uphill for good, and the stone was placed. Mr. Kimura said none of the 34 residents in the village today know who set up the stone, which they credit with saving the village once before, from a tsunami in 1960.

 

[financeguy]

Folks, this is not looking too good.

When building 3 of the Fukushima Daiichi plant exploded last month, those who saw the video footage were left to wonder why it was more severe than the other explosions. Adding to the mystery were reports that the containment and reactor in building 3 were still intact. Gundersen discusses several known facts about Fukushima 3 and theorizes on a possible scenario leading to the explosion.

Fairewinds Associates, Inc

Radiation Expert: "Sr-90 and Uranium and Particulates Will Be Building Up in the USA and Europe ... For Now I Think It Prudent To Stop Drinking Milk"

The Vent: Radiation Expert: "Sr-90 and Uranium and Particulates Will Be Building Up in the USA and Europe ... For Now I Think It Prudent To Stop Drinking Milk"

Monday, April 11, 2011
French Nuclear Group Warns that Children and Pregnant Mothers Should Protect Themselves from Radiation




As Euractiv notes:


The risks associated with iodine-131 contamination in Europe are no longer "negligible," according to CRIIRAD, a French research body on radioactivity. The NGO is advising pregnant women and infants against "risky behaviour," such as consuming fresh milk or vegetables with large leaves.

***


The document, published on 7 April, advises against consuming rainwater and says vulnerable groups such as children and pregnant or breastfeeding women should avoid consuming vegetables with large leaves, fresh milk and creamy cheese.

The risks related to prolonged contamination among vulnerable groups of the population can no longer be considered "negligible" and it is now necessary to avoid "risky behaviour," CRIIRAD claimed.

However, the institute underlines that there is absolutely no need to lock oneself indoors or take iodine tablets.

CRIIRAD says its information note is not limited to the situation in France and is applicable to other European countries, as the level of air contamination is currently the same in Belgium, Germany, Italy and Switzerland, for instance.

***

The institute stresses that there is no risk whatsoever, even for children, of standing in the rain without protection. But consumption of rainwater as a primary source of drinking water should be avoided, particularly among children, it said.

As for tap water, underground catchments or large rivers should not present any problem. But the institute suggests that the situation of water from reservoirs that collect rainwater from one or more watersheds, such as hillside lakes, should be examined more closely.

As for watering one's garden with collected rainwater, CRIIRAD advises watering only the earth and not the leaves of vegetables, as absorption is faster and more significant on leaf surfaces than through roots.

***

Spinach, salads, cabbage and other vegetables with large surface areas are among those food products that are particularly sensitive to iodine-131 contamination, if they are cultivated outside and exposed to rainwater. Washing vegetables does not help, as iodine-131 is quickly metabolised by the plants, CRIIRAD notes.

Fresh milk and creamy cheeses, as well as meat from cattle that have been outside eating grass, are categorised as foods that may have been indirectly contaminated and must also be monitored. Contamination of milk and cheese from goats and sheep may be of a greater magnitude than that of produce from cows.


CRIIRAD appears to count credible scientists among its ranks, including director Bruno Chareyron - who holds an engineering degree in Energy and Nuclear Technology and postgraduate degrees in Nuclear Engineering and Particle Physics.

The Euractiv article notes that radiation levels are much higher in the U.S. than in France:



Data for the west coast of the United States, which received the Fukushima radioactive fallout 6-10 days before France, reveals that levels of radioactive iodine-131 concentration are 8-10 times higher there, the institute says.

***

Radioactive iodine-131 values measured by the French Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) in recent days show the following, varying levels of contamination: 0,08 Bq/kg in salad, spinach and leeks in Aix-en-Provence, 0,17 Bq per litre in milk in Lourdes and 2,1 Bq per litre in goats milk in Clansayes.

Washington's Blog

 

[corianderstem]

Blerg.

 

[santips]

i read about a new earthquake on mexico-chiapas today and the same on japan.... they haven't peace poor people...

 

[kramwest1]

i read about a new earthquake on mexico-chiapas today and the same on japan.... they haven't peace poor people...

Still plenty of aftershocks.

I love the USGS:

Earthquakes

Under the world map, click on M5+ List

 

[coolian2]

aftershocks happen regularly. for the most part, they aren't newsworthy, unless you get something like christchurch, where nobody gave a toss about a 7.1, but five months later a 6.3 killed 180 people.

 

[LuckyNumber7]

I tried to make that point a long time ago when this all happened but instead I ended up being criminalized as some sort of soulless bastard. Not every aftershock is newsworthy. Almost all of them are meaningless.

 

[coolian2]

I tried to make that point a long time ago when this all happened but instead I ended up being criminalized as some sort of soulless bastard. Not every aftershock is newsworthy. Almost all of them are meaningless.

and as i said at the time, most are meaningless, but then again, when they're causing damage (see also: christchurch), they deserve their place.