8.8 earthquake hits Japan

[roachcoach]

Apparently there has been a magnitude 6 quake hit Tokyo in the last few minutes, not an aftershock but its own quake, originated on land so no tsunami threat. Looking at the tweets coming out of Japan: "Tomei highway closed, odakyu line stopped, no Tsunami warning as the 'quake was on land. This is a new 'Quake not an after shock."

Can't see anything official as yet, nothing on the BBC etc.

Reuters have a snippet

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/...2F+Top+News%29

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Reuters have a snippet

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/...2F+Top+News%29

The BBC also mentions it:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12749444

Radiation levels have also fallen at the nuclear plant too.

[Kardash001]

Absolutely devastating. Hoping for the best to all people involved. Sad, sad story...

[j1979]

[desir0]

Horrific :/ One of the worst disasters I can remember

[Whiternoise]

RE: Fukushima, back on topic.

Newspapers were once again scaremongering - they trumpeted that a 400mSv reading had been obtained. What they didn't mention that this was a single reading, in a specific location and that radiation levels had (since then) fallen to much lower levels.

Update: another fire apparently - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12754883

Interesting live stream, a geiger counter in Tokyo: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/geiger-counter-tokyo

It was around 17.75cpm when I looked this afternoon. Hasn't changed much (around 18.4cpm).

"03/15 19:00 to relocate from around the window glass near. Earlier in the room (10 ~ 20CPM) I think I get slightly higher than the value. In addition, since the setting sun into the evening, may 見Dzuraku. The location of the concrete floor apartment 4, the window is facing southwest."

Google translate. Shame it's only an average count from the start time, would be much better if it was a 5 minute moving average or something.

Starts off well.. then..

Fixed that for you.

I suppose we can take solace in the fact that it's 5 years later, still being built, and they haven't been able to touch it yet.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/events/ja...eforeafter.htm

http://www.nationaljournal.com/pictu...fid=mostViewed

[Saracen]

Horrific :/ One of the worst disasters I can remember

Horrific, yes. But at least in terms of death toll, at least as far as figures so far suggest, a LOT less bad than a number of other recent earthquakes. Haiti last year, over 220,000 dead. Sumatra in 2004, nearly 230,000 dead. Sichuan, China in 2008, some 88,000 dead. Pakistan in 2005, 80,000 dead. Iran has been hit twice in the last 20 years or so, with 30,000 one time and about 50,000 the other.

The last figures I saw for this were about 3300 confirmed dead so far in Japan, and even the Kobe (Japan) earthquake a few years ago ended up at some 5500 fatalities. Of course, there are still thousands missing and the official projected death toll is around 10,000.

It seems to me, considering the severity of the quake, the death toll is remarkably modest, and a testament to Japanese building skills, and the efficiency of the emergency response. Mind you, after more than 140,000 were killed in Tokyo in the 1923 quake, they've plenty of reason to get good at preparing for it, and reacting to it.

Yes, the scenes we're seeing are horrific, but it could have been much, much, MUCH worse, and when the mainstream media finishes wetting itself with sensationalised speculation over the really juicy nuclear story, maybe we'll start to see some perspective and they'll get back to reporting news rather than having numerous talking heads, most of who haven't been within thousands of miles of Japan since the quake, speculating about what it might become.

And, while on the subject of the media and disasters, I wonder if they remember a place called "Libya", because it seems to have vanished off the news agenda, barely getting a mention and if it does, it's an after-thought. It might end up being constructive to compare fatalities from Gaddafi's resurgence to the toll in Japan. I wonder which will end up as the more horrific?

[roachcoach]

^^ That post said everything I wanted to but was so more much eloquent than I'd have managed, except I'll add one last thing.

I think that it happened in daytime probably saved a lot of lives, were it night and folks asleep in the beds...one shudders to think.

[Odc]

I've just seen the fascinating video showing Japan's earthquakes over a period of just five days.

Have a look here.

[roachcoach]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/03...ima_wednesday/

Another good el-reg article on the plant.

In summary:

Public perceptions of the disaster in general continue to remain muddled and panicky, with media often conflating the terrible loss of life caused by the quake itself with the situation at Fukushima. But the two are not related: and it remains just about certain that the harm caused by Fukushima will be insignificant compared not just to the quake and tsunami but compared to industrial accidents in general. One of the most serious health results of Fukushima is likely to be people all around the world making themselves ill by taking iodide pills unneccessarily.

So far from Fukushima proving that nuclear power is dangerous compared to other technologies, it seems to be proving quite the reverse.

[sleepyhead]

With the recent quake in Chiba/Ibaraki, I have lost contact with one of my friends. I hope he fine and well and that they just lost mobile data communications.

We are having a food and clothing drive here at work as well as a drive to reduce how much energy we use.

Bizarrely it was snowing here today, in Osaka...in March...so something is amiss weather wise.

There is so much panic back in England because of the 'meltdown' of the nuclear plant in Fukushima. I try and explain that, from my logical standpoint, it's relatively safe in this region as people are advised to move from the Tohoku region to the southern parts of Japan (ie Osaka). That and the prevailing winds will drive any radioactive material present across the Pacific.

News that I know of is that there is a shortage of food and blankets in certain areas still. Seems that aid is finding pockets well but not reaching other pockets. There is also a backlash over the inadequacy of the emergency shelters...It's all go go go here, and pretty sure I felt another minor earthquake here in Osaka.

[roachcoach]

I sure hope this fellow is right.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/03...hima_thursday/

I feel he probably is, but only time will tell.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Nice to sensationalism has not left the UK press:

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-sto...5875-22999795/

[Blaineoliver]

Nice to sensationalism has not left the UK press:

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-sto...5875-22999795/

Their scale goes from 0.0-0?!?!?!?!!?

[cptwhite_uk]

i.e. no radiaition...lol.