!!!!!TSUNAMI!!!!! (Page 1 of 4)

The power behind that wall of water is quite unbelievable...it just keeps moving...

Absolutely terrible and coming so soon on top of the earthquake disaster in New Zealand.  The trouble with tsunamis is that the second wave could be much worse than the first.  Poor, poor people.  Puts one's own humble troubles into perspective.

Not to minimize this increadible disaster, because it is, yet I'm surprised that, so far at least, the reported casualties are only in the hundreds.  Japan has the worlds best earthquake building design criteria and again, it's very early on, but I have not heard reports of folks being killed from colapsing buildings.  From what I am hearing so far most of the casualties are the result of the tsunami.  Considering that the severity scale for earthquakes is logrithmic (i.e. 4 is 10 times bigger than 3 and so on and so on), an 8.9 is massive beyond comprehension.  Not only is that bad, but there have been multiple dozens of aftershocks with readings over 5.0, one or two approached 7.0 which, initself is a major quake. 

Lets keep these folks in our hearts and prayers as they're going to have a long road to recovery on this.

My heart goes out to the people of Sendai especially.
When my husband was in the Air Force, we lived in Japan and I did a cultural exchange weekend with a family from Sendai.
I remember walking up a hill and being able to see all of the city.
What lovely people too.

Peace,
Lori

Listening to reports from Japan. The country was extremely well prepared for this disaster, nothing can help in the event of a tsunami, but school drills and construction standards appear to have payed off with little damage outside of the immediate coastal areas and orderly civil response was uniform and calm.
We were subject to large surges and whirlpools here in the harbor for about an hour with slight damage to marinas. Worse damage in the north with yachts sunk in Santa Cruz harbor due to surges according to reports. San Diego's port entrance faces south so most of the surge was deflected. The effect was worse here from the Chilean event since the wave came from the south.
Getting a large ship lifted just takes large cranes and low boy trailers if the ground will support the weight. If the value is less than the salvage cost, they cut it up for scrap.
Rick

I've seen some pretty big chunks of steel moved. They can also section the ships, move them and then put them back together. It will be interesting to see what they do. The reactor is a pressurized water type, I think, which can be "poisoned" as a last resort with a barium injection. Barium is a neutron moderator and will squelch the reaction. The safety zone is in case they have to vent steam from the primary loop, which is moderately radioactive with secondary isotopes, primarily Co60.
Rick

There's been an explosion at the Fukushima plant since y'all went to bed in the US - the exclusion zone has been extended from 10 kms to 20 kms, while journalists trying to reach the area have been stopped at roadblocks 60 kms !! from the plant. At the same time, authorities are saying that they don't think there is any danger of  massive amounts of radiation escaping.....  .....the whole world will be watching developments and praying that those poor people are spared a Chernobyl mark 2.

I've been watching and reading as all these horrible events unfold in Japan.  A terrible thing for the Japanese to have to endure.  I just hope all these quakes are not pre cursur activity for a volcanic eruption.  Mt. Fuji is way overdue.  That would be the last thing they need.