8.9 magnitude earthquake hits Northern Japan

[Tanaka]

Eight people have been confirmed killed after a massive 8.9-magnitude quake hit northeast Japan, causing a four-metre tsunami along parts of the country's coastline.
Japan's NHK television reported many injuries and showed pictures of major tsunami damage in the north, with cars, trucks and houses being swept away in Onahama city in Fukushima prefecture following the quake on Friday.
Police said at least one person was killed in a house collapse in Ibaraki prefecture. Seven other deaths were reported in three other prefectures.
The prime minister said in a televised address that the government was making "every effort possible" to minimise damage.
"The earthquake has caused major damage in broad areas in northern Japan," Naoto Kan said.
"Some of the nuclear power plant in the region have automatically shut down, but there is no leakage of radioactive materials to the environment."
A 10-metre tsunami hit Sendai airport in the north-east. Television footage showed people standing on the roof of the terminal building.
The tsunami roared over embankments in Sendai city, washing cars, houses and farm equipment inland before reversing directions and carrying them out to sea. Flames shot from some of the houses, probably because of burst gas
pipes.
Military airplanes were flying over the worst-affected areas to assess the need for rescue efforts and an emergency cabinet meeting was held.
Many people were reported injured after a roof caved in during a school graduation ceremony at a hall in east Tokyo, the fire department in the capital said, after the quake hit.
Yukiko Shimahara, a Japanese journalist, told Al Jazeera that the airports and trains in Tokyo have been shut down following the quake.
Meanwhile, a huge fire engulfed an oil refinery in Iichihara near Tokyo, where four million homes were said to be without electricity. Plumes of smoke rose from at least 10 locations in city.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2011/03/2011311607470826.html

The film of this tragedy is horrible to watch.

 

[Sukerkin]

Aye, certainly puts your day-to-day worries and concerns into stark perspective:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12709598

 

[Makalakumu]

Especially when a potential tsunami is racing your way.

 

[Empty Hands]

Especially when a potential tsunami is racing your way.

How did Hawaii fare? The tsunami was just about to hit as I had to turn off the news and go to work. That, and try to get hold of my family on the Oregon coast.

 

[MA-Caver]

How did Hawaii fare? The tsunami was just about to hit as I had to turn off the news and go to work. That, and try to get hold of my family on the Oregon coast.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...t-hawaii-as-storm-sweeps-islands-2238947.html

 

[Makalakumu]

It wasn't too bad. We had a couple of small waves roll in. No damage that I know of. Last night they were predicting waves as high as two meters. Everyone was pretty scared because they reported ten meter waves in Japan. We live up in the mountains, so we didn't have to evacuate, but a lot of my friends needed a place, so we opened up our ohana last night.

 

[shesulsa]

How did Hawaii fare? The tsunami was just about to hit as I had to turn off the news and go to work. That, and try to get hold of my family on the Oregon coast.

I didn't see anything significant up here, just some minor tidal swells. I just watched footage, though, of a harbor in Santa Cruz, California that saw a serious undertow surge that took out some nice boats. I don't know if there were any injuries or deaths there, though.

I about cried, watching the footage of the carnage in Japan, though.

 

[Aikikitty]

This is so tragic and devastating! I was so scared for a friend on mine in Tokyo, but I found out that her and her family are okay. The building next to where she was when the earthquake happened, collapsed, and people died. She was stuck for hours in a train station with thousands of people trying to get to family and friends. She said everyone was scared and worried and watching the news. At least 300 people have died and many, many more are missing. She also told me that the news said that they predict another major earthquake happening in the near future and they don't think Tokyo will make it. Everyone is very worried.

Please everyone send your thoughts and prayers to all the earthquake and tsunami victims.

 

[Xue Sheng]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_theen...w-footage-of-the-japan-earthquake-and-tsunami

I am currently trying to get a hold of a friend of mine, who luckily lives in Florida, but his wife's entire family is from North East Japan.

 

[Omar B]

Oh man, as a kid in Jamaica we had earthquakes all the time. Talk about scary! Seeing water splash out of a pool on it's own is damn weird.

I wish them the best.

 

[Flea]

My mother has an admirable wanderlust, and she decided to spend a month in Japan. For three years she scrimped and saved, drooled over travel guides, and booked reservations with her best friend from her college days. She was to take off on the 21st. Needless to say, the trip is postponed indefinitely. She hasn't given up on it though.

The family called her up and sympathized with her disappointment. We all envied her with every step of her preparations. It dawned on me this afternoon that, given the random nature of tectonic drift, I could easily have lost my mother two weeks from now.

I try never to take my loved ones for granted, because we never really know what's going to happen from day to day. It may sound perverse, but the lesson I've taken from this day is gratitude.

 

[Big Don]

My brother, the moron, was in Channel Islands Harbor this morning in his dinky little 14ft boat.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

I read that a man standing on the beach in California taking photos of the wave coming in was washed out to sea and is presumed lost. Sorry to hear it, even if it was a kind of foolish thing to do. As a fellow photographer, I can appreciate the desire, but I hope I'd think to seek higher ground to take photos from.

 

[Makalakumu]

A day later and all of the waves have rolled in. Hawaii has millions of dollars of damage. Oahu was hit in several places by 2 meter waves, Maui by 3 meter waves, and Big Island by 3 to 4 meter waves. Kauai has run up along the leeward coast, but no one lives there and I don't know the info there yet. Here are some videos of the tsunami in Hawaii.

This one shows some the tsunami on Maui.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqlpqtIjYrY&feature=player_embedded

This one shows the tsunami on Big Island

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91Wh0_yNJhc&feature=player_embedded#at=24

This one shows the tsunami on Oahu

 

[Cryozombie]

The confirmed death toll from the twin disasters has reached 686 so far but it is feared that the number of dead could climb much higher. The fate of four trains lost during the disaster remains unclear and as many as 9,500 people are missing in Minamisanriku, a town of some 17,000 people on Japan's north-east Pacific coast, according to Kyodo News agency.

9500 missing from one town... this is mind-boggling.

 

[chrispillertkd]

Apparently, the earthquake was so powerful that it moved Japan 8 feet and shifted the earth on her axis. I don't know how common such events are but that sounds like a pretty powerful quake!

http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/12/japan.earthquake.tsunami.earth/index.html?hpt=T1

Pax,

Chris

 

[Blade96]

Have some acquaintances who live there, japan, and have family there. I went to facebook and asked if everyone was ok. Imagine my joy when they wrote everybody is fine and one sustained only minimal house damage.

But my heart grieves for the ones who werent so lucky.