Japan Quake/Tsunami

[Razzmatazz]

Been watching this on the news all day and it's making me feel sick. It's almost apocalyptic. Seeing one guy trying to outrun the wave My thoughts are with everyone in Japan at this awful time.

[J T]

You can see the destruction of the tsunami in this video. What happens about a minute into the video is just unreal and terrifying.

[Breetai]

I was crying when I first heard about this.

Really? That kind of surprised me. Do you have a connection to those in Iwate/Sendai and the surrounding areas?

I'm pretty shocked myself, of course. I think I read this was bigger than the 1923 quake, but obviously less destructive/morbid since building standards are much better now. The destruction in Sendai from the tsunami is insane. How horrible for those on that train that apparently got swept away (was it a passenger train? I assumed it was), or the fishermen lost, or those driving that got taken away, etc... I was also shocked to see parts of Tokyo on fire.

I am happy to say that my in-laws are all safe in Tokyo/Saitama. My sister-in-law had to make a 2-3 hour walk home from work, since the trains were stopped (Oji to Kawaguchi, if anyone is familiar with northern Tokyo). My mom-in-law said the shaking went on for longer than she'd ever felt, and she's 70 years old.

[brunoafh]

Man... I'm not even going to watch one of the videos. Stuff like this is just messed up.

Breetai, I am glad your relatives are safe and sound.

[Ack]

Oi, it's not looking good right now. Here's what the US news has to say:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110311/ap_ ... earthquake

http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/deat ... /index.dot

Damage estimates currently stand at over $10 billion. At least one oil refinery has caught on fire in Ichihara, while there was a fire at a nuclear power plant in Miyagi Prefecture, though they managed to get it under control. Other plants have been shut down, with the surrounding areas evacuated over safety concerns. The US Air Force has already transported coolant to one of their nuclear facilities to help alleviate problems. Secretary of State Clinton says we'll be continuing to assist as much as we can.

For estimate's sake, this is apparently one of the largest quakes ever recorded, and all the larger ones were in less populated areas. It is the largest earthquake ever recorded in Japan since official record keeping began.

[Inazuma]

I was crying when I first heard about this.

Really? That kind of surprised me. Do you have a connection to those in Iwate/Sendai and the surrounding areas?

Many people dying from horrible earthquakes and tsunamis, and you are surprised I could cry about it? I don't have any personal connections with the areas hit the hardest, but I have an extremely strong love for Japan and its people. Even if it was a country I didn't care about, it would still be horrible to hear about so many people suffering.

[sevin0seven]

Breaking News: Magnitude 6.6 earthquake strikes central Japan

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110311/ts_ ... ke_niigata

[Hobie-wan]

Crazy aftershocks and more earchquakes all day.

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/ ... es_all.php

[Gnashvar]

Gosh this is really sad news. I don't know what to say.

[Rurouni_Fencer]

Not a god day to say the least.. My thoughts and prayers to everybody directly affected, as well as everybody here with family and friends in Japan.. May they be safe and resilient.