Japan Quake/Tsunami

[Ack]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/as_japan_earthquake

[Breetai]

7.4

Just announced on CNN.

I'm faster than CNN. Yay! Not that it was challenging.

For all of your real time earthquake and tsunami information in Japan, here is the place: http://www.jma.go.jp/en/quake/201104072 ... 72332.html.

[Breetai]

That CNN article is saying over 25,000 people have died, but that is not confirmed. It is over 25,000 people dead or missing. Oh well...

One of the comments on that site was interesting:

While stationed in Japan we lived in GOJ housing (Government of Japan). These houses were remarkable. They were built on rollers. Why? Because they do experience so many earthquakes each year. They also built rooms made of metal, put pocket doors in so you could close off any room, should there be a fire, and the fire is contained. One of the things that was told to us, as we had our in-briefing was, that you could toss $400.00 on the dash of your car, walk away and do some shopping, come back and it would still be there. . .if it wasn't it was because an American took it. They have beer machines, like our soda machines, out on the streets. There is a drinking law and their children would never take it upon themselves to go and buy beer. . .unlike our American children would. Once while we were there some of the businessmen had a conference with our Base Commander because they wanted to know what to do about the Amercian teenagers that were going into their stores and shoplifting. . .this is something, again, they didn't have a problem with within their own community. Integrity is something they lived with everyday and one of the reasons why there were so many Americans that were choosing to stay in Japan instead of returning to the States. My prayers are with them at this time.

While Japanese people do steal sometimes, and underage kids do drink sometimes, for the most part what this person wrote is generally true.

[Czernobog]

I hope everyone's ok after that big aftershock. It's been awhile since I've noticed activity from some of our Japan-stationed members, but I know they're dealing with more important things right now.

[vash23n]

Just learned that the pet store I work at has raised over $2500 for JEARS (Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue and Support). I wasn't sure they were going to do deliver when I first asked them if we could do something, so I am pleased. I wish we could have raised more. Check out the JEARS facebook page (you may have to type Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue and Support to find it) to see how they are doing on the animal rescue front.

[Breetai]

Just learned that the pet store I work at has raised over $2500 for JEARS (Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue and Support). I wasn't sure they were going to do deliver when I first asked them if we could do something, so I am pleased. I wish we could have raised more. Check out the JEARS facebook page (you may have to type Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue and Support to find it) to see how they are doing on the animal rescue front.

Hey, awesome! I watched a video recently where a couple guys drove right into the area where the damaged nuclear plant near is. They encountered a few abandoned pets along the way. They seems pretty happy to get some attention! Sad, though.

M7.1 aftershock yesterday. Damn, those are big aftershocks.

[hashiriya1]

Two quakes today, in Nagano and another in Chiba.

[Ack]

About how long do aftershocks generally occur? I was surprised to hear about this most recent one, but being from the Southeastern United States, I have had no experience with a real earthquake.

[hashiriya1]

About how long do aftershocks generally occur? I was surprised to hear about this most recent one, but being from the Southeastern United States, I have had no experience with a real earthquake.

Aftershocks can go on for years. I am by far no expert on the subject, but having been raised in earthquake country, you learn these things. I remember when I was a little kid, the big earthquake of '89 stuck here in the San Francisco Bay Area. I remember being really scared during the initial quake. For the next few months the aftershocks came and we just became used to them.

[hashiriya1]

The toll on the rescue workers

http://www.japantoday.com/category/life ... -hit-areas

ISHINOMAKI —

Even for the most experienced rescue workers, the areas devastated by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami are heartbreaking and teary sites.

‘‘This is the most dreadful site that I have ever seen,’’ a veteran member of the Ground Self-Defense Force said, while his colleagues were recovering a burned male body from the debris in the coastal city of Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, about one month after the disaster.

Looking back at the early days of the rescue operations, a GSDF member said, ‘‘It was like hell…Bodies were everywhere, but we put priority on finding survivors.’‘

Mobilizing up to 650 personnel, the GSDF rescued more than 1,000 people in the submerged city. But as time goes by, the focus of the GSDF operations has shifted to seeking missing people, rather than lifesaving.

‘‘It is our duty to return (the bodies) to their families,’’ said Col Yoshinao Moriwaki, 46. ‘‘No matter how hard the work is, we want to respect that duty.’‘

Their working area in Ishinomaki includes a residential area, called Kadonowaki, some 700 meters inland from the sea, which is still covered with debris, collapsed houses and wrecked cars amid the persisting smell of sludge.

One early cold morning, Capt Keiji Makino, 43, and around 40 other members took turns in search of bodies under rubble using a special stick, and collected six bodies there following an eight-hour operation.

Up to April 6, they collected a combined 585 bodies in the city, and their search for missing people is still continuing.

Among the bodies they faced were a newborn baby and a mother who held a child. They also found only parts of bodies.

A senior member cannot forget a dead boy with a helmet who was recovered with his bicycle. ‘‘That was really painful…He must have been engulfed by the tsunami on his way home from school.’‘

Some personnel sometimes cry even when they sleep, probably because they remember the distressing scenes in their dreams.

A senior Self-Defense Forces official showed concern that personnel working in the disaster-hit areas may suffer mental damage, stressing the need to provide long-term mental care to them.

More than 27,000 people were confirmed dead or remained listed as missing in the disaster, according to the National Police Agency.