Japan Earthquake/Tsunami

[spzretent]

The video from this is so scary. Look at the cars along the road where the tsunami is heading at the 2:20 mark. What must have been going thru the minds of those people. Horrifying.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12709850

[simonkeeping]

Its just horrific. The footage is so shocking it doesn't look real.
Hope peoples friends and families are safe.

[runcible]

Truly appalling to watch - the relentless surge of the water is hard to come to terms with. I know we have forum members in Japan so I send my best to them and everyone else in the country.

[BzaInSpace]

Agreed - shocking and scary isn't it. Hoping those we know out there are all OK.
Best wishes to all in Japan and elsewhere affected.
Hard to say anything without sounding trite here.

All the best

[spzretent]

I did forget to add my prayers for the people of Japan.
Just shocking!

[toomilk]

I hope all you Japanese board members and your families are safe and sound.

I think Mark M. was contacted by Manabu, who is ok.

[mn_spi]

after 24 hours or so, i'm still feeling the many afterquakes in my room(even Tokyo).
my lost things are little; those are bottles of some liquor and the scenery of the town Sendai where i lived for a short period.
it's stressful but this is nothing compared to people who have lost house or loved ones.
i should think that i didn't know an EARTHQUAKE.

please praying for everyone who was affected.

thanks,
Manabu

[solarflarez]

i second what Bza says, its hard to sum up what to say, shocking and horrifying to watch, thoughts go out to all the people affected out there

[redcloud]

Words cannot even begin to describe the full extent of this disaster. These photos give us somewhat of a glimpse but the unfathomable destruction is totally mind boggling. If anything, it is evidence of just how fragile our lives and our society are.

http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Huge-Japa ... japanquake

[moop]

hey,
I live in Sendai city and I'm fine. It was a huge quake and we've had lots of aftershocks, but the city itself is built with that in mind, so the damage here is minimal. (here we just got electricity back, traffic lights working again, buses up and running, shops opening with huge queues...) But it's the people further north/south and especially on the coast who are in trouble. I have close friends who have lost their homes and some who are as yet unaccounted for... It's horrific.

I don't know if you read it, but there was also an explosion at a nearby (Fukushima) nuclear power plant and talk of a meltdown caused by the combination of quake and tsunami. I was freaking out about that last night, but the latest news is it's cooling. Let's hope so..　
EDIT: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12724953

I don't think there's much I can do at this point except keep my fingers crossed and count myself lucky.

[robotoilet]

hey,
I live in Sendai city and I'm fine. It was a huge quake and we've had lots of aftershocks, but the city itself is built with that in mind, so the damage here is minimal. (here we just got electricity back, traffic lights working again, buses up and running, shops opening with huge queues...)

it's a relief to hear that.
even in tokyo, i still can hardly sleep with fear.
(the more aftershocks i have, the more i feel like not shaked but just floating on the water.)
so the terror you and the people in the massively affected area have is beyond my imagination.
the nuclear threat and the millions of evacuated people without food, water or power, it' revealed that in the aftermath situations are getting worse and worse.
i have the relatives who live nearby the coast in Miyagi.
we can have reached none of them yet. it's really terrifying but the only thing we can do is to wish them safe.

take care, moop, really.
our country have been attacked by huge earthquakes but we've always struck back.
just now present our condolences to the lost lives and pray that more lives will be saved.

[spzretent]

Glad to hear the two of you are ok.
Know that the thoughts and prayers of us are with you.
And please keep us informed.

[spzretent]

I have become really pissed of with amount of journalists that have descened upon Japan in order to garner ratings. Do they not realize Japan have such a long road ahead of them as they begin to put their lives back together? Why are there thousands of foreign journalists reporting from the cities hardest hit by the earthquake and tsunami?
I am assuming most major networks around the world have done this. In case i'm wrong the US networks should be ashamed of themselves. Does NBC really need 7 reporters there? ABC? CNN?

[moop]

I have become really pissed of with amount of journalists that have descened upon Japan in order to garner ratings. Do they not realize Japan have such a long road ahead of them as they begin to put their lives back together? Why are there thousands of foreign journalists reporting from the cities hardest hit by the earthquake and tsunami?
I am assuming most major networks around the world have done this. In case i'm wrong the US networks should be ashamed of themselves. Does NBC really need 7 reporters there? ABC? CNN?

yes. and much more importantly they've been sensationalising the situation at the nuclear power plant[s]. there's been a lot of paranoia and hysteria as a result, most of it unjustified. i heard from an expert in the field that the risk of meltdown was minimal and that the majority of fear was based on journalists trying to make headlines. it seems rediculous and irresponsible to scare people into leaving the country when resources are so badly needed to sort out the quake/tsunami damage..

similarly, things here in central sendai are basically fine in comparison. it would have been nice if the media had reported that, rather than effectively communicating the message to my family/friends that in miyagi 'everything is gone'. assholes..

on the other hand, this area of japan desperately needs help from abroad, and i guess that wouldnt happen without media coverage. it's just so unfortunate that sendai airport was such a mess (underwater) after the tsunami, since this would be the obvious supply line for foreign aid and getting people out of the area. hopefully the shinaksen will soon be operational and this will allow supplies into the area.

some mobile phone networks now seem to be up and running, so missing people stuck in cut off areas are slowly emerging. robotoilet, all the best of luck to you - i know landlines along the miyagi coast are down, as is power in many areas. so a lack of communication is to be expected. please try to stay positive.

also, i heard there'll likely be a 7.0 aftershock soon, apparently in tokyo? though i heard a 7 is 100 times less powerful than the one on Friday. anyway, take care!

moop

[redcloud]

I agree about the news media's embellishment of this story. They are all chomping at the bits because they actually have a lot to write about these days. What with the Middle East uprising and now the horrible disaster in Japan.

American news media certainly are not the only ones to blame. BBC, Channel 4, ITV and CBC not to mention the many other countries that have descended on the nation. The endless regurgitated videos of the tsunami are sadly so overplayed they risk desensitizing people. And now the panic, scare stories of the nuclear power plant are showing up on miserable local news broadcasts (typical headline in our media..."Should Oregon be worried about Japanese radiation?". But, I am sure similar stories are being thrown around up and down the west coast).

But, as moop said, as long as it continues to get people to reach deep into their pockets to help out..then perhaps it is a good thing? On that note, words seem incredibly trivial at these precious and desperate times but please stay safe moop and robo. My best wishes to you both.

My biggest gripe with news media at the moment though is how they are handling the Middle East uprising (remember Libya? It has almost all been forgotten about these days). CNN's Anderson Cooper was so over the top in his reporting on the Egyptian protests that he descended into a biased ten minute rant about both the Egyptian leader and then Gaddaffi. It was appalling and so difficult to watch I had to switch off. Whatever happened to news journalists remaining neutral and just reporting the news? When I watch the news I want the facts not Anderson Cooper's self righteous rants.

[spzretent]

Neutrality went out the window w/FOX News & MSNBC. They all feel they have to pick sides.
What makes me even more sad is with each of these reporters comes at least two more staff. Camera person and producer.
So glad Moop & Robotoilet are ok. Two of the most important posts ever on the message board.

[robotoilet]

I had great news this week.
We've confirmed our relatives are all ok in Miyagi. One aunt’s house was flooded above the floor level, and another aunt had been evacuated temporally, but they are all safe somehow. I’d always believed what moop said, and you are right.
When my father finally could reach his brother in Higashimatsushima where was affected by tsunami, this funny drunken 75 or more years old man told that he walked miles and made sure their sister and her family were ok.
Away from the affected area we see through TV that they are helping each other in the devastating situation. But we can't do anything for them right now. I couldn't imagine anything but the donation that helped a little at this point. What a shame.

And now I am so pissed about the ugly chaos in Tokyo. The people here have bought up in case gasoline and food, especially rice, which are more needed for the survivors out there. I saw two gas stations in my town have been shut down because they sold out gasoline, and rise had gone from the shelves in many shops right after the shock. In the central city we eat rice that they grow and use/waste a huge amount of electricity that the power plants in that area produce. Of course I know everyone is scared. But should we be so selfish and greedy in this situation?

Ironically on New Zealand earthquake I had exactly the same feeling that spzretent has. So many people, even c-list celebs gossip reporters, from each Japanese network (or each program) landed on Christchurch. I thought, despite they should know about the aftermath of earthquake, why did they go obstructing out there? Perhaps “The danger past and Media forgotten”.

It’s glad to hear that in central Sendai things are fine. Keep safe, moop.
In Tokyo power cut started in some areas. Manabu, I hope you are not affected by that or anything.
And so grateful to spzretent and the members on this board for your concern about this tragedy.

[moop]

that's great your relatives were ok
Of course it's a shame about the flooded house and your aunt having to be evacuated, but as you said, the important thing is that they're safe. I'm so lucky all my friends were ok. A couple of them have lost their homes/possessions, but they are fine.

The situation at the plant appears to be getting better, finally
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12793925
I was convinced this would be the case, but it's still been a little worrying reading the headlines since i'm only 100km away, and the media keeps on talking about meltdowns.

and yes, the chaos in tokyo makes me angry too. there's no risk from the radiation even if it does blow in that direction because the levels would be so low by that point. would be more dangerous to get an x-ray. the panic-buying of gas and rice is a big problem for those in the north. having said that, Sendai is continuing to slowly return to normal. today i saw quite a few restaurants open in town. I'm pretty hungry by this point, so i think tomorrow i might head to one and ask to do a tabehodai. how's that for greedy?

by the way, a couple of things made me laugh about the panic-buying here. I went into a convenience store and there was absolutely no food, but all the alcohol was untouched! apparently japanese people don't drink in times of crisis. In another shop, no food at all, except loads of couscous (which is obviously amazing food in this situation where we have electricity to boil a kettle, but no gas).

even funnier, my friend in Shanghai said that there was no salt in the shops. presumably people dont realise that the amount they would have to consume for this to have any anti-radiation effects would be lethal.

obviously the really sad thing is how the power plant issue has drawn attention/aid away from the people affected by the tsunami. hopefully now people can return to the real problem...