Japan hit by 8.9 quake and following tsunami

[Jacob]

I'm pretty amazed at the Japanese level of preparedness.

On the same day as the big quake in Japan, a lesser quake hit Yunnan (5.3 or 5.6 or thereabouts). There's more than 10 000 dead, many more than the number of Japanese dead; and the people in Yunnan did not have to contend with a tsunami which is what seems to have done the bulk of the real damage in Japan.

The difference, I think, is all down to proper construction (and proper building codes being properly reinforced). Here in Vancouver, the new highrises all have to be able to withstand a 7.0 quake. I wonder how that'll look if we're near the epicentre of a quake like the one that hit in Japan.  For the resultant tsunami, the big difference will be whether the epicentre is East or West of Vancouver Island. If it's East, we could be in real trouble; especially in Richmond, which is flat, barely above sea-level and right on the coast.

[Cecil]

Apparently the cause of the blast at the number 1 reactor had little to do with the actual core. Some expert at bbc said that the water vapour got so hot that it chemically reacted with the zirconium inside and created zirconiumoxide leaving the hydrogen to form hydrogen gas (Hindenburg anyone?). When they tried to pump the gas outside there were apparently some leakage from the pipes so a considerable amount escaped in the outer casing of the building where it came in contact with the oxygen in the air and well....BANG.

Any comments to this hypothesis Brain?


I have to say though that this showes to me not the dangers of nuclear power but the amazing resilience of western plants. An 9 earthquake followed by a 10 meter tsunami followed by a rather large blast (you can see the shockwave in the fotage) and still barely a scratch on the reactor itself. And meltdown was avoided despite all 13 backupgenerators failing. Impressive indeed.

[The Brain]

Apparently the cause of the blast at the number 1 reactor had little to do with the actual core. Some expert at bbc said that the water vapour got so hot that it chemically reacted with the zirconium inside and created zirconiumoxide leaving the hydrogen to form hydrogen gas (Hindenburg anyone?). When they tried to pump the gas outside there were apparently some leakage from the pipes so a considerable amount escaped in the outer casing of the building where it came in contact with the oxygen in the air and well....BANG.

Any comments to this hypothesis Brain?


I have to say though that this showes to me not the dangers of nuclear power but the amazing resilience of western plants. An 9 earthquake followed by a 10 meter tsunami followed by a rather large blast (you can see the shockwave in the fotage) and still barely a scratch on the reactor itself. And meltdown was avoided despite all 13 backupgenerators failing. Impressive indeed.

Doesn't sound unreasonable to me. But I am not a reactor expert, I just play one on Languish.

And reactors are indeed very safe.

[jimmy olsen]

Apparently the cause of the blast at the number 1 reactor had little to do with the actual core. Some expert at bbc said that the water vapour got so hot that it chemically reacted with the zirconium inside and created zirconiumoxide leaving the hydrogen to form hydrogen gas (Hindenburg anyone?). When they tried to pump the gas outside there were apparently some leakage from the pipes so a considerable amount escaped in the outer casing of the building where it came in contact with the oxygen in the air and well....BANG.

Any comments to this hypothesis Brain?


I have to say though that this showes to me not the dangers of nuclear power but the amazing resilience of western plants. An 9 earthquake followed by a 10 meter tsunami followed by a rather large blast (you can see the shockwave in the fotage) and still barely a scratch on the reactor itself. And meltdown was avoided despite all 13 backupgenerators failing. Impressive indeed.

But I am not a reactor expert, I just play one on Languish.

Say it ain't so!

[jimmy olsen]

Since the train in Tokyo were suspended following the Earthquake one of my Japanese co-worker walked home from the Office. Took him 4 hours. Crazy bastards.

This your man?

http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/03/11/6245844-people-were-screaming-and-crying

'People were screaming and crying'

By msnbc.com's Jennifer Carlile and F. Brinley Bruton

Shuji Kubodera thought he was going to throw up when the earth convulsed.

"I had to hold onto the desk and after it became big I (hid) below the desk," the 34-year-old systems engineer told msnbc.com via Skype from Tokyo. "Some people were screaming and crying ... it was then happening every ten minutes so I felt like vomiting."

The massive quake — the biggest in modern Japanese history — and a series of aftershocks slammed the island nation's eastern coast Friday, unleashing a 23-foot tsunami.

Despite the magnitude of the disaster around them, Kubodera and his colleagues stayed at work.  After the elevators stopped working they all trudged up 10 flights for a 4 p.m. meeting.  Everybody showed up but then they decided to cancel the meeting.   

He later had to walk four hours to get home because the subway had stopped working.  Kubodera considered staying at work like many of his colleagues but he worried about his two dogs and apartment.  When he arrived at 10 p.m., the place was a mess as his things had fallen out of the cupboards.

With fires engulfing buildings in the country's capital, watching the television news left him stunned.

"I wasn't able to believe it was really happening," he said.

[Admiral Yi]

Apparently the cause of the blast at the number 1 reactor had little to do with the actual core. Some expert at bbc said that the water vapour got so hot that it chemically reacted with the zirconium inside and created zirconiumoxide leaving the hydrogen to form hydrogen gas (Hindenburg anyone?). When they tried to pump the gas outside there were apparently some leakage from the pipes so a considerable amount escaped in the outer casing of the building where it came in contact with the oxygen in the air and well....BANG.

Any comments to this hypothesis Brain?


I have to say though that this showes to me not the dangers of nuclear power but the amazing resilience of western plants. An 9 earthquake followed by a 10 meter tsunami followed by a rather large blast (you can see the shockwave in the fotage) and still barely a scratch on the reactor itself. And meltdown was avoided despite all 13 backupgenerators failing. Impressive indeed.

But I am not a reactor expert, I just play one on Languish.

<snip>

Jesus Christ Timmy.  What's the fucking point of cutting out a line of Brain's post and leaving the behometh he quoted intact?

[MadImmortalMan]

My brother's ship is headed there to provide aid.

[KRonn]

Nasty devastation! A large city, Sendai, and other areas wiped out. Maybe even significant changes in the coastline, leaving areas flooded in the ocean. Looking at the pics it looked like a WW2 carpet bombing.   

Yeah, the nuke plants are looking a bit scary. I assume this will likely sink ideas of more nuke power in the US. 

[lustindarkness]

"I had to hold onto the desk and after it became big I (hid) below the desk," the 34-year-old systems engineer told msnbc.com via Skype from Tokyo. "Some people were screaming and crying ... it was then happening every ten minutes so I felt like vomiting."

Motion sickness from an earthquake? Thats a lot of shaking. Maybe emotional?

[CountDeMoney]

Time lapse video of the tsunami effects in Morro Bay, California yesterday, where my aunt and uncle live.

http://www.youtube.com/v/RVD2nDWVjiA&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3

[The Brain]

Apparently the cause of the blast at the number 1 reactor had little to do with the actual core. Some expert at bbc said that the water vapour got so hot that it chemically reacted with the zirconium inside and created zirconiumoxide leaving the hydrogen to form hydrogen gas (Hindenburg anyone?). When they tried to pump the gas outside there were apparently some leakage from the pipes so a considerable amount escaped in the outer casing of the building where it came in contact with the oxygen in the air and well....BANG.

Any comments to this hypothesis Brain?


I have to say though that this showes to me not the dangers of nuclear power but the amazing resilience of western plants. An 9 earthquake followed by a 10 meter tsunami followed by a rather large blast (you can see the shockwave in the fotage) and still barely a scratch on the reactor itself. And meltdown was avoided despite all 13 backupgenerators failing. Impressive indeed.

But I am not a reactor expert, I just play one on Languish.

Say it ain't so!

Tsk tsk. Languish is not the place for sarcasm.

[The Brain]

"I had to hold onto the desk and after it became big I (hid) below the desk," the 34-year-old systems engineer told msnbc.com via Skype from Tokyo. "Some people were screaming and crying ... it was then happening every ten minutes so I felt like vomiting."

Motion sickness from an earthquake? Thats a lot of shaking. Maybe emotional?

I think many Languishers feel like vomiting every ten minutes.

[sbr]

"I had to hold onto the desk and after it became big I (hid) below the desk," the 34-year-old systems engineer told msnbc.com via Skype from Tokyo. "Some people were screaming and crying ... it was then happening every ten minutes so I felt like vomiting."

Motion sickness from an earthquake? Thats a lot of shaking. Maybe emotional?

I think many Languishers feel like vomiting every ten minutes.

Only when reading your posts.

[Berkut]

Time lapse video of the tsunami effects in Morro Bay, California yesterday, where my aunt and uncle live.

http://www.youtube.com/v/RVD2nDWVjiA&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3

Wow, that might have been one of the most uninteresting videos I've ever seen.

[Syt]