Japan's turn

[Sean K]

This one looks pretty untidy.


Massive 8.9-magnitude quake hits Japan

 

[Whiskers]

This one looks pretty untidy.


Massive 8.9-magnitude quake hits Japan

Struth, thats a wooper!

I just tuned into 10 news and they are talking about a 10 meter tsumani.

They say Aus has just been put on tsumani watch along with Russia in the north to Hawaii in the east and NZ to the south.

 

[Sean K]

Some of the footage is unbelievable.

Just a giant wash of water covering towns and destroying anything in it's path.

I hope that was isolated and not along the majority of the coast.

Otherwise, this is really, really, untidy.

 

[Kimberly]

Such a huge earthquake and catastrophic tsunami - I feel so sad for the poor people and animals that have been affected

 

[Gringotts Bank]

I've got a bad feeling about Hawaii. yikes.

 

[Sean K]

The US west coast is on alert!

Crikey!!

I hope that's an over reaction.

 

[wayneL]

It's getting a bit shakey around the Pacific rim... what about this March 19-20 prediction?

***wayneL is stocking up on baked beans and beer.

 

[Sean K]

Talk of Australia being hit.

Can't believe that?

 

[Sean K]

New footage showing so much damage. Like war zone material. This is real trouble for Japan.

 

[Sean K]

Australia denies threat.

http://www.theage.com.au/environment/authorities-deny-australian-tsunami-threat-20110311-1br74.html

 

[Whiskers]

Yeah, saw some of whole buildings floating away... this boat must be at least 10m long and just being tossed around like a cork.

Pity those poor souls on the highway when the wall of water hits them.

 

[Sean K]

Pity those poor souls on the highway when the wall of water hits them.

Yep, the footage shows the water crossing roads and just taking trucks with it. That's just one small spot on the coast where there happened to be a helicopter with a camera.

 

[doctorj]

I just heard from a colleague in Tokyo, it sounds very bad in parts of the country..

It was so huge that I could not stand even in Tokyo. Still small quakes are occurring every 15 minutes. There will be a severe damage in Miyagi due to tsunami. It has swallowed a local airport, many houses and many moving cars. All transportation has stopped and may not be able to go home today.

 

[skc]

Doesn't sound like it hit major population centre so pretty lucky in a terrible situation.

I didn't used to feel disasters on a personal level as much as I do now.. probably after experiencing the QLD floods my empathy has really increased. Oh and the fact that the SPI went down another 80 points since close...

 

[Sean K]

I didn't used to feel disasters on a personal level as much as I do now.. probably after experiencing the QLD floods my empathy has really increased. ..

Yep, I was in the Peru earthquake a few years ago and it is the only time I really thought I was about to die.

(well, second)

I'm not so sure this is so isolated. Yes, it's just the coast, but it's a big coast, and a very populous country.

 

[Whiskers]

Certainly going to be a terrible night in the region.

By Takashi Mochizuki and Megumi Fujikawa
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

TOKYO (Dow Jones) A massive 8.9-magnitude earthquake struck Japan Friday afternoon, causing damage in Tokyo and many injuries in the north where the quake was centered, and sending a tsunami crashing into the country's northeastern coast.

The quake hit at 0546 GMT and originally was reported at a magnitude of 7.9, but later was upgraded to 8.9. That makes it the fifth largest recorded worldwide since 1900, according to the U.S. Geological Service, larger than the 7.9-magnitude Great Kanto Earthquake that devastated Tokyo in 1923 or the 6.8 magnitude quake that hit Kobe in 1995.

The yen fell sharply but recouped most of its decline several hours later. Tokyo stocks fell, while Japanese government bond futures gained.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan, who convened an emergency Cabinet meeting, urged the nation to be calm and said the government will do its utmost to minimize damage from the quake. He told a news conference a large amount of damage had occurred in the northern Tohoku region.

An analyst for Moody's Investors Service, Tom Byrne, said it was "very unlikely" the quake would have big consequences for Japan's sovereign debt rating.

Local television showed smoke rising from a Tokyo port building, fire in the capital's waterfront Odaiba district and an oil refinery ablaze in Ichihara, near Tokyo.

A tsunami measured at anywhere from one meter to 7.3 meters hit at various places along the coast, while a 10-meter tsunami was seen at the port in Sendai, near the epicenter, Kyodo reported.

A tsunami warning extended to at least 50 nations and territories, as far away as South America.

A Meteorological Agency official appeared on TV urging those affected by the quake not to return home because of possible tsunamis.

"In some areas we have issued a warning of tsunamis of higher than 10 meters and we expect these areas will experience the high water levels soon," said the official. "Please stay on high alert."

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110311-702929.html

 

[McCoy Pauley]

That's a terrible disaster.

My aunt, who is Japanese, was going to fly back to Japan to see her family. I'm fairly sure she hasn't yet left for Japan, but her family may well be badly affected by this earthquake and the resulting tsunami.

The BOM reckons that the Pacific islands of the Solomons and a few others will shield Australia from the tsunami. Bad news for them. The US authorities have issued a tsunami warning for 2.45am local time in Hawai'i and 7.45am local time on the west coast of the USA.

 

[IFocus]

time to wax up the surf board and sit out the back

 

[bellenuit]

6.3 quake recorded in Samar, Philippines in the last ten minutes.

This was on Twitter 1 hour ago.....

 

[Whiskers]

It looks like about 9.00 pm Eastern time will be about when any tsunami will hit Indonesia, Png etc, and some time in the middle of the night or early morning if it reaches NZ.

I hope they are all keeping a lookout and no one is camping on the beach.

IT could be trouble... my local (Bundaberg) high tide appears to be forcast for 2.5m at 1.18am Sat morning. So I suppose it's possible that height may get a bit of a nudge higher since any tsunami would be pushing with it. I reckon even a .5 m tide surge will cause a few problems along many areas of the Qld coast since 2.5 m is a fairly big tide for here.

I think it looks like it will catch at least a half rising tide for Png and Indonesia also.

Waves may reach the Philippines at 9:55 a.m. Greenwich Meantime, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said in a bulletin, advising authorities to “take appropriate action.”

The center issued warnings for Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and Australia, among other countries.

A tsunami warning is in effect in Indonesia for the provinces of Papua, northern Sulawesi and Maluku, the country’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency said in an e- mailed statement. Affected areas are “expected to pay attention to this warning and immediately guide their communities for evacuation,” the statement said.

The waves may reach parts of eastern Indonesia about 6 p.m. Jakarta time today, the agency said in a mobile-phone text message. The tsunami may reach different areas at different times, and the first wave may not be the strongest.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-...laced-on-tsunami-alert-after-japan-quake.html