8.9 quake!!!!!! I never heard of one even close to that. That scale is logarithmic , 8.9 is incredible.
Lots of concerns about what may happen next saturday or around that date with the moon so close and the perfect alignment. I read somewhere that the earths crust could be distorted as much as 1 percent. 1 percent doesn't sound like much but 1 percent of something as large as the earths crust is a big deal. Could be the moons pull as it gets closer that has cause this huge quake.
BREAKING NEWS: Japan declares 'nuclear emergency' after problems at power plant - NHK
Sat 5AM Boston time
IWAKI, Japan — An explosion at a nuclear power station Saturday destroyed a building housing the reactor amid fears that it was close to a disastrous meltdown after being hit by a powerful earthquake and tsunami.
Friday's double disaster, which pulverized Japan's northeastern coast, has left 574 people dead by official count, although local media reports said at least 1,300 people may have been killed.
Tokyo Power Electric Co., the utility that runs the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, said four workers had suffered fractures and bruises and were being treated at a hospital. A nuclear expert said a meltdown may not pose widespread danger.
Footage on Japanese TV showed that the walls of the reactor's building had crumbled, leaving only a skeletal metal frame standing. Puffs of smoke were spewing out of the plant in Fukushima, 20 miles (30 kilometers) from Iwaki.
"We are now trying to analyze what is behind the explosion," said government spokesman Yukio Edano, stressing that people should quickly evacuate a six-mile (10-kilometer) radius. "We ask everyone to take action to secure safety
Given the diversity of the human species, there is no “normal” human genome sequence. We are all mutants.
(CNN) -- The powerful earthquake that unleashed a devastating tsunami Friday appears to have moved the main island of Japan by 8 feet (2.4 meters) and shifted the Earth on its axis.
"At this point, we know that one GPS station moved (8 feet), and we have seen a map from GSI (Geospatial Information Authority) in Japan showing the pattern of shift over a large area is consistent with about that much shift of the land mass," said Kenneth Hudnut, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
Reports from the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology in Italy estimated the 8.9-magnitude quake shifted the planet on its axis by nearly 4 inches (10 centimeters)
Given the diversity of the human species, there is no “normal” human genome sequence. We are all mutants.
There have only ever been 4 recorded higher than 8.9 since I guess they had the ability to measure going back to the mid 1700. 3 of these were in fairly remote areas but one was in Indonesia recently. I doubt indonesia has the population density of Japan.
The deadliest earthquake was in a populated area of China. It was only an 8.0 . You got to figure that one 10 times stronger in a densely populated area like japan is going to affect a lot of people. Hopefully the better infrastructure of Japan vs China will mean more rescued , less diseases after , etc. Luckily , this one's center was a long way off the coast not on the land but the down side of that is that being in the water , it caused the tsunami.
The 8 foot shift is the type of thing they are worried about as the moon sweeps by so close during the coming 2 weeks. They liken it to a high tide but it will be the land rising and falling as well as the oceans of course. Lots of earthquakes are do to a pinned area of the faults letting go. There is a tremendous amount of energy stored when a strong pin locks in the land masses that are trying to slide across one another. the huge shifts expected do to the added moon pull can cause these pinned faults to unlock and slide a lot all at once.
lets hope there are no more as big as this one in Japan.
They say New England is not immune. We haven't had a bad earthquake in a long time but some say its do to a strong pin and that when or if it lets go , we could experience a really big one. Of course the most famous one talked about in the USA is the San Andreas fault in california that people say will "cause part of Caifornia to fall into the pacific ocean." Events like this one in japan make it seem a lot more feasible than just what is mentioned in Sci Fi movies.
Last edited by Saltheart; 03-12-2011 at 11:38 AM..
OMG I just watched a show that was on the ground at the sites of some of the worst struck areas and the devastation is unbelievable. Those towns that were in valleys which a lot of them were are just wiped off the face of the map.
"A beach is a place where a man can feel he's the only soul in the world that's real"
U know what is the scariest part. They are the most prepared country for this type of natural disaster in the world and they got their lunch handed to them. This happening off the west coast would be many times worse. Scary stuff.
"A beach is a place where a man can feel he's the only soul in the world that's real"
You can't really be prepared for such disaster.....you can think you are.....but you can't foresee to what degree such devastation an 8.9 mag earthquake or a 30 foot wall of water is going to bring. What I have not heard anyone say is.......how long after the quake did the Tsunami come ashore?? Did they have any warning at all??? 10 minutes?? 30 Minutes???
Amazing all the news stations I watched and not one of them reported that incredibly important detail???? Thanks Nebe! Man thats not alot of time at all!!! Especially if you were on a boat??
i have heard it on the news a few times. They said that they had 15 minutes of warning for the tsunami... but i think..... and this is just my hunch...that they felt the earth quake first... then the tsunami alarms went off and it it took 15 minutes for it to hit.
my point exactly you can't be prepared for such devastation and the same situation elsewhere would probably result in even worse results. They plan for this and have exercise's on what to do when it happens and what to do after. Imagine how a place that has no plan would fair. 10 to 15 minutes I heard. Roads were clogged in some towns as they tried to flee and people on trains that are missing, 4 trains completely vanished,, never knew it was coming probably. The situation is the worst ever so the end result is going to be worst case I'd say. Nuclear plants were built to withstand an earthquake 5 times less than what they got so they screwed up big time there. I heard the ground was shaking so violently that you had to crawl as standing up was impossible.
"A beach is a place where a man can feel he's the only soul in the world that's real"
U know what is the scariest part. They are the most prepared country for this type of natural disaster in the world and they got their lunch handed to them. This happening off the west coast would be many times worse. Scary stuff.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ProfessorM
my point exactly you can't be prepared for such devastation and the same situation elsewhere would probably result in even worse results. They plan for this and have exercise's on what to do when it happens and what to do after. Imagine how a place that has no plan would fair. 10 to 15 minutes I heard. Roads were clogged in some towns as they tried to flee and people on trains that are missing, 4 trains completely vanished,, never knew it was coming probably. The situation is the worst ever so the end result is going to be worst case I'd say. Nuclear plants were built to withstand an earthquake 5 times less than what they got so they screwed up big time there. I heard the ground was shaking so violently that you had to crawl as standing up was impossible.
Can you imagine what kind of meetings are going on at US nuclear plants and agencies? Going to be some massive new regulations coming out of this. Japanese will probably move future plants inland, away from coast and imminent tsunami threat. But they will still need a source of water. I believe they are on the coast to utilize the seawater to cool the cooling (fresh) water circulated in the reactors. The country has massive debt, even before this diaster. Yes, even more than the US, by a lot. Contingency plan for something like this could never have been considered. Heck, what have we done in light of Katrina? But if any of the three crippled plants' reactors meltdown........it's just going to be bad, real bad.
“Americans have the right and advantage of being armed, unlike the people of other countries, whose leaders are afraid to trust them with arms.” – James Madison.
I don't think we are getting enough info to really know, John. Just had a blast at Reactor #3. Hydrogen explosion that blew out the concrete exterior. And the experts say this is actually a good thing as it relieves the building pressure. It tells me that it is out of control....
Also a new tsunami warning just put up for 3 meter waves.....
“Americans have the right and advantage of being armed, unlike the people of other countries, whose leaders are afraid to trust them with arms.” – James Madison.
I told my 16 yo last night as we watched videos and pictures that this is probably the largest disaster to strike in my entire life and quite possibly his and it's going to get alot worse before it gets better. Radiation clouds can easily cross the Pacific...
I'm betting at the minimum there will be another VERY large quake somewhere on the other side of the ring of fire within the next few months...
I have a question that I haven't been able to answer.... Maybe Mr Oakley can chip in with some professor geoisms...
If there was a mile wide whirlpool that was s#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&g down sea water....where does the water go..does it stay underground now forever and does the ocean level now drop because of the water? Or does it maintain the level of ocean height and filter back into the environment?
I don't think we are getting enough info to really know, John. Just had a blast at Reactor #3. Hydrogen explosion that blew out the concrete exterior. And the experts say this is actually a good thing as it relieves the building pressure. It tells me that it is out of control....
Also a new tsunami warning just put up for 3 meter waves.....
Ross, read the link I posted. I'm no nuke but some of the nukes I've been following recommend that article as a pretty good primmer on whats happening.
Short version, none of the cores is going to go critical, they are all slowly cooling down. The 2 with the major issues now are being cooled with far from pure saltwater. The heat in the reactor, well short of creating fission and cooling, is still enough to separate the H2O into hydrogen and oxygen. When that is vented to the atmo/outer containment building (not pressure containment) that is what is exploding. The cores are still cooling down but are taking longer due to the tsunami and quake wiping out primary, secondary, and tertiary cooling systems.
Cascadia @ western USA may be next
as when one goes (faults) the others tend to follow
Heard a report/prediction that if you visualize the Pacific plate as having 4 corners, all 4 corners historically seem to have a "correction" in concert. So far 3 of the 4 corners have had events recently: Chile, NZ, Japan. The 4th corner is what Raven states.
Given the diversity of the human species, there is no “normal” human genome sequence. We are all mutants.