omg.... i was horrified when i turned on the tv and found out what happened overnight. 8.9 earthquake and devastating tsunami and we could have had one here on the west cost too. this is quite scary. our hearts and minds for the rescue efforts and lets pray for the safety and well bearing for those still needing rescue
that's actually a huge misconception; Vancouver likely won't get hit by a tsunami, simply because we have that big mass of land known as "Vancouver Island" between us, and a majority of the pacific ocean. The island would get the brunt of it. I remember there was a tsunami warning about this time last year, and the "tsunami" that hit Vancouver formed in the way of 2 foot waves crashing against the seawall. Not exactly the devastating life threatening kind of thing that other people get when they're hit with a tsunami.
Again, I said Likely. It's possible that we'd be hit by a devastating tsunami, but it's still highly unlikely.
That aside, Japan is in my thoughts. Knowing how crowded the country is in general, I can only imagine how terrible the damage is. :(
I am working to organize an auction to raise money for the relief effort.
Artists are needed as it is a joint commission auction!
BCFF Thread: http://www.bcfurries.com/forum/index.php?topic=3320.msg45567#new (http://www.bcfurries.com/forum/index.php?topic=3320.msg45567#new)
FA: http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/2161633 (http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/2161633)
DA: http://temrin.deviantart.com/journal/39036486/ (http://temrin.deviantart.com/journal/39036486/)
i was thinking much the same thoughts. Canadian red cross is designed for exactly this sort of disaster. i highly recommend that be a good choice for charity organization
: lunar_prodigy March 11, 2011, 04:05:59 -07:00
i was thinking much the same thoughts. Canadian red cross is designed for exactly this sort of disaster. i highly recommend that be a good choice for charity organization
That is who i'll be going through to process payments for the relief fund :3
I'm petty sure Japans got everything covered. When you build you cities at the bases of volcanoes and across a fault line you're going to have back up plans in place. It's not like they're unexperienced in earthquakes either with them happening a couple times every year.
: kohl March 11, 2011, 06:50:40 -07:00
I'm petty sure Japans got everything covered. When you build you cities at the bases of volcanoes and across a fault line you're going to have back up plans in place. It's not like they're unexperienced in earthquakes either with them happening a couple times every year.
That's kind of a callous attitude, eh? for example: just because I'm used to being cut and burned all the time doesn't mean I like it; (well, okay.. that depends on the context x3) doesn't mean I'm not going to have to heal the wound.
Realize this: an earthquake and tsunami of this magnitude aren't just a "slap a band aid on it and it'll go away" kind of problem. This is more of a "trip to the hospital for x-teen stitches and a surgeon" type of affair. Suffice to say: they're going to need all the help they can get in fixing the situation and any small effort will actually go a lot farther than you think.
Not to mention the hundreds/thousand/etc people who have died/lost loved ones.
One person dies its a tragedy. One million people die and it's a statistic. :/
If you're being cut and burned al the time you'll know how to heal your wounds and keep them clean.
In using your medical example. If a sergeon was cut I'm pretty sure that he wouldn't want a bunch of people with dirty paws surrounding him throwing bandaids and inserting stitches in the middle of his plans.
It just seems rediculous sending a bandaid to somone who's skilled in the situation when we got people here bleeding out on the floor.
Yes, but if the surgeon was mortally wounded, i don't think he'd object to some first aid either.
: EmoFox March 11, 2011, 01:24:03 -07:00we have that big mass of land known as "Vancouver Island" between us...
D: At least I am on the "safe side" of the Island.
Has anyone else seen all the completely ignorant (and I think, all American) FaceBook comments about how Japan "deserves" this and how it is "karma/payback" for the bombing of Pearl Harbour? Like, they don't remember anything at all? Losers.
Funny, I could've sworn Hiroshima was supposed to be payback for pearl harbour. But american history never was a huge interest of mine. Or history in general for that matter.
Also, this is where the fault between the island and mainland decides to move, and we're both wiped out by earthquake/tsunami. That would suck, and be incredibly ironic. I was talking to my mom about it earlier actually, and she mentioned something that my stepdad said; apparently the beginning of the end is supposed start in May of this year. And then the world as we know it comes to an end. *dramatic music here* Sure are interesting times we live in! :p
I'm petty sure Japans got everything covered. When you build you cities at the bases of volcanoes and across a fault line you're going to have back up plans in place. It's not like they're unexperienced in earthquakes either with them happening a couple times every year.
The earthquake, yeah they got that more or less under control. The tsumani that washed up to 8 miles inland? not so much
Currently there are 5 nuclear reactors in Japan that are in a very dangerous situation and they're trying to shut it down right now, the monetary cost of what's been lost here will be catastrophic though I suspect that the cost in lives will be tamer then say the Indonesian Tsumani that hit, but that's largely a result of people being better warned and better able to get themselves out of harms way.
It's too early to tell really but it wouldn't at all suprise me if this will become one of those events where time is devided between before the Tsunami and after, particularily if one of those nuclear reactors can't be brought under control.
No, I'm sorry, but you can't control a natural disaster. They may experience several earth quakes a year, but those earthquakes aren't 8.9. Those earth quakes aren't one of the most severe earthquakes to hit the earth in the last 100 years. You can be as prepared as you like, but that doesn't by any means mean you have it under control. It means you can be prepared, and hopefully minimize damage, but thats not under control.
To be honest I'm appalled at the entirely non-chalant way everyone is reacting to this. And would like to point out that Vancouver Island/Vancouver is due for a serious earthquake sometime in the near future. if the Cascadia zone (http://earthquakescanada.nrcan.gc.ca/zones/westcan-eng.php) mentioned here does what they think it will, we'll be looking at a 9.0 quake. We know its going to happen, eventually, but that doesn't mean it'll be any less of a catastrophe or disaster.
Shit just got realer, the Nuke Plant just had an explosion in it...
No, I'm sorry, but you can't control a natural disaster. They may experience several earth quakes a year, but those earthquakes aren't 8.9. Those earth quakes aren't one of the most severe earthquakes to hit the earth in the last 100 years. You can be as prepared as you like, but that doesn't by any means mean you have it under control. It means you can be prepared, and hopefully minimize damage, but thats not under control.
To be honest I'm appalled at the entirely non-chalant way everyone is reacting to this. And would like to point out that Vancouver Island/Vancouver is due for a serious earthquake sometime in the near future. if the Cascadia zone mentioned here does what they think it will, we'll be looking at a 9.0 quake. We know its going to happen, eventually, but that doesn't mean it'll be any less of a catastrophe or disaster.
Yes and no, they've certainly put a lot of effort into mitigating their risk in building codes and such to limit the direct damage of earthquakes, the fact that these cities weren't flattened before the Tsunami even hit is a testament to that but in no way were they prepared for the power and scale of destruction brought on by the Tsunami, as evidenced by the explosion at the nuclear plant.
I'm not a religious person but this is definitly a moment for it if you are and otherwise good luck to those working at that plant, hopefully things can be brought under control without too much sacrifice.
All the sites and videos I've seen there's nothing there about Japan asking or accepting help. They're keeping American/Canadian Redcross out of there buisness, not letting the American amry onto the land, and they've got those needing medical attention covered. I can't find and organization or fundraser that isn't doing anything else besides sitting on side lines waiting for them to be called upon. The whole mess just seems like too many cooks in the kitchen and is most likely just getting in the way of the Japanese procedures and data that they're trying to collect while they work this out.
What I'd like to see is a fundraiser to clean up all the debris and non degrading waste from along the shores or surrounding area but I can't find anything like that either.
If not that then perhaps an organization to get Japan and just the whole world to stop using nuclear power, filling up warehouses with poison is not cool.
ps. Japan never ceases to humor me. Searching Miyagi turns up half a dozen links for porn on the first page.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12721827 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12721827)
They have asked and even if they didn't they really do need it right now, just like the US needed help with Katrina this is sufficiently off the scale of usual disasters that they're going to be overwhelmed with the sheer number of things to be dealt with as well as the challanges of some particular problems requiring outside specialists, there were some US and UK nuclear specialists on their way to the nuclear plant from what I heard.
The whole nuclear energy thing is tricky really because in many ways it's an idea that's starting to really come of age as oil continues to present challanges and problems with price and the environment, probably made worse for Japan given their history of having their access to oil restricted. Contrarily nuclear energy provides atmospherically clean energy so long as nothing catastrophic happens, obviously something has or very close to this has happened in Japan though what will be interesting will be to see how preventable this was because if most of the usual precautions were taken it will suggest that nuclear power will have to at least get out of the Pacific rim.
: kohl March 12, 2011, 10:12:30 -07:00
All the sites and videos I've seen there's nothing there about Japan asking or accepting help. They're keeping American/Canadian Redcross out of there buisness, not letting the American amry onto the land, and they've got those needing medical attention covered. I can't find and organization or fundraser that isn't doing anything else besides sitting on side lines waiting for them to be called upon. The whole mess just seems like too many cooks in the kitchen and is most likely just getting in the way of the Japanese procedures and data that they're trying to collect while they work this out.
What I'd like to see is a fundraiser to clean up all the debris and non degrading waste from along the shores or surrounding area but I can't find anything like that either.
If not that then perhaps an organization to get Japan and just the whole world to stop using nuclear power, filling up warehouses with poison is not cool.
ps. Japan never ceases to humor me. Searching Miyagi turns up half a dozen links for porn on the first page.
I believe you have been misinformed.
Help has been requested through diplomatic channels and is already being sent and organized.
For example, search and rescue teams from various countries are being dispatched to aid in the hunt for trapped survivors. The US Fleet has a good chunk being recalled to mainland Japan stuffed with aid and personnel to begin the clean-up process. Also, the US is currently shipping reactor coolant VIA military aircraft to help with stabilizing some of the cores in trouble. Hopefully it gets there in time.
Also, remember it has been less than a day since the initial tragedy has struck. Half of the damage hasn't even been surveyed yet. I am sure in the coming days lots of help will be needed.
My sources are from people actually in Japan and the Japanese media. I have been following the situation very closely since I have friends who live or are stationed in Japan.
Also, American media outlets have been doing an absolutely terrible job of reporting on the situation. They have been fear mongering and even spreading lies about certain things. For example, when the first waves were washing over to Hawaii, CNN was claiming the islands were being slammed. Live webcam broadcasts showed that at worst they were getting three foot waves, hardly being slammed.
: EmoFox March 12, 2011, 12:06:00 -07:00
Funny, I could've sworn Hiroshima was supposed to be payback for pearl harbour. But american history never was a huge interest of mine. Or history in general for that matter.
OK... That was NOT funny. >:( There's enough of that shit floating around the internet, without you adding to it.
Actually, EmoFox has a good counter point. The ignorant Americans who know nothing of history seem to think that Japan deserved this for Pearl Harbor, forgetting about the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings. (Not all Americans are ignorant, the ones that are seem to be very vocal) The sarcastic counter-point is to point out that they did happen, partly as retribution, and partly from military ignorance and need to show power. (I have a little bit of background in 20th century history)
The funny thing is, I believe that the US has dispatched a great deal of aid, including reactor coolant for their three power plants that are in trouble. I'm a little surprised, Japan is a forefront country for earthquake preparedness. In terms of disaster management, Japan has their poor straight and has far better planning than most other countries, especially is in BC. That means that this Earthquake / Tidal Wave one-two hit was really really bad.
Personally, I'm hoping they can get the reactors cooled far enough and shut them down, then hopefully rebuild swiftly within a year. I am also confident that the Japanese aid programs will distribute the aid they get far better than Haiti, and will be recovering well quickly.
It really was the Tsunami that did the most of the punishment here, without having washed away great portions of the infrastructure and causing direct damage to the plants these nuclear facilities would probably be fine thanks to being able to draw on grid power to keep the cooling systems running. Tsunamis are, thusfar, a relatively little-known disaster that has only struck a few times in any sigifigant fashion and is evidently very hard to contain. If you compare this to the damage done in toykyo by the quake itself it's pretty stark. With regards to our own risk factors for this sort of thing, the quake we'd be quite suseptible but the Tsunami itself would have a tougher time of it thanks to the protecting presence of Vancouver Island and the layout of the various peninsulas that make up Vancouver. Richmond would be in trouble of course as would Delta but the first is obvious and the latter is relatively poorly populated. Vancouver itself enjoys a second shield in the form of the UBC peninsula as any Tsunami would have to come from the south west ( Juan de Fuca strait ), mostly what our region would have to focus on is the direct damage caused by the quake.
In October 1989, I was six years old and barely one month into the first grade when the Loma Prieta Earthquake rocked San Francisco. The next day, our teacher sat us down at the beginning of class and told us exactly what Earthquakes were. Then she told us that we were also on a fault line. I distinctly remember her saying, "It could happen tomorrow, or a hundred years from now, or when you're all grown up." Those words petrified me. I spent the next several years living in constant nightmarish fear. And I was soon to learn that if Earthquakes didn't get me, plenty of other things could. There were Volcanoes and Tsunamis and Tornadoes and Hurricanes and Cancer and Nuclear Weapons and kidnappers and falling tress and spoiled milk (it's a long story). The thing is, I developed an almost macabre fascination with natural disasters. I read all the books that I could find about them. I drew pictures of them. I imagined scenarios with them. I threw them at my SimCities. Did this help me relieve my fears about them? Probably not, but I have since learned to live with them, to accept that they exist and that my mortality is not guaranteed to be snuffed out should they occur.
That being said, the possibility that the reactor in Japan is going to melt down has me wanting to hide under the coffee table again.
: Fargo March 13, 2011, 04:24:11 -06:00
OK... That was NOT funny. >:( There's enough of that shit floating around the internet, without you adding to it.
Well, actually, Zen mostly explained my statement, but I feel the need to defend myself regardless. I merely meant nature doesn't hold stupid grudges for human wars. The states got their petty revenge when they bombed Japan, and need to shut the hell up. It really was sarcasm. ._. Although, American history really wasn't one of my huge interests, so I thought I may have gotten the time line wrong.
Pearl Harbour was in December 1941, Hiroshima and Nagasaki were in August of 1945. I won't tirade about the abysmal failure of American education, but I highly doubt the average American could handle a day in the Japanese school system. I know I'd go nuts.
Either way, another 6.6 earthquake near Tokyo, but further inland (less tidal waves!), and the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster has hit level 6 of 7 on the disaster scale. It's a scary little Armageddon over there ... I truly hope it calms down soon. It's extremely scary.
*ahem*
OMG WE'RE ALL GONNA DIIIIIIEEEEEE!!!!!
Okay, I'm done. Thanks for straightening the timeline for me too, n.n;;
I'm curious now as to what a nuclear meltdown over there means for us over here. And really starting to think there might be a little more merit to those 2012 end of days myths than people are willing to admit.
Worst case scenario for them over there will mean nothing to us as far as direct impact from fallout or some such, read a transcript of a discussion between Vladimir Putin and one of his top advisers/whatevers on nuclear stuff and after some discussion about what exactly was going on in detail it was made clear that even a worst case scenario couldn't have any signifigant impact on Russia which is faaaar closer then us.
WCS - Rad Zombies. Japan will just be the start of the infection. After years of preparing for attacks from giant lizards, Japan will be unsettled by how fast this infection will actually spread.
: Sikhoten_Tiger March 16, 2011, 09:37:00 -06:00
Worst case scenario for them over there will mean nothing to us as far as direct impact from fallout or some such, read a transcript of a discussion between Vladimir Putin and one of his top advisers/whatevers on nuclear stuff and after some discussion about what exactly was going on in detail it was made clear that even a worst case scenario couldn't have any signifigant impact on Russia which is faaaar closer then us.
That's only in proximity. If you ae counting distance in the path of the prevailing winds, most of Russia is as far away from Japan as possible.
The main worry of any melt-down is radioactive material being ejected in to the atmosphere and then fall-out occurring in other locations.
I would need to do more research/speak to more experts before I could remotely claim what the potential outcome of a worse case scenario at this point would be.
My impression was that this included possabilities that the wind blow in a really weird direction, it's not exactly inconceivable that the radioactive particles and such simply get too dispersed by the time it crosses the Pacific to do something.
The big impression Im getting from all the news reports and such is that most people and reporters dont quite understand what exactly is going on with those explosions, or with the entire incident in general. Especially in relation to installed nuclear plants in the US and Canada.
Example: What caused the explosions, what damage was caused? The explosions were hydrogen/oxygen conflagrations resulting from superheated steam being released from the cooling system, when released this steam decomposed chemically into hydrogen and oxygen, there was also some hydrogen present from catalytic reactions with zirconium in pipe claddings. The damage that resulted from the explosions was mostly to the building surrounding the containment building (some confusion may result from most North American reactors not having buildings around the containment building). At last report, only minor damage was done to the systems contained within the building.
The cause identified so far for the incident was a failure of the diesel generators used for backup cooling system power in the event of a scram. These generators failed because they or their fuel tanks (reports are sketchy) were flooded with tsunami water. Since none of the generators lasted past an hour after the start of the event, no power was available from another reactor on site, and no power was available from the electrical grid, the cooling systems failed and all the efforts as of late has been to try and keep the cores as cool as possible and hope they dont turn out worse than Three Mile Island. This generally cant happen in the United States (Im not sure about Canada) because nuclear plants in the US need to have on-site diesel generating capacity to exceed 150% of operating power requirements and be fueled for something like a week's worth of operation.
As for the radiation, its all relatively minor at this time (646 μSv/hour (0.646 mSv/h) at 11:10 on 17 March), although the workers at the plant are expected to be exposed to more (250mSv/yr) than twice what is considered potentially cancerous (100mSv/yr). For perspective, the radiation shielded control room at Chernobyl 4 was at 40mSv/hr immediately after the explosion, the area outside the reactor building was at about 0.3-5 Sv/hr and the town of Pripyat was experiencing around and average of 50mSv/hr.
I finally heard back from my relatives and brother in Japan - thankfully they are fine, and their homes escaped damage from the tsunami.
200 workers at the nuclear plant remain behind to die of radiation poisoning:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1367125/Japan-tsunami-Fukushima-Fifty-suicide-mission-battle-nuclear-meltdown.html (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1367125/Japan-tsunami-Fukushima-Fifty-suicide-mission-battle-nuclear-meltdown.html)
Radiation leak is now serious enough to kill people:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1367684/Nuclear-plant-chief-weeps-Japanese-finally-admit-radiation-leak-kill-people.html (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1367684/Nuclear-plant-chief-weeps-Japanese-finally-admit-radiation-leak-kill-people.html)
Visual aid found:
http://xkcd.com/radiation/ (http://xkcd.com/radiation/)
Daily mail is barely a news source.. that XKCD chart is awesome though :D . Things will be more or less fine. This whole thing should just go to show how safe Nuclear power ACTUALLY is. Keep in mind this reactor complex wasn't built to deal with this sort of disaster...
: Foxxphyre March 22, 2011, 12:44:40 -06:00
Things will be more or less fine. This whole thing should just go to show how safe Nuclear power ACTUALLY is.
Except for anyone with in the x-mile radius of any explosions. And Japan being Japan, and pretty much packed to the brim, that's going to be at least a couple thousand people. Not to mention if Japan's reactor complex wasn't built to handle that kind of disaster, being built in the one place that's probably the most susceptible to that kind of disaster... Well, it doesn't look very promising.
In the long term, and for people outside of Japan, there will be very little repercussions of this entire thing to haunt us. Just like in all reality, the Titanic sinking really only sucked for those who were on it. Or Hiroshima really only sucked for Japan. But that doesn't, or at least shouldn't, give anyone the right to trivialize what a tragedy it is for those people.
On a lighter note, my spell check is racist; it doesn't tell me to capitalize "japan". I find this amusing.
Some of you might have seen these before but they I found these to be very good demonstrations on just how big the waves that hit Northeast Japan really were. I haven't seen these video clips used on the news and today was the first time I had seen them, all 3 of these are very good examples of the effects of a major Tsunami.
Clip No.1 - Japanese Coast guard ship operating several miles offshore literally Tsunami climbs over waves that are about 40 feet high (about the size of a 4 story building). The crew can be heard chattering excitedly in the background and taking photos as they probably realize whats about to happen to the shoreline behind them.
Tsunami Climbing: Incredible video of ship heading into wave in Japan (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdhfV-8dbCE#)
Clip No. 2 - The wave reaches the coastline near Noda and crashes over the sea wall, the camera pans to the right to show what looks like a boat being totally wiped out by a breaker that is about 40 - 50 feet high. The wave then floods the harbor and wrecks boats tied up there.
earthquake japan 2011 tsunami waves footage by a japanese man in noda japan (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8mqoSw5yws#)
Clip No. 3 - This clip from inside the Sendai airport is looking out from the terminal building with stunned crowds as the tsunami washes away the cars in the parking area beneath the upper level causeway.
東北地方太平洋沖地震：仙台空港に津波が到達 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_6iDBoOvb0#ws)
: EmoFox March 12, 2011, 12:06:00 -07:00
Funny, I could've sworn Hiroshima was supposed to be payback for pearl harbour. But american history never was a huge interest of mine. Or history in general for that matter.
Also, this is where the fault between the island and mainland decides to move, and we're both wiped out by earthquake/tsunami. That would suck, and be incredibly ironic. I was talking to my mom about it earlier actually, and she mentioned something that my stepdad said; apparently the beginning of the end is supposed start in May of this year. And then the world as we know it comes to an end. *dramatic music here* Sure are interesting times we live in! :p
Well, we get what we reap. When we screw with nature, something's bound to give. The spirits are pissed off, and this is what we are seeing now. Hiroshima WAS supposed to be payback, yes. Paybacks are a bitch, eh? ;)
Clip No. 3 - This clip from inside the Sendai airport is looking out from the terminal building with stunned crowds as the tsunami washes away the cars in the parking area beneath the upper level causeway.
Unfortunately, that is what YVR would look like it the same thing happened here.
They say the more you know the less you have to fear. Well, this is an exception...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfxHoQcHuY4