# Large earthquake in Northeast Japan **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 11, 2011, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279 "2011-03-11T06:10:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![JFLuvly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ac91a4/32.png) [@JFLuvly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JFLuvly)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2011, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/21 "2011-03-11T07:03:12Z")
Wow!! Watching that tsunami roll in is almost as surreal as watching 9/11 happen! I am speechless and that rarely happens. That shit is fucking scary! ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2011, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/22 "2011-03-11T07:07:28Z")
CNN is showing live images of the tsunami waves crawling over the land. Not to make this all about ME ME ME, but tsunamis are pretty much my number one fear, period. Watching this is completely freaking me out. God, I really hope everyone stays away from the sea. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2011, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/23 "2011-03-11T07:10:03Z")
I’m completely transfixed with the tsunami. I’ve never watched anything like this unfold before. I want to be able to shout at the people on the ground, and the news reporters aren’t talking about it, but it seems very clear to me that there were cars that did NOT make it out of the way. I am so sad for those people. ---
**Author:** ![Amasia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ba9def/32.png) [@Amasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amasia)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2011, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/24 "2011-03-11T07:11:53Z")
This is devastating. I was in Aceh post the Boxing Day earthquake. In terms of invasion inland, this tsunami appears to be going much farther inland. How very, very sad. ---
**Author:** ![TheTerribleTako](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@TheTerribleTako](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheTerribleTako)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2011, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/25 "2011-03-11T07:13:01Z")
Wow. We’re watching this on CNN right now and the images are horrendous. Now they’re saying that more tsunami waves are hitting the shores of Sendai. I hope all our Dopers and their friends and relatives in Japan are okay. ---
**Author:** ![multimediac17](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/839c29/32.png) [@multimediac17](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/multimediac17)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2011, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/26 "2011-03-11T07:14:07Z")
This is unbelievable. I’ve never seen anything like it - it looks like a disaster movie. Fuck. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2011, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/27 "2011-03-11T07:16:10Z")
Looks like the worst tsunami since 2004. 8.8, Jesus. (Mind you the range or even existence of a tsunami depends on the _kind_ of quake. But still.) ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2011, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/28 "2011-03-11T07:16:33Z")
> [@multimediac17](#): > > This is unbelievable. I’ve never seen anything like it - it looks like a disaster movie. Fuck. I just said almost the same thing, word for word. I can’t believe we’re seeing these scenes live. ---
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2011, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/29 "2011-03-11T07:17:58Z")
There are tsunamis on top of tsunamis. I’ve never seen anything like it. My local news is talking about Japan and the Oregon coast historically “trading” earthquakes! ---
**Author:** ![user\_hostile](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/user_hostile/32/474_2.png) [@user\_hostile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/user_hostile)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2011, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/30 "2011-03-11T07:18:11Z")
The USGS is reporting [an 8.9 magnitude quake](http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqinthenews/2011/usc0001xgp/). ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2011, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/31 "2011-03-11T07:25:33Z")
Watching that wave crawl across the beautiful and neatly arranged farmland is dreadful. Thinking of the heartbreak of cleaning it up, and making things right again, along with the loss of life, is depressing. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2011, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/32 "2011-03-11T07:28:42Z")
Sendai Airport is mostly underwater now. Incredible devastation. Wow. ---
**Author:** ![Agnostic\_Pagan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c4cdca/32.png) [@Agnostic\_Pagan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agnostic_Pagan)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2011, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/33 "2011-03-11T07:28:45Z")
Watching the images on CNN. I am speechless. They are showing burning buildings moving with the incoming wave. Now they are showing people stranded on rooftops at an airport. I just hope that the majority of the people were able to avoid the tsunami and evacuate inland. Tsunami warnings as far away as the Marianas. The damage to the smaller island nations is what terrifies me. Hoping this is not as bad as the Boxing Day quake, but my gut says this will be worse. I hope all our Dopers in Japan are okay, and everyone else in those areas. ---
**Author:** ![dukette71](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8edcca/32.png) [@dukette71](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dukette71)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2011, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/34 "2011-03-11T07:31:47Z")
question: does any one know how long the earthquake lasted? ---
**Author:** ![Sodalite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@Sodalite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sodalite)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2011, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/35 "2011-03-11T07:32:33Z")
Also watching CNN here. There are people trapped by the flood trying to get the news helicopter to help them. I’m shaking. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2011, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/36 "2011-03-11T07:38:43Z")
Autolycus is in Aomori City. This is a Wikipedia link to an article about the area, with a map showing where it is. [Aomori - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aomori,_Aomori) Does anyone know how close this is to the tsunami footage. It looks awfully close to the sea. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2011, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/37 "2011-03-11T07:38:51Z")
This is going to be worse than Katrina. I’ve never seen anything like this… ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2011, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/38 "2011-03-11T07:40:14Z")
> [@dukette71](#): > > question: does any one know how long the earthquake lasted? It felt like there were two. About 15 mins apart. Can’t say for sure how long they lasted. But for the first one our building was swaying for about two minutes, and maybe 3 minutes for the second one (not that the earthquake itself would have lasted that long). ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2011, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/39 "2011-03-11T07:41:07Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > Autolycus is in Aomori City. This is a Wikipedia link to an article about the area, with a map showing where it is. [Aomori - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aomori,_Aomori) > > Does anyone know how close this is to the tsunami footage. It looks awfully close to the sea. I’m no…tsunami-ologist, but it looks like the curve of the land might protect it from tsunami waves coming from the east. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2011, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/40 "2011-03-11T07:41:08Z")
This is pretty amazing, scary and sad. The people of Japan are in my thoughts. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279.md?page=3)