# 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:** 20
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/381 "2011-03-14T03:06:42Z")
> [@mutantmoose](#): > > Looks like there’s just the explosion at a nuclear reactor to contend with, so not so bad. You know it’s been a hell of a week when you find yourself saying stuff like this with a straight face. I mean, we’ve all heard the jokes about “What next, Godzilla?” but I’ll tell you that at this point it honestly would not surprise me. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/382 "2011-03-14T03:07:47Z")
oh, not a doubt. after the third natural disater you kinda wonder who’s toes you stepped on, although earthquake, tsunami, and volcano are common chain events. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/383 "2011-03-14T03:08:35Z")
> [@mutantmoose](#): > > bbc breaking news > > [Home - BBC News](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/) > > apparently the tide has sucked out indicating an incoming tsunami and a helicopter has filmed it coming Do you have a direct link? I can’t find the video. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/384 "2011-03-14T03:09:37Z")
> [@rocking\_chair](#): > > to sum up, thus far there has been: > > big earthquakes on both sides of the island. > a big tsunami after the big quake on the ocean side. > 2 explosions at a nuclear facility. > volcano going off in the south. > strong aftershocks that are testing everyone’s last nerve. > 2,000 people reported dead in miyagi prefecture. > > i’d say that’s a fairly full plate. Did anyone else who used to play Sim City occasionally just set off every disaster in the game simultaneously for the heck of it, and are you also experiencing flashbacks to that now? Not to make light of the horror of what’s going on in Japan, but every new update just seems to pile more bad news on to what already seemed like an ultimate nightmare scenario. It is too awful to comprehend. Again, thoughts and hearts with everyone living this. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/385 "2011-03-14T03:10:20Z")
1000 bodies have been found on some beach. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/386 "2011-03-14T03:10:54Z")
CNN now showing a feed from Japan’s NHK; clearly visible is damage to the building housing the number 3 reactor at the Fukushima plant. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/387 "2011-03-14T03:11:22Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Do you have a direct link? I can’t find the video. The warning has been thankfully cancelled. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/388 "2011-03-14T03:13:16Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > 1000 bodies have been found on some beach. that would be the miyagi prefecture. the number went upto 2,000 just recently. ---
**Author:** ![FeAudrey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7feea3/32.png) [@FeAudrey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FeAudrey)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/389 "2011-03-14T03:23:31Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > … I can already predict the fundies are saying it’s god’s punishment for being heathens or some such nonsense. How about applying your psychic gifts to something useful, like what’s next for the Fukushima nuclear plants? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/390 "2011-03-14T03:28:26Z")
i think tsunami warnings are made when ever there are aftershocks. depends on where people have 15 to 50 minutes to get to higher ground. news also mentioned that the tsunami of aftershocks had more localized affect, it didn’t get the whole area that the big one did. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/391 "2011-03-14T03:31:54Z")
> [@FeAudrey](#): > > How about applying your psychic gifts to something useful, like what’s next for the Fukushima nuclear plants? :rolleyes: Geez, someone piss in your Cheerios this morning? ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/392 "2011-03-14T04:21:42Z")
My wife safely arrived in Narita this morning, but the trains are out so she took the bus into town. I took Beta-chan into daycare and found out a few things. It took one mother until 10 pm to get there, and there were day care centers where parents couldn’t get there at all. One of the mothers at our place had to walk 4 hours to get home. The reason earthquakes are “fun” for my 2 1/2 y.o. daughter is that they do drills every couple of months. They stop what they are doing and get into little balls covering their heads with their hands. It apparently was fun to do it when the floor was shaking. There’s scarcity of gas and a lot of food, but we’re all alive, we have our house and each other, so any inconvenience to us is trivial. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/393 "2011-03-14T04:22:03Z")
holy shit, that video is almost more terrifying than the incoming tsunami footage that just ravaged the coast. 6 minutes from nothing to raging flood waters. ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/394 "2011-03-14T04:49:48Z")
I hope nobody holds it against me that I laughed at what **Ms. Whatsit** said upthread. I still find Beta-chan’s reaction to the quake hilarious. Little kids are awesome. I seriously want to give her a big hug right now. And the rest of you guys as well. Regular earthquakes are scary enough, let alone something like this. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/395 "2011-03-14T05:02:04Z")
> [@TokyoPlayer](#): > > … we’re all alive, we have our house and each other, so any inconvenience to us is trivial… :: breathes big sigh of relief :: ---
**Author:** ![Nanoda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Nanoda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanoda)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/396 "2011-03-14T06:49:40Z")
That video was terrifying. The raw power is insane. Like **Asimovian** I found the railing breaking away noticible for some reason. Minamisanriku was getting a lot of coverage, so I checked it out on Google Earth; there’s all the restaurant and ATM and bus icons for things that are totally gone. Their community webpage is still up BTW; they were supposed to have a forest fire training session yesterday. And it looks like Fukushima #2 is packing up. At least everyone should know the drill by now. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/397 "2011-03-14T07:53:00Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Does someone have a link that isn’t through Facebook? Part of that video is at 3:00 [here](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-12724473), but it’s worth signing up to Facebook temporarily just to watch the whole thing. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/398 "2011-03-14T09:38:45Z")
> [@Asimovian](#): > > Absolutely amazing. I think I was most struck by how the railing on the stairs where the filmer had been standing was torn away a few short minutes later. [This](http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fgoo.gl%2Fmaps%2FkhgJ&h=674ca) is what the street used to look like (Google Street View). I noticed that at 50 seconds on the video, the camera pans past a sign that looks like it indicates a tsunami escape route up those stairs - are these a common feature in coastal towns in this area? [Here’s](http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=kesennuma&aq=&sll=38.277809,141.015701&sspn=0.102146,0.191574&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Kesennuma,+Miyagi+Prefecture,+Japan&t=h&layer=c&cbll=38.899021,141.578228&panoid=ZU--NQExOOwqoysPg7ax4Q&cbp=11,304.77,,1,4.42&ll=38.899032,141.578236&spn=0.00511,0.015063&z=16) the same sign on Google - it looks like it shows a wave symbol. ---
**Author:** ![Hokkaido\_Brit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/d26b3c/32.png) [@Hokkaido\_Brit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hokkaido_Brit)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/399 "2011-03-14T09:41:58Z")
Just heard from my husband - a brief phone call from his cell phone. He says it is like nothing he has ever seen, utter destruction with heartbreaking pieces of family life scattered about, like photos, unbroken cups and plates, children’s toys. The one that broke me up though, he said they found a child’s new school uniform, still in its box. But no child. They arrived last night and started searching immediately, finding one body. Today their team has been diverted to clearing out a smashed up building so the rescuers can sleep there tonight. He reckons they might be gone months. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/400 "2011-03-14T12:11:16Z")
\*\*Hokkaido Brit,\*\*I’m sorry about how much this will affect your family, and I know this will be really hard for him to be gone, but I’m really thankful for the efforts of everyone. I wish I could go up and help. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279.md?page=19) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279.md?page=21)