Japan

[Vinceras]

Has been hit tremendously hard by earthquakes and tsunamis in the last hour. Several major cities have been nearly completely destroyed. ~4 million buildings without power right now...infrastructure and crops are being decimated. Keep them in your thoughts and/or prayers.

 

[Incubus]

Re: Japan

Cool story bro. We have a news thread for this sorta thing.

I'm probably a little desensitised right now, what with all the Australian fires, floods, hurricanes, and then the New Zealand earthquake. Lets face it, the world is going to shit right now.

 

[Ryka]

Re: Japan

According to what I heard, the nuclear plant in japan is in danger from the earthquakes, causing a bit of danger there, but the earthquake also caused a volcano eruption. If the nuclear plant gets the lava in its core, 80% of Japan will go up.

Meaning a lot of things will have a bit of trouble being made by big companies, and imported by merchants.

So yes, it is a giant scale deal.

 

[Unknown Squid]

Re: Japan

8.9 on the scale, with half a dozen 7 pointers following and some 50+ lighter aftershocks. 10 meter Tsunami across length of east coast. Some where around 50 dead from most sources so far, with more expected to be confirmed as the clean up goes on.

The tsunami seen in this vid is pretty horrifying. I can't imagine being caught in that.

You must be registered to see the links

You must be registered to see the links

I haven't seen anything about any volcanic activity though. A turbine in a nuclear plant did burst into flames, but it wasn't in a reactor area. An oil plant/field also ended up in flames.

 

[Hentaispider]

Re: Japan

If the nuclear plant gets the lava in its core, 80% of Japan will go up.

You do realize that there is no possibility of nuclear explosion in nuclear plants? You'd need almost pure U-235 for that and the uranium that the reactor contains is only about 20% pure.

 

[maikochan]

Re: Japan

Not to downplay what's happing there, obviously this is a rather serious natural disaster, but to put things in perspective, Japan is sitting right on top of where the Pacific plate subducts under the Asian plate at a very steep angle. It's one of the most earthquake prone areas in the world, and one of the most advanced countries in the world. Unlike Haiti which was one of the poorist countries in the world, Japan is very well equipped to recover from this. It's very practiced with quakes and tsunamis. Also, 98% (or more, I forget the number exactly) of Japan is mountains. There's plenty of places to run to to get away from a tsunami.

When I visited Japan a few years ago, one thing I noticed quite frequently were plenty of tsunami evacuation signs and centers. It's a serious disaster yes, but one Japan's prepared for. That said, it's still worth keeping the country and its people in mind when wishing well and communing with whatever divine entitiy you choose.

 

[Sinfulwolf]

Re: Japan

This is a horrible event, but horrible events have been hitting the world since man first walked the planet, and there are still other horrible events occurring around the world while everyone's eyes and prayers now rest on Japan.

Violence is still ripe in Africa, people are still getting killed in Afghanistan, drug wars continue in Mexico and South America... but those will be forgotten for the moment while Japan is the world's worry spot. For a little while at least, then the troubles there will be forgotten as with so many other places, despite the resounding effects that will be damaging to people for years to come.

Just something to think about.

 

[Unknown Squid]

Re: Japan

True. Being the reason I kept my post mainly to laying out information. Wishing them well of course, but I don't think there's actually any other country more qualified to deal with a quake.

Spare those with family and friends currently in Japan, the people most concerned overall will be likely businessmen. Worlds third largest economy, and unlike China or the US, a natural disaster like this hits the entire country at once. Which means it hits the rest of the world too (though the developed world mostly) in a much less direct way.

 

[Nunu]

Re: Japan

this is true, a city in almost any other country would have been completely leveled.

 

[Luppikun]

Re: Japan

Well, duh, of course they are used to tsunamis, they made the word. But yeah, there's tons of warnings about the nuclear plants... Mother Nature is PISSED. Japan, Haiti, Pakistan, New Zealand, Australia...

 

[maikochan]

Re: Japan

I almost thought that, but then I remembered that, really, the only parts of the Earth we can have any effect on are the Hydrosphere and Atmosphere. The Lithosphere we can do almost nothing to. Earthquakes are something that humans have no ability to prevent nor cause, unlike hurricanes, floods and other weather related disasters which we can influence by altering the hydro- and atmospheres.

Just remember, as bad as things may seem today, be glad we're not living at the end of the Permian era, where one of, if not the largest mass extinction took place. And not due to some asteroid, the Great Dying was most likly caused by immense vulcanism in Siberia. Earth's been in its past both a Heaven and a Hell. Given what we know of the past, I consider the period we're in now to be one of those Heavan times.

 

[JohnDoe]

Re: Japan

Earth is barely turning in it's sleep.

All considered the worst part of the disaster is economic, the loss of large amounts of crops and products, the actual cost of cleaning up the debris and rebuild, not thinking about the effect on the value of the yen on a time of recession(or starting to recover after a time of recess, depending on your insight on the world economy).

 

[Luppikun]

Re: Japan

Earth is barely turning in it's sleep.

All considered the worst part of the disaster is economic, the loss of large amounts of crops and products, the actual cost of cleaning up the debris and rebuild, not thinking about the effect on the value of the yen on a time of recession(or starting to recover after a time of recess, depending on your insight on the world economy).

... and the dead people, too.

 

[JohnDoe]

Re: Japan

... and the dead people, too.

Economy kills more people than disasters in japan, but you'r right.

 

[Master_Bei_Shun]

Re: Japan

And speaking of broken economies...

Wouldn't it be... Interestingly poetic if there economy were to bounce back from a massive surge of people buying Hentai and Manga?

As the Tokyo Manga Ban takes effect... That very same banned object saves them...

The irony make me wiggle with glee just imagining it...


On a second note:

I was watching the first CNN reports as it happened, and my friend... Had the lack of... I dunno a brain? To complain that the Cameraman was filming a wall...

lolwut? The man/womans in an 8.9 earthquake... Having to use a desk for support... Carrying around an... I dunno, 50 pound camera on his shoulder...

I say it's a miracle he even remembered to turn the friggen thing ON let alone set it to record! Who gives a crap what he's filming!

 

[Unknown Squid]

Re: Japan

I know we've said how Japan is good at handling these kinds of events, and that it's far from the first natural disaster the world has suffered, but since we're talking about it.

Looking through further images released does make you think. We hear of disasters in third world countries all the time, and I'd dare say even been desensitised to them to a degree, but you rarely see destruction on this scale in a developed country. I'm not sure everyone realises the magnitude of what a 8.9 can do.

You must be registered to see the links

And a nuclear plant may be in meltdown after all.

You must be registered to see the links

On a side note, the quake has managed to cancel/postpone tomorow's Reitaisai festival. : /

 

[DarkFire1004]

Re: Japan

/h/ currently has a thread of all the hentai artists who've survived the earthquake. Sad how a natural disaster occurs, and all they can think about is their porn.

 

[Chibichibi]

Re: Japan

I almost thought that, but then I remembered that, really, the only parts of the Earth we can have any effect on are the Hydrosphere and Atmosphere. The Lithosphere we can do almost nothing to. Earthquakes are something that humans have no ability to prevent nor cause, unlike hurricanes, floods and other weather related disasters which we can influence by altering the hydro- and atmospheres.

Just remember, as bad as things may seem today, be glad we're not living at the end of the Permian era, where one of, if not the largest mass extinction took place. And not due to some asteroid, the Great Dying was most likly caused by immense vulcanism in Siberia. Earth's been in its past both a Heaven and a Hell. Given what we know of the past, I consider the period we're in now to be one of those Heavan times.

Not to mention that Pangea was around and the entire interior was a barren wasteland that not very much could live in.

The Siberian traps are also the wrong kind of Volcanism to do the kind of damage they're talking about. Read the book: Under a Green Sky. It's got more science in it from one of the guys that studies the permian extinction for a living. Ah, and Gorgon, by the same guy Peter Ward, is good too.

/nerd

 

[Sinfulwolf]

Re: Japan

You must be registered to see the links

One of Japan's skyscrapers during the earthquake. The building is shaking a bit as it's designed to. Some interesting design there.

 

[OAMP]

Re: Japan

As I said before, it was really erie watching the cars try and run away from the tsunami.