HUGE earthquake and tsunami hit Japan...

[mitt]

It is appearing a lot worse than original reports - which makes perfect sense after seeing the videos and pictures of the waves.

tens of thousands is the missing number now...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/8378631/Japan-earthquake-tens-of-thousands-missing-as-full-devastation-emerges.html

2 reactors are likely melting down.  I think the information released is not completely transparent yet...
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/12/us-japan-quake-nuclear-cooling-idUSTRE72B3GI20110312

[Stella]

Words fail.....  I feel so sorry and helpless.  But there will be fund raisers, no doubt.  It'll be something. 

[The Bacon Junkie]

oh, geez...

watching the video of the tsunami washing over everything made me feel sick... 

[IZ]

After seeing that videos footage, Mother Nature wins. No way those Nuc plants weren't going to suffer. How are the people doing now on food and water?

[scduc]

It seems as tough each new disaster is worse than the last. Maybe its due to media coverage, but clearly something is going on here. If that epicenter was 200miles south near Tokyo, what would be the damage and casualty? What if a 9.0 hit 2 miles off coast of San Fran? I have to say thanks that these events are not hitting the major cities or we could be looking at hundreds of thousands.

[cokey]

9,000 missing from a town.. that's the whole fuken town...  reactor meltdown will happen

[erkishhorde]

9,000 missing from a town.. that's the whole fuken town...  reactor meltdown will happen

It's a tsunami, what do you expect? The EQ wasn't that far off the coast so some towns pretty much got enough warning to call your friends and say goodbye. Unlike the EQ, you don't engineer for a tsunami. They're too scary and too far between to make the cost worth it. Sounds bad, I know.

[ducatiz]

This whole earthquake/tsunami thing is crazy.  I have watched several videos and still can't get over it.

Now, there are 10s of thousands with no food or water or a place to sleep.

It's just mind blowing.

[NAKID]

Hey guys, ducatini sent me a message asking how we are. I haven't been on here in a while, but we are south of Tokyo, about 300 miles from the epicenter. The base is designed to take hits like this so we suffered no damages or power outages. Now, the city of Yokosuka (the base is in this city) has a bit of damage, power failures and the such. My family and I are fine, but like others have said, the real problem coming up is going to be supplies. We are an island country that has most things shipped in. All of the ports are closed so you can imagine what that means...

[ducpainter]

Hey guys, ducatini sent me a message asking how we are. I haven't been on here in a while, but we are south of Tokyo, about 300 miles from the epicenter. The base is designed to take hits like this so we suffered no damages or power outages. Now, the city of Yokosuka (the base is in this city) has a bit of damage, power failures and the such. My family and I are fine, but like others have said, the real problem coming up is going to be supplies. We are an island country that has most things shipped in. All of the ports are closed so you can imagine what that means...

Glad to hear you and the family are safe Chris.

[ungeheuer]

Images and footage are just.... sickening...






10,000+ dead now  

...and that's before we account for nuke meltdowns..... about which there now seem to be confusing and contradictory reports:

>>  Nuclear Reactor Meltdown?

>>  Or Explosion, but No Meltdowns

[NAKID]

well, there definitely was an explosion. Whether it's considered a melt down yet? Haven't heard the "official" word.

BTW, the "official" word in Japan seems to be not always the whole truth. A lot of hiding the truth of just how bad things really are going on here...

[IZ]

Good to hear you and the family are ok Chris.

[ducatiz]

well, there definitely was an explosion. Whether it's considered a melt down yet? Haven't heard the "official" word.

BTW, the "official" word in Japan seems to be not always the whole truth. A lot of hiding the truth of just how bad things really are going on here...

Bear in mind that there is no technical definition of "meltdown."  It's a general term and more used by the news than the Nuc industry.

[NAKID]

Well, here is what they're throwing all over the TV to define it:

melt·down
[melt-doun]

â€"noun
the melting of a significant portion of a nuclear-reactor core due to inadequate cooling of the fuel elements, a condition that could lead to the escape of radiation.

Just saying...