News Japan Earthquake, Tsunami, & Nuclear Disaster

[halcyon]

I've heard unconfirmed reports one of Japan's power plants has a near complete failure in their backup cooling systems.
Searching for some news on this...this is potentially more deadly then the quake and the tsunami combined.

*edit*

Japan's Fukushima Nuclear Plant Reactor Cooling System Offline
I found one story, searching for more -> http://en.rian.ru/world/20110311/162952820.html
Second report -> http://www.businessinsider.com/fukushima-nuclear-plant-2011-3

Major Blaze at Cosmo Oil Refinery
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-...uclear-power-reactors-shut-by-earthquake.html

Cosmo Oil Refinery Blaze

The images in these clips are just unbelievable...

8.9 Quake Causes Tsunami in Japan

Flipped Cars/Boats

 

[SiberianTiger]

Where did they measure this 1 meter height of the wave? If that's in open sea, that is much. Such a wave would grow huge when coming to shallow place.

 

[N_Molson]

The prime minister of Japan said there is no threat of radioactive leak in any power plant. However, 1 is seriously damaged with fires.

 

[Nazban]

Just saw on BBC that the airport was completly ruined, many flights are cancelled.

 

[indonesianorbinaut]

there's tsunami warning for Papua, Maluku, and Sulawesi:blink:

 

[halcyon]

More on Tokyo's Narita International Airport:

CCTV Camera Shows Narita International Hit By Tsunami

Some facts I just read:

- 23 confirmed deaths (expect this to go up)
- over 4 million homes without power
- Japan's communication networks are overloaded

 

[Urwumpe]

Damn... when I went to bed, there was just a weaker Earthquake reported nearby. never expected to see something like that when I wake up and turn on TV for watching news. It is now the strongest earthquake in recorded history. The damage to the infrastructure seems to be devastating.

1 meter is not a big deal, it can be dangerous for small sailboats or motorboats only. What is very spectacular is the fact it comes from the other side of the Pacific !

1m is terrible if it is a tsunami (The wave height is measured by early warning buoys in deep water). Tsunamis are not normal waves. A tsunami has a very long wavelength, which means 1m Tsunami is in terms of energy a few hundred times as powerful as a normal 1m wave. When a tsunami hits shallow water, this wavelength gets shortened and the wave height increases dramatically. The energy remains pretty much constant during this.

On the ocean, it is harmless, you rarely notice a 100 km wavelength wave, but in shallow waters, this turns into an army of freight trains of water hitting the coast.

 

[Cosmic Penguin]

More on Tokyo's Narita International Airport:

Some facts I just read:

- 23 confirmed deaths (expect this to go up)
- over 4 million homes without power
- Japan's communication networks are overloaded

Nit: That's not Narita International Airport, which is at least a dozen miles inland. The video is from Sendai Airport, which is right next to the coast, just like LAX is (Co-ordinates: 38.138607N,140.916996E ). No wonder it was fully flooded...:facepalm:

 

[fhf2548]

Now The End Of Japan Is Here
NASA Predicted solar flare on earth
Japan Will Destroy By Tsunami And Akihabara Is Unvisitable

 

[IronRain]

Kaduka Space Center is in probably one of the worst hit areas

(of course the inland damage will be way worse)

 

[N_Molson]

1m is terrible if it is a tsunami (The wave height is measured by early warning buoys in deep water). Tsunamis are not normal waves. A tsunami has a very long wavelength, which means 1m Tsunami is in terms of energy a few hundred times as powerful as a normal 1m wave. When a tsunami hits shallow water, this wavelength gets shortened and the wave height increases dramatically. The energy remains pretty much constant during this.

I would be REALLY surprised if anything really dangerous happens on the US East coast, I'm pretty sure they take all that into account when they speak about a 1 meter wave... we'll see...

 

[Urwumpe]

Now The End Of Japan Is Here
NASA Predicted solar flare on earth
Japan Will Destroy By Tsunami And Akihabara Is Unvisitable

This is one of those posts, that make me wish for a "thank you not" button. :facepalm:

---------- Post added at 12:17 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:14 PM ----------

I would be REALLY surprised if anything really dangerous happens on the US East coast, I'm pretty sure they take all that into account when they speak about a 1 meter wave... we'll see...

Don't be too sure... the 2004 Christmas tsunami was just 60 cm high according to radar satellite measurements, and resulted in 10m high flood waves at the shore.

 

[SiberianTiger]

Some guy sitting in my office is spreading a rumor that the disaster is somehow caused by the Moon passing an unusually low perigee. I wonder, how scientific is that?

 

[Urwumpe]

Some guy sitting in my office is spreading a rumor that the disaster is somehow caused by the Moon passing an unusually low perigee. I wonder, how scientific is that?

As far as I can tell, it is wrong.

Just use Orbiter for today, if you want a very accurate position.

This here also confirms that we are currently rather at a high distance:

http://heavens-above.com/moon.asp?lat=0&lng=0&loc=Unspecified&alt=0&tz=CET

---------- Post added at 01:56 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:33 PM ----------

Looks like pretty bad damage around Tokyo. The Tokyo Tower was badly bend by the forces and there are news of one transmitter tower having lost its antenna tip. Since the Tokyo Sky Tree is currently under construction and just exceeded the 600 meter mark, I don't want to exclude that this one was damaged as well.

 

[Sky Captain]

Some guy sitting in my office is spreading a rumor that the disaster is somehow caused by the Moon passing an unusually low perigee. I wonder, how scientific is that?

It's unlikely. To have an earthquake you need to have buildup of stress caused by movement of tectonic plates and plate movement is caused by convection currents in arth mantle.

Although since the tides cause Earth crust to slightly move up an down it might be possible that unuasually strong tide could trigger an earthquake when stress buildup at fault has already reached critical levels and fault is ready to rupture at any moment. But then again when major fault is ready to rupture you are bound to have an earthquake no matter what.

 

[Urwumpe]

The bad news won't stop: One nuclear power plant is suspected to leak radioactivity after a loss of coolant (LOC) event and nearby population is getting evacuated. It is not yet sure, if this evacuation is just done as preventive action because of an unsure developing situation, or if the radioactivity leak has already occurred.


(Can't tell about Japanese emergency plans. If this would have been a German nuclear power plant, operated by private companies, such evacuations would take place after it is impossible to deny the leak because the levels are already noticeable without detectors)

EDIT: The involved nuclear power plant seems to be Fukushima II. It is of the (obsolete) Boiling Water Type, which is especially sensible to LOC events.

[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fukushima_II_Nuclear_Power_Plant"]Fukushima II Nuclear Power Plant - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

 

[Artlav]

Looks like pretty bad damage around Tokyo. The Tokyo Tower was badly bend by the forces and there are news of one transmitter tower having lost its antenna tip. Since the Tokyo Sky Tree is currently under construction and just exceeded the 600 meter mark, I don't want to exclude that this one was damaged as well.

I wonder, they build these towers in a known seismic area, how much of a hit they were designed to withstand?

 

[Urwumpe]

I wonder, they build these towers in a known seismic area, how much of a hit they were designed to withstand?

Not sure, but most experts in my TV speak of a once in 100 years Earthquake as design spec, which would mean just magnitude 8.5. also, note that at such magnitudes, the single Ms value does no longer work reliable and the Mw magnitude also has to be included.

 

[River Crab]

Fukushima I's cooling has failed. They have ordered an evacuation of the surrounding 3km, and issued a nuclear emergency at Fukushima I due to "cooling malfunction". A JASDF flyover has been ordered. (this is coming from the rather chaotic tweeting linked at Business Insider here"

 

[Rtyh-12]

Poor Japanese. I hope there won't be many deaths and injuries.