caseys Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 Theres been an explosion at 1 of the Nuclear plants and their talking of a possible meltdown now. A Chernobyl like situation is exactly what they don't need... Had this been any other country the fatalities could well be in 100s of thousands if not more. It could've just been an overpressure situation and hydrogen going bang. I believe they could just scram the reactor (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scram) so I don't understand how they've got a runaway situation. At least it's water cooled. I dread to think what a meltdown of something like a liquid lead bismuth cooled reactor would do! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LolaBoost94 Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 An update from someone who's stationed out of Misawa, Japan, even though I'm currently in Iraq... They are saying almost 600 are confirmed dead but with cities still under water, the numbers will rise into the thousands. Sendai is gone, Hachinohe is half gone and Misawa only got damage from the quake. No power in the northeastern areas and said to not come on for another week or two. Cell phones are out. The two base gyms have been opened for people to have a warm place to sleep. Many were sleeping in their cars in fear of staying in their apartment. They have what's called towers, which are like 9 story apartment buildings set on rollers. Floors 6-9 are completely trashed and the lower floors got damage but not as bad as the top floors. I live off base. Anything that was breakable is gone. I'm still waiting for pictures to see the extent of the damage. I'll update everyone on the Supra as soon as I know!! (had to try and make myself laugh a little) Things are replaceable but the lives that've been lost are beyond imaginable. I was at the chow hall when the videos were first being shown of the water sweeping over Sendai. I broke down right there. Sendai is only a few hours from Misawa. No military members have been harmed. The base was shut down for a day or two but they are sending everyone back to work now. It'd be nice to at least give the guys some time to recuperate or help but the mission must go on, I suppose. A lot of the guys were on TDY and can't get back to Misawa. We have over 300 people with us on this deployment with no hope of going home early so we get to sit back and watch... pretty shitty situation. Knowing what we could do to help and we are stuck in another country and can't do a damn thing but wait. They have sent in thousands of military members to start cleaning up, hand out blankets and food, and rescue anyone who may be trapped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caseys Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 Where I work has accounted for all staff (14,000+) luckily and seems all our infrastructure is intact, but can't quite imagine Monday is going to be a normal business day... Really feel for the people out there. Hopefully it again puts people's perspective in place as to how life can just turn on it's head for thousands in a moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David P Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 A terrifying natural disaster, I hope the loss of lives is no greater than reported and doesn't include members family. I wonder how many Supra's died? Maybe there will soon be a glut of drowned T.T.6 components. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wile e coyote Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 Ive been watching this unfold whilst on holiday in india, glad i decided to come here and not japan. Our thoughts go out to them all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pedrosixfour Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 For some reason I think I'd still prefer to be in Japan after an earthquake than most parts of India on a good day. I can't help but think Japan would be less chaotic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angarak Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 Reactor Blast: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlHruMU7qbg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David P Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 Volcanic eruptions too, this has gone beyond a disaster movie, I hope it goes no further. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LolaBoost94 Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 They are still having aftershocks but more and more people are gaining power and cell phone reception! Long way to go but it's gradually getting there. Hopefully they can get the cooling systems to work at the plants! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hogmaw Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 I'm off to Japan in a few weeks. If my missus will let me. I was watching the videos on youtube. The tsunami took 3 secs to obliterate one of the polytunnels in the field. If they are 100m long then that means about 70mph. Utterly horrific if you're on the ground, and you can see people watching from roads and rooftops right there. My mate in Tokyo says earthquakes are normal and he shrugged the whole thing off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martini Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 People concerned about nuclear reactors should read this: http://liten.be//2B7Oa There are many ill-informed comments sweeping the internet (as usual), and even the BBC. The Earthquake in Tokyo was the largest that anyone at m workplace has ever felt; and the duration far outlasted normal earthquakes. I wasn't particularly scared during it (kind of exciting and if the building collapses I can't do much anyway), but the buildings are made to such high spec that basically everything was fine. It's the tsunami that wiped out whole fishing villages up north that was the real problem here I hope Japan makes a swift recovery. It's still unreal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedM Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 Some stunning images at the site below. In pic 27, how the hell will they move that boat? http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2011/03/japans-earthquake---the-aftermath/100023/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wez Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 People concerned about nuclear reactors should read this: http://liten.be//2B7Oa An interesting read, thanks Some stunning images at the site below. In pic 27, how the hell will they move that boat? http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2011/03/japans-earthquake---the-aftermath/100023/ Some of the pics really do help you realize the scale of whats happened Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 People concerned about nuclear reactors should read this: http://liten.be//2B7Oa There are many ill-informed comments sweeping the internet (as usual), and even the BBC. Finally someone explaining what happened in simple terms and not scare mongering. There's also been a false rumour about toxic rain from the oil refinery fires in Chiba. As if there's not enough to deal with at the moment... They're starting rolling power outages today. There were massive queues at the station for trains, buses and taxi's so I just came home and had a cuppa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martini Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 I made it to the office, but walked half of the way! No powercuts yet.... just about to have some lunch. Where are you based, Nick? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 I'm in central Yokohama. Cycled into work in the end and grabbed my laptop so I can work from home. Other than massive queues at the station it's business as usual. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wez Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 Anyone heard from Simon, member id Lockys96? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creative Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 Some stunning images at the site below. In pic 27, how the hell will they move that boat? http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2011/03/japans-earthquake---the-aftermath/100023/ that first one is unreal! Stolen from the skyline boys.... before and after satellite pics holy crap! 5-zfCBCq-8I on a different note, these videos are going to provide so much information/data for the boffins of this world its unreal. and finally from reuters: The quake and tsunami killed people in more than a dozen out of Japan's 47 prefectures. Following is a toll of the dead or missing, according to Japanese media. MIYAGI PREFECTURE, northeastern Japan -- At least 785 people confirmed dead in cities such as Kesennuma, Higashimatsubara and Sendai, but local authorities fear more than 10,000 people may have died in the prefecture alone. -- Around 2,000 bodies found on two shores, including those in the town of Minamisanriku and Ishinomaki City. -- Minamisanriku has a population of 17,000, but 10,000 are missing after the tsunami. IWATE PREFECTURE, northeastern Japan -- At least 574 people confirmed dead, including those in Ofunato and Rikuzentakata cities. -- The city of Rikuzentakata, with a population of 23,000 people, was "almost completely wiped out," the fire department says. No information yet on how many survived. More than 80 percent of the city was flooded. -- In the town of Otsuchi, out of a population of 15,000 people, 12,000 people are missing. FUKUSHIMA PREFECTURE, northeastern Japan -- About 420 people, including those in Iwaki and Minamisoma cities, are confirmed dead. Around 1,200 people are missing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LolaBoost94 Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 Some stunning images at the site below. In pic 27, how the hell will they move that boat? http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2011/03/japans-earthquake---the-aftermath/100023/ Scary to see stuff like this... the location of pic 27 is a 15-20 minute drive from my house. We go down to shipwreck beach all the time. I guess now it's a no-shit shipwreck beach. Sad to see Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LolaBoost94 Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 Some good news, a lot of the base has power and more and more of off base is gaining power. Word is the Japanese are going to be scheduling power outages to reserve energy. Folks can't get their gas/kerosene refilled so soon; some may end up running out of ways to heat their house. Lots of places around Misawa are setting up relief boxes for any clothes, blankets, shoes, towels, toiletries, and food that can be spared. Thousands of military aids have been sent in from all over the world to help disseminate the items and start the clean up process. It's going to a long road to recovery but with the helping hands of many, it's getting the ball rolling. Red Cross has a donation for the relief, https://american.redcross.org/site/Donation2?idb=0&5052.donation=form1&df_id=5052 . I've already sent $100 to them and plan on taking boxes upon boxes of clothes and aids when I return home next month. Please, if you can spare even just $10, every little bit will help! If you'd like to go a step further and send a box of your own, add me on Facebook: [email protected] or search the name Arin Vickers. There are a few addresses I can direct you to via "shared" links on my page. The help is very much appreciated!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hogmaw Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 Some eye-opening pics here, use toggle to scroll across: Before and after Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Animal Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 On the nuclear side of things, the media seem to be doing their best doom-mongering (no surprise there). It appears this event is a level 4 event according the IAEA International Nuclear Event Scale (i.e. an accident with local consequences). On this scale Chernobyl was a level 7 event, Three Mile Island and the Windscale fire were level 5 events. Whilst the coming days will still be tense, the actual risk to the public looks like it will be minimal (the doses received from Three Mile Island were equivalent to having a chest X-ray taken). The reactors were all shut down prior to the quake, so a Chernobyl-like explosion is very unlikely. The evacuation and the venting of steam from the stack (which is heavily filtered) is standard operating procedure to relieve pressure from the secondary containment vessels and permission had to be granted prior to carrying this out. (this is based on what I know/hear from the industry) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martini Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 Nice post Animal, that's right. Loathing the BBC right now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Animal Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 Cheers. Its been annoying me all weekend - its like the news services are wishing for another Chernobyl - all the references to a "nuclear explosion" and "meltdowns". Compared to the devastation and loss of life suffered across the country, the problems at Fukushima don't amount to much. The explosion was more than likely a build-up of hydrogen gasses in the outer pressure vessel of the reactor and would have caused very little damage to the core itself. There is still a risk of a meltdown if the rods remain exposed to air, but again, the the containment systems are designed to cope with such events. [edit] http://bravenewclimate.com/2011/03/13/fukushima-simple-explanation/ this is a very worthwhile read... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedM Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 Some eye-opening pics here, use toggle to scroll across: Before and after I was looking at this earlier. What gets me is that it's not just a case of clearing up. There's the task of building entire towns to do too. Also, how will they even get cranes out to some of the boats, trains, trucks, cars and shipping containers that are in muddy, flooded fields? A logistical nightmare to follow on from the humanitarian one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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