[NEWS] Japan Earthquake/Tsunami/Nuclear Crisis 2011

[Ziergdsx18]

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/as....html?iref=NS1

Tokyo (CNN) -- An 8.9-magnitude earthquake hit northern Japan on Friday, triggering tsunamis and sending a massive body of water filled with debris that included boats and houses inching toward highways.

The epicenter was 373 kilometers (231 miles) away from the capital, Tokyo, the United States Geological Survey said. But residents there felt the tremors.

The quake rattled buildings and toppled cars off bridges and into waters underneath. Waves of debris flowed like lava across farmland, pushing boats, houses and trailers toward highways.

In Tokyo, crowds gathered in the streets and tried to reach relatives via cell phone.

Scenes inside office buildings showed papers strewn all over the floor and people clinging onto seats and desks.

Such a large earthquake at such a shallow depth creates a lot of energy, said Shenza Chen of the U.S. Geological Survey.

It caused a power outage in about 4 million homes in Tokyo and surrounding areas.

A tsunami in the Pacific was moving closer to other shorelines in other countries, said CNN meteorologist Ivan Cabrera.

It triggered tsunami warnings for various countries, including Japan and Russia, the National Weather Service said.

"Earthquakes of this size are known to generate tsunamis potentially dangerous to coasts outside the source region," it said.

"Based on all available data a tsunami may have been generated by this earthquake that could be destructive on coastal areas even far from the epicenter."

The quake was the latest in a series in the region this week.

Early Thursday, an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.3 struck off the coast of Honshu.

A day earlier, a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck off of Honshu, the country's meteorological agency said.

The largest recorded quake took place in Chile on May 22, 1960, with a magnitude of 9.5, the USGS said.


UPDATE - 12/3/11.


Walls fall, smoke pours from Japan nuclear plant

SENDAI, Japan – An explosion at a nuclear power station tore down the walls of one building Saturday as smoke poured out and Japanese officials said they feared the reactor could melt down following the failure of its cooling system in a powerful earthquake and tsunami.

It was not clear if the damaged building housed the reactor. Tokyo Power Electric Co., the utility that runs the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, said four workers were injured but details were not immediately available.

Footage on Japanese TV showed that the walls of one building had crumbled, leaving only a skeletal metal frame standing. Puffs of smoke were spewing out of the plant.

"We are now trying to analyze what is behind the explosion," said government spokesman Yukio Edano, stressing that people should quickly evacuate a six-mile (10-kilometer) radius. "We ask everyone to take action to secure safety."

The trouble began at the plant's Unit 1 after Friday's massive 8.9-magnitude earthquake and the tsunami it spawned knocked out power there. The disaster has killed hundreds of people and devastated the country's northeastern coast, where rescuers began slowly arriving Saturday.

The toll of destruction was still not known more than 24 hours after the quake since washed-out roads and shut airports have hindered access to the area. An untold number of bodies were believed to be buried in the rubble and debris.

The official death toll stood at 413, while 784 people were missing and 1,128 injured. In addition, police said between 200 and 300 bodies were found along the coast in Sendai, the biggest city in the area near the quake's epicenter. Local media reports said at least 1,300 people may have been killed.

Adding to worries was the fate of nuclear power plants in the region. Japan has declared states of emergency for five nuclear reactors at two power plants after the units lost cooling ability.

The most troubled one is facing meltdown, officials have said.

Pressure has been building up in the reactor — it's now twice the normal level — and Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency told reporters Saturday that the plant was venting "radioactive vapors." Officials said they were measuring radiation levels in the area.

The reactor in trouble has already leaked some radiation: Operators have detected eight times the normal radiation levels outside the facility and 1,000 times normal inside Unit 1's control room.

Wind in the region is weak and headed northeast, out to sea, according to the Meteorological Agency.

Ryohei Shiomi, an official with Japan's nuclear safety commission, said that even if there was a meltdown, it wouldn't affect people outside a six-mile (10-kilometer) radius — an assertion that might need revising if the situation deteriorates. Most of the 51,000 residents living within the danger area had been evacuated, he said.

Meanwhile, the first wave of military rescuers began arriving by boats and helicopters.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan said 50,000 troops would join rescue and recovery efforts following the quake that unleashed one of the greatest disasters Japan has witnessed — a 23-foot (7-meter) tsunami that washed far inland over fields, smashing towns, airports and highways in its way.

"Most of houses along the coastline were washed away, and fire broke out there," said Kan after inspecting the quake area in a helicopter. "I realized the extremely serious damage the tsunami caused."

More than 215,000 people were living in 1,350 temporary shelters in five prefectures, or states, the national police agency said. Since the quake, more than 1 million households have not had water, mostly concentrated in northeast.

The transport ministry said all highways from Tokyo leading to quake-hit areas were closed, except for emergency vehicles. Mobile communications were spotty and calls to the devastated areas were going unanswered .

Local TV stations broadcast footage of people lining up for water and food such as rice balls. In Fukushima, city officials were handing out bottled beverages, snacks and blankets. But there were large areas that were surrounded by water and were unreachable.

One hospital in Miyagi prefecture was seen surrounded by water. The staff had painted an SOS on its rooftop and were waving white flags.

Prime Minister Kan said a total of 190 military aircraft and 25 ships have been sent to the area, which continued to be jolted by tremors, even 24 hours later.

More than 125 aftershocks have occurred, many of them above magnitude 6.0, which even alone would be considered strong.

Technologically advanced Japan is well prepared for quakes and its buildings can withstand strong jolts, even a temblor like Friday's, which was the strongest the country has experienced since official records started in the late 1800s. What was beyond human control was the killer tsunami that followed.

It swept inland about six miles (10 kilometers) in some areas, swallowing boats, homes, cars, trees and even small airplanes.

"The tsunami was unbelievably fast," said Koichi Takairin, a 34-year-old truck driver who was inside his sturdy four-ton rig when the wave hit the port town of Sendai.

"Smaller cars were being swept around me," he said. All I could do was sit in my truck."

His rig ruined, he joined the steady flow of survivors who walked along the road away from the sea and back into the city on Saturday. Smoke from at least one large fire could be seen in the distance.

Smashed cars and small airplanes were jumbled up against buildings near the local airport, several miles (kilometers) from the shore. Felled trees and wooden debris lay everywhere as rescue workers coasted on boats through murky waters around flooded structures, nosing their way through a sea of debris.

Basic commodities were at a premium. Hundreds lined up outside of supermarkets, and gas stations were swamped with cars. The situation was similar in scores of other towns and cities along the 1,300-mile-long (2,100-kilometer-long) eastern coastline hit by the tsunami.

In Sendai, as in many areas of the northeast, cell phone service was down, making it difficult for people to communicate with loved ones.

"I'm waiting for my son to come here. But I cannot tell him he should come over here because mobile phones aren't working," a woman in her 70s told Japanese TV at a shelter in the town of Rikuzentakada, which appeared to be largely destroyed by the tsunami.

"My husband is missing," she said. "Tsunami water was rising to my knees, and I told him I would go first. He is not here yet."

President Barack Obama pledged U.S. assistance following what he called a potentially "catastrophic" disaster. He said one U.S. aircraft carrier was already in Japan and a second was on its way. A U.S. ship was also heading to the Marianas Islands to assist as needed, he said.

Most trains in Tokyo started running again Saturday after the city had been brought to a near standstill the day before. Tens of thousands of people had been stranded with the rail network down, jamming the streets with cars, buses and trucks trying to get out of the city.

Japan's worst previous quake was a magnitude 8.3 temblor in Kanto that killed 143,000 people in 1923, according to the USGS. A magnitude 7.2 quake in Kobe killed 6,400 people in 1995.

Japan lies on the "Ring of Fire" — an arc of earthquake and volcanic zones stretching around the Pacific where about 90 percent of the world's quakes occur, including the one that triggered the Dec. 26, 2004, Indian Ocean tsunami that killed an estimated 230,000 people in 12 countries. A magnitude-8.8 quake that shook central Chile in February 2010 also generated a tsunami and killed 524 people.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/as_japan_earthquake

http://www.euronews.net/2011/03/12/e...uclear-reactor


A firefighter looks at burned-out vehicles at Hitachi port, northeastern Japan, on Saturday March 12, 2011, one day after a giant quake and tsunami struck the country's northeastern coast.

UPDATE - 12/3/11.


For battered Japan, a new threat: nuclear meltdown

A meltdown may have occurred at at least one nuclear power reactor in Japan, the country's chief cabinet secretary, Yukio Edano, said Sunday, adding that authorities are concerned about the possibility of another meltdown at a second reactor.

"We do believe that there is a possibility that meltdown has occurred. It is inside the reactor. We can't see. However, we are assuming that a meltdown has occurred," he said about the No. 1 reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility.

"And with reactor No. 3, we are also assuming that the possibility of a meltdown as we carry out measures," Edano said.

Edano's comments confirm an earlier report from an official with Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, who said, "we see the possibility of a meltdown."

"There is a possibility, we see the possibility of a meltdown," said Toshihiro Bannai, director of the apan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency international affairs office, in a telephone interview from the agency's headquarters in Tokyo. "At this point, we have still not confirmed that there is an actual meltdown, but there is a possibility."

A meltdown is a catastrophic failure of the reactor core, with a potential for widespread radiation release.

Though Bannai said engineers have been unable to get close enough to the core to know what's going on, he based his conclusion on the fact that they measured radioactive isotopes in the air Saturday night.

"What we have seen is only the slight indication from a monitoring post of cesium and iodine," he said. Since then, he said, plant officials have injected sea water and boron into the plant in an effort to cool its nuclear fuel and stop any reactions.

"We have some confidence, to some extent, to make the situation to be stable status," he said. "We actually have very good confidence that we will resolve this."

A state of emergency has been declared for the plant and two other reactors at the same complex, which holds a total of six reactors, he said. Three are in a safe, shut-down state, he said. "The other two still have some cooling systems, but not enough capacity."

But Ichiro Fujisaki, Japan's ambassador to the United States, told CNN's Wolf Blitzer in Washington that he did not know of any evidence of a meltdown.

"We are working on it," he said. "We are getting information every hour on this issue."

And Japan's chief cabinet secretary, Yukio Edano, raised another possible issue. "Some of the readings in the measurement equipment were not accurate," he said without elaboration.

He noted that since the inside of the pressure vessel has been filled with sea water, radiation levels in the area have not risen, implying that the problem was not worsening.

The detection of a cesium isotope indicates that the nuclear fuel cladding has failed, said Ken Bergeron, a physicist and former scientist at Sandia National Laboratories.

"Now we have to hope that the containment building will succeed in preventing major amounts of radioactivity" from escaping, he said.

As of Sunday morning, winds in northeast Japan were blowing out to sea at 5-15 mph, said CNN Meteorologist Taylor Ward. But they were expected to reverse direction by Monday night, he said. The Daiichi plant is located about 160 miles (260 kilometers) north of Tokyo.

"We're in uncharted territory," Bergeron said. "We're in the land where probability says we shouldn't be and we're hoping that all the barriers to release radioactivity will not fail."

"The bottom line is that we just don't know what's going to happen in the next couple of days and, frankly, neither do the people who run the system," said Dr. Ira Helfand, a member of the board of Physicians for Social Responsibility.

What we do know, he added, is that Japan's nuclear facilities are "way out of whack."

The use of sea water and boron was described as a "Hail Mary pass" by Robert Alvarez, senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies focused on energy policies and a former senior policy adviser to the U.S. secretary of energy.

"My understanding is that the situation has become desperate enough that they apparently don't have the capability to deliver fresh water or plain water to cool the reactor and stabilize it and now, in an act of desperation, are having to resort to diverting and using sea water," he said.

Boron, a chemical element, was being added to the water "to sort of stymie other potential nuclear reactions," he said.

Boron has the ability to absorb neutrons, the sub-atomic particles that occur in the nucleus of all atoms. In a nuclear reactor, it is essential that just the right number of neutrons are present. Too many neutrons can cause a fission reaction to get out of control. Too few neutrons and a fission reaction stops.

But, he acknowledged Sunday to reporters in a conference call, "There's a lot that we don't know about what's happening with these reactors. It's trying to piece together a picture where you're dealing with just a few pieces of the puzzle."

Another expert said enough was known to conclude that the nuclear events in Japan rank high on the list of similar incidents. "If this accident stops right now, it will already be one of the three worst accidents we have ever had at a nuclear power plant in the history of nuclear power," said Joseph Cirincione, an expert on nuclear materials and president of the U.S.-based Ploughshares Fund, a firm involved in security and peace funding.

He said only the 1979 partial meltdown of a reactor core at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania and the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in the Soviet Union were worse.

If the effort to cool the nuclear fuel inside the reactor fails completely -- a scenario experts who have spoken to CNN say is unlikely -- the resulting release of radiation could cause enormous damage to the plant or release radiation into the atmosphere or water. That could lead to widespread cancer and other health problems, experts say.

The problems reported at two other reactors in the complex stemmed from a similar cause: an insufficient amount of water being pumped into the cores in an attempt to keep them cool.

To ease the pressure inside reactor No. 3, air containing "some minimal radioactive material" was being vented from its containment vessel, Edano said, expressing confidence in the outcome. "We believe that we can stabilize the situation of the reactor," he said.

An evacuation order affected more than 200,000 people living within 20 kilometers of the plants, officials said.

Some experts said the flow of information from the agency has not been fast enough.

But IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano defended the Japanese response. "I know the Japanese authorities are working their hardest to gather the necessary details and ensure safety under difficult and constantly evolving circumstances," he said in a statement.

Japanese authorities have classified the event at Fukushima Daiichi Unit 1 as a level 4 "accident with local consequences" on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale intended to communicate to the public the significance of radiation-linked events. The scale runs from 0 to 7, with the latter being classified as a major accident.

On Saturday night, three patients at a hospital tested positive for radiation exposure, according to the Japanese public broadcasting station NHK, citing a statement from Fukushima Prefecture.

The three had been randomly selected from a group of 90 hospital workers and patients who were outside the hospital -- about three kilometers from the Daiichi plant -- awaiting evacuation at the time of the explosion. The patients had already been hospitalized at the medical facility prior to Friday's quake.

While the three showed signed of exposure, "no abnormal health conditions have been observed," NHK quoted the prefecture as saying.

Meanwhile, two experts from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission with expertise in boiling-water nuclear reactors like those affected by the disaster have been sent to Japan as part of a U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) team.

The NRC's Maryland-based headquarters operations center has been operating round the clock since the beginning of the emergency.

The Japanese government was preparing to distribute iodine tablets to residents, the IAEA said. Iodine is commonly recommended to block the uptake by the thyroid gland of radioactive iodine.

The problems at the Daiichi plant began Friday when the 8.9-magnitude quake struck off the eastern shore of Miyagi Prefecture. The quake forced the automatic shutdown of the plant's nuclear reactors and knocked out the main cooling system, according to the country's nuclear agency.

A tsunami resulting from the quake then washed over the site, knocking out backup generators that pumped water into the reactor containment unit to keep the nuclear fuel cool, according to the agency.

As pressure and temperatures rose inside the reactors at the Daiichi and Daini plants, authorities ordered the release of valves at the plants -- a move that experts said was likely done to release growing pressure inside as high temperatures caused water to boil and produce excess steam.

As crews were working to pump additional water into the reactor containment unit to lower the temperature, the pumping system failed, Edano said, causing the explosion that injured four workers and bringing down the walls of the building containing the reactor.

The International Atomic Energy Agency, citing Japanese authorities, said the explosion occurred outside the plant's primary containment vessel and that the vessel remained intact. The explosion injured four workers, it said.

Nine residents near the site of the explosion got radioactive material on their clothing and were being decontaminated, Bergeron said. "Now, we're trying to make sure they have not been internally exposed to radioactive material."

He described their exposure as "not hazardous to health."

The team then reverted to the plan to flood the reactor with sea water, which Edano said would lower the temperature to acceptable levels. That work began Saturday night and was expected to take two days, Edano said.

Japan is heavily dependent on nuclear power, with 54 plants and another eight slated for construction, said Aileen Mioko Smith of Green Action, an environmental group. All are located in "very seismic" areas, she said

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/as_japan_earthquake

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/tbstv#..._medium=social

Police: Deaths in Japan's Miyagi may pass 10,000

TOKYO – Police in Japan's northeastern Miyagi prefecture say they estimate that the death toll in Miyagi alone will likely exceed 10,000. Miyagi is one of the areas worst affected by a catastrophic earthquake and tsunami that hit Friday.

Miyagi police spokesman Go Sugawara said Sunday that the prefecture's police chief told a gathering of disaster relief officials that his estimate for deaths in the prefecture was more than 10,000.

There were only 379 officially confirmed deaths in Miyagi out of a total of 801 as of Sunday afternoon.


Woman, 70, found alive 4 days after Japan tsunami

SOMA, Japan – Rescuers have found a 70-year-old woman alive four days after the disaster struck.

Osaka fire department spokesman Yuko Kotani says the woman was found inside her house that was washed away by the tsunami in northeastern Japan's Iwate prefecture. The rescuers from Osaka, in western Japan, were sent to the area for disaster relief.

Kotani said the woman was conscious but suffering from hypothermia and is being treated at a hospital. She would not give the woman's name.

Her rescue was a rare bit of news for Japanese traumatized by the disaster.

[bmah]

I've just heard of this. 8.9? That is very massive, like the Chilean or Sumatra earthquakes of recent times.

Also, one cannot assume it's safe that after such a large earthquake, another one wouldn't occur around the same region. More can follow with just as large magnitudes.

[Jousway]

watching right now on CNN and youtube

[The5thMoon]

I was watching some of the live CNN footage, and I saw people trying to outrun the tsunami waves and it was really sad seeing that they couldn't.

[who_cares973]

Holy shit I hope most people are alright

Man jx lives in tokyo

[Ziergdsx18]

The videos I just saw are very shocking. There are already some videos on youtube. brb linking some

[Ziergdsx18]

[Jousway]

[MrGiggles]

The live coverage of the tsunami was ****ing terrifying holy shit

[Jousway]

[BabyViperx3]

Well, we got the official Tsunami warning. My mom's flipping her shit and she's making me pack my car with clothes & stuff |:

[Jousway]

good luck guys!

#prayforjapan  on twiter

000
WEPA40 PHEB 110830
TSUPAC

TSUNAMI BULLETIN NUMBER 004
PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER/NOAA/NWS
ISSUED AT 0830Z 11 MAR 2011

THIS BULLETIN APPLIES TO AREAS WITHIN AND BORDERING THE PACIFIC
OCEAN AND ADJACENT SEAS...EXCEPT ALASKA...BRITISH COLUMBIA...
WASHINGTON...OREGON AND CALIFORNIA.

... A WIDESPREAD TSUNAMI WARNING IS IN EFFECT ...

A TSUNAMI WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR

JAPAN / RUSSIA / MARCUS IS. / N. MARIANAS / GUAM / WAKE IS. /
TAIWAN / YAP / PHILIPPINES / MARSHALL IS. / BELAU / MIDWAY IS. /
POHNPEI / CHUUK / KOSRAE / INDONESIA / PAPUA NEW GUINEA /
NAURU / JOHNSTON IS. / SOLOMON IS. / KIRIBATI / HOWLAND-BAKER /
HAWAII / TUVALU / PALMYRA IS. / VANUATU / TOKELAU / JARVIS IS. /
WALLIS-FUTUNA / SAMOA / AMERICAN SAMOA / COOK ISLANDS / NIUE /
AUSTRALIA / FIJI / NEW CALEDONIA / TONGA / MEXICO /
KERMADEC IS / FR. POLYNESIA / NEW ZEALAND / PITCAIRN /
GUATEMALA / EL SALVADOR / COSTA RICA / NICARAGUA / ANTARCTICA /
PANAMA / HONDURAS / CHILE / ECUADOR / COLOMBIA / PERU

THIS BULLETIN IS ISSUED AS ADVICE TO GOVERNMENT AGENCIES. ONLY
NATIONAL AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO MAKE
DECISIONS REGARDING THE OFFICIAL STATE OF ALERT IN THEIR AREA AND
ANY ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN IN RESPONSE.

AN EARTHQUAKE HAS OCCURRED WITH THESE PRELIMINARY PARAMETERS

ORIGIN TIME - 0546Z 11 MAR 2011
COORDINATES - 38.3 NORTH 142.4 EAST
DEPTH - 24 KM
LOCATION - NEAR EAST COAST OF HONSHU JAPAN
MAGNITUDE - 8.9

MEASUREMENTS OR REPORTS OF TSUNAMI WAVE ACTIVITY

GAUGE LOCATION LAT LON TIME AMPL PER
------------------- ----- ------ ----- --------------- -----
TOSASHIMIZU SHIKOKU 32.8N 133.0E 0752Z 0.94M / 3.1FT 72MIN
DART 21413 30.5N 152.1E 0659Z 0.76M / 2.5FT 32MIN
HANASAKI HOKKAIDO J 43.3N 145.6E 0657Z 2.79M / 9.2FT 76MIN
DART 21401 42.6N 152.6E 0643Z 0.67M / 2.2FT 40MIN
DART 21418 38.7N 148.7E 0619Z 1.08M / 3.5FT 06MIN

LAT - LATITUDE (N-NORTH, S-SOUTH)
LON - LONGITUDE (E-EAST, W-WEST)
TIME - TIME OF THE MEASUREMENT (Z IS UTC IS GREENWICH TIME)
AMPL - TSUNAMI AMPLITUDE MEASURED RELATIVE TO NORMAL SEA LEVEL.
IT IS ...NOT... CREST-TO-TROUGH WAVE HEIGHT.
VALUES ARE GIVEN IN BOTH METERS(M) AND FEET(FT).
PER - PERIOD OF TIME IN MINUTES(MIN) FROM ONE WAVE TO THE NEXT.

NOTE - DART MEASUREMENTS ARE FROM THE DEEP OCEAN AND THEY
ARE GENERALLY MUCH SMALLER THAN WOULD BE COASTAL
MEASUREMENTS AT SIMILAR LOCATIONS.

EVALUATION

SEA LEVEL READINGS CONFIRM THAT A TSUNAMI HAS BEEN GENERATED
WHICH COULD CAUSE WIDESPREAD DAMAGE. AUTHORITIES SHOULD TAKE
APPROPRIATE ACTION IN RESPONSE TO THIS THREAT. THIS CENTER WILL
CONTINUE TO MONITOR SEA LEVEL DATA TO DETERMINE THE EXTENT AND
SEVERITY OF THE THREAT.

A TSUNAMI IS A SERIES OF WAVES AND THE FIRST WAVE MAY NOT BE THE
LARGEST. TSUNAMI WAVE HEIGHTS CANNOT BE PREDICTED AND CAN VARY
SIGNIFICANTLY ALONG A COAST DUE TO LOCAL EFFECTS. THE TIME FROM
ONE TSUNAMI WAVE TO THE NEXT CAN BE FIVE MINUTES TO AN HOUR, AND
THE THREAT CAN CONTINUE FOR MANY HOURS AS MULTIPLE WAVES ARRIVE.

FOR ALL AREAS - WHEN NO MAJOR WAVES ARE OBSERVED FOR TWO HOURS
AFTER THE ESTIMATED TIME OF ARRIVAL OR DAMAGING WAVES HAVE NOT
OCCURRED FOR AT LEAST TWO HOURS THEN LOCAL AUTHORITIES CAN ASSUME
THE THREAT IS PASSED. DANGER TO BOATS AND COASTAL STRUCTURES CAN
CONTINUE FOR SEVERAL HOURS DUE TO RAPID CURRENTS. AS LOCAL
CONDITIONS CAN CAUSE A WIDE VARIATION IN TSUNAMI WAVE ACTION THE
ALL CLEAR DETERMINATION MUST BE MADE BY LOCAL AUTHORITIES.

ESTIMATED INITIAL TSUNAMI WAVE ARRIVAL TIMES AT FORECAST POINTS
WITHIN THE WARNING AND WATCH AREAS ARE GIVEN BELOW. ACTUAL
ARRIVAL TIMES MAY DIFFER AND THE INITIAL WAVE MAY NOT BE THE
LARGEST. A TSUNAMI IS A SERIES OF WAVES AND THE TIME BETWEEN
SUCCESSIVE WAVES CAN BE FIVE MINUTES TO ONE HOUR.

LOCATION FORECAST POINT COORDINATES ARRIVAL TIME
-------------------------------- ------------ ------------
JAPAN KATSUURA 35.1N 140.3E 0642Z 11 MAR
KUSHIRO 42.9N 144.3E 0648Z 11 MAR
HACHINOHE 40.5N 141.5E 0701Z 11 MAR
SHIMIZU 32.8N 133.0E 0804Z 11 MAR
OKINAWA 26.2N 127.8E 0920Z 11 MAR
RUSSIA URUP_IS 46.1N 150.5E 0721Z 11 MAR
SEVERO_KURILSK 50.8N 156.1E 0840Z 11 MAR
PETROPAVLOVSK_K 53.2N 159.6E 0842Z 11 MAR
UST_KAMCHATSK 56.1N 162.6E 0846Z 11 MAR
MEDNNY_IS 54.7N 167.4E 0909Z 11 MAR
MARCUS IS. MARCUS_IS. 24.3N 154.0E 0806Z 11 MAR
N. MARIANAS SAIPAN 15.3N 145.8E 0901Z 11 MAR
GUAM GUAM 13.4N 144.7E 0917Z 11 MAR
WAKE IS. WAKE_IS. 19.3N 166.6E 0934Z 11 MAR
TAIWAN HUALIEN 24.0N 121.7E 0940Z 11 MAR
HUALIEN 24.0N 121.6E 0940Z 11 MAR
TAITUNG 22.7N 121.2E 0944Z 11 MAR
CHILUNG 25.2N 121.8E 1012Z 11 MAR
YAP YAP_IS. 9.5N 138.1E 0952Z 11 MAR
PHILIPPINES PALANAN 17.1N 122.6E 1002Z 11 MAR
LEGASPI 13.2N 123.8E 1033Z 11 MAR
DAVAO 6.8N 125.7E 1100Z 11 MAR
MARSHALL IS. ENIWETOK 11.4N 162.3E 1021Z 11 MAR
KWAJALEIN 8.7N 167.7E 1053Z 11 MAR
MAJURO 7.1N 171.4E 1132Z 11 MAR
BELAU MALAKAL 7.3N 134.5E 1032Z 11 MAR
MIDWAY IS. MIDWAY_IS. 28.2N 182.6E 1035Z 11 MAR
POHNPEI POHNPEI_IS. 7.0N 158.2E 1036Z 11 MAR
CHUUK CHUUK_IS. 7.4N 151.8E 1041Z 11 MAR
KOSRAE KOSRAE_IS. 5.5N 163.0E 1051Z 11 MAR
INDONESIA GEME 4.6N 126.8E 1057Z 11 MAR
BEREBERE 2.5N 128.7E 1105Z 11 MAR
WARSA 0.6S 135.8E 1117Z 11 MAR
MANOKWARI 0.8S 134.2E 1125Z 11 MAR
PATANI 0.4N 128.8E 1131Z 11 MAR
JAYAPURA 2.4S 140.8E 1142Z 11 MAR
SORONG 0.8S 131.1E 1143Z 11 MAR
PAPUA NEW GUINE MANUS_IS. 2.0S 147.5E 1131Z 11 MAR
KAVIENG 2.5S 150.7E 1132Z 11 MAR
VANIMO 2.6S 141.3E 1142Z 11 MAR
WEWAK 3.5S 143.6E 1154Z 11 MAR
RABAUL 4.2S 152.3E 1202Z 11 MAR
KIETA 6.1S 155.6E 1212Z 11 MAR
AMUN 6.0S 154.7E 1219Z 11 MAR
MADANG 5.2S 145.8E 1223Z 11 MAR
LAE 6.8S 147.0E 1301Z 11 MAR
PORT_MORESBY 9.3S 146.9E 1437Z 11 MAR
NAURU NAURU 0.5S 166.9E 1157Z 11 MAR
JOHNSTON IS. JOHNSTON_IS. 16.7N 190.5E 1211Z 11 MAR
SOLOMON IS. PANGGOE 6.9S 157.2E 1228Z 11 MAR
FALAMAE 7.4S 155.6E 1230Z 11 MAR
MUNDA 8.4S 157.2E 1247Z 11 MAR
GHATERE 7.8S 159.2E 1256Z 11 MAR
AUKI 8.8S 160.6E 1317Z 11 MAR
HONIARA 9.3S 160.0E 1322Z 11 MAR
KIRAKIRA 10.4S 161.9E 1326Z 11 MAR
KIRIBATI TARAWA_IS. 1.5N 173.0E 1236Z 11 MAR
KANTON_IS. 2.8S 188.3E 1337Z 11 MAR
CHRISTMAS_IS. 2.0N 202.5E 1451Z 11 MAR
MALDEN_IS. 3.9S 205.1E 1526Z 11 MAR
FLINT_IS. 11.4S 208.2E 1621Z 11 MAR
HOWLAND-BAKER HOWLAND_IS. 0.6N 183.4E 1251Z 11 MAR
HAWAII NAWILIWILI 22.0N 200.6E 1307Z 11 MAR
HONOLULU 21.3N 202.1E 1321Z 11 MAR
KAHULUI 20.9N 203.5E 1327Z 11 MAR
HILO 19.7N 204.9E 1346Z 11 MAR
TUVALU FUNAFUTI_IS. 7.9S 178.5E 1338Z 11 MAR
PALMYRA IS. PALMYRA_IS. 6.3N 197.6E 1354Z 11 MAR
VANUATU ESPERITU_SANTO 15.1S 167.3E 1416Z 11 MAR
ANATOM_IS. 20.2S 169.9E 1511Z 11 MAR
TOKELAU NUKUNONU_IS. 9.2S 188.2E 1417Z 11 MAR
JARVIS IS. JARVIS_IS. 0.4S 199.9E 1435Z 11 MAR
WALLIS-FUTUNA WALLIS_IS. 13.3S 183.8E 1435Z 11 MAR
FUTUNA_I. 14.3S 181.8E 1448Z 11 MAR
SAMOA APIA 13.8S 188.2E 1453Z 11 MAR
AMERICAN SAMOA PAGO_PAGO 14.3S 189.3E 1500Z 11 MAR
COOK ISLANDS PUKAPUKA_IS. 10.8S 194.1E 1500Z 11 MAR
PENRYN_IS. 8.9S 202.2E 1533Z 11 MAR
RAROTONGA 21.2S 200.2E 1634Z 11 MAR
NIUE NIUE_IS. 19.0S 190.0E 1535Z 11 MAR
AUSTRALIA CAIRNS 16.7S 145.8E 1535Z 11 MAR
BRISBANE 27.2S 153.3E 1627Z 11 MAR
SYDNEY 33.9S 151.4E 1658Z 11 MAR
GLADSTONE 23.8S 151.4E 1737Z 11 MAR
MACKAY 21.1S 149.3E 1818Z 11 MAR
HOBART 43.3S 147.6E 1833Z 11 MAR
FIJI SUVA 18.1S 178.4E 1537Z 11 MAR
NEW CALEDONIA NOUMEA 22.3S 166.5E 1538Z 11 MAR
TONGA NUKUALOFA 21.0S 184.8E 1605Z 11 MAR
MEXICO ENSENADA 31.8N 243.2E 1650Z 11 MAR
PUNTA_ABREOJOS 26.7N 246.4E 1738Z 11 MAR
CABO_SAN_LUCAS 22.8N 250.0E 1815Z 11 MAR
SOCORRO 18.8N 249.0E 1825Z 11 MAR
MAZATLAN 23.2N 253.6E 1904Z 11 MAR
MANZANILLO 19.1N 255.7E 1930Z 11 MAR
ACAPULCO 16.9N 260.1E 2005Z 11 MAR
PUERTO_MADERO 14.8N 267.5E 2140Z 11 MAR
KERMADEC IS RAOUL_IS. 29.2S 182.1E 1656Z 11 MAR
FR. POLYNESIA PAPEETE 17.5S 210.4E 1714Z 11 MAR
HIVA_OA 10.0S 221.0E 1753Z 11 MAR
RIKITEA 23.1S 225.0E 1921Z 11 MAR
NEW ZEALAND NORTH_CAPE 34.4S 173.3E 1723Z 11 MAR
EAST_CAPE 37.7S 178.5E 1823Z 11 MAR
AUCKLAND(W) 37.1S 174.2E 1823Z 11 MAR
GISBORNE 38.7S 178.0E 1829Z 11 MAR
MILFORD_SOUND 44.6S 167.9E 1847Z 11 MAR
WELLINGTON 41.3S 174.8E 1853Z 11 MAR
AUCKLAND(E) 36.7S 175.0E 1905Z 11 MAR
NEW_PLYMOUTH 39.1S 174.1E 1908Z 11 MAR
NAPIER 39.5S 176.9E 1917Z 11 MAR
WESTPORT 41.8S 171.6E 1937Z 11 MAR
DUNEDIN 45.9S 170.5E 2029Z 11 MAR
LYTTELTON 43.6S 172.7E 2103Z 11 MAR
BLUFF 46.6S 168.3E 2120Z 11 MAR
NELSON 41.3S 173.3E 2215Z 11 MAR
PITCAIRN PITCAIRN_IS. 25.1S 229.9E 2008Z 11 MAR
GUATEMALA SIPICATE 13.9N 268.8E 2156Z 11 MAR
EL SALVADOR ACAJUTLA 13.6N 270.2E 2202Z 11 MAR
COSTA RICA CABO_SAN_ELENA 10.9N 274.0E 2215Z 11 MAR
PUERTO_QUEPOS 9.4N 275.8E 2241Z 11 MAR
CABO_MATAPALO 8.4N 276.7E 2243Z 11 MAR
NICARAGUA CORINTO 12.5N 272.8E 2223Z 11 MAR
PUERTO_SANDINO 12.2N 273.2E 2229Z 11 MAR
SAN_JUAN_DL_SUR 11.2N 274.1E 2239Z 11 MAR
ANTARCTICA CAPE_ADARE 71.0S 170.0E 2230Z 11 MAR
THURSTON_IS. 72.0S 260.0E 0129Z 12 MAR
PANAMA PUNTA_BURICA 8.0N 277.1E 2254Z 11 MAR
PUNTA_MALA 7.5N 280.0E 2340Z 11 MAR
PUERTO_PINA 7.4N 282.0E 2350Z 11 MAR
BALBOA_HTS. 9.0N 280.4E 0201Z 12 MAR
HONDURAS AMAPALA 13.2N 272.4E 2259Z 11 MAR
CHILE EASTER_IS. 27.1S 250.6E 2303Z 11 MAR
ARICA 18.5S 289.7E 0251Z 12 MAR
IQUIQUE 20.2S 289.9E 0256Z 12 MAR
ANTOFAGASTA 23.3S 289.6E 0302Z 12 MAR
CALDERA 27.1S 289.2E 0322Z 12 MAR
GOLFO_DE_PENAS 47.1S 285.1E 0324Z 12 MAR
COQUIMBO 29.9S 288.6E 0331Z 12 MAR
VALPARAISO 33.0S 288.4E 0345Z 12 MAR
CORRAL 39.8S 286.5E 0401Z 12 MAR
TALCAHUANO 36.7S 286.9E 0407Z 12 MAR
PUERTO_MONTT 41.5S 287.0E 0601Z 12 MAR
PUERTO_WILLIAMS 54.8S 291.8E 0904Z 12 MAR
PUNTA_ARENAS 53.2S 289.1E 1708Z 12 MAR
ECUADOR BALTRA_IS. 0.5S 269.7E 2338Z 11 MAR
ESMERELDAS 1.2N 280.2E 0009Z 12 MAR
LA_LIBERTAD 2.2S 278.8E 0030Z 12 MAR
COLOMBIA BAHIA_SOLANO 6.3N 282.6E 2353Z 11 MAR
TUMACO 1.8N 281.1E 0018Z 12 MAR
BUENAVENTURA 3.8N 282.8E 0036Z 12 MAR
PERU TALARA 4.6S 278.5E 0041Z 12 MAR
PIMENTAL 6.9S 280.0E 0145Z 12 MAR
LA_PUNTA 12.1S 282.8E 0146Z 12 MAR
CHIMBOTE 9.0S 281.2E 0152Z 12 MAR
SAN_JUAN 15.3S 284.8E 0200Z 12 MAR
MOLLENDO 17.1S 288.0E 0233Z 12 MAR

BULLETINS WILL BE ISSUED HOURLY OR SOONER IF CONDITIONS WARRANT.
THE TSUNAMI WARNING WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.

THE JAPAN METEOROLOGICAL AGENCY MAY ALSO ISSUE TSUNAMI MESSAGES
FOR THIS EVENT TO COUNTRIES IN THE NORTHWEST PACIFIC AND SOUTH
CHINA SEA REGION. IN CASE OF CONFLICTING INFORMATION... THE
MORE CONSERVATIVE INFORMATION SHOULD BE USED FOR SAFETY.

THE WEST COAST/ALASKA TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER WILL ISSUE PRODUCTS
FOR ALASKA...BRITISH COLUMBIA...WASHINGTON...OREGON...CALIFORNIA.





000
wehw40 pheb 110831
tsuhwx
hiz001>003-005>009-012>014-016>021-023>026-111031-
/o.con.pheb.ts.w.0001.000000t0000z-000000t0000z/
bulletin
tsunami message number 4
nws pacific tsunami warning center ewa beach hi
1030 pm hst thu mar 10 2011
to - civil defense in the state of hawaii
subject - tsunami warning supplement
a tsunami warning continues in effect for the state of hawaii.
Note revised estimated time of arrival in hawaii
an earthquake has occurred with these preliminary parameters
origin time - 0746 pm hst 10 mar 2011
coordinates - 38.3 north 142.4 east
location - near east coast of honshu japan
magnitude - 8.9 moment
measurements or reports of tsunami wave activity
gauge location lat lon time ampl per
tosashimizu shikoku 32.8n 133.0e 0752z 0.94m / 3.1ft 72min
dart 21413 30.5n 152.1e 0659z 0.76m / 2.5ft 32min
hanasaki hokkaido j 43.3n 145.6e 0657z 2.79m / 9.2ft 76min
dart 21401 42.6n 152.6e 0643z 0.67m / 2.2ft 40min
dart 21418 38.7n 148.7e 0619z 1.08m / 3.5ft 06min
lat - latitude (n-north, s-south)
lon - longitude (e-east, w-west)
time - time of the measurement (z is utc is greenwich time)
ampl - tsunami amplitude measured relative to normal sea level.
It is ...not... Crest-to-trough wave height.
Values are given in both meters(m) and feet(ft).
Per - period of time in minutes(min) from one wave to the next.
Note - dart measurements are from the deep ocean and they
are generally much smaller than would be coastal
measurements at similar locations.
Evaluation
a tsunami has been generated that could cause damage along
coastlines of all islands in the state of hawaii. Urgent action
should be taken to protect lives and property.
A tsunami is a series of long ocean waves. Each individual wave
crest can last 5 to 15 minutes or more and extensively flood
coastal areas. The danger can continue for many hours after the
initial wave as subsequent waves arrive. Tsunami wave heights
cannot be predicted and the first wave may not be the largest.
Tsunami waves efficiently wrap around islands. All shores are at
risk no matter which direction they face. The trough of a tsunami
wave may temporarily expose the seafloor but the area will
quickly flood again. Extremely strong and unusual nearshore
currents can accompany a tsunami. Debris picked up and carried
by a tsunami amplifies its destructive power. Simultaneous high
tides or high surf can significantly increase the tsunami hazard.
The estimated arrival time in hawaii of the first tsunami wave is
0307 am hst fri 11 mar 2011
messages will be issued hourly or sooner as conditions warrant.

[BabyViperx3]

Originally Posted by Jousway

#prayforjapan  on twiter

Don't double post, edit them :S

EIDT- Triple post..

[dag12]

Tokyo was (is) relatively safe for now.
Places like Sendai, on the other hand...

It's really scary watching the water rush across the land, engulfing everything. There's footage of cars with people trying to drive away, being swallowed by massive waves.
Scary stuff...

To put it in perspective, it ranks among the top 10 largest earthquakes ever recorded since 1900. Crazy.
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquak...gest_world.php

[MrGiggles]

Top four according to Al Jazeera.

[dag12]

I've been watching Japanese TV, and they keep saying 8.8, while most American sources seem to say 8.9 . I guess more accurate data will be available later - right now everyone's busy with the destruction.

[MrGiggles]

It was upgraded from 7.9 to 8.8, then recently again to 8.9

This is now a Main Shock to a foreshock (7.2!) that happened 2 days ago and they're forecasting a high chance of another main shock redesignation (because the aftershocks were increasing in magnitude) for Japan within the next few days.

[dag12]

Ah I see. Thanks for the update. Apparently the waters are receding now in many places. Hopefully that isn't a buildup for another massive wave.

[Ziergdsx18]

This comment:

Roma8
If NASA would just admit to the existence of Nibiru and it present location the people of the world could prepare for these disasters in advance. NASA Never A Straight Answer!
4 minutes ago | Like (2) | Report abuse

[MrGiggles]

Originally Posted by dag12

Ah I see. Thanks for the update. Apparently the waters are receding now in many places. Hopefully that isn't a buildup for another massive wave.

Well, not for a while, I mean, I guess they're expecting a possible larger quake a few days in the future. In which case it will have technically been a buildup for another massive wave.

tsunami time map: http://wcatwc.arh.noaa.gov/2011/03/1...ulhvpd9-01.jpg

On that note, this tsunami was not ****ing around.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8OJbPZ211o

yeah that's right that tsunami is on fire holy shit