Quake in Japan

Lots of devastation there and tsunami warnings throughout the pacific rim.

From a car perspective, I saw this photo and was amazed. The power of the water is stunning.

Watching the footage of a wave of rubble and debris sweep across the countryside was pretty incredible.

Then there was this one piece of ridiculous local coverage, where their reporter-on-scene spent about 5 minutes lamenting over what a mess the quake had made of her office, focusing on fallen stacks of paper and E36 M3. It was almost funny.

We have one or two forum'ers stationed in Japan, right? You guys okay?

This has been a rough year already.

Stay safe those in the dangerzone

My buddy cletus is currently working in Japan for toyota. Let me see if he's OK.

Hope all is OK.

I just had 2 of my friends go to Hawaii on a trip, they are there now, and another friend moved to San Diego just as they are going to get a mini-tsunami.

Reminds me of when I moved to coastal SC and Katrina happened the 1st week I was there. Wife was crapping a brick for 2 years after that.

Some of the footage on the news is mind-blowing. Worst quake Japan has had since we started recording them!

Cletus is OK. Facetwit says so.

I'm still waiting to hear from friends. I expect that they're OK since they're down in Okinawa, but Tokyo is a long ways away from Sendai and Sendai and they are having major issues. (Yes, I know Okinawa is a lot further away.)

Honda can confirm that there has been one fatality at Honda R&D Co. Ltd in Tochigi prefecture. At this time, thirty injuries have also been reported. Saitama factory has suspended production until further notice. Suzuka factory has now resumed production.

http://jalopnik.com/#!5780962/one-honda-employee-killed-30-injured-in-japan-earthquake

We've heard from Toyota, regarding its company-wide emergency task force set up to deal with the earthquake. No injuries reported so far, but some employees have been evacuated. Please be informed that TMC comment on the earthquakes in Japan on March 11 (as of 17:00 JST) is as below: TMC has established a company-wide emergency task force to take initial measures (under leadership of Managing Officer Miyazaki). Current situation is the following: 1. Employees -Confirmed there have been no injuries at the Tokyo head office, as well as the Higashifuji, Tochigi office, Yamanashi office, and Toyota Motor Tohoku facilities. -Presently gathering information on Central Motor Corporation and Kanto Auto Works. 2. Production -All TMC plants have restarted production. -The employees at manufacturing companies in the Tohoku region, including Toyota Motor Tohoku, and Central Motor Corporation are evacuating to safe areas. The situation is the same in the facilities at Hokkaido as well. -Currently, we are checking the situation of suppliers. -Currently nothing has been decided about production plans. 3. Dealers -There are reports that some dealers have been damaged, however we are still investigating the details.

http://jalopnik.com/#!5780972/how-toyotas-dealing-with-the-earthquake-in-japan

Nissan's reporting that two employees at the company's Tochigi Plant suffered minor injuries, and that small fires broke out at the company's Tochigi and Iwaki plants, but they've been extinguished. Dealerships in the Kanto region have reported damage. Facilities Iwaki Plant (Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture), Tochigi Plant (Kawachi County, Tochigi Prefecture), Yokohama Plant (Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture), Oppama Plant (Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture), Zama Operations Center (Zama City, Kanagawa Prefecture) all suspended operations immediately. Small fires broke out at the Tochigi Plant and the Iwaki Plant casting facilities but have been extinguished. Employees Evacuations have begun at locations close to the coastline, where tsunami warnings have been issued. Two employees at Tochigi Plant suffered minor injuries. The company has advised employees to remain inside facilities where it is safe. However, those who are able to walk home are allowed to leave their offices based on their personal discretion. Power outage confirmed at the Nissan Technical Center (Atsugi City, Kanagawa Prefecture). Employees who were remaining in that facility are now evacuating to the Nissan Advanced Technology Center (Atsugi City, Kanagawa Prefecture) nearby. Plans after tomorrow Plants will suspend operations originally planned for Saturday March 12 and Sunday March 13. Operations after Monday, March 14, for all plants and facilities including the Global Headquarters (Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture), will be decided after all assessments including suppliers, are conducted tomorrow, March 12. Dealerships Some dealerships in the Kanto region (area surrounding Tokyo) have reported damage. Reports regarding dealerships in Northern Japan are yet to be confirmed.

http://jalopnik.com/#!5780981/how-nissans-dealing-with-the-earthquake-in-japan

My wifes family is all in japan. mostly in Kanagawa Ken which is well south of the quake area, But still close enough to worry, a little.

Closer to home it looks like a little tsunami hit Santa Cruz

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/category/watch-listen/video-on-demand/?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=5651093&flvUri&partnerclipid

My dad keeps his boat in that harbor, thankfully its in the dry storage area and not in the water...

Techs have had to release radioactive vapor in attempts to relieve pressure on the reactor that had its cooling system damaged during the quake. At last report pressure levels were at 1.5 times normal and rising.

My wife's immediate family is in Tokyo and the immediate suburbs. A lot of communication connections are a mess. My mother-in-law got a fax to us last night. She is uninjured, as is my sister-in-law and her husband who live nearby. At that time, now one had been in touch with her other sister so her health and well being, along her husband and three children is still unknown. They are in Saitama which the news reports wasn't hit that hard.

We are hoping for more good news soon.

Just heard about a 6.6 aftershock. Dang!

Ignorant wrote: Reminds me of when I moved to coastal SC and Katrina happened the 1st week I was there. Wife was crapping a brick for 2 years after that.

\ Be thankful you missed Hugo.

Scary Sad this is the 3rd largest economy i hope for the best

Photos of the property damage on Ali'i drive in Kona, HI

http://triathlon.competitor.com/2011/03/news/images-of-kailua-kona-tsunami-damage_23141/attachment/189715_184523158257138_100000983641534_452267_4073902_n-2

(BTW, my friends in Japan are OK.....but I didn't know they had moved.....they are a lot closer than I thought.)

I am breathing a little easier now. we talked to my mother-in-law a little while ago. The family is fully accounted for. Nobody was physically injured. Between the main quake and all the aftershocks, my nephew and two nieces were pretty scared. I wouldn't be surprised if the parents are shaken up more than they are letting on.

It sounds like the situation with the nuclear power plant is still not going well, the latest news stories say they have detected radiaton outside the facility, and they still haven't been able to restore emergency power. I think the problem is that they have diesel generators that would be enough to run everything, but they got drowned by the water.

A building (not the main reactor chamber) exploded last night at the nuclear facility. Completely leveled.

Still pretty tenuous...

I have co workers that we haven't heard from working at three of the nukes there.

"A building (not the main reactor chamber) exploded last night at the nuclear facility. Completely leveled.

Still pretty tenuous."

Actually this is VERY serious. You are talking about the containment building. Now, it's not "containing" and they had already lost the fuel cooling ability. This is serious stuff, people.

Yeah, the articles on the reactor issues are not good! Hopefully they get it under control before creating Godzilla!

minimac wrote: I have co workers that we haven't heard from working at three of the nukes there. "A building (not the main reactor chamber) exploded last night at the nuclear facility. Completely leveled. Still pretty tenuous." Actually this is VERY serious. You are talking about the containment building. Now, it's not "containing" and they had already lost the fuel cooling ability. This is serious stuff, people.

I certainly didn't mean to minimize it. I completely agree that the situation is very serious.

Prayers are with your coworkers.

Javelin wrote: Yeah, the articles on the reactor issues are not good! Hopefully they get it under control before creating Godzilla!

I think the greater risk is radiation escaping into the atmosphere and being carried by the jet stream to the west coast of the US causing a rise in radiation levels in crops, ground water, live stock and wild game. I have read around the net at various sources some people are starting to worry about this and even planning bug out location if it gets to that point.

Javelin wrote: Yeah, the articles on the reactor issues are not good! Hopefully they get it under control before creating Godzilla!

Wow I forgot about that might coming into play

Hey guys....this is a serious situation for everyone! The fact that they are saying the vessel didn't "break" in the explosion(which is supposedly impossible)has no bearing whatsoever. Once the cooling water control was lost, there is nothing to control the reaction. What do you think is on fire? The building is concrete and steel-what's to burn? The building to contain the radiation in case of an accident is gone. This means it is going directly into the atmosphere. They are trying to cool the fuel and reaction by pumping seawater on it. It will turn instantly to steam. Where does that steam go? The atmosphere.The larger concern is referenced by rebelgtp above. I would have to think that most people at that site are goners, or will soon be. This should be a global concern. This is the very thing that "they" said could never happen. And this doesn't address the real threat of the "China Syndrome". Does the word Wormwood have any meaning for you? I'm not trying to be an alarmist, but this could make Chernobyl look like childs play. I doubt that we will hear the real story for many years, and this could mean the death of the new nuke industry.

The Genie is out of the bottle and he's pissed. Where is the jetstream now? Is anyone tracking the radiation? Why no civil defense announcements?