8.9

[filkertom]

Obviously, the big news this morning is the monstrous earthquake that hit just offshore of eastern Japan this morning. There have been more than twenty aftershocks, many of which were 6.0 or above, each of which would be bad enough. Tsunamis have killed dozens; there are warnings for Hawaii and the Left Coast. There are videos, but they are disturbing.

Anybody on the FList who's in an affected area, please sound off so we know you're okay.

ETA: Here's a specialized hit of Google Person Finder.

Comments

[ladystarblade.livejournal.com]

My roomie and I have several friends in Japan; all but a couple have checked in as okay, thank gods, and I'm just hoping that with power outages and the overloading of the cell network, the MIA's just can't get word out right now.

According to some people in Hawaii, as of 730ish, the waters have begun to recede, so they expect the tsunamis to start rolling in any moment.

I'm just keeping that part of the world in my thoughts today; it's at times like this that you realize how little power humans really have.

[ladystarblade.livejournal.com]

Quick update: Everyone I know in Japan is okay, though people are abandoning the stopped trains and buses and striking out on foot; Central Tokyo looks pretty good, considering, but people are staying out of buildings as much as possible.

And folks in Hawaii are being moved as we speak to higher and higher ground.

[kengr]

So are folks on the Oregon coast.

Me, I'm inland and 200 feet above sea level.

[jenrose]

We're inland Oregon and 500 feet above sea level.

[rrcgoose.livejournal.com]

Doing OK about an hour west of Tokyo. Had some good rollers going on for about two minutes. No damage to report in my area, but things are a mess with the trains and highways shut down.

Steve-

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Good to hear. Anne has some friends in the Tokyo area, and one who lives a bit south said she didn't even know there was a quake. Go fig.

[gorgeousgary]

Japan has some fairly mountainous regions (think Mt. Fuji). That sort of topography tends to dissipate earthquake forces rather quickly.

[kengr]

Check my LJ for a weird example of how the world connects.

Short form: My local TV station in Portland was getting a feed from a station in Honolulu where a Dutch tourist said he'd heard about the tsunami warning from a friend in South Africa who saw it on the news there...

[mimiheart.livejournal.com]

Watching CNN... they're worried about the nuclear power plants in Japan. At least one is damaged, and they're having trouble cooling the reactors. (If I understand correctly.) They're evacuating the area.

[randwolf.livejournal.com]

Report is that the plant shut down automatically, but that it needs a backup cooling system to maintain it in a safe state, and that has failed. The reports say they've got power to keep cooling it for two days. That gives them time to get the back-up cooling system going, so I think--I hope--they're OK.

[mimiheart.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the information. I had to leave, and NPR is only going over the overall not details.

[randwolf.livejournal.com]

Things are not as good as first reported, but still not terrible. "Small" amounts of radioactive steam are apparently being released at the Fukushima Daiichi, the area for six miles around has been evacuated and there is concern about a meltdown, but this so far as not occurred. I think we will a breathe a sigh of relief when they finally manage to get the reactor's cooling system going again.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/12/world/asia/12nuclear.html
http://allthingsnuclear.org/post/3788886037/nuclear-crisis-at-fukushima

[nagasvoice.livejournal.com]

Good map here of the expected waves along the Pacific Rim. Waves expected in Hawaii about 8 am.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/03/tsunami-watch-in-effect-for-california-oregon-washington-and-alaska.html

[pandoradeloeste.livejournal.com]

I'm working in San Francisco today. Luckily I'm on the fourth floor of a building in the financial district, which is as far east as you can go in SF without hitting the Bay, and I have a few hills between me and the Pacific Ocean. So I think I'm OK. I'm more worried for my clients, some of whom live out in the Richmond and Sunset districts (farther west and closer to the ocean).

[randwolf.livejournal.com]

NOAA tsunami predictions for the US West Coast:
http://wcatwc.arh.noaa.gov/models/models1.html

Fortunately, most predicted amplitudes at major cities are modest. Pandora, about three feet predicted at Pacifica and Half Moon Bay, probably similar levels at Ocean Beach and around the Bay. BART has activated their emergency ops center and are may shut down some lines. Outside major cities, and especially at rivermouths and small bays on the NW coast it's another matter: eight feet is predicted at Crescent City.

[technoshaman.livejournal.com]

This is kinda de ja vu...

When the Loma Prieta quake hit in '89 I was online with a bunch of folks, including a bunch of West Coasties. I was in Atlanta at the time, listening to the World Series on the tube in the next room, when ssssssttttt... and in just a few minutes all the West Coasties dropped off, blip blip blip... we all started typing in whatever we heard, I had ABC, sdfischer (RIP) had CNN, somebody else had CBS.... in about 15 minutes I hear urso's phone ring (he being my housemate at the time), and go to the answering machine, and then our other housemate's phone ring, and he comes stumbling out from a nap, "technoshaman, call your mom..." I log off (modems!), call home, and "There's been an earthquake!" "Old news, Mom."

This morning, roll out at 0615, see solcita's tweet, start poking about... and at 0637 the landline rings. There's only one person who legitimately has that number...

"Good morning!"
"Did you hear?"
"Old news, Mom." :) :) :)

For the record, Seattle proper should get about four inches. We *might* shut down the big cranes that handle container ships (a four-inch bobble when you're lifting tens of tons worth of container, maybe not so good), but other than that? Non-story.

The folks on the coast, however (and I do know some)...

Post from Fake AP Stylebook

[janedit.livejournal.com]

Fake AP Stylebook
Only use passive voice when... you know what? Text REDCROSS to 90999 to donate $10 to the international relief fund for Japan. We'll worry about passive voice later.

Re: Post from Fake AP Stylebook

[kshandra]

I made a point of responding to that tweet and thanking them for dropping out of character for this.

[johno.livejournal.com]

San Francisco Area mostly ok. Waves were 1-3 feet when they got here. Evacuated the beaches, but not the condos that line the shore.

Santa Cruz has several damaged boats as the waves bounced around the bay.

[solarbird]

NHK live feed (Japanese language):
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nhk-gtv2

Yokoso News live-transating various news reports live:
http://yokosonews.com/live

Shit, the latest aftershock just triggered another tsunami warning.

My friends have checked in as okay, but they're inland Tokyo. Things are mostly okay but Mariko is sleeping on her desk tonight. (It's 3am.) Scariest earthquake she's ever felt.

West Coast - reasonably OK.

[hvideo.livejournal.com]

In general the damage along the west coast of the US looks to be pretty minor (unless, of course, it's your own property that is damaged). From Santa Cruz, for example, they guess about $10M damage to the harbor facilities itself and there are a lot of privately owned boats that broke free or sunk. There is a report of one person missing a bit further up the coast, the Coast Guard has a search underway.

Compared to the early guesses of $100B damage in Japan, this is minor.

[gardnerhill.livejournal.com]

Got a TM from my brother -- his daughter (my niece) who is studying in Japan is okay, but she felt the quake.

We had BART warnings this morning, but it's been downgraded to a watch.