Earthquake!

[Mulboyne]

Press Association: Three die as earthquake rocks Japan

A 7.2-magnitude earthquake has rocked a rural, mountainous area of northern Japan, killing at least three people. It triggered landslides, stopped train service and knocked down a bridge. With roads closed, military aircraft and helicopters were mobilised to assess the damage. Kyodo News agency said at least 100 people were injured. Officials confirmed at least 84 injuries and seven people missing. Another 100 people were trapped at a hot springs, according to the government's Disaster Agency, but details of their situation remained unclear. One of the deaths was a man who ran out of a building in fear and was hit by a passing lorry, and another was a man buried in a landslide while fishing, said Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura. A third victim was a construction worker who was hit by a falling rock at a dam in Iwate, according to the National Police Agency. About five gallons of radioactive water splashed from two pools storing spent fuel at a Fukushima nuclear power plant, but there was no leakage outside the facility, Trade and Industry Ministry official Yoshinori Moriyama said.

Two nuclear power plants in the area were being inspected, but there were no immediate reports of damage, said Machimura. Ten nuclear reactors at the two power plants in Onagawa and Fukushima were running normally, operators Tohoku Electric Power Co. and Tokyo Electric Power Co. said. However, electricity had been cut to about 29,000 households in the quake zone. There was no danger of tsunami, but several aftershocks, including one with a magnitude of 5.6, struck the area in the hours after the initial quake. Meteorological Agency official Takashi Yokota said at least 40 aftershocks occurred in the area and could trigger further damage to buildings or cause landslides. The quake was centred in the northern state of Iwate about 250 miles northeast of Tokyo, and was located about five miles underground. It was felt as far away as Tokyo.

[GuyJean]

NHK had some helicopter footage of a mountain road that collapsed and is now a jutting cliff; some powerful images.. Unfortunately, I couldn't find anything online yet.

My coworker keeps telling me the big one will hit Japan sometime before 2010; we 'have 2 years to leave'..



GJ

[GomiGirl]

Missed the whole thing - was sound asleep. If I woke up I would have just thought it was the BF and his morning farty arse.

[canman]

I was in Akita when the quake hit, on the 12th floor of my hotel. What a feeling. That is by far the biggest quake I have experienced. Luckily nothing broke as it is a brand new Roynet Hotel. But when I left Akita, I couldn't use the Akita expressway, and most of the guests who had attended the wedding I was in Akita for were stranded as the shinkansen and the airport was shut down. Couldn't use the K-tei for half an hour, the signal was busy. On the drive home, I was heading north, I met at least 20 fire trucks and more than 50 self defence trucks and another 20 or so electrical trucks going down to Iwate and Miyagi to try and help out.

[gomichild]

Glad to hear you're safe - how frightening.

[Buraku]

[quote="GuyJean"]

My coworker keeps telling me the big one will hit Japan sometime before 2010]

Globally speaking the shit hits the fan about every 25,000 years -
something fucked up happens like a huge volcanoe blows its top making St Helens look like a dinky firecracker
the eco-system gets wiped out by a nasty virus/plague
or a big asteroid or comet suddenly smacks into our planet creating a 25,000 mega tonne explosion
or we have a huge fucking earth quake that almost shakes the planet apart

It's been a long time since 'a big one' happened, we're due some bad shit but hopefully not in our lifetime

[Greji]

It's been a long time since 'a big one' happened, we're due some bad shit but hopefully not in our lifetime

You should have been in Kobe my friend if you're waiting for the big one.... It's been here for some....

[Iraira]

Is anyone here really really old? I mean old where they would remember Gondwanaland and Pangea? If you do, you must have lived through a few doozies of quakes. Plate tectonics rocks.

[Mulboyne]

[YT]0utoPhX_lY0[/YT]

[Mulboyne]

AFP: Foreigners found after Japan quake

Three foreigners who were feared missing after a major earthquake in northern Japan have been found safe. Authorities had said Saturday that they lost contact with three foreigners and one Japanese who were believed to be on a camping trip when the 7.2 Richter-scale earthquake struck. "After investigating further, we found out that they had not gone ahead with their travel plans," said Yoshihiro Suzuki, a local official in the hard-hit town of Kurihara. The four were located in the northern city of Morioka, which did not suffer serious damage in the earthquake. Suzuki said the three foreigners' nationalities were unclear, but they were native English speakers who taught their mother tongue to junior high school students. The four had been planning to travel to Mount Kurikoma, where the earthquake devastated a hot-spring resort, burying seven people underneath.

[dimwit]

So err..doesn't that make them undead? I'm sure their junior high students would be impressed.

[Takechanpoo]

So err..doesn't that make them undead? I'm sure their junior high students would be impressed.

I'm sure no students will care about if the three instuctors were killed.

[Taro Toporific]

Two little but loooong ones happened here in Tokyo...


[INDENT]Earthquake Information
Issued at 13:36 JST 18 Jun 2008
http://www.jma.go.jp/en/quake/

Occurred at (JST) 13:30 JST 18 Jun 2008
Latitude 36.8N
Longitude 141.4E
Depth 80km
Magnitude 4.0
Region Name OFF IBARAKI PREF
[/INDENT]

[gomichild]

That was a strong 6 in Aomori. No tsunami warning.

[canman]

That was way too long and powerful for my liking. The epicenter was only 30 km from here in Hachinohe. I just spent the past 30 minutes cleaning up broken glass and carefully opening all of my kitchen cupboards catching the falling glasses and dishes. The fridge was a complete mess, when I opened it, half of the stuff came falling out. Luckily no major damage, but we will have to wait until sun up to see if there is any big damage outside.

[gomichild]

stay safe canman.

[American Oyaji]

That was way too long and powerful for my liking. The epicenter was only 30 km from here in Hachinohe. I just spent the past 30 minutes cleaning up broken glass and carefully opening all of my kitchen cupboards catching the falling glasses and dishes. The fridge was a complete mess, when I opened it, half of the stuff came falling out. Luckily no major damage, but we will have to wait until sun up to see if there is any big damage outside.

Gotta make a call now.

[Aho Kun]

Now watching it on the news,anyone whos out that way take care.

[MeinJapanLongTime]

Hope everyone and their loved ones are safe.

[canman]

Well now that it is light, we found a lot more broken things. My daughters 60 litre fish tank has a crack and is leaking water, so that will get tossed. My son's stereo slid off its bookcase and put a big hole in the floor. The speaker was cracked. All the pictures we had on our china cabinet were tossed around and some of the frame glass was smashed. But as for structure there doesn't seem to be any big damage. But all around us that was very powerful and it will take Hachinohe a while to recover from this.

[Mulboyne]

Good luck up there, mate.

[CrankyBastard]

What Mulboyne said.

+(at least you can get online)

[Greji]

Well now that it is light, we found a lot more broken things. My daughters 60 litre fish tank has a crack and is leaking water, so that will get tossed. My son's stereo slid off its bookcase and put a big hole in the floor. The speaker was cracked. All the pictures we had on our china cabinet were tossed around and some of the frame glass was smashed. But as for structure there doesn't seem to be any big damage. But all around us that was very powerful and it will take Hachinohe a while to recover from this.

Sounds like you came through pretty good. Hope everything continues to be well for you. Update us now and then.

The media is on this killer hazzard craze and every fart seens to be a major typoon. I had two phone calls from the states wanting to know if the family and I survived and had to convince them that it was no where near Tokyo, as the US media apparently had it shaking the whole of Japan in epic proportions.

Let us know how it is, if you have time....

[Taro Toporific]

I had two phone calls from the states wanting to know if the family and I survived and had to convince them that it was no where near Tokyo, as the US media apparently had it shaking the whole of Japan in epic proportions.

Earthquake? I just woke up and this is the first I've heard of it....

...SHe-e-e-it! NHK is gonna be 24/7 with JR train cancellations (which are right in the middle of folks talking summer vacations).

...Well now that it is light, we found a lot more broken things.

It sounds like you won't even have to have a building inspection (but you might take a peek in the attic and crawlspace to see if anything on the frame, sills, baseplate, etc. has moved).

[FG Lurker]

Well now that it is light, we found a lot more broken things. My daughters 60 litre fish tank has a crack and is leaking water, so that will get tossed. My son's stereo slid off its bookcase and put a big hole in the floor. The speaker was cracked. All the pictures we had on our china cabinet were tossed around and some of the frame glass was smashed. But as for structure there doesn't seem to be any big damage. But all around us that was very powerful and it will take Hachinohe a while to recover from this.

Good to hear that you're safe, sorry about all the damage. Hope everything stays calm up there for a while now!!

[canman]

Well we had the builder over to check things out. The siding at its joints have pulled apart slightly and he recommends that we have it kalked and repainted to make sure no water gets in. Also on second inspection I did notice a few cracks in the concrete that is the base for our fence. I took a ride on my bike, and there is a lot of damaged places. Nothing major, but lots of broken windows, and crumbled concrete. We had another small quake at 11:30 and I must admit, I am a little gun shy right now.

[james]

..carefully opening all of my kitchen cupboards catching the falling glasses and dishes. The fridge was a complete mess, when I opened it, half of the stuff came falling out.

sounds like my in-laws' kitchen regardless of seismic activity.. glad to hear you are safe.

[American Oyaji]

My ex and her sister both contacted me and told me they are OK. A bunch of cups and glasses broken, but that's all.

[GuyJean]

Some jigglin' 32 floors up, just now..

GJ

[Iraira]

Mag was 4.5, centered in Tamagawa. Woke me up from my post-luch coma, in stylish Toranomon.....that salariman obento will kill you everytime.