Tohoku Earthquake, Tsunami and Nuclear Disaster!!!

[CrankyBastard]

(Reuters) - Watching TV images of workers frantically dousing the reactors of Japan's earthquake-wrecked nuclear plant with water, one man realised he was uniquely placed to help out: he had on hand a truck-mounted pump bigger than any other in the land.


http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/24/japan-pump-idUSL3E7EN0YA20110324

[Yokohammer]

I know there are a gazillion photos of the aftermath all over the media, but here are a few I shot this afternoon just a few km from my house. Can't stop at or get into some areas yet. But really, you have to see it in person. It's almost impossible to describe. I couldn't bring myself to shoot images of people forlornly picking up the bits and pieces ... what's left of their lives.

[FG Lurker]

BTW, has any FG been getting pulled over for bicycle registration lately?

It's funny... I've ridden 1000s of kilometers in Japan, actually several 10s of thousands of km. (I did over 200km/week for several years.) I have never been asked about bike registration. Maybe they just assume the bike has to be mine as it wouldn't fit the vast majority of natives...

[Pearse]

That's really terrible, Yokohammer.
I have been up that way a few times for various reasons. My wife's mother is from Iwaki and one of her relatives was swept away by the tsunami. I'm not sure exactly where that relative's house was but my wife said there is a statue of or monument to Misora Hibari nearby. Maybe you know it.
Stay safe up there.

[ichigo partygirl]

I know there are a gazillion photos of the aftermath all over the media, but here are a few I shot this afternoon just a few km from my house. Can't stop at or get into some areas yet. But really, you have to see it in person. It's almost impossible to describe. I couldn't bring myself to shoot images of people forlornly picking up the bits and pieces ... what's left of their lives

I can't imagine seeing that devastation literally up the road. The feeling of being there must be indescribable. Thank you for sharing the photos with us.

[Doctor Stop]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/24/japan-pump-idUSL3E7EN0YA20110324

"A bright red Putzmeister pump"? It sounds like a penis enlargement device.

[Yokohammer]

I can't imagine seeing that devastation literally up the road. The feeling of being there must be indescribable. Thank you for sharing the photos with us.

I should show you a photo of my street. It looks as though nothing ever happened. Peaceful, quiet ... not a sign of disaster anywhere. But then you go a couple of km eastward and the scenery starts to look pretty grim.

Here's fate (and a good dollop of luck) for you: when we were looking for a house to buy up here, all of the places we looked at are in what is now the disaster zone ... except for the one we bought.

[AML]

If you ask me, it's embarrassing that they don't have equipment like the putzmeister on hand somewhere in japan

(Considering how many tall buildings there are in the country)

Why they have to rely on the ideas and kindness of strangers is beyond me

I still can't believe how badly they have dealt with the whole power plant situation. Not what I would have expected from japan

So can we expect a concrete sarcophagus in fukushima?

[cstaylor]

So can we expect a concrete sarcophagus in fukushima?

Not for at least a couple more weeks I think... they've got to get the heat down on it first.

[ichigo partygirl]

I should show you a photo of my street. It looks as though nothing ever happened. Peaceful, quiet ... not a sign of disaster anywhere. But then you go a couple of km eastward and the scenery starts to look pretty grim.

Here's fate (and a good dollop of luck) for you: when we were looking for a house to buy up here, all of the places we looked at are in what is now the disaster zone ... except for the one we bought.

I don't believe in fate, but it does make you wonder....

For what ever reason you picked that house, I am sure you are even more happy about it now.

[FG Lurker]

If you ask me, it's embarrassing that they don't have equipment like the putzmeister on hand somewhere in japan

In some vertical markets (pun not intended) there are only one or two manufacturers in the world that make products to fit the niche. Sometimes its because there isn't enough demand to have more competition and sometimes its due to trade secrets or other technological hurdles.

[FG Lurker]

I know there are a gazillion photos of the aftermath all over the media, but here are a few I shot this afternoon just a few km from my house. Can't stop at or get into some areas yet. But really, you have to see it in person. It's almost impossible to describe. I couldn't bring myself to shoot images of people forlornly picking up the bits and pieces ... what's left of their lives.

I'm at a loss for words. Glad you were far enough away to be okay and my heart goes out to those who weren't. Thank you for sharing the photos.

[IkemenTommy]

If you ask me, it's embarrassing that they don't have equipment like the putzmeister on hand somewhere in japan

What can you expect from a nation that worships anything small and efficient but criticizes anything big.. small cars, small homes, small chinkos..

[Mulboyne]

Koban affected by liquefaction in Chiba.

[Doctor Stop]

Koban affected by liquefaction in Chiba.

That gives me a sinking feeling. I always knew that the cops in Chiba were crooked, but this is ridiculous.

[ichigo partygirl]

This is from the CHCH earthquake, but a really great video which helps explain what liquefaction is (Maybe I'm a bit slow, but i hadn't heard of it really before the 1st CHCH quake last year).

[Catoneinutica]

Keep those images of liquefaction in mind when someone tells you about a Tokyo REIT that made 30% the year before.

[Coligny]

In some vertical markets (pun not intended) there are only one or two manufacturers in the world that make products to fit the niche. Sometimes its because there isn't enough demand to have more competition and sometimes its due to trade secrets or other technological hurdles.

and there's also oddities like the Antonov 225, made to carry the Buran space shuttle... there is only 1, no plan to built another, but it's a planet wide delivery truck designed to land on less than perfect airfield and even during normal times he don't get to have much rest.

[legion]

On a note, my daughter lives in Yokohama, and I am thinking about driving down to pick her up, does anybody know if the rest areas on the express highways have gas? We heard that the shinkansen will be out of service for another month.

http://sapa.driveplaza.com/sapa/



I think you will need to phone them and ask.

The panic buying appears to have settled down in Tokyo, so I guess things will gradually begin to return to some semblance of normality on the expressways too, but for now if it were me I'd be looking for a jerry can.

[Greji]

I'd be looking for a jerry can.

You gotta be joking, there ain't any kind of can to put gas into in Tokyo. I even tried R&D looking for a jerry can or two and they ain't to be found. It's about like trying to find "D" batteries.

[Kanchou]

Just drive to Miyagi and siphon a few hundred liters. Those cars will never run again anyway.

[legion]

You gotta be joking, there ain't any kind of can to put gas into in Tokyo. I even tried R&D looking for a jerry can or two and they ain't to be found. It's about like trying to find "D" batteries.

Legally you cannot put petrol in those red plastic cans used for paraffin, you have to use a can made from metal, and they are not readily available at the best of times, if at all. I guess the best chance would be things maritime.

I looked around years ago when I had a motorcrosser with a small tank, in the end I opted for one of those ugly custom tanks instead.

[Coligny]

You gotta be joking, there ain't any kind of can to put gas into in Tokyo. I even tried R&D looking for a jerry can or two and they ain't to be found. It's about like trying to find "D" batteries.

kahma still got some here... joice of the countryside...

[canman]

Speaking of cars,I teach a company lesson and this company is right beside the ocean. When the tsunami hit all of their cars were washed away or completely flooded. Is there any way to rescue these cars, or do they have to be scrapped. I know of two students who had just bought new cars. One a Honda Insight, the other a Nissan X-trail. I remember hearing about cars being pulled from Hurricane Katrina and being sold in other areas after they were refurbished, but some dealers weren't telling the customers about their histories.
OR could you at least use them for scrap, pull the tires, and other parts. Man there is going to be a huge demand for cars in the next little while!

[Coligny]

Speaking of cars,I teach a company lesson and this company is right beside the ocean. When the tsunami hit all of their cars were washed away or completely flooded. Is there any way to rescue these cars, or do they have to be scrapped. I know of two students who had just bought new cars. One a Honda Insight, the other a Nissan X-trail. I remember hearing about cars being pulled from Hurricane Katrina and being sold in other areas after they were refurbished, but some dealers weren't telling the customers about their histories.
OR could you at least use them for scrap, pull the tires, and other parts. Man there is going to be a huge demand for cars in the next little while!

I'd say the insight is dead... for the others... normal river water would not have been much of a problem. Now... seawater... that's much more troublesome shortcut and corrosion wise...

[wuchan]

Speaking of cars,I teach a company lesson and this company is right beside the ocean. When the tsunami hit all of their cars were washed away or completely flooded. Is there any way to rescue these cars, or do they have to be scrapped. I know of two students who had just bought new cars. One a Honda Insight, the other a Nissan X-trail. I remember hearing about cars being pulled from Hurricane Katrina and being sold in other areas after they were refurbished, but some dealers weren't telling the customers about their histories.
OR could you at least use them for scrap, pull the tires, and other parts. Man there is going to be a huge demand for cars in the next little while!

In Japan, rescue... no.


They can be cleaned and exported. Many asian countries love used Japanese cars. I know it sounds scummy but "flood cars" are so common in the US that most recycle shop guys in the northeast carry razors to check for sand under the carpet. Used import cars are not subject to local "lemon" laws.

I am sure that you can find a export company to take the cars for more than scrap price. You just need to do some looking around. You may not like the people who do this kind of thing (they did bring supplies to disaster areas) but when your back is against the wall...

[Yokohammer]

Just drive to Miyagi and siphon a few hundred liters. Those cars will never run again anyway.

You'll have to move fast. Miyagi folk have already thought of that.

[Kanchou]

When a modern car has been flooded, it will almost always be totaled because of the number of electronics and unprotected wiring in the car.

An electrical problem is often harder and more expensive to fix than say, a blown engine. And that's a NORMAL electrical problem. When a car has been submersed in sea water you can basically count on every electric device being damaged, as well as severe corrosion on much of the car.

In that case I hope you had insurance.


An older car or a hardened vehicle such as a Willy's Jeep or a Humvee might be OK, but that's because of simplicity or because of military-grade wiring harnesses.

[Greji]

You can't quite compare them with "flood cars" because it is the ocean in this instance. Saltwater will do in the best of mechanical seals. If they spent any amount of time in the water, you got a metal brick at best.

[matsuki]

You can't quite compare them with "flood cars" because it is the ocean in this instance. Saltwater will do in the best of mechanical seals. If they spent any amount of time in the water, you got a metal brick at best.

This...even the ones simply stored near the sea have all kinds of problems from the salty air.