1. SPS Accounts:
    Do you find yourself coming back time after time? Do you appreciate the ongoing hard work to keep this community focused and successful in its mission? Please consider supporting us by upgrading to an SPS Account. Besides the warm and fuzzy feeling that comes from supporting a good cause, you'll also get a significant number of ever-expanding perks and benefits on the site and the forums. Click here to find out more.
    Dismiss Notice
Dismiss Notice
You are currently viewing Boards o' Magick as a guest, but you can register an account here. Registration is fast, easy and free. Once registered you will have access to search the forums, create and respond to threads, PM other members, upload screenshots and access many other features unavailable to guests.

BoM cultivates a friendly and welcoming atmosphere. We have been aiming for quality over quantity with our forums from their inception, and believe that this distinction is truly tangible and valued by our members. We'd love to have you join us today!

(If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us. If you've forgotten your username or password, click here.)

Japan Earthquake-Tsunami-Nuclear-Accident Disaster

Discussion in 'Alley of Dangerous Angles' started by Ragusa, Mar 12, 2011.

  1. Ragusa

    Ragusa Eternal Halfling Paladin Veteran

    Joined:
    Nov 26, 2000
    Messages:
    10,140
    Media:
    63
    Likes Received:
    250
    Gender:
    Male
    [​IMG] I saw the pictures and some of the reporting on the disaster in Japan, and this looks really bad.

    First this 8.9 Richter quake, then the Tsunami. Last thing I read was that there are at least a thousand casualties, and that were first reports. In a less well organised and constructed country the numbers would have been by far higher.

    As if that wasn't bad enough already, the core of nuclear power plant Fukushima 1 is apparently 'burning through', with an explosion having been observed and increased of radiation levels measured. Apparently, the quake had damaged the cooling system. I am old enough to remember Chernobyl, not so fond memories.

    Earthquake Catastrophe - Hundreds Believed Dead in Japanese Natural Disaster
    Japan Orders Evacuation Near 2nd Nuclear Plant


    Vid in German.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 19, 2015
  2. LKD Gems: 31/31
    Latest gem: Rogue Stone


    Veteran

    Joined:
    Aug 13, 2002
    Messages:
    6,284
    Likes Received:
    271
    Gender:
    Male
    My brother lives in Tokyo, and it took him a while but he was finally able to contact my dad and say he's safe. He didn't say much but apparently it's a total cluster boink over there. At least I can sleep now knowing his family is OK.
     
  3. Manjuu Gems: 2/31
    Latest gem: Fire Agate


    Joined:
    Feb 2, 2011
    Messages:
    33
    Likes Received:
    2
    Gender:
    Female
    Fortunately, most of my friends are in Osaka, and while the ones in Togane and Tokyo are okay, I worry about that nuclear plant and the effect it will have. Also, 6 metre tall tsunami waves are always bad news.:(
     
  4. Darion

    Darion Resident Dissident Veteran BoM XenForo Migration Contributor [2015] (for helping support the migration to new forum software!)

    Joined:
    Feb 6, 2002
    Messages:
    801
    Media:
    1
    Likes Received:
    42
    Gender:
    Male
    The German new paint a bad picture!

    As if this cataclysmic event wasn't bad enough, now its a possible reactor meltdown.
    But what pisses me off, is the lack of solid news. It's all vague and repetitive.

    I really hope they can rally enough people and material and specialists, to get the NPP under control.
     
  5. Montresor

    Montresor Mostly Harmless Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder

    Joined:
    Aug 11, 2005
    Messages:
    3,103
    Media:
    127
    Likes Received:
    183
    Gender:
    Male
    [​IMG] The latest news is that the reactor core is not broken, so it seems we're not facing a Tjernobyl-size disaster, yet.

    The bad news is that almost 10,000 people are missing in the town of Minamisanriku alone. :(

    I have two clients in Japan, one in Tokyo and one with offices in Tokyo and Osaka. I hope everybody at their offices are OK...
     
  6. Ragusa

    Ragusa Eternal Halfling Paladin Veteran

    Joined:
    Nov 26, 2000
    Messages:
    10,140
    Media:
    63
    Likes Received:
    250
    Gender:
    Male




     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 19, 2015
  7. Erod Gems: 14/31
    Latest gem: Chrysoberyl


    Veteran

    Joined:
    May 21, 2005
    Messages:
    652
    Likes Received:
    3
    The latest news that the Finnish nuclear regulator STUK got from the Japanese a while ago was that the reactor cooling is under control again and radiation levels are decreasing. So the chance of a nuclear catastrophe is apparently very low. Comparing this to Chernobyl is a bit silly too, since they are way different.
     
  8. Rotku

    Rotku I believe I can fly Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!)

    Joined:
    Apr 13, 2003
    Messages:
    3,105
    Likes Received:
    35
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-12723092
    This is a well written piece about the nuclear situation. It's not completely up-to-date as they have since announced that the core container still holds, but it explains how it all works and what the possible risks are.

    Leaks from their nuclear agency are currently pointing to the partial melt-down (if that's what it is) ranking at stage 4 on the International Nuclear Event Scale, although this may change. The Three Mile Island was a 5, and Chernobyl a 7.
     
  9. Ragusa

    Ragusa Eternal Halfling Paladin Veteran

    Joined:
    Nov 26, 2000
    Messages:
    10,140
    Media:
    63
    Likes Received:
    250
    Gender:
    Male
    US Geological Survey: Quake moved Japan by 8 feet
    Scary. At least as far as sea level rise is concerned Japan has just gotten some time.

    What I also didn't know, as a result of the tsunami, soil of arable land in the coastal region washed over by the flood will probably be contaminated with fuels and similar substances, rendering it useless for agriculture. To the extent to which it relies on food grown in the coastal regions, Japan will as a result probably also see rising food prices.
     
  10. Harbourboy

    Harbourboy Take thy form from off my door! Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

    Joined:
    May 29, 2003
    Messages:
    13,354
    Likes Received:
    99
    What a nightmare
     
  11. Aldeth the Foppish Idiot

    Aldeth the Foppish Idiot Armed with My Mallet O' Thinking Veteran

    Joined:
    May 15, 2003
    Messages:
    12,434
    Media:
    46
    Likes Received:
    250
    Gender:
    Male
    The regions that were hardest hit also have had almost all of their infrastructure - including roads - destroyed. There simply isn't a means to get news crews into a lot of those areas.
     
  12. pplr Gems: 18/31
    Latest gem: Horn Coral


    Veteran

    Joined:
    Mar 19, 2008
    Messages:
    1,032
    Media:
    2
    Likes Received:
    35
    I think a boat may have been one of the safer places to be if one couldn't get to higher ground-provided they aren't bashed into anything hard enough to puncture the hull.


    Still a disturbing scene. I hope they find more people alive.
     
  13. Montresor

    Montresor Mostly Harmless Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder

    Joined:
    Aug 11, 2005
    Messages:
    3,103
    Media:
    127
    Likes Received:
    183
    Gender:
    Male
    [​IMG] The good news is that all personnel at my Japanese clients are unharmed.

    The really bad news is that the nuclear disaster may be almost as bad as could be imagined. The latest estimates (according to our local press) say that on a scale from 1 to 7, where 1 is an "incident" and 7 is a Chernobyl-size catastrophe, the situation is now a 6. (For comparison, Three Mile Island was a 5.)
     
  14. Manjuu Gems: 2/31
    Latest gem: Fire Agate


    Joined:
    Feb 2, 2011
    Messages:
    33
    Likes Received:
    2
    Gender:
    Female
    I recommend contacting the Japanese embassy in one's respective country and asking how to help. In Norway, the Red Cross are already mobilising to go to Japan and help out.
     
    Montresor likes this.
  15. Sir Rechet

    Sir Rechet I speak maths and logic, not stupid Veteran

    Joined:
    Nov 9, 2003
    Messages:
    1,357
    Likes Received:
    69
    Well, at least they don't build (or use) reactors built the way Chernobyl was any more. Whoever thought it would be a great idea to contain self-combusting fuel rods (in case of a cooling failure) into something that is - out of all things - combustible itself ( = graphite ) was just asking for disaster to happen. Not to mention the way the "experiments" there were carried out.

    So yes, while the possibility of serious radiation incidents in Japan still remains, it requires a truly horrendous chain of events to happen for it to turn into anything that even remotely resembles the scale of Chernobyl. Although the ~30 km radius around the plant runs a considerable risk into turning into a ghostly wasteland making the areas around Chernobyl look like a vacation resort in comparison.

    Edit: In plaintext, the structure of the reactors in Japan is such that they're physically not able to just light up and vomit most of their innards directly into atmosphere like the way Chernobyl did. On the other hand, radiation levels can become much more severe locally just around the plant.
     
  16. The Shaman Gems: 28/31
    Latest gem: Star Sapphire


    Joined:
    Oct 18, 2004
    Messages:
    2,831
    Likes Received:
    54
    IIRC Chernobyl was an obvious dual-use reactor, part of why it was built was to help enrich plutonium. The USSR had water-cooled reactors long before then. But yes, a lot of people involved in the whole thing were obvious idiots - naturally they weren't the ones sent to clean up with little or no protective gear.
     
  17. Sir Rechet

    Sir Rechet I speak maths and logic, not stupid Veteran

    Joined:
    Nov 9, 2003
    Messages:
    1,357
    Likes Received:
    69
    Didn't see anything mentioned it in other sources yet, but Finnish Ilta-Sanomat ("Evening News") newspaper just reported that reactor #4 is completely out of water at the moment and radiation levels are extreme.

    Paraphrasing: "It's only a matter of hours before something life-threatening happens." :o

    Earlier this morning I read that there suddenly was an 8 meter hole on the side of the #4 reactor's side. Based on the pictures posted, it seemed like they meaned the outer containment building, not reactor core itself, but I wouldn't be surprised if these two reports are connected.
     
  18. Aldeth the Foppish Idiot

    Aldeth the Foppish Idiot Armed with My Mallet O' Thinking Veteran

    Joined:
    May 15, 2003
    Messages:
    12,434
    Media:
    46
    Likes Received:
    250
    Gender:
    Male
    Wow - this is getting bad. This earthquake-tsunami-nuclear problem is going to immediately move up to #3 on the list of all time disasters in Japan.

    Japan hasn't taken one up the butt this bad since Godzilla and the Enola Gay.
     
  19. Manjuu Gems: 2/31
    Latest gem: Fire Agate


    Joined:
    Feb 2, 2011
    Messages:
    33
    Likes Received:
    2
    Gender:
    Female
    Friends of mine and I were freezing our nuts (or boobs) off today collecting money for the Red Cross. Oslo for Japan, yay! :D It was damn cold, but that's Norway for ya. :D It feels good to participate. ^^
     
  20. Erod Gems: 14/31
    Latest gem: Chrysoberyl


    Veteran

    Joined:
    May 21, 2005
    Messages:
    652
    Likes Received:
    3
    Ilta-Sanomat is a tabloid (tabloid journalism) so I would not pay too much attention to what they say. But even as serious as the Fukushima incident is I think it has received far too much attention in this disaster and no one seems to remember that thousands were killed in the tsunami and thousands more are still missing.
     
Sorcerer's Place is a project run entirely by fans and for fans. Maintaining Sorcerer's Place and a stable environment for all our hosted sites requires a substantial amount of our time and funds on a regular basis, so please consider supporting us to keep the site up & running smoothly. Thank you!

Sorcerers.net is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to products on amazon.com, amazon.ca and amazon.co.uk. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.