Massive Quake Hits Japan ~ Tsunami in Pacific

MASSIVE QUAKE HITS JAPAN
Tsunami in Pacific, nations on alert


March 11, 2011 8:09 a.m. EST




For more news visit CNN affiliates KHON and KHNL.

Tokyo (CNN) -- The most powerful earthquake to hit Japan in at least 100 years unleashed walls of water Friday that swept across rice fields, engulfing towns, dragging houses onto highways and tossing cars and boats like toys.

Local media reported at least 50 deaths, with more casualties feared.

And the 8.9-magnitude quake, which struck at 2:46 p.m. local time, prompted the U.S. National Weather Service to issue a tsunami warning for at least 50 countries and territories.

It also sparked fires in at least 80 locations, Kyodo news reported.

Its epicenter was offshore 373 kilometers (231 miles) away from Tokyo, the United States Geological Survey said.

But residents there continued to feel aftershocks hours after the quake. More than 30 aftershocks followed, with the strongest measuring 7.1.


http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/11/japan.quake/index.html?hpt=T1&iref=BN1

I was awake at 5am this morning, not sure why. Watching the tsunami take over the farmlands was unreal. I hope it doesn't hit Hawaii and the west coast of North America.........

I watched the coverage of this too, and I agree, it is unreal.
Prayers for all the people affected by this.

With this quake and tsunami hitting the Pacific coast I have started worrying even more about my daughter's forthcoming trip to Coasta Rica...She is going March 27 and will be gone a week...I sure hope that nothing bad happens...I know I shouldn't have negative thoughts, but it's hard knowing what has just happened...

I've been watching the various news footage of this disaster. So sad, so tragic, so devastating!

Report: 2,000 bodies found in northeast Japan

By the CNN Wire StaffMarch 14, 2011 7:25 a.m. EDT

(CNN) -- Approximately 2,000 bodies were found Monday in Miyagi Prefecture on Japan's northeast coast, the Kyodo news agency reported.

If confirmed, the discovery would be the largest yet of victims from last week's devastating earthquake and tsunami.

Roughly 1,000 bodies were found coming ashore on Miyagi's Ojika Peninsula, while another 1,000 were seen in the town of Minamisanriku, where some 10,000 people are unaccounted for, Kyodo reported.


http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/13/japan.miyagi.deaths/index.html?hpt=T1

Estee, I can certainly understand your worry over your daughter traveling.

I've been following this all weekend as well. The survivors are starving and freezing. They've run out of body bags and coffins. Then with the nuclear plant problems........it's horrific.

This link has 21 interactive before & after photos. It's down a little past the halfway point of the page.

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Interactive: Japan before and after the disaster

These aerial photos show locations in Japan before and after the 8.9-magnitude earthquake and tsunami that struck on Friday, March 11. Use the slider below the images to reveal the changes in the landscape.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42066622?gt1=43001

Thanks Julie for the aerial views and comparisons. This is the most devastating pictures I have ever seen. It's like someone went in and erased all the buildings from the pictures. How horrible.

You're welcome Mama.
Those are some hard images to look at.

It's as bad as Andrew hitting South Florida...Nothing left of houses but toothpicks...It is so hard to imagine devastation as bad as this but these pictures don't lie..I can't even begin to fathom the length of time it will take to rebuild, or even how long these poor people will have to suffer...The death toll rises with each passing moment, and it's not over yet...Who knows the results of the impending radiation contamination, the effects of which can last a lifetime and include future generations of the inhabitants...I grieve for these people and pray that they are strong in their faith and can rebuild their towns and lives...

Very well said, Estee!

Some really important info & links here:

The situation in Japan

Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 6:42 pm
Dear Hinky Members,

I realize we come here to discuss cases, primarily involving children who have been abused or murdered, that are hinky in nature and cry for justice. But I'm asking if we could just take a minute to discuss the situation in Japan.

Read more:
http://thehinkymeter.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=34&t=1086

Hi, Julie!

Thank you for posting the Link to Val's article. The comments by Val in that section are very educational.

This is a tragic disaster. My prayers and thoughts are with the people of Japan and those world wide who have family and friends in Japan.

A poster, EliGrandma, posted this Link at The Hinky Meter in honor of the many devastated souls in Japan that it may lift them up and they have someone to stand by them.

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=2539741
vimeo.com

Stand by Me/ Playing for Change/ Song Around the World
~~~~~

I think this is beautiful and awesome!

Japan Faces Potential Nuclear Disaster as Radiation Levels Rise

By HIROKO TABUCHI, DAVID E. SANGER and KEITH BRADSHER
New York Times - World - Asia Pacific

Published: March 15, 2011

TOKYO — Japan’s nuclear crisis verged toward catastrophe on Tuesday after an explosion damaged the vessel containing the nuclear core at one reactor and a fire at another spewed large amounts of radioactive material into the air, according to the statements of Japanese government and industry officials.

Read more:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/16/world/asia/16nuclear.html?src=twrhp
~~~~~~~

Within this article, to the left, if you click on Multimedia, it will take you to an excellent slideshow. There is a slideshow below this one. (2 slide shows) After you click on, you will see a page with a small circle. Give it time to load.

How a Reactor Shuts Down and What Happens in a Meltdown

Although we, here in North America, have our disasters (natural and manmade) we have not experienced anything of the magnitude of what Japan has gone through...It was bad enough that WWII destroyed their towns and villages and very nearly depleted their populus...Now they are faced with the task of completely rebuilding with limited resources...I don't think there is an area of the world that will not be affected by their tragedy...We know what it is like to be without electricity...Some of us know what it is like to be homeless...no shelter, no clothing, hungry and unable to bathe and perform bodily functions in privacy...Just add to that all the sick that need tending to and the enormous task of identifying the dead, let alone recover their bodies...Do any of you remember the pictures of dead bodies piled on carts and being tossed onto those carts, and the mass graves??? Pictures taken during the Holocaust??? I still have those images burned into my brain...That definately was a manmade disaster...

Little do we realize that it is not impossible for us, here, to have a natural disaster with effects as bad as what has befallen upon Japan...We have had horrible hurricanes, tornados, flooding...killer snow storms...yes even earthquakes and fires..we have had impending threats of missle attacks from Russia, Cuba and other foreign countries...We have even worried about radiation poisioning...Do YOU have a fallout shelter??? Is it stocked with what would be sufficient to sustain life for an undetermined amount of time??? Is it earthquake proof???

What more can I say...Stay strong in your faith and pray for others..

Well stated, Estee! It is a sad situation indeed and none of us are immune.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20110315/wl_time/httpnewsfeedtimecom20110315miraclesinjapanfourmontholdbaby70yearoldwomanfoundalivexidrssfullworldyahoo

Miracles in Japan: Four-Month Old Baby, 70-Year Old Woman Found Alive

I love miracle stories!

So do I, Sherry, it's a light, a shimmer of hope in times of great darkness. To find life amid the destruction lifts the human spirit.

Very well said, Estee! Are any of us prepared for such a disaster, I know I'm not. In my area it's floods and tornadoes.........earthquakes ~ no way, but.........

I've felt 3 earth "shakes" in SW Ohio since 1980, and we joked about it! A major earthquake in mid-USA? No way........but it's a fact, a deadly fact.

It's the New Madrid Fault


New Madrid Fault Earthquake Zone