Japan Earthquake 8.9 Friday March 11, 2011

[ben916]

Hope and pray for all people in Japan and effected areas!!!
The damage is too much to comprehend...

[snoopra]

We will. Was at work when the news came in.

[vitalian]

My thoughts and prayers are with them.

[marklar182]

The whirlpool video they keep showing is in Oarai, just south (5-10min drive) of where I used to live :(
(I lived in Japan 2006-2008)

I learned to surf right there, and proposed to my fiance right up the coast. We have a few injuries reported at our factory there, will have to wait until morning to see the total damage to that area.....

[DHall1]

Ben,

Nice of you to say these words. I can add my thoughts to the group as well.


Hope and pray for all people in Japan and effected areas!!!
The damage is too much to comprehend...

[Benman]

My thoughts as well. One of my very best friends (Kazuo) lives there.... he is ok but his whole block (and many surrounding blocks) is (are) without power. No clue when it will be restored. But at leaast he is ok. He fared much better than others.

Best Wishes for all out there,

Ben

[Beastly]

agree with all the above, my boss got caught there was scheduled to fly out 1 hr later. He is in the CNN video "Delta Sky lounge" at the end.

Looks like I can go home early today :)

[Ruergard]

Hope and pray for all people in Japan and effected areas!!!
The damage is too much to comprehend...

The least to say. My thoughts go to all people in Japan.

[SAF]

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/8248054/view.html
http://yokosonews.com/live/

[Joker]

I watched in horror like everyone else as the disaster unfolded and watched as cars and lorries tried in vein to escape the wall of water approaching them, the destruction was on an unimaginable scale. It puts into perspective all our own financial woes and concerns we might be all facing at the moment and what is REALLY important.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the people of Japan.

[Orangemig]

Sure sends chills up my bones. I can't stop watching CNN. Difficult to understand why these things have to happen, quake, tsunami, and nuclear radiation. My heart bleeds for them.
Also scary is that the Philippines is just south of Japan and north of New Zealand where a quake struck about two weeks ago.

[SAF]

My mind can't comprehend the enormity of this event. How horrible.

Before and after sat images:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/events/japan-quake-2011/beforeafter.htm

[JavierNuvolari]

These are the kinds of events that kind of brand you for life. I remember the earhquake here in Chile, if any of you have never felt one...I honeslty hope you never do...there literally is NO escape, you just feel insignificant and impotent to whats happening.

My heart goes out to the japanese, I hope they can solve this situation and get back on their feet soon.

[ttboost]

We have friends in Japan and just found out yesterday they are OK. Hopefully the radiation doesn't change that...shows you how insignificant we are on this planet...like toys in a swimming pool...heart goes out to all affected...

[Erik]

Can't realise what's going on.

http://www.vgtv.no/#id=38263

http://www.vgtv.no/#id=38396

[Benman]

On the first video, the saddest thing Erik is watching the people in their cars trying to outrun the water behind them, only to find they have to slam on the brakes a few moments later as it is in front of them now as well. I can't even fathom the feeling of sitting in your car, just waiting for the water to engulf you, knowing there is absolutely nothing you can do. There are still 15,000+ people not even accounted for and sadly many of these poor souls were swept out to sea.

All of Japan is in my prayers.


On a side note, there are MANY of us Californians on board here and we are WAY past due for a major "Big One". NOW is the time to stock up on emergency supplies. Batteries, clean water, food, blankets, medical supplies, etc. We should have zero excuse to say "we weren't prepared".

Ben

[ben916]

On a side note, there are MANY of us Californians on board here and we are WAY past due for a major "Big One". NOW is the time to stock up on emergency supplies. Batteries, clean water, food, blankets, medical supplies, etc. We should have zero excuse to say "we weren't prepared".

Ben

We were just talking about this at home, we don't have everything in one spot but we have quite a bit of stuff ...

[papadoc]

Ben, if those of us in Cali don't learn something from this horrific event, it is our own fault. I can remember the loss of electricity for a day when the Loma Prieta earthquake hit, and that was a little shake compared to something like this quake. The lines of people waiting for water should make everyone realize that the Japanese felt there WERE prepared for a major quake, and look at the results. With the location of the fault lines on our coast, a tsunami is unlikely, but a quake of this magnitude would gut us.
The people of Japan are resilient, stoic, but in need of our help and prayers. I hope we don't forget them once the headline news dies down...

[Erik]

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2011/03/japan_-_vast_devastation.html

[vitalian]

The enormity of it all is too much to comprehend. We are so small...

[Benman]

Ben, if those of us in Cali don't learn something from this horrific event, it is our own fault... Could not possibly agree more. If one thinks they have a week or two's supply of essentials, then they are ill equipped for a catastrophe even close to this, and it has long been predicted we'd be getting one this big at some point. I agree with how how the fault lines are, a tsunami is not as likely, but having said that, I still would not want to be extremely close to the beaches when it hits.

Seeing the pictures (and there are thousands posted on the internet) is just gut wrenching to look at. Having close friends who are living there who are now on rationed food, water, heat and electricity is even more wrenching.

Best,

Ben

[Benman]

An update. Thought I'd post the latest email update I received from my good friend:


Tokyo has these scheduled power shut-downs, so the city is dark and gloomy everywhere...(so sometimes I can't get internet access..)
Japan still hasn't gotten a handle on the nuclear plant problem, so we're getting some radiation everywhere, and it's
REALLY scary. It's getting into our water systems, fruits and vegetables, air, EVERYWHERE. I'm wearing clothes, mask,
gloves and showing less skin as possible to avoid the radiation in the air. I'm taking warm showers as much as I can when I
get home to wash off the radioactive stuff off my body. These past couple of days we had rain, so I'm trying
to avoid the radioactive rain. It's SERIOUSLY scary. This government has some major weakness too...there are so many dumb issues.

Tokyo is getting better on stocks in the grocery stores, so I'm able to get the basic necessities now. What a relief!
But if that Fukushima plant blows-up or gets worse, the radiation levels will be a MAJOR issue, so I have to evacuate from this
place. So I'm keeping a close eye on the plant situation and gathering as much information as possible.

But thank you Ben, for your caring offer.

(...Tokyo looks like it's doom's day.)

The point, always look on the bright side as there are always those doing worse than us!

[Erik]

Thanks Ben, worth more than the news report.