2011 Sendai earthquake and tsunami

[TS Sailor Cronus]

dragon_1212xp

Right now that entire area (should be) is evacuated of residents, but last I heard the radiation inside the reactor is 1000x higher then what it normally is. The plant is being powered by battery right now as the power is out and they're having a hard time cooling it down.

I read 1.5 times higher... where did you see 1000?? 0.o  

[TS Sailor Cronus]

Radiation levels surge outside Japan nuke plant, Associated Press, Yahoo News

TOKYO – Japanese nuclear officials say radiation levels inside a nuclear power plant have surged to 1,000 times their normal levels after the cooling system failed.

The nuclear safety agency said early Saturday that some radiation has also seeped outside the plant, prompting calls for further evacuations of the area. Some 3,000 people have already been urged to leave their homes.

The cooling system for a reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant failed on Friday after a massive earthquake caused a power outage.

The continued loss of electricity has also delayed the planned release of vapor from inside the reactor to ease pressure. Pressure inside one of the reactors had risen to 1.5 times the level considered normal.

My apologies, you were right; I was looking at the pressure level.

Additionally:

Quote:

At the two-reactor Diablo Canyon plant at Avila Beach, Calif., an "unusual event" — the lowest level of alert — was declared in connection with a West Coast tsunami warning. The plant remained stable, though, and kept running, according to the NRC.

 

[TS Sailor Cronus]

I wish I could donate, as well. I don't have anything. I mean, literally, I have nothing. Even still, I wish there was more for me to personally do than to donate money and commiserate in forum threads...

Oh, and I found pictures and videos from the whirlpools. I can't get any videos of any sort to play on my computer right now, so I haven't viewed them yet.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1365414/Huge-whirlpools-form-coast-Japan-devastating-tsunami-disrupts-currents.html

It's a pretty bad feeling you get when you realize there are people who have just escaped death by a fraction, only to have another disaster come right up behind them. Once the earthquake was over, it was the tsunami. Once that was over, whirlpools.

In other news:

One of the islands of Japan (one of the small ones, not main ones) has been moved to the east by eight feet as a result of the earthquake.

There have been at least five people confirmed dead off the coast of California as a result of the tsunami. Hawaii barely got anything from it, fortunately, but the entire west coast of North America had active tsunami warnings. In fact, the tsunami warnings cover pretty much the entire Ring of Fire.

Now, for the benefit of the number of people on Gaia and in our guilds who are from Australia, what is the news for their areas?  

[TS Sailor Cronus]

dragon_1212xp

That whirlpool is the stuff of legends, it's massive! eek

Whirlpools. Plural. o_o

Although, yeah, there is one in particular that has been posted all over the Internet and shown in the news. They say there haven't really been pictures of whirlpools caused by tsunamis until the year 2004, and these have been among the best (clearest; in quality) pictures taken by far.

There of course have been many whirlpools reported in the past, just hardly ever captured on video/ camera.  

[TS Sailor Cronus]

Hmm. Apparently, Australia and a couple other areas were NOT supposed to be under a tsunami warning.

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/environment/no-australian-tsunami-threat-say-authorities-20110311-1br74.html

That's actually really good to know.