Huge Earthquake Hits Japan

[alita87]

[quote name='Ap2000' timestamp='1300800553' post='95831']

Radiation levels in Tokyo have been going a bit up the last ~two days.

Obviously they're nowhere near life-threatening (or even unhealthy).



I wonder wether this has to do with the (extremely) low radiation of water, the recent rain or the latest smoke puffing out of Fukushima.



The good thing however is that radiation levels around Fukushima have been constantly going down.



The New York Times has a pretty good status report about the reactors that it updates whenever news is released:

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011 ... tatus.html



And here are radiation levels for several prefectures:

http://fleep.com/earthquake/



This is an extremely interesting comparison of all the Sievert values and how much is too much:

http://xkcd.com/radiation/

It puts all the values into a good relation.

[/quote]



I'm guessing the Tokyo levels are going up due to the rain. It's a cold rain so very likely coming from North. (You can tell when it is coming from down South because you suddenly get 70 degree days in December.) Didn't really see anyone taking notice of it though, even if this might be something we should have.



I have found those radiation comparison charts really interesting and helpful in persuading people on Facebook that there is no immediate need to flee Tokyo. It's especially interesting to know how much you get exposed to for overseas flights etc.



As an update on Tokyo situation too, with the reactors down for at least a couple of years (if they can salvage them that is) they are predicting that energy conservation (and hopefully not the planned blackouts too) will need to continue until next winter.



Oh, did anyone see the story of the 80 year old grandma and her grandchild that were found in Ishinomaki after 10 days. That is pretty amazing.

[eri]

First confirmed American fatality



http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaki ... 6026355428

<img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... ryalot.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':cryalot:' />

[Madara]

[quote name='donut' timestamp='1300807093' post='95837']

First confirmed American fatality



http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaki ... 6026355428

<img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... ryalot.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':cryalot:' />

[/quote]



A New York Times article today mentions an American teacher who's missing from a town that lost the entire high school swimming team. Here's a link to the article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/22/world ... &ref=world



And here's the excerpt that mentions the teacher:



"Twenty-nine of Takata High’s 540 students are still missing. So is Takata’s swimming coach, 29-year-old Motoko Mori. So is Monty Dickson, a 26-year-old American from Anchorage who taught English to elementary and junior-high students."

[Shoujo Q]

Tsunku finally pulled together a song.

[Madara]

My last two blog entries are on the disaster in Japan. In the latest one I look at two films, both based on the same book, that examined the possibility of the Japanese islands sinking into the water for good one day. The second of the two, THE SINKING OF JAPAN (2006) is quite a good film and offers a more hopeful scenario than the earlier film. It also boasted images that foreshadowed the current disaster:

[Ap2000]

You should watch this movie too if you've seen The Sinking Of Japan.

[Pucchi-Mo]

[quote name='Ap2000' timestamp='1301013864' post='95993']

You should watch this movie too if you've seen The Sinking Of Japan.

[/quote]



Woah, it's set in 2011...

[maiZe]

Hey everyone,



I just wanted to share a charity auction that my blog is running. A bunch of H!P goods are part of the auction, and more items are coming in. Shipping is free for all items, but since the sellers are covering the shipping costs, items are only being shipped within the continent that the seller is from. So far, all items listed are from North America, but we should be getting some items from Europe soon. All proceeds are going to the American Red Cross for the Japan crisis.



International Wota Charity Auction

[Madara]

My friend Ryo in Japan has helped set up a website called Filmmakers for Japan and it includes messages in different languages (including English) from filmmakers around the world.

Here's the link:



http://www.filmmakersforjapan.com/

[aisasami]

UFA has a benefit concert this weekend and project called "Ganbare Nippon Ai wa Katsu" that will feature some members of H!P. And also, UFA has posted a video on youtube with all the members of UFA singing KAN's "Ai wa Katsu" for the project.

[Ap2000]

New very bad news:

http://www.smh.com.au/environment/fukus ... 1dbp9.html

[aine]

A gallery of recent photos from the Fukushima Exclusion Zone



Eerily similar to the photos from Pripiat / the Chernobyl Zone - minus the touch of the nature working its way through it for the last 25 years.



(the Chernobyl Accident anniversary in on April 26th btw)

[Ap2000]

[quote name='aine' timestamp='1302877096' post='97323']

A gallery of recent photos from the Fukushima Exclusion Zone



Eerily similar to the photos from Pripiat / the Chernobyl Zone - minus the touch of the nature working its way through it for the last 25 years.



(the Chernobyl Accident anniversary in on April 26th btw)

[/quote]



Reminds me of this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yp9iJ3pPuL8

[Ap2000]

Here's a ~30 mins long NHK report about Minamisanriku 2 months after the waves destroyed most of the town:

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/ ... ecent.html

[Ap2000]

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2011/0 ... the_q.html



From picture 20 on you can see comparison shots of shortly after the Tsunami hit the land and three months later.

It's amazing how much they already cleaned up.