On the news they've been showing some of the tsunami footage as it devastates everything in its path. I've never seen anything like it. There's also a massive fire that has broken out in an oil facilty (in a city area north-east of Tokyo, I believe, but I'm not exactly sure), and they're saying that it's spreading. There's also been a tsunami warning given out to most countries on the Pacific rim, and they're advising everyone to stay away from the beaches as a precaution.

A tsunami doesn't stop until it hits land. All ya folks from Hawaii and the coast of California should be prepared just in case.
Has anyone else here been wondering why all the huge disasters are happening right now? I mean, volcanoes have erupted (Eyjafjallaj?kul and Etna in Europe, some others around the globe), huge earthquakes (New Zealand, Japan, China), floods (Pakistan) and many other disasters between 2009-2011. 2012 anyone?
Also, my sources tell that the earthquake is 8.9 magnitude. There's another 5.4 magnitude earthquake in China going on.

It could very well just be a sudden surge in tectonic activity, with a sprinkling of global warming. Either way, I don't think this could all be linked to the 2012 theory. Things like this would have happened long ago, probably on a much more intense scale. It's just the fact that there is so much human activity being disrupted that it seems so bad.

Personally, I don't believe in the 2012 theory, but if it does happen, there's not really that much we can do about it :shrug:

Because disasters happen all the time?

Who ever heard of an earthquake in Japan or New Zealand before, right? Next you're going to be telling me I live on a volcanically active chain of islands, pfft.

Weird. In that Al Jazeera stream it says there have been no radiation leaks, but on the TV on Sky News they say there have been.

I don't believe in the 2012 theory either, but things like these make you think about it.
Anyway, let's not start another 2012 argument and continue the thread.

Has there been any casualties? Because I'd really like to know.

Wait wait wait.... Japan has been hit by two earthquakes in the past ~2 days right?

First the 7.3 and then this 8.9 right?

And please just stop with the 2012 crap right now. Disasters happen ALL THE TIME. This has been true since our little planet formed millions of years ago. Seriously people.

7.3 is a heavy one, right?

8.9 is greater. Higher the number, the more powerful the earthquake.

Pretty sure 8.9 is like top 10 most powerful in recorded history. #7 I believe.

Just no good at all. If I was the religious type, I'd be saying prayers for Japan and others in the Pacific Rim.

This is bad. Really bad. I just heard that there's at least 26 people dead and many others missing. Makes me glad that I don't live in Japan.

My thoughts and well wishes to anyone here who may be in affected areas, or who have loved ones in these areas. I'm on the Eastern US coast, but I'm still glued to the coverage. Anyone in a troubled area, stay safe, and I hope your next words are spoken on higher ground, safe and dry.

I have a 'theory', too. The world is going to end on the 31st of December, 2011. The calendar on my wall has no dates after that, so there must be nothing after that day.

Also, it irritates me when people apply the word "theory" to things such as the above. They are unproven (largely unsupported) hypotheses.



Moving on, this cluster of events svcks both collectively and individually. Queensland (Australia) is http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/weather/further-soaking-for-states-north-as-forecast-predicts-five-straight-days-of-rain/story-e6frep3x-1226019344042- err, water. New Zealand still has plenty to clean up and even more to rebuild.

Fortunately, earthquakes come from tectonic plates shifting about. For a plate to move, it first has to build up enough pressure to counter it's mass (a few large countries worth of area, multiplied by kilometres of depth...), the friction of everything surrounding it (other plates, mostly), and other stuff that is beyond my slim grasp of geology . This means that when the force has been released, it takes a while for it to 'recharge'. So, although Japan is getting hit really hard, the bright side is that after this wave of quakes subsides, things should calm down a little for a time.

What's more, because Japan regularly experiences significant quakes, they're prepared for them. Probably not enough to deal with this one completely smoothly , but they do know how to handle this sort of thing. So far, despite the awe-some destruction we have been staring at, the death toll is supposedly only ~26.

That's bad, plus there were around 20 Japanese students killed in the Christchurch as well.
All the Earthquake rescue teams from around the world will be flying over straight from Christchurch, it's going to be hell on them. My mum might have to go over depending on how much support we're sending.


That's only an early confirmed number, it'll probably rise.

And there I was, being all optimistic before. Friends in the Miyagi prefecture evacuated safely though.

Aye, hence "So far...". When there's been such a powerful earthquake, with waves sweeping kilometres inland, tearing buildings apart as they go... you gotta think in numbers relative to the event. EDIT: For comparison, this quake was 160 times more powerful than the one that hit Christchurch.

'Course, each death still has as much affect, no matter the total .


I hope our Japanese friends are all okay.

Right now there are 40 deaths and 45 missing people confirmed. Good luck our Japanese friends, I hope you'll be okay.

This is just terrible.

I hope the Japanese make out of this relatively okay.

There's a tsunami warning for the West Coast, but luckily for me I'm on the eastern side of the San Francisco peninsula, and on top of a big hill, so my area will be okay. It's about to hit Hawaii though, I hope everything turns out okay.

I am watching the new feeds now. My GOD. The devedstation. Surprisingly it's not the Earthquake but the tsunami that is causing most of the damage.

Yeah this is the #7 most powerful earthquake since we started recording. Biggest since the Indonesian earthquake from 2004 which was 9.1. Biggest ever was in the 60s in Chile at 9.5. A 9.1 earthquake is like 26.3 megatons of TNT being detonated. So 8.9 is probably in the 15 megaton region. Just to give you a taste of how powerful that actually is. Also, 7s happen quite frequently every year in what's called the Pacific Ring of Fire. So I don't think it's anything too abnormal, just a large buildup of friction between plates. It just depends on the area it hits, we don't get news on every 7+ magnitude earthquake really.

Watch out for the whip-around effect.

I remember during the big Indonesian one, Sri Lanka got hit on all sides, even though only one faced the tsunami.

My heart goes out to all who are affected. I'm lucky to be on the East coast, I hope all you guys on the West are alright.

That's a good point, but where I am I'll still be fine no matter where it hits. Not close enough to the coast and not low enough in elevation. Still, that's just me, I'm sure there are people closer to the coast of the ocean and the bay who are much more worried.

Hawaii's surge is less than 3 ft in the most affected places. The continental west coast is all worried for absolutely no reason, like usual. The worst part about tsunami warnings is having to witness all the sensationalism. We should be much more concerned about Japan than going to wal-mart to stock up on 100 gallons of water to survive the inevitable... nothing.

About 300 dead were found in Sendai. I hope Indonesia, Malaysia, and India won't get hit too badly. I have a relative in California but he's far enough inland that I think he'll be okay. The tsunami footage out of Japan is sobering. Good luck to you forumites in the Ring of Fire,or who have relatives there.