Massive quake hits Japan; Tsunami in Pacific, nations on alert

Is there any part of the world that isn't upside down? Geez...what next?

I did not know that Japan has earth quakes all the time but this one was much bigger. The world isn't upside down we just try to build in areas where its just a matter of time before these things happen. Where I live we fight the ocean but we know its just a matter of time before mother nature wins and kicks our ass. In Ca. we know there will be another large Quake but we keep building. In FL. we know Hurricanes will hit but we keep building.

Prayers goes out to the people of Japan.

This video really shows how big that wall of water was.

YouTube - Earthquake / Tsunami Hits Japan | Live Footage| March 11, 2011 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwC5QqGrMGo&feature=related)

Update on Fukushima plant:

Japan evacuates thousands near Fukushima nuke plant; plans to release radioactive vapor to reduce pressure - AP

Also US sending cooling fluid to Japan.

This video really shows how big that wall of water was.

YouTube - Earthquake / Tsunami Hits Japan | Live Footage| March 11, 2011 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwC5QqGrMGo&feature=related)

Watching that video, you knew you were watching people die. Horrible.

Japan Declares Nuclear Emergency, As Cooling System Fails At Power Plant

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/fukushima-nuclear-plant-2011-3#ixzz1GIz901jh (http://www.businessinsider.com/fukushima-nuclear-plant-2011-3#ixzz1GIz901jh)



Damn. This is a different plant then the earlier warning and is one of Japan's older ones.

Hopefully, it can be contained.

AP article detailing what has been done so far at the nuke plant:

Nuke plant trouble after Japan quake; 3K evacuated - Yahoo! News (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110311/ap_on_bi_ge/as_japan_quake_power_plant)

Atomic Energy is so much more powerful now than it was in the 1980's...Plants put out way more energy than they did back then.

I imagine an plant explosion today would sadly make the Chernobyl disaster look small. Hard to imagine, but I imagine the people in Japan are already fearing the same kind of situation.

I know that Japan reps have said there is no leak, etc, blah blah blah.

But remember, it was not until almost 48 hours after Chernobyl exploded that people were evacuated, and even then they were told that they would only be gone from the city for about a week.

The government did not admit to the scale of the disaster/problem until 2 days later when nuclear plants in DIFFERENT COUNTRIES began to detect the spreading plume of radition. Only at that point did they fully admit to the disaster. God be with the people in Japan right now....The world cannot take another "Chernobyl"

No comparison between Soviet era gov't and Japan. The Japanese gov't wont wait like so many Soviet officials did (being afraid to tell superiors about the true nature of the problems). Also Nuclear power plants today have more fail-safes. Hard to a imagine a power plant being as susceptible today to a fire as back then.

UPDATE 2:30PM - TOKYO (AP) -- Authorities say the pressure is rising at a nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan after its cooling system failed.

Massive 8.9 earthquake hits Japan; Tsunami Warning issued for Pacific | wzzm13.com (http://www.wzzm13.com/news/article/157442/2/Hundreds-killed-in-Japan-quake-pressure-rising-at-nuclear-plant)

Crescent City, Santa Cruz hit hard by tsunami from Japan quake - latimes.com (http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-me-crescent-city-california-20110311,0,3043382.story)