Tsunami warnings issued for japan, russia, taiwan, mariana islands, guam, phillipines, marshal islands, indonesia, papua new guinea, nauru, micronesia and hawaii
"No tsunami warning has been issued for the California coast due to the 8.8 magnitude earthquake in Japan, but officials said they are still assessing the situation.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said that a new warning could be issued as more information becomes available.
A tsunami watch was issued for a large swath of the Pacific, including Hawaii, where officials expect a wave could hit at 2:59 a.m. Hawaii time (4:59 a.m. PST). Tsunami warnings were also issued for the coast of Japan, Russia, Taiwan and Guam."
Unknown number of people missing from northern Japan. Potentially millions of lives at risk. Waves reported to be possibly hitting the west coast of South and Central America.
Reports were issued that the US would be moving to assist Japan, so I'd assume so. My prayers right now are in the countries bracing themselves for the oncoming waves. Hawai'i is on high alert.
"A TSUNAMI WARNING IS NOW IN EFFECT WHICH INCLUDES THE COASTAL AREAS OF CALIFORNIA AND OREGON FROM POINT CONCEPCION CALIFORNIA TO THE OREGON-WASHINGTON BORDER"
"THE TSUNAMI ADVISORY IS EXPANDED TO INCLUDE THE COASTAL AREAS OF CALIFORNIA FROM THE CALIFORNIA-MEXICO BORDER TO POINT CONCEPCION CALIFORNIA"
Everybody from the Tsunami warning areas (whether in Japan, other Pacific Islands, or the US) PLEASE BE SAFE. My family members in Hawaii have just been evacuated to higher ground. This is serious. Get in touch with family and friends in warning areas to make sure they're safe and to spread awareness.
Good point. From what I'm hearing, earthquakes aren't an unusual act of nature in Japan, so yeah, they're buildings are somewhat prepared for all of this.
The local news here in Oregon is talking to a fishing captain on his boat, just leaving Honolulu harbor. He's saying it's like a city of boats leaving the harbors and heading into deeper waters. Not just fishing boats, but sailboats, tankers, etc.
Apparently they head into deeper waters so that the impact is less severe on them. Probably also so the boats won't be tossed and smashed into the city itself.
Thoughts and prayers are also with those in Hawaii and those who are out on their boats!
The headline you won't be reading: "Millions saved in Japan by good engineering and government building codes". Buts it's the truth.
That was my thought on reading that it was measured as an 8.9. That's right up there with the strongest earthquakes in recorded history. Almost on par with the Indonesian earthquake in 2004.
You look at pictures from other earthquakes of that magnitude, you see citiscapes that are devastated, like an atomic bomb went off. They're reporting only really a handful of people dead in japan in comparison, although the death toll will certainly be higher after they work through the wreckage of the tsunami.
(video) - of the japanese quake, although some hundred miles from the epicenter.
Now they have declared an emergency situation on one of the nuclear power station. Initial report was that it didn't respond properly to cooldown orders. No other details I can see yet, doing some digging.
EDIT: Now some details. Emergency generators related to cooling pumps didn't start automatically. No radiation leak or possibility of one unless another dozen systems fail. The pumps are meant to come online after a shutdown. There was also a fire in the turbine building. Odds are the plant will be down for a while.
This. Fucking. Year. The further we get into it, the more I dislike it.
Personally? We've had three deaths in my family, a flood in my great aunt's house, and a fire in my dad's house.
Worldwide? There have been revolutions and massacres going on in the Middle East, there have been hurricanes and earthquakes in Australia and New Zealand, and now there are earthquakes and tsunamis occurring right now on a global scale.
Now a call for a 2km evacuation zone around the plant. I missed the live update so details are sparse and tweets are pretty useless. People seem to be confusing an earlier fire at a separate plant with the one which is currently under the state of emergency (at least one new agency used an image from the oil refinery fire while reporting that story, because that won't cause panic...).
EDIT: Seems even the IAEA is asking for more details now. Clearest reports I've seen suggest emergency cooling is working at one plant and a fire has been put out at another, but still a state of emergency at both and evacuation zone around the first.
