Alert...Massive Earthquake in Japan...Tsunami alert to the Pacific!!!..

[Shipo]

Be careful.....and Good LUCK!!!

[billswan]

Our member named lowgear is in the islands of Hawaii did you fare OK casey

Billswan

[LowGear]

Our B&B is at 1000 feet elevation.  We did  hear the siren go off.  OK, Joan and the guests heard the alarm go off but I was too busy dreaming about starting Mr. Happy today.  First time for him in Hawaii.

There were waves here.  I haven't seen any photos or videos of Hawaii yet.  Can you believe those videos from Japan.  Holy Moly! 

Aloha,

Casey

[Carlb]

Casey,

So you call your toy "Mr Happy"  hummmmmmmmmm


Carl

[mike90045]

Be sure to let us know when "Mr Happy" joins the mile high club !

[veggie]

I am currently staying at the 25ft. ASL point in Maui.
Last night the tsunami sirens went off and we were advised to pack some things an head for a meeting place at higher ground.
The waves hit at 3:08 AM and only did minor damage in our area.
South Kehei Rd. in Kehei got flooded and we went there this morning to see sand, debris, and seaweed deposited on the road and the connecting streets.
Due to the aftershocks, the beach was appearing...then disappearing. The ocean would recede to expose a huge beach and then gently fill to cover the entire beach. Beach access is still prohibited by the county guards.

veggie

[Shipo]

Casey..1000 feet ...that's good in this case but you loose HP on the genies.....Good Luck in the Island...

WOW Veggie..that must be scary specially when your are outside your area ....

I believe we also have one of our member in the Marianas island....good LUCK!!!

[BioHazard]

It's amazing that I can say I watched a tsunami live last night on TV....what a horrible thing to have coming at you.

[mbryner]

We live 80 miles from Crescent City, CA and Brookings, OR.   Both of those small harbors had quite a bit of damage from the tidal wave.   One of my partners from work normally keeps his salmon fishing boat in the harbor, but it turns out he had it at his house today.   There are many damaged boats in the harbor and a couple sank including a 2 masted sailing ship from the 1920's which had quite a history.   

Praying for the people in Japan.

[billswan]

Yes the people in japan need lots of prayers and help I just noticed on the news one of the damaged nuclear reactors blew up that has to be about as bad as it can get for them

Billswan

[RogerAS]

Yes the people in japan need lots of prayers and help I just noticed on the news one of the damaged nuclear reactors blew up that has to be about as bad as it can get for them

Billswan

Hey Bill,

Yes, immediately this is bad news for Japan, but the rest of us better think twice about getting in a rain storm for the next month or two. If particulate (larger than a molecule or two) radioactive material is released the long term consequences could be real bad. I've read that inhaling even a tiny bit of some radioactive materials will almost assure a death by cancer. Since this reactor has had the reactor rods pulled this type of particulate release is less likely, but not impossible. If the dampening pile melts down, and then vents, things could be bad for anyone downwind. The western Pacific region could be at serious risk. I hate nukes, and this is only a peek behind the curtain.

RS

[BioHazard]

I'm all for nuclear power, but do they really need to put it in a place where they EXPECT extreme earthquakes on a regular basis? That would be kinda like the US building a nuclear power plant out on the tip of florida, exposed to hurricanes.

Then again, the cause of the nuclear issues seem to be not so much the earthquake itself, but that their DIESEL backups failed within an hour! As I understand it they only turned off the plant as a safety precaution...and then found out they had no cooling power. The weakest links seems to have been their diesel generators...I wonder what they use and if we will ever hear exactly what the problem was?

[Shipo]

I'm all for nuclear power, but do they really need to put it in a place where they EXPECT extreme earthquakes on a regular basis? That would be kinda like the US building a nuclear power plant out on the tip of florida, exposed to hurricanes.

....Done since 1972, two reactor and waiting for the approved to built  two more, Turkey Point.....

http://www.nrc.gov/info-finder/reactor/tp3.html

Remember Hurricane Andrew pass thru there in 1992, the 3rd Category 5 hurricanes to hit the US. We records winds of 165 miles per hour close to the plant.

The plant was built to withstand winds of up to 235 mph (380 km/h), greatly exceeding the maximum winds recorded by category 5 hurricanes.

[deeiche]

rm /

[mbryner]

What's interesting is that they make the reactor core area very watertight, but the diesel emergency backup was not watertight.   Their diesel waterpump failsafe cooling mechanism got knocked out by the flooding.   Sort of ironic, huh?   I'm all for nuclear power, too, and right next to a large body of water is very advantageous for cooling.   It would seem, though, that if you build it in a tsunami zone you would make the very last failsafe mechanism:  if seawater flooded over the backup diesel generators, the water would dump into around the reactor core heat exchangers.   You may get a bit of damage to the reactor, but much better than a meltdown.

I know it's a tough sell, especially now, but nuclear has always been very safe.  Even with the accidents like Chernobyl, Three Mild Island, and now in Japan, the number of sick and killed from radiation is minimal compared to long term cancer-causing pollutants from coal, diesel, gas, etc. power plants.   And look at the refineries currently burning along the Japanese coast.   All that smoke isn't inocuous.   Of course I'm all for renewable power too (why else would I have solar panels), but wind and solar on a large scale is very expensive unless heavily subsidized (still expensive because then taxes are paying for it!).   Hydro is awesome, but the environmentalists want to remove many dams at least here in the NW.    Switzerland has been powered mostly by hydro power for decades, and France has been running on mostly nuclear for a long time.   Spain has innovative solar concentrating power plants, with phase changing salts boiling water for turbines.   The U.S. is always bogged down in bureaucracy and environmental impact statements.   Not trying to start a debate.   Just my opinion.