Japan Earthquake and Tsunami (March 11, 2011)

[Tom Bombadil]

Yomiuri

I found it interesting that the radiation observed now in Chiba, Saitama, etc. are lower than they had when there was nuclear weapon testings in China in the past. I didn't know that the radiation from the tests travel that far.

[Jinto]

Originally Posted by Claies

Tokyo is detecting radiation levels up to 20 times above normal. Authorities are stressing that this level poses no biological danger.

Well, in contrast to a panic at least. Any higher radiation level is an additional risk. Its just semantics. When starts a risk to become a danger...
I am still somewhat irritated about block 4. This was supposed to be a non-issue for days and now suddenly becomes the next big hot-spot.

@Tom Bombardil,

radiation from over ground nuclear weapons testings can travel very far, since it is typically done in a certain height above ground (to make it explode cleaner). The question is what is causing the radiation if it is just heavy water, than its not as bad as heavier isotopes like Caesium-137 or Iodine-131, both are gamma ray emitters.

[OmegaRed]

Any speculation on how long it will take japan to recover from this crises?
My father believes it could take them 5-10 years to rebuild and clean up.
Though I think he's severely underestimating the resiliency of the japanese people.

[Tyabann]

Originally Posted by OmegaRed

Any speculation on how long it will take japan to recover from this crises?

To totally rebuild? Years.

For things to calm down? Few weeks at most.

[konart]

Originally Posted by Kaisos Erranon

To totally rebuild? Years.

For things to calm down? Few weeks at most.

Speaking about Rebuild...

[Vallen Chaos Valiant]

Originally Posted by OmegaRed

Any speculation on how long it will take japan to recover from this crises?
My father believes it could take them 5-10 years to rebuild and clean up.
Though I think he's severely underestimating the resiliency of the japanese people.

Frankly, this might have been the greatest Japanese Earthquake in recorded history, but compared to the old disasters Japan is more ready to rebuild as they ever did before.

If you really want to pull an example, the most obvious would be the end of WWII. Never mind the two nukes, the fire bombs by themselves did far more actual damaged and the nation was completely devastated. I remember the story that when Douglas MacArthur woke up in his first morning of occupied Japan, his troops could only locate one single fresh egg for making his breakfast.

Japan as a nation knows these kinds of disaster was always going to happen, and always will happen. Life moves on for those who survived.

[solomon]

Reed College expert in Oregon says that even if meltdown happens it doesnt equal "AARGHH!!!"; likely prevention of health effects. State observers say as of now, airborne Japanese radiation is no threat to Oregon.

http://www.kgw.com/news/-Reed-Colleg...117946849.html



Remember people it's real easy to go nuts, just stay cool until you hear otherwise

[bayoab]

All from Kyodo:
16:42 15 March
BREAKING NEWS: Cooling of No. 5, No. 6 reactors appears not to be working properly: Edano

16:39 15 March
BREAKING NEWS: Remains to be seen if water smoothly injected into No. 2 reactor: Edano

16:36 15 March
NEWS ADVISORY: Edano denies continued release of high radiation around No. 4 reactor

[Decagon]

I realize they are probably banking on the hopes that some of these reactors or fuel might be able to be put back to use, but it'd probably save TEPCO a lot of face to kill all the Fukushima I reactors now before having more issues that eventually force them to kill the reactors anyway. Rather, could the government just say they're fed up and force them to pump seawater and pour boron into all of them? Or is there some sciency reason why just killing the reactors would be bad worse for the people living in the region?

[Tsuyoshi]

Originally Posted by Vallen Chaos Valiant

Frankly, this might have been the greatest Japanese Earthquake in recorded history, but compared to the old disasters Japan is more ready to rebuild as they ever did before.

Also, during WW2, Japan hardly had the kind of support it has today from other nations. I'm quite positive that Japan will receive a lot of help in the rebuilding efforts. The issue is, however, that it will be difficult to replace the people lost in the desaster, but they're a very strong people, and this unity and resilience in them is seen in very few other countries e.g. Italy would already be a lost cause by now (this coming from an Italian).

[Tri-ring]

Originally Posted by OmegaRed

Any speculation on how long it will take japan to recover from this crises?
My father believes it could take them 5-10 years to rebuild and clean up.
Though I think he's severely underestimating the resiliency of the japanese people.

I really do not know but if you want some kind of index, I believe the reconstruction of Kobe would be a good example.
It was said it would take 10 years to restore the city to it's original form but after two they were able to remove all debris and reconstruct enough for lifestyle to return to normal.

I read a twit that a man who encountered the Chile tsunami of '60 washing away his home again was victim of this disaster.
His words then was "don't worry we will rebuild" and his words again was the same after being rescued "I am fine, I am a survivor of the Chile tsunami. Don't worry we will rebuild" with a smile on his face.

As I posted in the past Japan will bounce back, with determination in each and everyone of us.

I also predicted that there will be very little problem in looting and that came true as well since I have not heard of any incident as reported here.

Why is there no looting in Japan?
The landscape of parts of Japan looks like the aftermath of World War Two; no industrialised country since then has suffered such a death toll. The one tiny, tiny consolation is the extent to which it shows how humanity can rally round in times of adversity, with heroic British rescue teams joining colleagues from the US and elsewhere to fly out.

And solidarity seems especially strong in Japan itself. Perhaps even more impressive than Japan’s technological power is its social strength, with supermarkets cutting prices and vending machine owners giving out free drinks as people work together to survive. Most noticeably of all, there has been no looting, and I’m not the only one curious about this.

This is quite unusual among human cultures, and it’s unlikely it would be the case in Britain. During the 2007 floods in the West Country abandoned cars were broken into and free packs of bottled water were stolen. There was looting in Chile after the earthquake last year – so much so that troops were sent in; in New Orleans, Hurricane Katrina saw looting on a shocking scale.

Why do some cultures react to disaster by reverting to everyone for himself, but others – especially the Japanese – display altruism even in adversity?

[sa547]

Rest of the updates on US military activities in Japan are here:
http://www.stripes.com/news/up-to-the-minute-1.137684#

Having noticed on how they (if not, some) were able to cope with this disaster, this extraordinary facet of the Japanese is admirable, as I believe that only immediate action over hysterics will help them go through this darkness.

[solomon]

I wont speculate why certain cultures do what they do.

But generally speaking, the world over can learn from the Japanese response to the crisis.

[Tyabann]

Originally Posted by Tri-ring

Why do some cultures react to disaster by reverting to everyone for himself, but others – especially the Japanese – display altruism even in adversity?

Collectivism. The stronger the sense of community, the less likely people are to commit crimes.

The Japanese may be notoriously xenophobic, but the benefits of such an ideology really show at times like this.

[Sparvid]

As of this morning, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs here advises against nonessential trips to Tokyo and Northeastern Japan in general.

[looks at Tokyo plane ticket for April 7th] Well, darn.

Although it seems like I'm the one person im my vicinity who tries to see things positive, rather than "You're still thinking of going? But it's practically suicide!"

[Lilith]

Re:Looting
Thanks for giving more insight. I was GAWKING (to say the least) at how organized the Japanese people were (lining up, not running amok in panic). And. no. looting.

WAW. Seeing this, I'm more positive that Japan will recover (hopefully). *is still amazed*

[Vallen Chaos Valiant]

Originally Posted by Decagon

I realize they are probably banking on the hopes that some of these reactors or fuel might be able to be put back to use, but it'd probably save TEPCO a lot of face to kill all the Fukushima I reactors now before having more issues that eventually force them to kill the reactors anyway. Rather, could the government just say they're fed up and force them to pump seawater and pour boron into all of them? Or is there some sciency reason why just killing the reactors would be bad worse for the people living in the region?

Simple answer; it takes years to build new powerplants, so if they just abandon these reactors Japan would be stuck with rolling black outs for the entire duration.

Would you like to be stuck with rationed electricity for two years? I think not. The plants are not for decoration; they are important part of the infrastructure. You don't want to lose what you don't need to.

[Malkuth]

To us that thought Ishihara was insensitive (to say the least), there are worse...

Originally Posted by Nathan Gardels @ Christian Science Monitor

The quake "accomplished what Japan's fiscal policy and central bank could not": rebuilding Japan will stimulate domestic growth.

Full article here. These religious types never stop to amaze me

[Vallen Chaos Valiant]

Originally Posted by Lilith

Re:Looting
Thanks for giving more insight. I was GAWKING (to say the least) at how organized the Japanese people were (lining up, not running amok in panic). And. no. looting.

WAW. Seeing this, I'm more positive that Japan will recover (hopefully). *is still amazed*

Psychologically I think this is almost about social instinct; In their darkest hour, the Japanese turn towards the safety of numbers instead of chaos. Collectivism is where they feel the most security, so the more panicked they are, the more they actually work as a group.

It's the positive side of a culture that shuns individualism; there is advantages and disadvantages in any social structure. Japan's society, over the centuries, have adopted to the form most suited to handle disasters.

Full article here. These religious types never stop to amaze me

It's technically true, it's just that instead of voluntary pork-barrelling, you are forced into essential reconstruction. It still means you would go into debt paying for it, the difference here is that you have no choice but to spend the money in the case of a disaster recovery.

[TinyRedLeaf]

Originally Posted by Malkuth

To us that thought Ishihara was insensitive (to say the least), there are worse...

Full article here. These religious types never stop to amaze me.

Did you even read the article? It actually echoes my sentiment, which I've been keeping silent about out of respect for the ongoing rescue effort. There is not an iota of fear-mongering or "divine punishment" written in the piece at all, and is no more than a slightly different spin on reports published earlier this week about Japan's ability to rebuild after this triple disaster.

As for these "religious types", please do put things into perspective before you fling labels about. The Christian Science Monitor is actually one of the more serious news publications in the United States. Despite its name, it isn't necessarily a paper for frothing fundamentalists as you may be inclined to think.