Big quake in Tokyo

[kinuta]

Brown pants.

Both Hisako and I were well and truly shook up by the biggest quake I've ever experienced.

All the plants fell over, stuff fell off shelves and we made mad grabs for the tv and pc screens.

There've been two large aftershocks.

Well freaked.

[JohnJ]

Very scary, definitely the worst I have ever experienced. At work and hope there is not too much damage in my apartment.

[Jim Alfredson]

Very scary. Here's hoping all will stay well.

[Big Wheel]

BBC is saying a 7.9, USGS says an 8.9 which is truly huge. That wired/wireless Internet is robust enough for you guys to post is an encouraging sign at least. Hope everyone is OK.

Edit - it sounds like 7.9 was what USGS originally reported, and then revised to 8.9. If that number holds it will have been the 7th largest earthquake ever recorded.

Edited March 11, 2011 by Big Wheel

[Jazzmoose]

Wow. I've done 7.9 and it's one scary experience; 8.9 must be horrendous.

[Quincy]

Holy cow, that was a huge one. I'm so glad you guys were even able to reply. A tsunami too with more warnings. I've been offline, came here and saw your note. Time to stray from here and check the news sites etc. some more. Be safe and I hope I'm not going to discover how awful this likely is (hope that made sense.)

[mattes]

Hawaii, U.S. west coast, under tsunami Warning

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/03/10/national/main20041994.shtml

Edited March 11, 2011 by matteson

[kinuta]

Thankfully the aftershocks seem to have stopped. Here in Tokyo the two biggest problems are that all the trains and subways are stopped and land lines and mobile phones are down. It's about 2C outside and an immense number of people are stranded.

I lost an antique clock, smashed to bits, and a king size plant pot shattered into two.

[manfred]

Thankfully the aftershocks seem to have stopped. Here in Tokyo the two biggest problems are that all the trains and subways are stopped and land lines and mobile phones are down. It's about 2C outside and an immense number of people are stranded.

I lost an antique clock, smashed to bits, and a king size plant pot shattered into two.

seems to be terrible, as far as we get news in germany

best wishes to you and your people...

we hope, there will be no more aftershocks and no more tsunamis....

Edited March 11, 2011 by manfred

[brownie]

Last month's quake in New Zealand was bad enough, but this one looks really COLOSSAL!

Hope posters in the area have not suffered from this one!

[king ubu]

Glad to hear you're ok, kinuta and John!

Seems it's much bigger than the first news implied... tsunami coming up farther south, and an atomic plant burning in Japan.

[J.A.W.]

Terrible news. Glad to see you're OK, Dave and John, and I hope Hiroshi Tanno in Fukuoka City is also doing well.

[.:.impossible]

Please keep us posted. Glad you two are ok.

[Fer Urbina]

Terrible news. Glad to see you're OK, Dave and John, and I hope Hiroshi Tanno in Fukuoka City is also doing well.

I spoke to Hiroshi through Facebook and he's OK, but pissed off about poor information. He's originally from Sendai and hadn't had any news from family and friends there as of an hour ago.

F

[Hardbopjazz]

I hope all the people of Japan will be safe. Really scary a 8.9 quake. Glad to hear the board memebers in Japan are okay.

[JSngry]

Crossing my prayers and saying my fingers as the tsunami heads to Hawaii & the US West Coast.

[ghost of miles]

Thoughts and prayers for those in Japan and across the Pacific.

Massive quake, tsunami hits Japan

The death toll's said to be in the hundreds and growing.

[clifford_thornton]

Whoa.

[BeBop]

Positive thoughts for Japan and the Pacific Rim.

[Dave James]

BBC is saying a 7.9, USGS says an 8.9 which is truly huge. That wired/wireless Internet is robust enough for you guys to post is an encouraging sign at least. Hope everyone is OK.

Edit - it sounds like 7.9 was what USGS originally reported, and then revised to 8.9. If that number holds it will have been the 7th largest earthquake ever recorded.

The Richter Scale is logarithmic, an 8.9 quake releases roughly 32 times the energy of a 7.9 and is 10 times stronger. The highest level ever recorded was in 1960 during the quake that occurred in Valdivia, Chile. It measured 9.5. Regardless of the numbers, this is devastating in every sense of the word. Watching the videos is scary enough. Actually being there...I don't even want to think about. Good to hear that a couple of board members are O.K.

[Christiern]

When one looks at the footage (I was up during the night and saw live helicopter shots) it is, literally, too horrendous for words. How can one adequately express the feelings that go out to the victims? One can't.

Good to hear that our fellow O members fared relatively well. I hope Hiroshi has had good news from his family.

[mikeweil]

My thoughts are with you. We had a small 3.5 quake here a few weeks ago, which is big for Germany, but 8.9 .... I sincerely hope they manage to keep the atomic plant in Fukushima under control.

[GA Russell]

My prayers go out for you kinuta and John!

It's my understanding that the Japanese architects prepare their buildings for earthquakes much better than is done in the US. If so, perhaps the damage and loss of life will not be as great as the magnitude of the quake might otherwise dictate.

[papsrus]

Scary stuff. Thoughts are with those affected and glad to know the board's residents of Japan are OK.

[JSngry]

I sincerely hope they manage to keep the atomic plant in Fukushima under control.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/11/japan.nuclear/index.html