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Earthquake and Tsunami in Eastern Japan - Largest since 1900

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tyianchang
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Post by tyianchang » Sun, 13 Mar 2011 7:39 pm

ksl wrote:Sad and shocking to see all those pictures and suffering people have their lives taken away in one foul swoop. Make's one wonder what economies are all about, just as well live in a tent in these areas.

The planet is angry and no doubt with weather changes, ice melts, and rising water world wide, will have cause more pressure in deeper waters, breaking open the earths crust in weak areas. we haven't seen nothing yet.

And no way the insurance will cover these people.

So damn sad for everyone and the poor children so frightened too! So much for gods.
That's what passed my mind too.
To say the planet's angry sounds like animism (worshipping of nature), but to understand the fact that this has always happened and that the Ring of Fire runs round the sea bed of the Pacific region ( scientific ) will be useful for humans to plan and predict the future. It's claimed ( and I believe it ) by Professor Aryos Santos ( author of Atlantis- the Lost city )that the ancient civilisation of Lemur was buried deep under the sea floor when much, much larger catastrophes shook the Sunda Shelf before the ice age - the results of that quadruple disaster, earthquake, tsunami, flooding and lowering of temperature was felt worldwide which brought about the Ice age around 11,500 BC. The biblical story of Noah was true; it happened when the ice caps melted and the world was flooded so that the ring of fire (volcanoes) were submerged.
To make it worse, planet earth had been attacked by passing meteorites, one being so gigantic, it was supposed to have killed all the dinosaurs and drastically changed the whole format of earth.
So there's imminent dangers from above and below us. Some of us are lucky to be in less hazard prone regions but I'd say that science is definitely our advantage if we use it the right way. The high tech of Japan enable the world to witness the power of nature in all it's tragic details. Hopefully, it'll help humankind to understand and support each other to withstand future calamities of any scale. It does, I agree, make humankind fighting each other seem futile.
Back to the world, the insurance does cover so that affects the stock market and shares have tumbled. But that shouldn't be the point - as TT pointed out, the ancients, like the Incas, Mayas and other tribes had devised their own methods of avoiding the might of nature.
What Japan showed me was that in Tokyo, they have developed the technology to make their buildings withstand the tremors of the earthquakes; perhaps they can similarly work out the science for withstanding the tsunami.
Hokusai was an amazing artist. Can someone show Hokusai's block print of The Wave? Japan can have an aquamarine scientist so that in time, their buildings can be tsunami proof. That's how technology can help us analyse our defences in the regions round the ring of fire.
Yes, it's all in the elements, so back to your 'gods are angry' line, do we cultivate our karmas?
Whatever, I'm inclined to believe we can work with nature rather than fight it. My sympathies to Japan.
Last edited by tyianchang on Sun, 13 Mar 2011 7:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Splatted » Sun, 13 Mar 2011 7:49 pm

morenangpinay wrote:Japan and the Philippines as well as Indonesia are in the Pacific Ring of fire and disasters are always present. no matter how much precaution you place, its never enough. hopefully nothing like that happens in Singapore or what will we do or where will we go?
most HDB have a void deck area, which is already 3 or 4 metres off the ground, and in addition to this, quite a few hdb are built on mounds already several metres above road level.

Singapore is relatively well designed in that most homes should survive a tsunami.

Now only if they could flood protect Orchard road, we'll all be set.

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Post by Strong Eagle » Sun, 13 Mar 2011 8:05 pm

morenangpinay wrote:Japan and the Philippines as well as Indonesia are in the Pacific Ring of fire and disasters are always present. no matter how much precaution you place, its never enough. hopefully nothing like that happens in Singapore or what will we do or where will we go?
Singapore won't get earthquakes... too far away... have felt a shimmer. Won't get a tsunami... big Indonesian Islands and Malaysia block all. No volcanoes here... except maybe on Sentosa. Don't even get cyclones or hurricanes... won't develop here.

So, no need for 'hope'... just doesn't happen here.

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Post by Splatted » Sun, 13 Mar 2011 9:24 pm

Strong Eagle wrote: No volcanoes here... except maybe on Sentosa.
we do have a natural hot water spring though.... that's gotta be connected to something hot underground....

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Post by revhappy » Sun, 13 Mar 2011 10:15 pm

These kind of natural disasters just remind us how fragile life is and we should be thankful to our lives and try to make the most of each and every moment and live to the fullest. There is no point living for tomorrow and slogging hard without time for our near and dear ones. Coz you never know if there will be a tomorrow.

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Post by ksl » Sun, 13 Mar 2011 11:02 pm

revhappy wrote:These kind of natural disasters just remind us how fragile life is and we should be thankful to our lives and try to make the most of each and every moment and live to the fullest. There is no point living for tomorrow and slogging hard without time for our near and dear ones. Coz you never know if there will be a tomorrow.
No one can outrun their destiny! :cry: But you may be able to influence it!

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Post by tyianchang » Mon, 14 Mar 2011 5:48 am

From the latest reports, the situation looks really drastic. There's a shortage of food and water in at least 3 coastal cities devastated by the tsunami. A sister of our friend who lives in Toyko with her hubby and 2 children had no food yesterday as the shops sold out.
The worst damage must be the meltdown of the nuclear power plants. One wonders why, knowing the area to be sitting on the main fault lines within the ring of fire, would Japan even consider building four nuclear power plants along the tsunami prone coast.
I suspect most of the people interviewed are playing down the seriouness of radiation from the potential meltdown of 3 n.power stations at this time of insufferable tragedy. It's said another earthquake of 7 on the richter scale followed by tsunamis, is expected in the next 72 hours.
Amazing how the Japanese remain so calm. I hope they know we're with them wherever we are. There'll be no shortage of humanitarian aid but would Japan need help with food and grains ?
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Post by Plavt » Mon, 14 Mar 2011 6:06 am

tyianchang wrote:One wonders why, knowing the area to be sitting on the main fault lines within the ring of fire, would Japan even consider building four nuclear power plants along the tsunami prone coast.
Nearly all areas of Japan are subject to earthquakes, power plants are built on the coast to keep them away from residential areas as much as is possible in such a mountainous country. Nuclear power is Japan's is one of Japan's few economic options to produce electricity economically as the country has few mineral resoures. Coal seams are broken and uneconomic to mine.
There'll be no shortage of humanitarian aid but would Japan need help with food and grains ?
Most of Japan's foodstuffs are imported from China and the US so although there will be shortages in the areas most affected probably not.

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Post by JR8 » Mon, 14 Mar 2011 6:20 am

You can perhaps do without food for a month, but without water for only maybe 3-4 days.

Concluding the priorities is not hard.

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Post by Strong Eagle » Mon, 14 Mar 2011 8:28 am

Splatted wrote:
Strong Eagle wrote: No volcanoes here... except maybe on Sentosa.
we do have a natural hot water spring though.... that's gotta be connected to something hot underground....

Where is that?

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Post by Addadude » Mon, 14 Mar 2011 8:43 am

Strong Eagle wrote:
Splatted wrote:
Strong Eagle wrote: No volcanoes here... except maybe on Sentosa.
we do have a natural hot water spring though.... that's gotta be connected to something hot underground....

Where is that?
http://heritagetrails.sg/content/3008/S ... pring.html
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Post by sundaymorningstaple » Mon, 14 Mar 2011 10:02 am

Yea, I went out there 20 years ago with my bucket, soaked my feet in the waters, but didn't relieve me of my gout problems. :(
SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers

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Post by k1w1 » Mon, 14 Mar 2011 11:37 am

It gets worse... Sounds like another nuclear plant just had an explosion...

:cry:

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Post by Strong Eagle » Mon, 14 Mar 2011 12:41 pm

The destruction is horrific.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011 ... l?src=tptw

You can pull the slider in the middle of the pic back and forth.

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Post by ksl » Mon, 14 Mar 2011 12:52 pm

Sadly I believe they are underestimating the dead deliberately! A quake that can screw the nuclear plant's is one bad quake, the whole island shifted 2.8 meters apparently, That would indicate millions of people being thrown around. Though just on the east coast must be millions of people. I hate to think of the cost of life and suffering.

Apparently the lost city of Atlantis succumbed to a drowning fate over 2500 years ago, it is now believed to be found off the coast of Spain. Tsunami it is said, was responsible.

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