OrionWorks - Steven V Johnson wrote:
My heart goes out to you and any family, extended family, friends and
associates you might know living in Japan. When you can please let us
know the status of Japan from your unique perspective and knowledge
base.
We have Japanese readers here with a lot more knowledge than me!
I have been glued to live NHK broadcasts this morning.
I am shocked by the fact that many people were killed despite the
extensive tsunami warning systems. I do not understand how that could
have happened. There are two systems: earthquake warning and tsunami
warning. The earthquake warning systems are experimental, and there is
little time between the detection of preliminary earthquake shocks and
the larger shocks. But this occurred far offshore so it took a while for
the waves to reach the shore. There was time to dispatch news
helicopters! Despite that, as you must have seen by now, there were
people and cars driving along swept away by the tsunami. There were
stupid people going to the shore to have a look. The NHK announcers were
repeating warnings 8 hours later: "Do not go the shore. It is still
dangerous. Head for high ground."
I expect overall casualties will be low, considering that this is the
biggest earthquake ever detected in modern history in Japan. The 1995
Kobe earthquake killed 5,100. I doubt that many were killed today, but
it is too early to tell.
The financial cost must be astounding.
The Fukushima nuclear plant does not seem to be in acute danger. They
are having trouble shutting it down, for lack of auxiliary power. Fossil
fuel plants and storage facilities have caused a lot more damage and
fatalities so far, from fire.
- Jed
