Earthquake in japan

[Jasonc]

While it's great to hear that friends and fellow members here in Japan are all reporting in safe, my heart, prayers, and thoughts are with those that have missing and lost family. I'll be donating for any relief efforts needed.

[taksraven]

I'll be donating for any relief efforts needed.

Just be careful of scammers if you are going to donate. We all have to be careful.

And don't believe any of the Haarp/Supermoon pesudoscience, you only encourage conspiracy theorists. Japan is on the Pacific Rim and ultimately this is a natural disaster.

[Zor Primus]

And don't believe any of the Haarp/Supermoon pesudoscience, you only encourage conspiracy theorists. Japan is on the Pacific Rim and ultimately this is a natural disaster.

Yeah...was waiting on Hugo Chavez to blame the US...he did when the quake hit Chile last year.

I've been watching the U-Stream all day today, its so eerie to see the sunrise over Sendai. I hope we can start getting some good news of survivors soon.

[nightmareB4macross]

My thoughts and well wishes go out to all people of Japan and those affected by this incident.

I'm glad to hear that our MW bretheren are all well and accounted for.

[CrazyMartian]

One of my former teachers lives in Tokyo. We can't contact her to confirm she is okay.

Edited March 11, 2011 by CrazyMartian

[frothymug]

Natural disasters and civil unrest... good times are yet to come, huh?

One thing that really stood out to me after watching a bunch of peoples' videos of the quake was that all of those tall buildings really took that quake like champs. I was just amazed at how well-built they are. It's terrible that so many people died from the tsunami, but it could have been worse if any of those buildings decided that they weren't gonna take any more and collapse. Good job, engineers and construction workers!

[eugimon]

yahoo breaking news reports that the radiation levels are rising around the busted nuclear plant.

[Macross_Fanboy]

Man, this is wild, I went to bed with the last thing being a tsunami warning after the quake in China earlier in the day, wake up this morning with my phone blowing up with calls from my family asking about my wife and daughter if they were OK as well as my in-laws. On a lighter note, anybody looking forwards to clearance sales on HLJ due to damaged goods?

[HoveringCheesecake]

yahoo breaking news reports that the radiation levels are rising around the busted nuclear plant.

Really, if they are not able to get this under control, it will be worse than the earthquake itself.

[Seanzilla]

I read a report that said that the radiation levels surge to 1,000 times their normal levels at that power plant.

[KiriK]

Here are the latest talking points i just received from our Communications dept at the Red Cross:

INTERNATIONAL

• The American Red Cross is currently in discussions with the Japanese Red Cross to assess their needs and see how we can help. The Japanese Red Cross has extraordinary disaster response capabilities. They have been operating since 1887, and they run multiple hospitals and blood collection services across the country.

• Eleven Japanese response teams are currently assessing damage and supplying first aid in the affected region. In addition, the Japanese government has mobilized an emergency response, deploying 900 rescue workers to this area.

• The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has offered to assist Japan with restoring family links.

• The American Red Cross has a warehouse in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, fully stocked with pre-positioned relief supplies for 5,000 families, and it has disaster specialists on stand by. These supplies can be used for people in U.S. territories or other Pacific nations.

DOMESTIC

• American Red Cross chapters in the Pacific islands of Hawaii, Northern Mariana Islands and Guam, as well as those on the west coast of the U.S., are on alert and ready to provide assistance as needed to their communities.

• In Hawaii, the Hawaii Red Cross is staging cots and blankets across the islands in case shelters are needed.

• Evacuation shelters are open, with additional locations on standby, in Oregon, Washington and California. The Red Cross is working closely with state officials in Hawaii and West Coast Emergency Operations Centers around activities such as sheltering and feeding. Approximately 100 Red Cross mobile feeding vehicles are on standby.

• Red Cross disaster supply warehouses in Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands), California, Washington and Hawaii are activated in case relief supplies are needed. We’re mobilizing resources as necessary and are coordinating with FEMA and state Emergency Operation Centers.

DISASTER FUNDRAISING

• Those who want to help can go to www.redcross.org and donate to Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami. Gifts to the American Red Cross will support our disaster relief efforts to help those affected by the earthquake in Japan and tsunami throughout the Pacific.

• People can make a $10 donation by texting REDCROSS to 90999. Their donation will go to support relief efforts for the earthquake in Japan and tsunami throughout the Pacific.

LOCATING FAMILY/FRIENDS

International

• The best way to contact or locate U.S. citizens living or traveling in Japan is to contact the U.S. Department of State, Office of Overseas Citizens Services, at 1-888-407-4747 or (202) 647-5225.

• For inquiries about relatives living in Japan who are not US citizens, encourage the members of your community to keep calling or to try contacting other family members who live in the region. Even though communication networks overloaded right now, the situation may change and access to mobile networks and the internet may improve.

· If you have the mobile phone number of your family member in the affected areas, you can use the following services to check whether he/she has registered his/her message(s) on this service. Services are available in English and Japanese.

· DoCoMo: http://dengon.docomo.ne.jp/Einoticelist.cgi?es=0

· SoftBanK: http://dengon.softbank.ne.jp/pc-e1.jsp

· Willcom: http://dengon.willcom-inc.com/dengon/MessageSearch.do;jsessionid=E1E3A8789C6AC141489E8E6AD5F20825.ap1

Please note that when you enter the mobile phone number for search on the webpage, you should remove the country code 0081 and add 0 at the beginning. For example, phone number for example if you dial the number internationally as follows, 0081-90-8877-6655, enter it into the website as:090-8877-6655.

• The Google Person Finder site is available at: http://japan.person-finder.appspot.com/?lang=en

Domestic - Safe and Well

With evacuations possible or underway in numerous U.S. states and territories, the Red Cross Safe and Well website is a secure and easy-to-use online tool that helps families connect during emergencies like tsunamis. There are several easy ways to register yourself or search for a loved one on the Safe and Well website.

• From a computer, visit www.redcross.org and click on the “List Yourself or Search Registrants” link under “How to Get Help.”

• From a smart phone, visit www.redcross.org/safeandwell and click on the “List Yourself as Safe and Well” or “Search for friends and family” link.

• From any phone, call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) and one of our operators can help you register.

BLOOD

· The American Red Cross is prepared to respond to any domestic or Japanese request for blood as a result of the earthquake in Japan and the Pacific Tsunami.

• The American Red Cross will ship blood products outside of the United States (adhering to appropriate regulatory guidelines), following a specific request from the Japanese government or the Japanese Red Cross.

· To date, the American Red Cross has not received any requests for blood from the Japanese Red Cross, the Japanese government or the U.S. State Department.

· At this time, we are not collecting blood from individuals in America to go to Japan and we do not anticipate the need for a general blood donor appeal to support our preparedness efforts.

· Should the need arise, the American Red Cross will do everything it can to assist Japan with their request.

· The Red Cross does not collect blood in Hawaii; however, we have reached out to other blood collection agencies to offer our services, and are on standby to support any blood needs across the mainland as well.

· We have reached out to the AABB Interorganizational Task Force (formerly known as the American Association of Blood Banks) to let them know we are standing by to assist as necessary.

· The Red Cross has also been in contact with the Armed Services Blood Program Office (ASBPO) in case they are in need of additional blood supplies to support our troops stationed overseas in that area.

· As always, blood donors in the United States are encouraged to call 1-800-RED CROSS or visit us online at redcrossblood.org to make an appointment to give blood.

o Your blood donation will become part of the nation’s blood supply and will help ensure that we are prepared for any blood needs that arise here at home or wherever blood is needed.

SAF

• The military has reported that all their personnel are accounted for, and all Red Cross staff on military bases are also fine. As is the normal practice for a disaster, Red Cross station managers are currently in the military Emergency Operations Centers for their respective installations and assisting as needed.

• In Yokota, Japan, our SAF staff are assisting with evacuating non-essential personnel and some airline passengers who were diverted to Yokota.
  • There are 175 Red Cross volunteers assisting with shelter operations
  • Flights being diverted to Yokota Air Base from Narita, Japan
  • Expecting several Delta flights
  • Will be assisting with passengers
  • Two flights have landed and they currently have 600 in the shelter.

[Dobber]

Thanks for the info. I really hope things can start to stabalize so the Japanese can catch their breath. I also hope the reactor problem can be contained....like Hoveringcheesecake said, that could be worse than the quake itself. Glad to here that the U.S. Navy was already enroute to lend assistance along with the Japanese and our service personal stationed in Japan. Are temps in Japan supposed to stay low the next serveral days?

Chris

[Macross_Fanboy]

Thanks for the info. I really hope things can start to stabalize so the Japanese can catch their breath. I also hope the reactor problem can be contained....like Hoveringcheesecake said, that could be worse than the quake itself. Glad to here that the U.S. Navy was already enroute to lend assistance along with the Japanese and our service personal stationed in Japan. Are temps in Japan supposed to stay low the next serveral days?

Chris

You can always count on the Navy and USAF to be on the spot when a disaster strikes. I hope the airports can resume operation quickly enough so I can get my family back before my wife's B-Day at the end of the month.

[macrossnake]

OMG, just hear the second cooling system for their nuclear reactors just fail...

[Macross_Fanboy]

Ah, just an update from my wife, the Japanese government has refused the US's donation of an emergency reactor cooling device, hopefully they made a sound assessment leading to that decision...

[chrisk]

Been following the story and the images are horrifying. As if the Japanese people aren't suffering enough...

[areaseven]

I just got word that my friends in Japan are okay. Glad to hear that the MWers over there are safe. Still, my thoughts go out to those who were displaced or lost friends and family members yesterday.

[Marzan]

The images are absolutely horrifying. Just heard in the news that this earthquake was 8000 times more powerful than the one that hit Christchurch in New Zealand. That's quite simply mindboggling. My thoughts go out to the victims an their families

Glad to read that the MW Forum fans are o.k though.

[MIsaHayase]

My family's thoughts and prayers are with all who live in Japan.

[Valkyrie Hunter D]

A friend of mine just lost his boat docked in Santa Cruz this morning when the waves hit. But the worst that happened here is a pittance compared to what Japan is going through. I'm happy you guys are ok, stay strong!

[Cent]

Hope everyone is okay. Still trying to contact a friend who started a family over there.

[Minelayer]

My god those videos are scary. I have relatives In Tokyo and Yokohama and they are ok, but those located more North...I can't get a hold of them.

[Renato]

Phones aren't getting through in many areas.

I could hardly sleep at all last night because of all the aftershocks, but at least I was safe at home, and had a home left. I really feel just horrible to think that just a few hours north of here all hell is breaking loose.

[josue]

It's still shaking. Just got to the office and on the 19th floor you can feel it.

It's just so horrible...

[sketchley]

Yeah, there are still pretty large earthquakes. When I got up, the TV was reporting a shindo 4 in Nagano Prefecture.

The news also had a few experts in to talk about releasing the pressure from the reactor.

The images of the tsunami leftovers are truly horrifying. Houses and smaller buildings pushed off their foundations and simply crumble to pieces.

Alas, I can't find any updates on the two trains or the ship that disappeared in the tsunami...

[Flaming Guantlet]

Glad to hear our fellow MW'rs are safe for now. I saw a few BBC videos and was awestruck with just how merciless nature can be in times of a natural disaster. I hope and pray the death toll is a small figure, which unfortunately is likely to climb.

[TehPW]

as i said in a previous thread, i really truely think we should suspend discussions on other topics until ... later. if any of those reactors go chernobyl... gods help us all...

Edited March 12, 2011 by pensives_wetness

[Beltane70]

I'm glad to hear that our fellow members in Japan are okay.

[Mr March]

Relieved to hear everyone here is okay. I was reading up on it this morning before work and it sounds pretty bad. Already donated to the Red Cross. I hope the recovery goes well for all in Japan. Damn planet, it's never stopped trying to kill us.

Edited March 12, 2011 by Mr March

[Shaorin]

Relieved to hear everyone here is okay. I was reading up on it this morning before work and it sounds pretty bad. Already donated to the Red Cross. I hope the recovery goes well for all in Japan. Damn planet, it's never stopped trying to kill us.

just another one of good 'ole Mother Nature's PMS attacks, God help Japan...

life is so very fragile, and so is humanity's modern civilized society.

it is so very irksome that humanity and all of it's incredible creations

are all so weak and vulnerable to this planet's primal s&$t-fits

despite so much remarkable technological advancement...

Edited March 12, 2011 by Shaorin

[SkullLeaderVF-X]

It was probably the worst earthquake I've ever been through...it felt much bigger than the '94 Northridge quake. But overall, no damage in my part of Tokyo, although some of my housemates had to walk back from Shibuya, which is kind of a long trek, and my date in Yokohama ended up getting postponed.

I'm just saying thank god all of you are okay.

[Dangard Ace]

I'm glad you guys are checking in but I would strongly advise anyone who's near those damaged nuclear reactors to contact your local authorities and see what you have to do in the very very horrible event that a meltdown occurs.

[vlenhoff]

My prayers are with you guys in Japan. So sorry

[HoveringCheesecake]

I'm glad you guys are checking in but I would strongly advise anyone who's near those damaged nuclear reactors to contact your local authorities and see what you have to do in the very very horrible event that a meltdown occurs.

Now they are thinking a meltdown may have already occurred. Hopefully the containment vessel holds.

[Snail00]

this image made me feel like poo. i have kids and i can feel for the father and boy. good to see the international community and canada rally support