Oh God: 6.1 Quake Just West of Tokyo

And it was right on the surface.

9 Responses to “Oh God: 6.1 Quake Just West of Tokyo”

1. tree hugging sister says:

   March 15, 2011 at 11:52 am

   People were already streaming out of Dodge, but…WHERE do you go? It’s an island!

   And they’ve already detected low-level radiation at Yokosuka Naval Base.

   …The Navy said the elevated levels were associated with the disaster at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant about 200 miles north of the bases. The plant has experienced a series of fires and explosions since a 9-magnitude earthquake struck Japan Friday.

   In an announcement at the Atsugi facility, the base commander, Capt. Eric Gardner, said a third reactor at the Fukushima nuclear plant exploded and “[radiation] has been detected at extremely low levels at Yokosuka and Atsugi. Radiation is at the levels of a chest X-ray … .”

   Residents initially were directed to remain indoors with the windows closed but later were told they could walk about the base, the Stars and Stripes said.

   “We’re not expecting this to last long,” public affairs officer Tim McGough said. “Winds should be changing early this afternoon, we’re told.”

   Long freakin’ day in Tokyo, bless their hearts. Sweet Jesus.

2. tree hugging sister says:

   March 15, 2011 at 11:53 am

   (Pronounced “Yo-KOOS-kah”)

3. mojo says:

   March 15, 2011 at 4:34 pm

   Pop quiz: What famous feature lies 90 miles southwest of Tokyo?

4. JeffS says:

   March 15, 2011 at 6:04 pm

   If you had said SIXTY miles southwest, mojo, I’d say Mount Fuji, an active but currently quiet volcano.

5. mojo says:

   March 15, 2011 at 7:13 pm

   Is it only 60? From 30 million people.

   Last popped in the 1700’s I think.

6. JeffS says:

   March 15, 2011 at 10:34 pm

   According to Wikipedia, yup, 1707-1708.

7. nightfly says:

   March 16, 2011 at 11:57 am

   It’s a running trope of anime that some horrible future event wipes out Japan (if not the whole world), and the survivors struggle on in a post-apocalyptic horror (with powers, cyberpunk, and giant robots, but hey, those sorts of things don’t come easy).

   At this point that’s the only comparison I have left – Japan is actually living through one of their own disaster anime. It almost defies comprehension.

8. mojo says:

   March 16, 2011 at 1:05 pm

   Energy release equivalence, Richter scale:

   Richter / Energy release Eq. / Energy / example
   9.0 474 megatons 2.00 EJ

   12.5 100 teratons 400 ZJ Yucatán Peninsula impact

9. Mr. Bingley says:

   March 16, 2011 at 1:38 pm

   Yeah, one asteroid can really ruin your whole day.