Central Japan eartquake 7/15/7, members check in please (safety check)

[ASSEMbler]

I am waiting on the Japanese based people to check in, even though it's on the sea of Japan side
(or china sea, depending on if you're chinese)

I assume everyone is fine.

[Tatsujin]

all fine here. thanx :)

[Kami68k]

heard it in the radio this morning. I hope everyone is okay :)

[Tatsujin]

now it seems that they have a small leak in one of the atomic powerplant up there. but nothing really confirmed yet. just something about water is dropping out from one of the cooler.

[ave]

Up where? Tokyo? O_o

[Tatsujin]

niigata prefecture (again) north-west coast.

[GaijinPunch]

Niigata (epicenter of this morning's Earthquake) apparently has the largest nuclear reactor in the world (said CNN). Hadn't heard of any leaks, but the last leak Japan had was a complete train wreck.

FYI, for those that felt a little shake about 11PM JST, there was another (yes, another) Earthquake (6.6) off the coast of Kyoto. It was quite deep, so no major damage but they say you could feel it throughout the country... most noticeably in Hokkaido (???). I have a lot to learn about tectonic plates.

As of now, the death toll is 6 (might be 7). The youngest of the first 6 was 72, so I doubt it was anyone here.

(or china sea, depending on if you're chinese)

Actually I think the name of that sea is mainly disputed w/ the Koreans.

[ave]

Ah, the Niigata pp. I hope it's nothing serious, once in a lifetime I'm visiting Japan there just hasn't to be any fallout :P

[GaijinPunch]

Guess this is as good of a place as any to bring it up. Three cheers for Tekkin Concrete mansions. Anyone catch the aerial shots of the damage? Quite often there was one house in complete shambles, in an otherwise perfectly fine neighborhood.

Also worth mentioning, I think the authorities handled this one really well. First thing they did was cut the gas in the city (I think the electricity went off on it's own).

[Yakumo]

All ok down here as well.

I'd hate to live in Nigata

[Phinn]

I was offered a job in Niigata, but I decided on a Miyagi placement instead. I think I made the right choice!

[Tatsujin]

Also worth mentioning, I think the authorities handled this one really well. First thing they did was cut the gas in the city (I think the electricity went off on it's own).

yeah, that's f***ing surprising. my worst fear isn't the EQ always, but more some leaks in gas-pipes etc. but the system works well. if a certain strength is meassured they turn of the whole gas-pipes at the origin automatically. but still there could be enough gas in the pipes to blow up certain houses.

[SuperGrafx]

Glad to hear everyone's ok.

[Atenhouse]

Hell, the quakes registered on the USGS seismographs here in Washington.

[ccovell]

Yeah, I felt the 11pm one, and I live in the northeast of Japan. :-)

I figured it was from really far away, since the ground (and my apartment room) swayed only horizontally. There was no vertical rumbling at all. (Them P-waves or S-waves, whatever those experts call them)

[cez]

Now they found out that the nuclear power plant up there is standing on a fault line. Great news. Plus some radioactive water has already leaked.

1) It's the "world's largest atomic power complex".
2) The "public relations official said, 'We did not assume an earthquake of this magnitude at the time of designing the nuclear power plant. After looking at aftershock location data, we have come to realize a fault lies right below the plant.'"

-> power plant=time bomb

Article

Edit: I know that Japan has maybe the world's highest standards regarding nuclear power facilities and there is no need to panic but I wonder what they'll do about it.

[GaijinPunch]

Doesn't really matter when you look at the big picture. Kobe was a place that "did not have Earthquakes" until of course, it had the worst one in many decades. Obviously you don't want to put your drums of atomic waste on top of a fault line, but there's no totally safe place.

[madhatter256]

I saw on the news they shut down the reactor all together. Is this true? Or did they shut down major parts of it? I'm sure lots of people there will be without power for a while. Assessing damage to a nuclear plant will take months.

[GaijinPunch]

The immediate area near the epicenter had no power or gas for some hours.

They always tell you your Earthquake kit should have a radio w/ batteries in it.

[Tatsujin]