Thread is about the various issues surrounding Japan in the aftermath of the recent earthquake. Don't bring the shit side of the internet to the thread, and post with the realization that this thread is very important, and very real, to your fellow members.

Do not post speculative and unconfirmed news you saw on TV or anywhere else. Generally the more dramatic it sounds the less likely it's true.

Hold-Lurker

United States403 Posts

April 07 2011 16:50 GMT

#3761

On April 08 2011 01:40 red4ce wrote:

Show nested quote +

Was the decision to vacation in Japan made before or after the disaster?

I am also interested.. thinking about going there in late July or early August if things will be okay by then.

Sanctimonius

United Kingdom861 Posts

April 07 2011 16:57 GMT

#3762

As a warning to people - these aftershocks will likely continue for a while. If you don't want to experience an earthquake, you may want to consider not coming. That said, Japan is built to withstand earthquakes, so it is still pretty safe.

Great country and Tokyo is really worth visiting.

Aelfric

Turkey1496 Posts

April 07 2011 16:57 GMT

#3763

On April 08 2011 01:50 Hold-Lurker wrote:

Show nested quote +

I am also interested.. thinking about going there in late July or early August if things will be okay by then.

I think radiation won't leave soon.

User was warned for this post

Hesmyrr

Canada5776 Posts

April 07 2011 17:03 GMT

#3764

Sincerely hope that all this stupid Earthquakes decide to stop for a while.

Sanctimonius

United Kingdom861 Posts

April 07 2011 17:15 GMT

#3765

Unless you're going to Fukushima prefecture, and then right up to the reactors, radiation is not a worry. There simply is not any amount around Japan that can be considered large enough to affect human health, now or later. Now, if you plan on a trip to Daiichi, you might want to hold off on that for the next few decades...

Sorkoas

549 Posts

April 07 2011 17:22 GMT

#3766

Personally I postponed my plans on going to Japan until the fall, worrying about electricity issues during summer. I can't stand the heat and humidity during summer in Japan so I need my AC to work. ^^

TanGeng

Sanya12364 Posts

April 07 2011 17:24 GMT

#3767

This one looks like it was pretty close to where the Mar 11th earthquake centered. It's a big aftershock.

maga33

United States247 Posts

April 07 2011 23:22 GMT

#3768

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/usc0002ksa.html

Apparently another tsunami incoming. Idk if this is right place to post so mod please edit if needed.

peekn

United States1152 Posts

April 07 2011 23:27 GMT

#3769

On April 08 2011 08:22 maga33 wrote:
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/usc0002ksa.html

Apparently another tsunami incoming. Idk if this is right place to post so mod please edit if needed.

I'll add it to the OP wow this is unreal... It's just not fair..

On_Slaught

United States12190 Posts

April 07 2011 23:32 GMT

#3770

I was under the impression that the tsunami warning concerning the big earthquake earlier today was taken down a while ago b/c it wasn't a threat.

Sorkoas

549 Posts

April 08 2011 01:55 GMT

#3771

Yeah wow please read the thread. Old news and no tsunami hit the shores.

It was "just an" aftershock. Not a second big earthquake or anything that critical. There's been a lot of big aftershocks the last month.

takoyaki

United States2 Posts

April 08 2011 02:34 GMT

#3772

On April 08 2011 01:50 Hold-Lurker wrote:

Show nested quote +

I am also interested.. thinking about going there in late July or early August if things will be okay by then.

Made plans long before the disaster. After talking with folks in Japan and reading Japanese blogs I decided it wasn't enough to cancel the trip. Plus I was starting out in Kyoto (which, as expected, was pretty untouched by the disaster).

If you're planning on going during the summer, beware the heat/humidity. Due to the ongoing issues at the nuclear power plants, it's likely many folks/businesses will be reducing their AC usage to save power. 'course if ya don't mind I guess you won't notice. ^^

Can't remember the source but I thought I read that the power plants may take a long time to restore to normal so if you're waiting for a full recovery, it could be much later than this summer. If you plan on being in and out central Tokyo I must say it didn't really feel like the disaster affected things as much as one might think. Ueno park and other places with sakura were still packed with people. At night the city isn't as bright as usual since many businesses don't turn on signs to save power but, at least in akiba, stores are still open and doing business.

Personally if you are already waiting 'till summer I'd hold out for fall to experience the fall landscapes and cooler temperatures, but perhaps you have time constraints/are aiming for a particular event? For those unaware, I've found the following explanation of travel dates pretty good:

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2273.html

Rabiator

Germany3948 Posts

April 08 2011 03:29 GMT

#3773

The IAEA has released a set of presentations which show some of their monitoring of the surrounding areas and the amounts of radiation they found. A few of these pages are graphs which are impossible to understand if you dont know the safe limits, but they also provide maps and show where the measurements were taken and how they change over time.

Marine Environment Monitoring
Monitoring of food and land around Fukushima

The new earthquake seems to have caused minor damages to other nuclear power plants:

IAEA 7 April
NISA has confirmed that the Higashidori NPP was shutdown and in a maintenance outage at the time of the 7 April earthquake. Off-site power has been lost. Emergency power supply to the site is operating. All the fuel had been removed from the reactor core and stored in the spent fuel pool. Cooling of the spent fuel pool is operational.

Nothing serious, but it wont help with the shortage of power if the power plants taken down for maintenance are being plagued by new eqrthquakes.
http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/tsunamiupdate01.html

dump

Japan514 Posts

April 08 2011 06:34 GMT

#3774

So a lot of people in Japan right now apparently believe that going near someone who's momentarily visited the Fukushima evacuation area is a significant health risk.

It's the information age and people still are still saying things that are as stupid as saying that touching an AIDS patient will transmit HIV.

Seriously depressing.

And yeah, pretty surprising that a 7 hit so long after the initial 9...

vega12

Japan73 Posts

April 08 2011 08:40 GMT

#3775

Not really so surprising that we got another big aftershock. Large aftershocks even can occur up to a year later. The Chilean earthquake had an aftershock around 7 a year later, for instance. I wouldn't be surprised if we get another 7+ earthquake within the year.

Aelfric

Turkey1496 Posts

April 11 2011 08:26 GMT

#3776

7.1 aftershock again? I heard there is a warning of tsunami.

brrrtmn

Russian Federation154 Posts

April 11 2011 08:28 GMT

#3777

yeah...again
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/at00ljhaz3.php

Itachii

Poland12466 Posts

April 11 2011 08:50 GMT

#3778

holy fuck not again

0x64

Finland4567 Posts

April 11 2011 09:00 GMT

#3779

This still need confirmation but seems that the center was inland, 10 km depth, under fukushima, so the tsunami risk is limited.
Or if the tsunami warning is true, the center could be under sea then.

Sorkoas

549 Posts

April 11 2011 09:06 GMT

#3780

http://transmissionsfromtokyo.blogspot.com/

---

Quoting:

Monday evening Tokyo time. We just got rocked by yet another big earthquake 7.1 with the epicenter in Fukushima! This one lasted about two minutes. Tsunami warnings all along the coast. Because this hit Fukushima, there's going to be urgent concerns for the power plant. Stay tuned.

Update 5:40pm: Landslide in the Ibaraki area and one car with passengers is reported to have been caught in the landslide. Rescue workers on their way to the site now. In Ibaraki, boats are heading out into the ocean as I type to scout if any major waves are coming. Brave guys!!

Update 5:48pm: Major blackout reported in Iwaki City. Most news channels are showing footage inside their newsrooms as the quake struck. Power has been cut to the Fukushima Daiichi Power plant.

Update 6:01pm: NHK has an aerial view of the Fukushima power plant. Water supply and injection has currently been suspended due to lack of power.