77 replies to this topic

[BlowUpYourVideo]

The tsunami swept away his home – and his wife – but it could not drown his hope as the 60-year-old man clung to his floating roof.

The scenes of death and destruction abound in the media, while the heroic rescues are hard to capture. But Hiromitsu Shinkawa is not remaining quiet about the heros that saved him. After more than two days spent clinging to the remains of his roof, swept away by the flood, stable ground – no matter how devastated – has never been so welcome.

Shinkawa said he was carried away by the ensuing tsunami as he and his wife gathered belongings after the earthquake. For two days he stayed afloat, drifting among other debris that the waves stripped away. He was 10 miles (15 km) off Japan's northeastern coast when help finally arrived.

"Several helicopters and ships passed by, but none of them noticed me," he was quoted as saying. He waved a red flag throughout his journey at sea but failed to call enough attention to himself. Fortunately, this castaway was snagged just in time and brought to safety. As the window closes to find survivors in Japan, NewsFeed hopes for many more stories just like this one.


http://newsfeed.time...g-for-two-days/

[Timothy]

what a terrible sad thing this whole thing is.

[Hula]

this link was on CD and it is truly amazing and horrific
http://www.comcast.n...ast/1838365355/

[Zimbochick]

Is anyone following the Japanese news sites? The first one has heartbreaking images. There is one of parents finding their daughter, dead, trapped in a car. Just heartwrenching.

http://english.kyodonews.jp/

http://www3.nhk.or.j...lish/index.html

[LISA]

im in such a bad place right now i cant even follow to be honest...i tried going through some articles and news imagaes today and it damn near broke me.

[Zimbochick]

im in such a bad place right now i cant even follow to be honest...i tried going through some articles and news imagaes today and it damn near broke me.

I'm sorry you're having a tough time. Tragedies such as these affect everyone differently for sure. Sometimes there's only so much a person can take.

[LISA]

true nuff...horrible stuff to be sure

[TAP]

Good grief, last 20 minutes or so in Japan as of 10.30pm EST. From BBC 0229: An ashen-faced Japanese quake monitor is live on Japanese TV right now saying no tsunami has been detected. 0227: There were two explosions at Reactor 3, the operator Tepco says - AFP. 0225: Just to remind you: there were fears of a meltdown at Reactor 3 on Sunday. Also: an explosion occurred at Reactor 1 on Saturday but the core was reportedly not exposed. 0224: "Hydrogen blast occurs at Fukushima nuke plant's No 3 reactor" - Kyodo. 0221: Urgent: Explosion at Reactor 3 - AFP. 0220: Sea level has dropped five metres off Fukushima, confirming imminent arrival of tsunami - Japanese TV. 0218: Column of smoke escaping from Reactor 3 at the Fukushima 1 nuclear power plant - Japanese TV. 0216: Grimmer news on the recovery operation in Minamisanriku: about 1,000 bodies found there, according to Kyodo. 0214: Evacuation order issued in the city of Hachinohe in the north-east - Kyodo0212: Tsunami feared to reach north-eastern coast "in minutes" - Kyodo.

[TAP]

Looks like tsunami report was false, and reactor withstood blast which is good.

[Felina]

this link was on CD and it is truly amazing and horrific

The graphic from the US government was astounding. Not one country on the Pacific Rim was exempt from the effects of the earthquake. I read on BBC that the quake was 500 times stronger than that which hit Haiti in 2010; consequences would have be much more severe had Japan not been as prepared as it was. It would have been incomprehensible.

[cousin it]

I read on BBC that the quake was 500 times stronger than that which hit Haiti in 2010; consequences would have be much more severe had Japan not been as prepared as it was. It would have been incomprehensible.

I think that the BBC missed it by several orders of magnitude. The Richter scale is a log base 10 scale derived from the amplitude of the seismic waves. So, one increase in number corresponds to a 10x increase in amplitude. That in turns means a little over 30x more energy is released with each increase. Hence, Haiti... 5.6, Japan... 9,0=30x30x30x(some faction of 30)= somewhere about 30,000 more powerful

[wedjat]

this link was on CD and it is truly amazing and horrific
http://www.comcast.n...ast/1838365355/

I'm not trying to be insensitive, but tsunami's are incredible to watch. The water just never stops coming.

[Hula]

this link was on CD and it is truly amazing and horrific
http://www.comcast.n...ast/1838365355/

I'm not trying to be insensitive, but tsunami's are incredible to watch. The water just never stops coming.

I don't think it is insensitive I think what we see on stuff like this is so unbelievable that your brain sort of can't take it in as real in a way. it is beyond words the awesome raw power. just hard to compute. I have been in several earthquakes and have thankfully always been safe so my experience has been more like being on a pretty safe amusement park ride, but I am sure I would feel quite differently had I not been safe or trapped. all of these natural disasters should be viewed from afar. the devestation is what worries me the most when ever we get a tsunami or hurricane alert. thankfully for the most part we have early warning so loss of life or personal safety is not a major worry me. unless of couce we get hit with a huge earth quake and get hit like japan then there is just no helping anyone that is in a low lying area. so very very sad

[wedjat]

this link was on CD and it is truly amazing and horrific
http://www.comcast.n...ast/1838365355/

I'm not trying to be insensitive, but tsunami's are incredible to watch. The water just never stops coming.

I don't think it is insensitive I think what we see on stuff like this is so unbelievable that your brain sort of can't take it in as real in a way. it is beyond words the awesome raw power. just hard to compute. I have been in several earthquakes and have thankfully always been safe so my experience has been more like being on a pretty safe amusement park ride, but I am sure I would feel quite differently had I not been safe or trapped. all of these natural disasters should be viewed from afar. the devestation is what worries me the most when ever we get a tsunami or hurricane alert. thankfully for the most part we have early warning so loss of life or personal safety is not a major worry me. unless of couce we get hit with a huge earth quake and get hit like japan then there is just no helping anyone that is in a low lying area. so very very sad

Yes, unfortunately earthquakes are just not accurately predictable. I'll tell ya, if I ever lived in an earthquake prone area, I would not live in a highrise.

[LISA]

i am bloody fortunate where i live (soutern Ontario