On Mar 19, 10:33 am, mtfes...@netscape.net wrote:
> chuckers <chucker...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > On Tuesday, March 15, 2011 10:33:12 AM UTC+9, The 2-Belo wrote:
> > > We have a report from the fj.life.in-japan Dynamics Officer that chuckers has
> > > exploded. Flight director confirms that:
>
> > > >On Monday, March 14, 2011 2:10:45 PM UTC+9, The 2-Belo wrote:
> > > >> We have a report from the fj.life.in-japan Dynamics Officer that chuckers has
> > > >> exploded. Flight director confirms that:
>
> > > >> >Spousal unit is talking about wanting to leave Japan.  I am not quite at that stage yet.
>
> > > >> I wouldn't take measures *that* drastic -- if all else failed you could go
> > > >> southwest. We're all fine down this sort of direction.
>
> > > >There is concern about all the stuff that might start glowing in the dark.  Depending on which way the wind is blowing, southwest may not be far enough.
>
> > > I seriously doubt it is going to get that horrible.
>
> > Honestly, so do I.  But we were both wrong about the number of dead as well....
>
> This may not be of great comfort, but...
>
> Japan just took a shot in the mouth from the 4th largest earthquake ever
> recorded (which means the past ~150 years or so), and the casualties
> (death toll) will be around 10,000. I was in the Kobe quake (as some of
> you may remember) and this quake was about 700 times "stronger", but the
> casualty figure will be nowhere near commensurate with that increase.
>
I think I knew this; where were you? I was in Chuo-ku; lived right
across the street from the Kansai Time Out offices (where I was
fortunate enough to work).

> I believe the maximum ground acceleration in Tokyo equalled a 7+ on
> the Richter, yet the city came through almost unscathed (save a small
> section of Odaiba.) Hard to see it now, but the work Japan's done since
> the Hanshin Quake has paid off enormously.
>
It seems that they are having the same issues distributing relief
supplies, though. It's not an easy task, and it'll never get done to
everyone's satisfaction. Of course, one reason people aren't
complaining could be that supplies are making it to the affected areas
in sufficient quantities. One complication this go around is that in
1995 we didn't have cell phones or Internet connectivity to worry
about restoring. Our land line stayed up, and after a day or so when
they got the train to kita-ku running we were able to get a lift with
the father-in-law back to Himeji.

> FWIW, I really liked the Sendai area. Haven't been north of there much,
> but I've been in some of the areas just south of it. My all-time
> favorite lunch was a toro teishoku in Mito. Hard to believe...
>
I went to Sendai once to visit friends. This was in 1992, and we went
to a beach (don't ask me where; I know it was near Sendai; that was
nearly 20 years ago, after all). What I remember most clearly were the
massive concrete structures in place to prevent a tsunami from causing
massive damage. I assume those preventive measures failed, though it'd
be nice to know how well they worked at saving other parts of the
country (as I'm sure they did).

John W.