EARTHQUAKE ROLL CALL !!!!!!

[Jean Bomber]

Friends, plz keep your fingers crossed and say a prayer to them underneth the freezing air.

We do it ,worried by the future quake replicas that will come and about the nuclear risks ,I'm also admirative about the behavour of the japanese people in front of a so big disaster.

JP

[igacci]

Right now, I had a Skype chat with Akemi.
He is fine.

Regards

Daisuke

[kelticheart]

I am relieved to see most of our SOH's friends from Japan are safe and in good health. Still I haven't seen news about Talos2005 and Usio, I wish we could know about their fate.

Domo arigato, Daisuke for keeping up posted. Please, keep us updated about the nuclear threat as well.

Japan's people are constantly in our prayers here in Italy. In this country we know very well what an earthquake can do, although the magnitude of Japan's event is mind-blowing. My hometown had a taste of it, two years ago. Although only minor damages were experienced, holding on to your chair while your floor is dancing to a spirited tune it's no fun at all, as Talon rightly pointed out, there's no humor in it.

Let me add my countrymen's and my admiration, as all Italian networks and newspapers are highly praising Japanese people's great demonstration of dignity, composure and quiet courage while facing such a horrible disaster. May all victims rest in peace.

Stefano "kelti" Denti

[Ghostrider]

Good thoughts and karma going out to the souls of many-isled Japan.

[Rami]

Hi,

Once again, I am overjoyed to hear that everyone is okay.

[CrisGer]

glad to hear people are safe and ok, it is a huge challenge but the Japanese people are strong, brave and help each other tremendously in such times. I have the utmost admiration for the nation and the people. The collegues that I know in Tokyo area and other places are all ok so far, tho it was indeed terrible up north, and many still missing. But they have rescued 12,000 as of today and the search continues. Let us pray for them all. thanks for this thread this was very considerate.

[PomBee]

We have friends in Japan made when my Wife worked in Japanese support. Thankfully, they all seem to be OK, but they're all shocked by what has happened to their country.

I want to offer my best wishes to all of our Japanese members and their families.

Be safe, Guys.

PomBee.

[sc7500]

...Good to hear that our friends abroad are all OK. Our prayers go out to everyone impacted by this tragedy... Hats off to you SC for starting this thread. We are an international forum and what affects one affects us all in a way...

Never a challenge When Friends are Concerned.

Just saw this posted, thought I'd send it up....

Attachment 33268

Best
SC

[Typhoon Willy]

Hi all,

Just wondering if anybody's heard from Yashico-san or Ito-san?

TW

[Ravenna]

Just heard from Toru (Talos 2005). He is safe and well and asks us to pray for his people. There is no doubting the resilience grace and tenacity of the Japanese people, but the impact of these disasters is going to bite deep for a long time in many places.

[CrisGer]

Here is the most detailed and up to date news, with actual facts...it appears that the doomsday predicted by some of the US news hounds is a bit off the mark...it appears that the Japanese authorities are indeed doing all that can be done..and some of it appears to be close to working..

Tokyo -- Japanese forces used helicopters Thursday and planned to bring in water cannons, part of their urgent and reconfigured effort to avert a nuclear disaster at its quake-damaged Fukushima Daiichi plant.
Officials from the government and the plant's owner, Tokyo Electric Power Company, said Thursday that cooling down the facility's No. 3 reactor was top priority.
Japanese Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa, in conjunction with Prime Minister Naoto Kan, said he decided early Thursday to address the crisis from the air and ground despite concerns about exposing workers to radiation.
"We could not delay the mission any further, therefore we decided to execute it," Kitazawa told reporters.
Helicopters made four passes in about a 20-minute span Thursday morning, dropping 7.5 tons of seawater each time on the reactor in order to cool its overheated fuel pool. Kitazawa said 11 special water cannon trucks, along with one from Tokyo's police department, should arrive at some point Thursday to spray water at the No. 3 unit from the ground.
While Kitazawa said "the criteria has been satisfied," other officials said they were still collecting to determine what effect, if any, the dumping of water had.
Since a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami devastated northeast Japan Friday, officials have been working to resolve cooling problems at four of Fukushima's six reactors.
On Wednesday, Gregory Jaczko, the head of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission told Congress that spent fuel rods in the No. 4 reactor had been exposed because there "is no water in the spent fuel pool," resulting in the emission of "extremely high" levels of radiation.
But Japanese authorities disputed Jaczko's assertion, citing information gathered from a helicopter flight over the plant.
"We have been able to confirm that there is water in the spent nuclear fuel pool," a Tokyo Electric official said Thursday. "But we do not know how much water."
Also Thursday, engineers were planning to begin the process of restoring power to the stricken nuclear complex using power lines from outside. It lost power when the quake struck.
"This is one of the high-priority issues that we have to address," said an official with Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency.
Once the power supply has been re-established, the cooling system will be operated using seawater, he said. But he warned that the process will not be immediate.
"It will take time to restore the function of the main part of the facilities, because the pumps were contaminated by seawater and must be repaired before reuse," he said, adding that temporary pumps would be used initially.
A Japanese government spokesman, Noriyuki Shikata, warded off fears of an imminent meltdown, telling CNN Thursday, "We have not seen a major breach of containment" at any of the plant's troubled nuclear reactors.
A meltdown occurs when nuclear fuel rods cannot be cooled and the nuclear core melts. In the worst-case scenario, the fuel can spill out of the containment unit and spread radioactivity through the air and water.
That, public health officials say, can cause both immediate and long-term health problems, including radiation poisoning and cancer.
Asked about the report of a high level of radioactivity near the plants -- which may be related to at least a partial meltdown in some reactors -- Shikata said, "We have not seen the level that is, for example, dangerous to human bodies beyond the very close vicinity of the reactors."
Experts and Japanese authorities feared that overheating and evaporation of water in spent fuel pools around the plant could lead to the release of further radiation.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said the temperature of water in spent fuel pools is typically kept below 25 degrees Celsius (77 degrees Fahrenheit). That requires a constant cooling source, which requires a constant power source -- both unavailable at the damaged plant.
"The concern about the spent fuel pools at Fukushima Daiichi is that sources of power to cool the pools may have been compromised," the agency, whose chief Yukiya Amano is heading to Japan, said.
On Tuesday, temperatures at the the fuel pools in Unit 4, 5 and 6 all registered far above the recommended levels: 84 degrees C; 60.4 degrees C and 58.5 degrees C respectively, the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency said.
By the following day, it was reporting "no data" for Unit 4 and worrying trends for the other two:
Unit 5 had risen to 62.7 degrees C and Unit 6 to 60 degrees C.
The water in the fuel pool served to both cool the uranium fuel and shield it. But once the uranium fuel was no longer covered by water, the zirconium cladding that encases the fuel rods heated, generating hydrogen, said Robert Alvarez, senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies and a former official with the Department of Energy.
That caught fire, resulting in a situation that is "very, very serious," he told CNN.
He said the next step may involve the remaining 180 nuclear plant workers taking heroic acts.
"This is a situation where people may be called in to sacrifice their lives," Alvarez said. " It's very difficult for me to contemplate that but it's, it may have reached that point."
Beyond guarding against further contamination, a parallel focus Thursday was determining how much radiation had already seeped into the atmosphere.
Tests on tap water in Fukushima city, 80 kilometers (50 miles) away, found radiation, though at levels not harmful to the human body, and later tests showed no radiation in the water, Japanese government officials said.
In Washington, U.S. military officials said they had deployed a plane to assist in detecting radioactive materials in the atmosphere around Japan.
About 200,000 people living within a 20-kilometer radius of the plant have been evacuated; those living 20 to 30 kilometers from the site have been told to remain inside. Authorities also have banned flights over the area.

[Pen32Win]

First off it's great to hear that so far, all of our friends in the community are OK. The next thing that strikes me is that though there has been a major event there is no rioting, no social break down. Why? In my life’s experience it leads me to believe it is two things the Japanese people have that all others should learn from, self reliance and self discipline. I wholly commend the Japanese people’s behavior in the face of such an epic tragedy. In my mind it is something worthy of recognition and honor.

[igacci]

We are watching for JSDF's effort to settle down nuclear plant's emmergency.
My utmost respect to the task team who are trying to bring the coolant in the spent nulear fuel pool, despite the risk of exporsure to the radiation.

In Tokyo, we have "planned blackout" once or twice a day in turns.
Yet still, situation is better than Tohoku area.
There is possible large-scale blackout tonight since demand of electricity for heating is the highest in last 7 days. I'm going to make it ready for tonight's blackout.

Immediate concern is people's stockpiling of daily supplies in metropolitan area.
I can't find milk, batteries, rice and toilet paper.
I understand food and batteries but... why toilet paper????
I can see, that a few weeks later, after situation got better, we are watching a huge pile of rolls of toilet paper in the stock room, that is 6 month worth amount, thinking why we did such a silly thing.

Riots and looting are not reported so far. That is thankful in desperate situation.
They are hurt so badly, but they are in a peaceful order.

Good news is that a railway track is now ready to convey supplies to pacific side of Tohoku, bypassing around the west coast of Japan.
Arterial roadways are being fixed, too.
Major resupply activity will soon start (I hope).

Last but not least, I have unexpected days off, since the factory is out of order.
I have time for working on Ju-388. It may sound imprudent at desperate time, but I would like to show that I'm doing fine, both in the real-world life and in the sim.

Attachment 33329

Ragards

Daisuke

[CrisGer]

Daisuke, I am so very glad you are doing ok. I have the greatest admiration and respect for the strength and courage of Japan in this event.... and I am very hopeful that the brave people working on the crisis up north will be successful in helping as many people as possible and preventing further trouble. That is great news to hear the rail route is working and that the roads are being so quickly repaired. I know many will be grateful for food and supplies. Sorry about the toilet paper, I had wondered about that. Take care and I appoligize for the very slanted and arrogant approach of some of the US news media, they treat such crisis and tragedy as a way to advance their careers by using extreme language and criticizing other countries and people in ways they have no right to. They are rude and not representative of many of us here in the US who greatly respect and admire Japan. Take care and pls keep us posted.

[CrisGer]

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-...ut-food-supply

good news finally. the reactors are stabalizing in spite of ranting about end of the world from CNN and Fox...

and the shelters are improving. Glad to see this.