Earthquake & tsunami hits Japan

[gatso]

To be fair to Alex, I can see why he was offended by Gatso's post though.

and that's wtf moment number 2

I was expressing amazement at a pretty stunning story of human survival. if people can get offended by that then they probably need to step away from their computers, tv screens and newspapers for a while

[outragous76]

To be fair to Alex, I can see why he was offended by Gatso's post though.

and that's wtf moment number 2

I was expressing amazement at a pretty stunning story of human survival. if people can get offended by that then they probably need to step away from their computers, tv screens and newspapers for a while

or maybe when a few people say the same thing independantly you should reassess what you said and realise it might have caused offence

[Laxie]

I know the whole thing is horrible, but for me one thing sticks out and has done since the start...

Deadliest earthquakes from recent times (taken from BBC site):

26 Dec 2004, Sumatra, Indonesia: 9.1 quake and tsunami kills 227,898 across Pacific region

12 Jan 2010, Haiti: 222,570 killed, 7.0

12 May 2008, Sichuan, China: 87,587 killed, 7.9

8 Oct 2005, Pakistan: 80,361 killed, 7.6

20 June 1990, Manjil, Iran: 40,000 killed, 7.4

26 Dec 2003, Bam, Iran: 31,000 killed, 6.6

16 Jan 2001, Gujurat, India: 20,023 killed, 7.7

17 Aug 1999, Izmit, Turkey: 17,118 killed, 7.6

30 Sep 1993 Latur, India: 9,748 killed, 6.2

16 Jan 1995, Kobe, Japan: 5,530 dead, 6.9

The loss of life, while it's dreadful, is relatively small in comparison to other events on much smaller scales.  I'm probably explaining myself all wrong here, but I can't help being in awe of their overall success in limiting loss of life considering how badly they were hit. 

Property damage is massive.  But that can be fixed in time.  Lives can't be replaced.  With all of their efforts to protect against this type of thing, they've actually saved quite a few.

[tikay]

I really want this thread to get back on track, so I won't be doing any arguing.

I'm deservedly known as over-sensitive - ooh, such a sin - & this dreadful tragedy has moved me, & I suppose everyone, to different degrees.

But, BEFORE Gatters Posted that, I had thought EXACTLY what he did.

Here's my angle, & I assume, it's pretty much gatters angle, too.

This Japanese guy - fairly old, I think, 60+? - must, we assume, have climbed onto his roof when the tsunami struck, to try to be above the torrent of rising water.

His thought as his house get's washed away cannot be imagined.

Think about what happened. He's stood on the roof of his house, & the tsunami rips his house away from it's footings, & the whole house/roof is washed, like, a mile, 2 miles, inland. While he's stood on it, aghast.

And THEN......

The tsunami "ebb" takes him back towards the shore, from where he began. And onwards, out to sea, several miles out to sea.

All the while, this 60+ year old guy is stood on the roof of his house.

It's an extraordinary thing.

And my initial thoughts, amongst all this dreadful tragedy, & incomprehensible loss of life, was that it was the first moment I could smile, & wonder at a true & incredible miracle. It was almost black humour.

It remains the only image of the tragedy so far I have found uplifting.

I really do not think any offence was intended.

[gatso]

^^^^^^^^that^^^^^^^

[kinboshi]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12729138

The focus of the media seems to be on the fear element surrounding the nuclear power plants and the 'worst-case scenarios'.  Words such as melt-down and even 'nuclear explosion' have been used in reports by news agencies that should know better.  It's tabloid sensationalism, and very inaccurate.

Very little focus on the fact that the plants have withstood two massive disasters and the scientists, engineers and emergency teams have put systems and processes in place to minimise the danger to the public. The nuclear physicists continue to reiterate that the reactors are 'safe' in terms of containing the core and the level of radiation the local environment is being exposed to is minimal.  Some of the experts who have been on the 24-hour news channels have been excellent - but the presenters still seem to want to focus on the Armageddon scenarios rather than what is actually happening.  The fact that scientists will not rule something out as impossible, even if the chance of happening is minutely remote, means that this is often reported as being a definite possibility. 

There are whole villages/towns of people who are missing, numbering tens of thousands - that's the real disaster and tragic story.   

[kinboshi]

I really want this thread to get back on track, so I won't be doing any arguing.

I'm deservedly known as over-sensitive - ooh, such a sin - & this dreadful tragedy has moved me, & I suppose everyone, to different degrees.

But, BEFORE Gatters Posted that, I had thought EXACTLY what he did.

Here's my angle, & I assume, it's pretty much gatters angle, too.

This Japanese guy - fairly old, I think, 60+? - must, we assume, have climbed onto his roof when the tsunami struck, to try to be above the torrent of rising water.

His thought as his house get's washed away cannot be imagined.

Think about what happened. He's stood on the roof of his house, & the tsunami rips his house away from it's footings, & the whole house/roof is washed, like, a mile, 2 miles, inland. While he's stood on it, aghast.

And THEN......

The tsunami "ebb" takes him back towards the shore, from where he began. And onwards, out to sea, several miles out to sea.

All the while, this 60+ year old guy is stood on the roof of his house.

It's an extraordinary thing.

And my initial thoughts, amongst all this dreadful tragedy, & incomprehensible loss of life, was that it was the first moment I could smile, & wonder at a true & incredible miracle. It was almost black humour.

It remains the only image of the tragedy so far I have found uplifting.

I really do not think any offence was intended.

The sad footnote to the story is that his wife didn't survive. 

[tikay]

I really want this thread to get back on track, so I won't be doing any arguing.

I'm deservedly known as over-sensitive - ooh, such a sin - & this dreadful tragedy has moved me, & I suppose everyone, to different degrees.

But, BEFORE Gatters Posted that, I had thought EXACTLY what he did.

Here's my angle, & I assume, it's pretty much gatters angle, too.

This Japanese guy - fairly old, I think, 60+? - must, we assume, have climbed onto his roof when the tsunami struck, to try to be above the torrent of rising water.

His thought as his house get's washed away cannot be imagined.

Think about what happened. He's stood on the roof of his house, & the tsunami rips his house away from it's footings, & the whole house/roof is washed, like, a mile, 2 miles, inland. While he's stood on it, aghast.

And THEN......

The tsunami "ebb" takes him back towards the shore, from where he began. And onwards, out to sea, several miles out to sea.

All the while, this 60+ year old guy is stood on the roof of his house.

It's an extraordinary thing.

And my initial thoughts, amongst all this dreadful tragedy, & incomprehensible loss of life, was that it was the first moment I could smile, & wonder at a true & incredible miracle. It was almost black humour.

It remains the only image of the tragedy so far I have found uplifting.

I really do not think any offence was intended.

The sad footnote to the story is that his wife didn't survive. 

The poor chap must have thought the whole thing was a dream/nightmare. We cannot begin to imagine.

But the tale still made me smile. Not malice smile, just glory be, at how human spirit can, sometimes, overcome massive odds to survive.

I feel for Alex, who has clearly been much moved by the whole thing, & I think it was that which caused him & others to perhaps misunderstand Gatters Post.  I don't believe for a second that Gatters was making light of it.

In years to come, films & books & TV progs will be made about this tragedy. I bet "the man on the roof of his house" features in every one, it will become one of THE iconic images.

[outragous76]

i have seen several heart warming moments, a father and son walked for 2 days trying to find wife and daughter - we will obv never know whether it was a modern tv "set up", but their emotion when they walked into a shelter and find them was truely amazing and seemed very genuine. That is a heart warming story.

a guy on a roof several miles out at sea having lost everything including his family can never be described as "funny"

but nice try

[outragous76]

I really want this thread to get back on track, so I won't be doing any arguing.

I'm deservedly known as over-sensitive - ooh, such a sin - & this dreadful tragedy has moved me, & I suppose everyone, to different degrees.

But, BEFORE Gatters Posted that, I had thought EXACTLY what he did.

Here's my angle, & I assume, it's pretty much gatters angle, too.

This Japanese guy - fairly old, I think, 60+? - must, we assume, have climbed onto his roof when the tsunami struck, to try to be above the torrent of rising water.

His thought as his house get's washed away cannot be imagined.

Think about what happened. He's stood on the roof of his house, & the tsunami rips his house away from it's footings, & the whole house/roof is washed, like, a mile, 2 miles, inland. While he's stood on it, aghast.

And THEN......

The tsunami "ebb" takes him back towards the shore, from where he began. And onwards, out to sea, several miles out to sea.

All the while, this 60+ year old guy is stood on the roof of his house.

It's an extraordinary thing.

And my initial thoughts, amongst all this dreadful tragedy, & incomprehensible loss of life, was that it was the first moment I could smile, & wonder at a true & incredible miracle. It was almost black humour.

It remains the only image of the tragedy so far I have found uplifting.

I really do not think any offence was intended.

The sad footnote to the story is that his wife didn't survive. 

The poor chap must have thought the whole thing was a dream/nightmare. We cannot begin to imagine.

But the tale still made me smile. Not malice smile, just glory be, at how human spirit can, sometimes, overcome massive odds to survive.

I feel for Alex, who has clearly been much moved by the whole thing, & I think it was that which caused him & others to perhaps misunderstand Gatters Post.  I don't believe for a second that Gatters was making light of it.

In years to come, films & books & TV progs will be made about this tragedy. I bet "the man on the roof of his house" features in every one, it will become one of THE iconic images.

people leeping from windows of the world trade centre will be an inconic image for the remainder of time, but it doesnt make it any less distressing

[tikay]

The elderly "Gent on roof" survived, against all odds. I smiled at him, & for him, it made me happy. Personally, I'm quite comfortable with that.

[Laxie]

The difference being, they died. 

And despite all the odds being stacked against him, that old man survived.  With all the horror of this thing...is it really wrong to be happy he was found alive? 

[outragous76]

The difference being, they died. 

And despite all the odds being stacked against him, that old man survived.  With all the horror of this thing...is it really wrong to be happy he was found alive? 

[  ] that was the point i was making

and oh right he survived - hehe titter titter - yes i bet he is ecstatic

[gatso]

i have seen several heart warming moments, a father and son walked for 2 days trying to find wife and daughter - we will obv never know whether it was a modern tv "set up", but their emotion when they walked into a shelter and find them was truely amazing and seemed very genuine. That is a heart warming story.

a guy on a roof several miles out at sea having lost everything including his family can never be described as "funny"

but nice try

relevance? that's the first use of the word 'funny' on this thread. you can't just introduce a word yourself and then moan about others using it when that didn't happen

[kinboshi]

There is the 'rebuilding' issue for Japan to face after the rescue operations and other immediate concerns are over.

They obviously need power for this, and that's a big problem.  About 30% of their power is from nuclear power, and the Fukushima plant was one of the biggest (if not the biggest?) producers of electrical power in the country.  It's now permanently offline (the use of seawater as a coolant would render the plants useless anyway, without the other issues they've faced.

So they'll have to look at alternatives and look at measures to cut electricity usage - a big ask in an industrialised nation that is more reliant than most on electricity. 

I was watching an interview with a young Japanese man (university student age) who lives in Tokyo, and he said that he'd made sure he'd unplugged everything to make sure he wasn't wasting any electricity.  A small gesture (as is the switching off of the iconic screens in Tokyo's Shibuya district) - but something that makes a difference when it's done by the 130million people across the country and by businesses, etc.  One thing Japan has massively in its favour is social cohesiveness.  Of course, it's a terrible disaster and the human cost is immense, but Japan will be able to deal with it better than most countries could in a similar situation.

Watching this student talk and mention his small efforts to help made me smile.