Major Quake

MattAlt (Admin)

March 11, 2011 01:39AM

A magnitude 8.8 earthquake hit around 3pm on Friday, epicenter a few hundred kilometers north of Tokyo. Very rough, long rolling shaking of the sort I have never experienced before. Very scary. The coastal areas are being socked by tsunami but there doesn't seem to be much in the way of casualties in Tokyo (fingers crossed.)

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repairtechjon

March 11, 2011 01:51AM

Just saw this being posted on news sites. Glad you guys are Ok so far.
Any power knockout where you are?
Major magnitude!

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ChrisFul

March 11, 2011 02:14AM

Whoa, Matt Alt is on CNN

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MattAlt (Admin)

March 11, 2011 03:53AM

The Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 was magnitude 7.9. This one was 8.8. I am very grateful to have made it through without any injuries, but many others (particularly up north in the coastal regions, which have been slammed by tsunami) are not as lucky. I am twittering updates at @matt_alt

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thomas

March 11, 2011 04:03AM

Glad you're alright, but from the pictures of half-submerged cars, flooded airports, cities that have been half-swept aside while the other half is burning, and this from Wikipedia "Based upon data from the Japan Meteorological Agency, it is estimated the town of Kurihara has been completely destroyed." (There's 80,000 people living there...) it looks pretty bad.

I find this picture of the burning raffinery very impressive:
[i.imgur.com]
Check the size of the trucks compared to the flames! *shudder*

Edit: according to the BBC a nuclear power plant has likely been completely destroyed. With the major floods that may be very bad news...

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/11/2011 04:04AM by thomas.

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cohiba

March 11, 2011 06:43AM

All my buddies are walking home today. The trains are shut down and taxis are all occupied. Fortunately it isn't raining.

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Roger

March 11, 2011 06:53AM

This is awful. Glad you're okay, cohiba. HLJ was hit in Gunma but they are okay, check their site. Matt is coming up on CNN again at 7 AM EST.

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Kingboy D

March 11, 2011 07:16AM

Man, I wish everyone the best! Scary news.

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RainBot

March 11, 2011 07:35AM

Just listening to the CNN report with Matt. The reporter needs to listen a little more carefully to her interviewee!

Glad to hear you folks are okay.

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josh fraser (Moderator)

March 11, 2011 07:45AM

Matt, your tag line was epic. A tremor to remember is like an Ali vs Fraiser fight. Glad you (and Cohiba) are ok.

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Prometheum5

March 11, 2011 08:01AM

Glad to hear you guys are OK, and hope you stay safe!

Introducing Prometheus Rising Studio.
[prometheusrising.net]
I make 3D printed mecha action figures.

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Anonymous User

March 11, 2011 08:13AM

[www.cnn.com]

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MSW

March 11, 2011 08:25AM

Wow, scary news. Glad you guys are okay.

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Roger

March 11, 2011 09:03AM

Tada from M1GO said that everyone there is okay but the place is a mess (moreso than usual). I've been reading about a nuclear reactor in their prefecture having problems, hope they can handle that.

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jim m

March 11, 2011 09:12AM

watching cnn and seeing the massive distruction is mind blowing. Then having Matts voice coming through my T.V only makes it more surreal.

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cohiba

March 11, 2011 09:19AM

THe area 3km around the nuclear reactor are being evacuated.

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bt1

March 11, 2011 09:28AM

Very shocking and scary photo's/video. Prayers for everyone to stay safe.

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Vincent Z.

March 11, 2011 10:45AM

Inside Hobbylink Japan.

--------------------------------------------------------------

I asked if I have "Time For L-Gaim" but I got "No Reply From The Wind".

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Attachments:
open | download - HLJ damage.jpg (124.3 KB)
open | download - HLJ damage2.jpg (207.1 KB)

Mike Parisi

March 11, 2011 10:56AM

Thinking about you all in Japan! Nice work Matt. We are having evacuations here in Santa Cruz, although I doubt it's needed. Practice is good though, shit is just going to get weirder.

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cae

March 11, 2011 10:57AM

@Jim M - I was on CNN.com, watching videos and wondering if Matt and Hiroko were okay (they're the only folks that live in Japan these days) and fell off my chair when the next video that queued was an interview with some guy who has the same name - Wotta co-inkydink!

The devastation looks massive and the aftershocks are nothing to sniff at, either. Hope the damage and loss of life from this event and its natural repercussions is kept to a minimum.

Peace all.

---------------------------------
hassenpfeffer

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servbot30

March 11, 2011 11:01AM

Glad everyone is ok. Would think this widespread damage would get the UN off their asses to send assistance.

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Sanjeev (Admin)

March 11, 2011 11:11AM

As usual...look who's to blame...

NewGFilms-GvSG-GodzillaWaterRoar09.jpg

(Glad you and Hiroko are okay, Matt...our thoughts go out to everyone affected...)

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sketcher

March 11, 2011 11:15AM

Just woke up and got the news. This is terrible!

Glad to hear you are OK, Matt.

-dylan

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Roger

March 11, 2011 11:15AM

First Godzilla joke I've seen so far, Sanjeev. Great job!

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Scopedog

March 11, 2011 11:57AM

Vincent Z. Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Inside Hobbylink Japan.

Wow, it would have been pretty dangerous inside that warehouse during the quake. Glad HLJ and Matt and cohiba are okay and hope for the best for everybody else.

You can follow the seismic activity live with these two maps:

[earthquake.usgs.gov]
[earthquake.usgs.gov]

--------------------------
I want YOU for Moé Sucks Army

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F-ZeroOne

March 11, 2011 11:59AM

Glad you're both okay, Matt!

As it happens, I was going to be flying out in couple of weeks to visit various friends I met on my last trip. Luckily, as far as I'm aware, they're all some distance from events and a couple have told me that they're okay if a bit shaken. The only one I am quite worried about worked in Sendai, I guess it'll be a while before I get news.

I don't yet know if I will still be going now, it will depend on events of the next few days. I wasn't going to be travelling near the worst affected areas though.

Thanks for the Big G image, Sanjeev - much needed!

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Jessy

March 11, 2011 12:14PM

Kyoto area, where I live now didn't experience any of the tremble, but the scale of the damage up in the north eastern area is unimaginable.

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leMel42

March 11, 2011 12:28PM

Various Hawaiian shorelines are being evac'd as well due to rising sea levels. SF sand Santa Cruz shores as well, though that is just to keep people from getting popped by unexpecterd sudden swells. From what I've heard the nuclear plant damage, while serious, is not catastrophic. Not intending to minimize the severity or seriousness, but let's all remember what 24hr news cycles do with events like this. Glad to hear our friends abroad are safe - thanks for taking time to update us on what must be a chaotic day personally.

------------------------------------------------------------------
I am seeking a plastic Popy Tora Sobu Raideen.

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diceone

March 11, 2011 12:38PM

This is Horrific, and Yuni and I are very concerned about her family in the North.

Her Grandmother, Father and Aunt all live there and we haven't heard from them...

If anyone has loved ones there also un-accounted for, you can use this number to try and get information : 020 7008 0000

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fujikuro

March 11, 2011 01:11PM

Unbelievably horrible. I know Japan has lots of infrastructure to deal with tsunamis, but there's no way it was sufficient for this disaster. Hopefully it was enough, though, to help make the casualties as minimal as possible.

More serious than thou

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Mike Parisi

March 11, 2011 01:57PM

We sustained a couple million dollars in damage so far today in Santa Cruz, up north in Crescent City I think 35 boats are crushed so that's much worse. Still, Cali is relatively fine. Huffpo is reporting up to 1000 people are dead in Japan, and that is genuinely tragic.

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Sanjeev (Admin)

March 11, 2011 03:51PM

Gundam fall down. :(

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F-ZeroOne

March 11, 2011 04:00PM

Stand up, Gundam!

(though it appears to be, if not a fake, a shot of the dismantling rather than quake damage).

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RainBot

March 11, 2011 04:07PM

From Scott at HLJ:
"Thank you for all your well-wishes!! To answer the most common question, yes, watch our Scratch & Dent department next week..."

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Anonymous User

March 11, 2011 05:54PM

Didn't get to comment earlier before I ran out to work. Glad our very own Matt "8 years" Alt and Hiroko are okay. Best wishes to everybody affected by this disaster.

Rainbot beat me to it, waiting for the biggest HLJ dented box sale ever.

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MattAlt (Admin)

March 11, 2011 07:56PM

Tsunami hits SF bay hours later:

[www.youtube.com]

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H-man

March 11, 2011 08:05PM

Matt... heard your account on my local Los Angeles CBS news radio station today! You're going places, dude!

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B00

March 11, 2011 08:14PM

Dear God, I didn't know what was happening until just a few hours ago! I'm blown away by the videos of the tsunami moving across farmland with burning debris. Just horrific man.

__________________
MoonBaseTom Season tickets available. Call now.

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josh fraser (Moderator)

March 11, 2011 11:28PM

Warren sent me a photo with Matt on Anderson Cooper moments ago...

Alt is a household name now. ;-)