R2OK!

mark occomore · Joined: 07 Dec 2006 Posts: 9955 Location: UK

A massive earthquake with a magnitude of 8.9 has struck North East Japan which set of Tsunami on Friday 11th March 2011.

mark occomore · Joined: 07 Dec 2006 Posts: 9955 Location: UK

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ColinB · Guest

Mark, are you obsessed with posting links to news stories that most of us are already familiar with?

mark occomore · Joined: 07 Dec 2006 Posts: 9955 Location: UK

This is a NEWS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS section we post on? I thought people maybe interested like other subjects to discuss? Do you and others want to discuss this disaster? Digital Spy do the same sort of thing?

ColinB · Guest

mark occomore · Joined: 07 Dec 2006 Posts: 9955 Location: UK

I didn't realise Colin, you own this forum? I now know...

ColinB · Guest

mark occomore · Joined: 07 Dec 2006 Posts: 9955 Location: UK

My heart and thoughts go out to Japanesse people. Watching the pictures I'm amazed if anyone has survided this. 4 bullet trains and a cruise ship are missing. Nuclear plant could have a radiation leak which is 1,000 times normal level. It will take years to get back to norm.

John W · Joined: 07 Dec 2006 Posts: 3367 Location: Warwickshire, UK

ColinB · Guest

Helen May · Joined: 10 Dec 2006 Posts: 19291 Location: Cheshire

I'm inclined to agree with Colin.

Don't get me wrong I like to see news topics but if they were put in a slightly different way maybe they'd generate more discussion? Lets say instead of just stating what has happened with a link you could say something like 'dreadful news from Japan about the earthquake, has anyone any relatives or friends out there?'. When something like this happens there isn't an awful lot you can say, which of course doesn't mean you don't feel sorry for the people.

2 fairly recent examples were the floods in Queensland where Colin and was it Mark Mayhew (?) had family and Blondehedghog in Egypt. Both put personal comments which are IMHO always good to read.

Just my thoughts!

H
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ColinB · Guest

John W · Joined: 07 Dec 2006 Posts: 3367 Location: Warwickshire, UK

Colin, Helen,

Yes I take your points, but that suggests that if you have no personal involvement in a story then you won't want to comment in the topic thread. Fine, just ignore Mark's messages.

Mark,

Try and avoid just posting a 'headline' and a link. If you have nothing else to say then maybe don't bother.

Incidently my brother and his wife were holidaying in New Zealand/Aussie last month and had flown out of Christchurch that morning, to Brisbane. So they had a close shave I suppose - they'd been in the (now destroyed) cathedral the day before!

Anyway, there was much discussion in the family about all that but I didn't think to mention it on this forum Very Happy

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John W

mark occomore · Joined: 07 Dec 2006 Posts: 9955 Location: UK

This is a developing story with more pictures showing the moment the tsunami hit the region! 10,000 people are feared dead in Minamisanrika! A race is still on to rescue people who are caught up in this disaster where towns are cut off! There are also developments still happening at the fukushima nuclear plant number one.

BDG · Joined: 08 Dec 2006 Posts: 202

As John says best ignored....Colin you are as bad!!! Wink

If you run these forums then you should know this...shouldn't you?! Rather than being naughty! Rolling Eyes

On a personal note as Helen says, I received a phone call from my step-son yesterday afternoon from Japan, not long after I heard the news on the radio. I knew straight away they would be ok because they were much further South. He was clearly shaken by it though (no pun intended) and wanted my mum-in-law's phone no as she had phoned in a panic. to check her Grandson and Great Grandchildren were ok.

It was clear from what he said to me in the conversation having a major effect on the country and was very distressing to everyone involved.

FleetingEileenM · Joined: 30 Mar 2010 Posts: 5742 Location: Hampshire

A friend's son and his family live in Tokyo. They were all in different parts of the city when the earthquake happened. Dad got to the nursery to collect their daughter and Mum walked for 8 hours to get home from work. They are very worried about the next quake which is expected in the next few days apparently.

It beats me how anyone would choose to emigrate to a country poised above unstable tectonic plates.

mark occomore · Joined: 07 Dec 2006 Posts: 9955 Location: UK

I read the strength of the earthquake moved the island of Japan 2.4 meters and also moved the Earth axis by 10cm.

BDG · Joined: 08 Dec 2006 Posts: 202

Yes I read something similar too Mark that Japan had moved 12 feet nearer to the USA and 2ft downwards and that it had affected the earth's axis by a hair I suppose 10cm would be that Smile

Eileen I don't think life is quite as simple as not moving to an area with potential earthquakes, which is absolutely a massive area if you think about it. My step-son fell in love with a Japanese girl, married her and moved out there over 14 years ago and has made a good life for himself out there, they bought there own house about 3 years ago and that is a very big achievement in Japan, they even have a small garden! She doesn't want to live in the UK and he has become totally fluent in Japanese, both the children look and only really speak Japanese. He teaches English but I think by the time he gets home he feels too tired to teach his own children too much Very Happy

It would also rule out most of the West coast of the States as well. The world is full of natural disasters and sadly there isn't a lot we can do about it except deal with them when they happen. Anyone of us could just go on holiday somewhere, even in Europe and get caught up in one for example the Canaries in particular are a ticking time bomb from the point of view of Volcanic activity. The last major eruption on Lanzorote lasted 6 years! Or a harmless trip to Sorrento could result in a similar experieince![/img]

ruddlescat · Joined: 16 Sep 2010 Posts: 18010 Location: Near Chester

In my opinion the best policy is simply to stay in Britain

Whilst this country has gone downhill over recent years it still has far more to recommend it than some of these disaster prone areas of the world

Of course people born and bred in disaster areas don't have that option but like Eileen I would be very wary about relocating to such places

Remember the old saying 'The Grass is always greener on the other side'
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nod · Joined: 24 Dec 2006 Posts: 3558

I was staying in Fukushima City a few weeks ago (approx 40miles from the nuclear power station) and know people who work there, fortunately they are all safe.

mark occomore · Joined: 07 Dec 2006 Posts: 9955 Location: UK

There is some more fantastic footage being shown on the news. I just can't see how much longer the media can chew over this!! Sooner a later people will tune out and we will see Points Of View or Newswatch talking about people moaning about too much of the same news item. So guessing there needs to be a balance at sometime or another.

ruddlescat · Joined: 16 Sep 2010 Posts: 18010 Location: Near Chester

You took the words right out of my mouth Mark,to coin a famous record title

I'm currently watching the BBC news and more than 22 minutes of the allocated 30 minutes has been taken up with foreign news including the Japanese earthquake and Libya and other middle east news

Whilst I have tremendous sympathy for the people affected by these disasters I live in Britain and I don't want to see twenty different versions of how the tidal wave hit Japan but I would like to see some decent coverage of what happened in Britain today

The earthquake happened several days ago and I have no problem with the BBC showing programmes about the aftermath but please not on the main news every single night
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ColinB · Guest

I think the broadcast media coverage of the Japanese disaster is lame and of a tabloid, sensationalist nature. There's hardly a second of video footage of the tsunami that isn't sourced from YouTube - and what appears on YouTube is recycled by the news media many hours later. All of the "eyewitness amateur video" that the BBC, Sky and CNN has been showing has been shot by "amateur" camcorder users and because of their access deal to YouTube clips they're able to repackage them and show. One clip shown on Newsnight last night was prefaced with "the latest clips from Japan" when in fact I'd seen them on YouTube (via a Twitter feed) 12 or more hours before.

What's interesting and unique about the clips coming out of Japan is that because a much higher proportion of japanese people have HD video cameras, we're getting much better footage. How the hell the broadcasters have the cheek to call it "amateur" is really laughable. Many Jap camcorder owner/users seem to be able to hold their cameras steady as well - not like many people in other countries whose mobile phone clips are appalling.

I think this disaster is the first we've seen where YouTube users have provided the best, most representative, evidence of the events as they unfolded and where the broadcasters have simply been left behind with lacklustre coverage.

BDG · Joined: 08 Dec 2006 Posts: 202

Good points and can't disagree because the Japanese well have always been at the forefront of video recording on a personal level...so it has been proven to be true in this case.

Step-son has posted that he is becoming increasingly worried at the turn of events particularly the nuclear one...whether this is real or media hype affecting them I don't know but we will phone in the next few days and see how things are.