Massive 8.9-magnitude quake hits Japan

[RedJohn]

Tokyo (CNN) -- An 8.9-magnitude earthquake hit northern Japan on Friday, triggering tsunamis and sending a massive wave filled with debris that included boats and houses inching toward land.
The number of fatalities was unclear, but Japan's Kyodo news reported at least 10 killed and numerous injured.
The quake prompted at least 19 countries and numerous Pacific islands to issue tsunami warnings. It was followed by powerful aftershocks that were felt in capital of Tokyo.
The quake's epicenter was 373 kilometers (231 miles) away from Tokyo, the United States Geological Survey said. But residents there continued to feel aftershocks long after the quake.

More here : Massive 8.9-magnitude quake hits Japan - CNN.com

[mitunnelrat]

I've been following this a bit as it develops. It sounds like the Hawaiian islands are relatively unscathed by the tsunami. The western coast of the mainland is currently locked down, with school, harbors, and coastal roads closed. Their estimating a 2 foot rise in water levels or waves. I missed exactly how they phrased it.
.
I feel for the people of Japan though. There's already almost 400 confirmed dead, and they haven't even gotten into the hardest hit areas. There's also a rather large fire at a refinery, and some safety concerns over some of their nuclear facilities.

[Chubbs]

Very very sad.......but shows us how quik a SHTF situation can occur.

[RedJohn]

And what most must understand, not only does it come fast, but it won't last long. In a week time supplies will be back in the stores. No need to store for 6 months. For that scenario, a good BOB and one week supplies is enough.

[TEOTWAWKI13]

Unless your home was completely destroyed, then you'd need a GHB/BOB, some supplies cached elsewhere, etc.

[RedJohn]

I was referring to home supplies. No everybody can afford a second house. I sure cannot at this time. This would mean relocation in case of destruction.

[TEOTWAWKI13]

I was referring to home supplies. No everybody can afford a second house. I sure cannot at this time. This would mean relocation in case of destruction.

Oh, I was just thinking outloud...just an after thought to your comment really. My bad.

And despite all that went on today, I try to discuss this with my wife, and she says "yeah it's sad." I think, ok, there's a foot in the door, so I start asking what would she do if something like an earthquake happenned while I was at work, and the best she could come up with was "ride it out and hope for the best" but she "wasn't going to waste her life worrying about stuff that probably won't happen to her."

That woman is so dang stubborn.

[RedJohn]

Well, I am in the middle. I believe prepping is important, but not for what everybody think. I am an immediate to 1 month prepper!
I need to be ready to bug out at any time and hold one month on my own. Anything above that will require fighting to survive and this is a whole different ball of wax.

ETA: my last SHTF was end of 2010 - Strike in gas depots. No gas, no trucks, no stores for 3 weeks. People were going all around to have food and gas and even go to work.
I use to work at walking distance and had enough supplies that I never had to go to the store when everybody was in line to just get gas. I was ready. When it was over, I still waited one more week before going to the store. I did just fine.

[mitunnelrat]

And Japan keeps getting hit:
Radiation leaking from Japan's quake-hit nuclear | General Headlines | Comcast.net

FUKUSHIMA, Japan — Radiation leaked from a damaged Japanese nuclear reactor on Saturday after an explosion blew the roof off in the wake of a massive earthquake, but the government insisted that radiation levels were low.

The blast raised fears of a meltdown at the facility north of Tokyo as officials scrambled to contain what could be the worst nuclear disaster since the Chernobyl explosion in 1986 that shocked the world.

The plant was damaged by Friday's 8.9-magnitude earthquake, which sent a 10-meter (33-foot) tsunami ripping through towns and cities across the northeast coast. Japanese media estimate that at least 1,300 people were killed.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said there had been no major change in the level of radiation after the explosion because it did not occur inside the reactor container.

"The nuclear reaction facility is surrounded by a steel storage machine, which is then surrounded by a concrete building. This concrete building collapsed. We learnt that the storage machine inside did not explode," he told a news conference.

Edano initially said an evacuation radius of 10 km (6 miles) from the stricken 40-year-old Daiichi 1 reactor plant in Fukushima prefecture was adequate, but then an hour later the boundary was extended to 20 km (13 miles). TV footage showed vapor rising from the plant, 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo.

This one really has me stopping to think - again. There's the potential for a similar thing within my area, and all but one of my fallback points is within 13 miles. Worse yet, the bulk of my equipment is offsite right now, within that radius, and in the opposite direction of my best fallback point.

[TEOTWAWKI13]

Yeah, this one's a scary proposition. I have one of the largest powerplants in the Northern Hemisphere quite literally in my back yard. Not nuclear, but it still has me thinking about scenarios.