8.8 magnitude earthquake off Japanese Coast

[Cyn]

Reports out of Hawaii are that the tsunami alarms went off over two hours ago and the citizens are taking it seriously. The issue that is of concern (other than the obvious) is that due to Spring Break, there is a substantially large number of tourists there at the moment.

[allezfred]

Do those areas attract many tourists?

Near Sendai, there is a place called Matsushima which is one of the three most scenic spots in Japan. Mr. allezfred and I had planned to visit Sendai after Worlds, but a couple of days ago we decided against it so we could spend more time with his family in Hokkaido.

[cholla]

A special thought for you Gingercrush because my boyfriend is in Christchurch right now. I hope NZ won't get any damage from all this.

[Badams]

This is the fifth largest earthquake recorded worldwide and the biggest on record in Japan.

wow. So horrible! When I woke up this morning I was SHOCKED at the news and sort of hoping the magnitude was reported wrong. I've never heard of an earthquake of this magnitude. I feel so bad for the people in Japan.

[Aussie Willy]

Isn't Austrailia is still recovering from major flooding?

There are parts of Australia that are still flooded. The waters are taking a very long time to recede, two months after it happened.

I have been watching the news here about the Japanese situation. Unbelievable. Apparently it is the worst quake to hit Japan. They are now very concerned about a nuclear power plant.

Take care Midori. Stay safe.

[MikiAndoFan#1]

I just saw this on the news. What a horrible situation. There are already 44 registered deaths. I hope our fellow Japanese FSUers are okay.

[allezfred]

Just got word from Mr. allezfred that his parents, as we thought, are safe. His cousin who we came to visit Dublin last summer and who lives in Sendai, luckily was on a business trip to Tokyo and she is fine as well.

[oleada]

This is so tragic. My thoughts to our Japanese FSUers, their families and the entire country of Japan. The images are awful/ ((((Japan))))

[cheriepopo]

I'm reading Chinese twitter now, many are trying to contact their family or friends live in Sendai by phone but hasn't successed yet, fingers crossed for people in there!!
And I just couldn't stop crying when knowing this island near Sendai is underwater now
(((((Japan)))))

[Rex]

Thank God for that warning system, though. Lives will be saved at least. Prayers for the dead.

Saw the videos on the news when I woke up this morning. How horrifying it must be to be in the middle of all of that.

[rfisher]

I had an exchange student from Sendai who lived with us for a year and came back and visited several times. I hope she and her family are OK.

[WindSpirit]

Hugs to all our posters from Japan and everyone who has family/friends there.

I hate news like this. Hopefully there's not going to be many causalities.

[allezfred]

I hate news like this. Hopefully there's not going to be many causalities.

The Great Hanshin earthquake (7.3 magnitude) claimed over 6,000 lives. That said that area of Japan was nowhere near as well prepared for earthquakes as the Tohoku (northeast) and Tokyo areas are. Fatalities will go up, but hopefully not approach anywhere near that number.

[Carina]

Just got word from Mr. allezfred that his parents, as we thought, are safe. His cousin who we came to visit Dublin last summer and who lives in Sendai, luckily was on a business trip to Tokyo and she is fine as well.

Pleased to hear that, Allezfred.
Big hugs to Midori and other Japanese skating fans that been my rowmates on various skating event.

Also hope that the Japanese skaters and their families are safe.

[Rex]

Standing by for word from Hawaii....

[let`s talk]

There are already 44 registered deaths.

I am afraid there will be more. The picture that they show on TV is terrifying. I am in that part of Kanagawa that is not far from Tokyo. They say the earthquake here was about 4 or 5. I was at home getting dressed for an appointment and my hubby was sleeping on the second floor after the night flight from the business trip. When it started I didn't pay much attention since small earthquakes is a pretty trivial thing here. But it didn't stop and continued with a terrible shivering of the building. When things started falling down from my dressing table I realized that this earthquake was special. I heard the hubby was already calling from the dining room on the first floor where he was keeping the glass doors of the sideboard full of falling wine glasses and dishes. I heard that in another room one of our 4 computers fell on the floor and cracked. I ran to the living room to keep the huge TV from falling while CDs were falling from the CD racks practically next to me. Things like shampoos, toothpastes, etc. were falling in the bathroom, washroom, and photo phrames, vases in a bedroom, .. and then it started slowing down. When it was over, we saw that even a huge heavy fridge in the kitchen was moved from its usual place . The Internet was out for less than a couple of hours. Mobile phones are still out and I have no idea when they will work. Land phones were always fine, so we could call and tell the families that we are fine. The public transport is all out. Then, the worst part took its round- cleaning. It took some time to open the sideboard safely, without cutting hands and fingers. We lost some wine glasses, the so-called super-puper Baccarat for 22,000 yen per a glass turned out to be the weakest . The light Venetian wine glasses that fell inside the sideboard from the third shelf on the first were not even slightly damaged. Cool quality! Bohemian stuff, Bavarian bone china, that British crap and others were 50/50, but mainly more or less fine. I am not upset about wine glasses since they are supposed to be broken one day, better at parties of course. The only thing in my sideboard that upset me was broken Gzhel. It's absolutely impossible to buy it in Japan. So, I'll have to wait for my next trip to the mother Russia . So, things ended up good for us compared with other people in the North. They lost not just wine glasses, bone china and a computer, but their homes and lives . There were a few middle eathquakes after that and small shivering is still continuing from time to time.
That was the strongest earthquake that I ever experienced in my life and during my living in Japan. Hope nothing like that ever happens again.

Oh a small quake just now.. again...

[MikiAndoFan#1]

Wow, let`s talk, that must have been so scary. Thank God you and your husband are fine.

[kittyjake5]

I just heard this terrible news. My thoughts and prayers are with the people of Japan.

[Satellitegirl]

One of the women I game with online, and her family, are in Hawaii in a hotel on the beach. They're waiting on the tsunami to see if it hits.

[pollyanna]

I am in Tokyo and it still keeps shaking intermittently by aftershocks.
Watching the news at the office and videos from northern prefectures are very terrifying...

Midori, thank you for checking in, I am so glad you are safe.

Just got word from Mr. allezfred that his parents, as we thought, are safe. His cousin who we came to visit Dublin last summer and who lives in Sendai, luckily was on a business trip to Tokyo and she is fine as well.

Thank goodness! I hope all of Mr. allezfred's family is safe.

This is so tragic. My thoughts to our Japanese FSUers, their families and the entire country of Japan. The images are awful/ ((((Japan))))

My thoughts exactly. When I woke up and turned on the news and heard it was 8.9, my stomach dropped. That's huge. The images from Japan are horrifying and heartbreaking. My heart goes out to all of Japan and all the areas that will be affected by the tsunamis.