7.9 and 8.8 Earthquakes in Japan

i'm guessing that they're pumping yen into currency markets in order to keep the yen low-ish so that ppl will still buy japanese consumer goods and keep the factories running and the economy afloat?

xp yeah that's how I read it. Here out govt is in the shit for investing $50b in a broadband network over several years whereas these guys have just dropped 10x that inside a week. Incomprehensible.

sorry gbx, yeah I assume that's the case, economic stimulus of the highest order.

cf the renminbi

Aus $ is already losing strength off the back of reduced excitement for nuclear power.

Thought it was losing strength off the back of Japanese investors converting Australian dollars back to Yen

The Aussie, as the currency is nicknamed, slid to a six- week low against its Japanese counterpart on speculation the disaster will prompt investors in the Asian nation to bring home overseas funds.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-13/aussie-drops-to-six-week-low-versus-yen-as-japan-quake-saps-risk-appetite.html

Ah okay. Also:

The Aussie, as the currency is nicknamed,

When did this happen?

I guess "the dollar" would confuse.?

Yeah but when did it get that nickname? 'I paid twenny-foive aussies and all I got was this T-shirt'

http://japan.usembassy.gov/e/p/tp-20110317-01.html

Oh god the Age headline currently is "CHOPPER BOMBS REACTOR"

(with water, which is conveniently left off the headline &^%%^$)

xp
It's a real life nickname, but only in the financial press (to distinguish it from the "greenback", also only used in the financial press).

Its been called the Aussie at least since 1998 when I started paying attention to captital markets.

don't tell me the one I'm using right now is the 'kiwi', that word's got enough on its plate already

'the broback'

Oh god the Age headline currently is "CHOPPER BOMBS REACTOR"

I swear the ABC got all the calm experts and Fairfax got all the batshit ones.

it is indeed called that lj

(as a related point, not re that headline xp)

sorry to get back on topic but:

"BREAKING: 　　Fukushima Prefecture is looking into the deaths of 14 hospital patients at an emergency shelter where they had evacuated.　　　　"

Erk.

http://video.nytimes.com/video/2011/03/16/multimedia/100000000729692/tc-031611-graphics.html

graphical video depiction of the sitch at the power plant

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Pacific: phoned my mother in Valparaiso, Chile just a couple of hours ago. She was tidying up her apartment from a 5.8 that had just hit a few minutes before, and was wondering if this was an "echo" of the Japan quake.

I told her that Chile's massive subduction zone is restless enough in and of itself, and my guess is that tectonic events halfway around the world would have little effect... but who knows.

Scientists Project Path of Radiation Plume

A United Nations forecast of the possible movement of the radioactive plume coming from crippled Japanese reactors shows it churning across the Pacific and touching the Aleutian Islands on Thursday before hitting Southern California late Friday.

Health and nuclear experts emphasize that radiation in the plume will be diluted as it travels and, at worst, would have extremely minor health consequences in the United States, even if hints of it are ultimately detectable. In a similar way, radiation from the Chernobyl disaster in 1986 spread around the globe and reached the West Coast of the United States in 10 days, its levels measurable but minuscule.

I do have a geiger counter and a webcam. Who wants a live feed?

Go for broke.

Even the NZ and Japan earthquakes are not linked, or so I read recently.

There was a 6.5 quake in Vanuatu earlier.

NHK is reporting that the water dumps and hose spraying on containments in #3/4 have not succeeded in cooling either reactor. They will continue throughout this afternoon.

Meanwhile the news is saying the general death toll's passed 13,000 now!?

NZ and Japan earthquakes are not linked

...or, at least, not linked in any way that scientists understand or can measure, so if they were linked in some way, it would be through physical forces no one has yet discovered, or that have not yet been properly interpreted.

Also reports of another event in New Zealand in the next 48 hours according to seismologist interviewed on 3AW (Australian radio station) twitter feed

Sorry if this was already posted:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOrAwvJLKxo

6 major TV networks simultaneous broadcast as the quake hits.

NHK kills it on the coverage, shit doesn't really get intense until about 3:30

Death toll is ~4500 (bodies recovered) with 9000 missing/unaccounted for.

Steve, I thank you for your reportage.

NHK reports govt officials claiming the reactor situation is nearing the "limit."

yes, it's that vague.

An additional 28k people evacuated from the 30km radius.

US Forces have (temporarily) suspended rescue operations within a 90km of the Fukushima I & II

@Reuters: FLASH: U.S. State Department says bringing in chartered aircraft to Tokyo to help Americans exit Japan.

There's been some scientifically disputed research on remotely triggered earthquakes, but nothing (AFAIK) on quakes thousands of miles away on the same tectonic plate. My intuition is that when stress is relieved at one point, other portions of the fault especially nearby will experience more stress. Consider construction workers carrying a heavy I-beam, and those in the middle decide its lunch break (without consulting the others).

http://www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse/5533228863/

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5057/5533228863_0ce9cfea45.jpg

The Landers/Big Bear quakes here in SoCal were a pretty big deal in illustrating how quake chains form as different faults settle and redistributed stress. On phone and don't have article links handy but it was a big deal here in quake country.

Sadly forensic seismology is a growth industry this year

4:00 PM Radiation level unchanged despite choppers dousing reactor: TEPCO (Kyodo)

sigh

Defense Minister said no more dumping water by helicopters. instead spray water from ground. crucial day for Japan.

Radiation at the Fukushima gate reported to be falling. 1472 μSv/h at 16:20, Mar. 16 (it was 1937 μSv/h on the previous report). This could simply be the effect of westerly winds.

Also, according to Bloomberg (5 mins ago), the Japanese government is disputing US NRC claims that the #4 spent fuel pool is losing water.

H&M has suspended operations at all 10 Kanto stores, moved staff to Kansai【東日本大震災】Ｈ＆Ｍ、関東の全１０店舗休止　スタッフら最大２０００人関西に避難 http://sankei.jp.msn.com/economy/news/110317/biz11031713360016-n1.htm

Kanto = Tokyo/Yokohama metro area
Kansai = Kyoto/Osaka metro area

three JETs are missing http://www.jlgc.org/pdfs/en/JET03161100-2.pdf

JETS?

english teachers in japan.

Low of -4C forecasted tonight in areas affected most by tsunami damage/evacuation camps.

Death toll: 5,718
Missing/Unaccounted: 8,606
Injured: 2,285