SillyDog701

[James]

Lin and I have been advised to evacuate due to the earthquake in Japan generating a tsunami. Evidently it should strike the coast in about four hours from now so we're packed and ready to leave. We'd appreciate your prayers for our safety. Hopefully the property damage will not be extensive. Thanks, everyone.

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[Antony]

Best wishes for your safety.

The news here said Russia, Marcus Island and the Northern Marianas are subject to Tsunami warning, Guam, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia are also been warned. No threat for Australia yet.

Where about in the States do you live, James?

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[James]

My wife and I live on the Oregon coast, Antony.

We arrived home a little while ago after spending several hours in the hills overlooking the ocean. Our home is about 200 yards distant from the Pacific. In fact, we have a clear view of the ocean from our deck. There were some swells but the anticipated surge did not occur. In other words... we dodged a bullet. Thank you, All, for your prayers and concern. It really is quite a frightening experience to have Reverse 911 call you at 1:30 A.M. and tell you to evacuate. You wonder at first what to bring... how fast to clear out... whether you'll return to a home devastated by flood waters or not. Thankfully, your prayers were heard. I cant' really thank you enough. I'm exhausted.

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[iJohnE]

My wife and I live on the Oregon coast, Antony.

We arrived home a little while ago after spending several hours in the hills overlooking the ocean. Our home is about 200 yards distant from the Pacific. In fact, we have a clear view of the ocean from our deck. There were some swells but the anticipated surge did not occur. In other words... we dodged a bullet. Thank you, All, for your prayers and concern. It really is quite a frightening experience to have Reverse 911 call you at 1:30 A.M. and tell you to evacuate. You wonder at first what to bring... how fast to clear out... whether you'll return to a home devastated by flood waters or not. Thankfully, your prayers were heard. I cant' really thank you enough. I'm exhausted.

Glad to hear that you are doing well.

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[Antony]

Glad to know that you are safe and returned.

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[Edward]

Glad to hear the good news.

I've been occasionally watching NHK World which is offering their news programming (video) on their home page.

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[James]

Thanks for the link. Today they fear over 10,000 Japanese have lost their lives. The infrastructure of the country has been shaken. I can't even begin to imagine the clean-up and how they will restore services, homes, jobs and livelihood to these poor people. It's a disaster of unbelievable proportions.

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[Antony]

It has been difficult to follow the news recently with more sad news kept coming. Now, two nuclear planets have exploded. This earthquake and the resulted tsunami may well be the world's most costly earthquake ever.

Some lighter sides,
I praise Japan's modern buildings and touch earthquake-proof code. Modern buildings withstood such strong earthquake remarkably well.
Although quantum physics was not my strong subject back in university (physics was my undergraduate major), I still believe unclear is the most efficient way and the cleanest(*) way of providing electricity.

(*) while generating electricity, unclear waste is a totally different subject.

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[James]

The following video is an eye-level view showing the terrifying tsunami surge. It really takes your breath away.

https://www.facebook.com/video/video.ph ... 5260179420

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[Antony]

Here's a story that a foreign company has been quietly going above and beynd during the earthquake and tsunami crisis, according to an unnamed employee at one of the company's retail stores.

Apple kept its stores open for people to use its resources to check in with family, allowed employees and their family to stay at its store, and covered some transportation and lodging costs incurred by employees

“7 hours and 118 aftershocks later, the store was still open,” the unnamed employee wrote. “Why? Because with the phone and train lines down, taxis stopped, and millions of people stuck in the Tokyo shopping district scared, with no access to television, hundreds of people were swarming into Apple stores to watch the news on USTREAM and contact their families via Twitter, Facebook, and email.”

He said that with a dearth of free WiFi access points in Japan, Apple’s retail stores are a frequent destination for Apple customers and non-customers looking to tap into a free connection to the Internet even when there’s not a crisis. “Even Android users often come to the stores,” he wrote.

Once the earthquake hit and transportation systems shut down in Tokyo, this five story Apple Store was swamped with people anxious to contact loved ones to check in or check on them.

read the details.

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[Antony]

I read this from another forum:
Sony Corporation has announced that, following the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck the northern region of Japan on March 11, Sony and its group of companies will donate 300 million Japanese yen to help relief and recovery efforts in communities affected.

Additionally, a disaster relief fund will collect donations across the Sony Group from employees worldwide, and their contributions will be matched by the company through a matching gifts program.

The company will also donate 30,000 Sony radios to assist the relief of earthquake victims, while the Sony Group will prepare further product donations going forward, taking into account the local needs.

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