Raw Video: New Tsunami Video Surfaces

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My thoughts and prayers are still with all those affected by this ongoing disaster.
Watching the frist few seconds of the vid, with the constrution workers running for their lives really puts into perspective how quickly your life can go from everyday mundane routine to a fight for survival.
So just remeber the boyscout motto:
ALWAYS BE PREPARED!

Originally posted by Talltexxxan
Watching the frist few seconds of the vid, with the constrution workers running for their lives really puts into perspective how quickly your life can go from everyday mundane routine to a fight for survival

There might be as little as five seconds difference between life and death, the first few workers look like the made it, but did you see the stragglers about 5 seconds later? They didn't get out of there in time. Did you see that one guy hanging on to a tree? I wonder if he made it?

I'm sure they felt the earthquake, so they should have had some idea the tsunami was coming, though, see my signature. I just assumed everyone in Japan of all places, would know about tsunamis. Their hillsides are covered with tsunami warning signs going back centuries, many of them saying something like "beware of tsunami after earthquake".

Originally posted by Arbitrageur

Originally posted by Talltexxxan
Watching the frist few seconds of the vid, with the constrution workers running for their lives really puts into perspective how quickly your life can go from everyday mundane routine to a fight for survival

There might be as little as five seconds difference between life and death, the first few workers look like the made it, but did you see the stragglers about 5 seconds later? They didn't get out of there in time. Did you see that one guy hanging on to a tree? I wonder if he made it?

I'm sure they felt the earthquake, so they should have had some idea the tsunami was coming, though, see my signature. I just assumed everyone in Japan of all places, would know about tsunamis. Their hillsides are covered with tsunami warning signs going back centuries, many of them saying something like "beware of tsunami after earthquake".

There are a few marker stones on the shoreline which say that the tsunami had reached that level in the past, or approaching that level. However the last time a tsunami that size hit that area was 869. No, I didnt miss a number. Eight sixty nine. Let me put it in perspective, Leif Erickson landed in the Americans in 994. The USA hadnt even been found by the west when a tsunami that size last hit Japan in this area. These people were not expecting it at all, and to blame them for their own deaths, when they had so little time to run and no comprehension of how large the tsunami was going to be, is beyond disgusting.

Here is the link for details of the 869 Sanriku tsunami, which was triggered by an earthquake of an estimated 8.6 off the coast of Honshu .wpedia.goo.ne.jp...

Also, I dont know if you have ever felt a massive quake, but to regain your balance, and your nerve and run is quite a tall order. For these people to comprehend what had happened and run before it was too late must have been incredibly hard for them. I was in Tokyo at the time, and the quake was weaker here than it was there, the feeling of being on a ship, the land swaying, the intense fear and loud noises were overwhelming. Being so judgemental of the dead shows little humanity, in my opinion.

Originally posted by ThousandIslandSunny
Also, I dont know if you have ever felt a massive quake, but to regain your balance, and your nerve and run is quite a tall order. For these people to comprehend what had happened and run before it was too late must have been incredibly hard for them. I was in Tokyo at the time, and the quake was weaker here than it was there, the feeling of being on a ship, the land swaying, the intense fear and loud noises were overwhelming. Being so judgemental of the dead shows little humanity, in my opinion.

Who's being judgmental?

And you make it sound like the ground was still shaking when the tsunami hit. There was a delay between the major quake and the tsunami, as there usually is. And those workers running in the OP video were so close to the water that it didn't take an 869-style tsunami to affect them, just about any tsunami would have affected them.

And regarding the 869 tsunami, well, if the quake was that massive, and people felt the ground shaking that much, that's all the more reason to expect a large tsunami. So you don't know at the time exactly how big the tsunami will be, you still need to get to higher ground until the all clear is sounded, right?

And in all places in the world, Japanese people should know that. If they aren't teaching that to young schoolchildren at an early age, then why not? They should be. Everybody in Japan should know that tsunamis can follow earthquakes, it's not like earthquakes are rare or unexpected in Japan.

What will be interesting to see is how much rebuilding takes place in low-lying areas where the future tsunamis are likely to hit again.

Then we'll see if the Japanese people are as smart as we all hope they are. If they are really smart, they'll put up a lot more markers, warning future generations about where not to build doe to tsunami risk.

The ground WAS still shaking when the tsunami hit. There were immediate aftershocks. Not only this, the movement was so constant and so extreme people suffered from disembarkation syndome - like when you get off a boat and still feel you are on the waves. Perhaps Ill make this clearer, the utter disorientation after such a huge quake is very hard to convey to someone who hasnt been through it. Physically, even if you are not hurt, you are off balance, and these people were hit hard.

Thing is when a quake first hits, you dont know if it was an epicentre on land or sea bed. If the epicentre had been on land, then there would have been no tsunami, by the time it was clear that people had to run, it was too late for many. Some tried to run, but got caught, as you saw. The sea came in fast and relentless.

It is not clear if there is a tsunami risk or not, at least not at first.

Tsunami which kill in Japan are rare and unusual thankfully. There was the 1896 and 1933 which were the two previous to this huge on which killed. This was larger than either of these. So, yes it was a very rare occurance, rare enough that working by the sea or on the sea is not a silly thing to do.

The delay was 20 mins. Try getting yourself together, ascertaining that the epicentre was out to sea, and the tsunami was coming, and then escape - in 20 mins. Most people had no idea how large this tsunami would be, that it would not be wet feet they were dealing with.

The tsunami siren did run, and people did try to escape, unfortunately it was too late for so many. Not their fault, as you seem to be implying, but a terrible twist of fate, a tsunami the like of which had not been seen in living memory, and the scale of which was only comparable to one in 869!

Children know when to run, they are taught to obey the sirens. People did exactly what they had been taught to do, and unfortunately it was not enough.

Earthquakes this size are completely rare and unexpected in Japan. This one was the largest by far that has hit the island. Previous to this, there was kobe, and that had no tsunami as the epicentre was onland. We have many small ones which do nothing, some small tsunami which do no more than wet people's knees. Not this huge unrelenting wall of water - that was a very rare and totally unexpected occurance.

I personally hope that no rebuilding in areas which got hit, takes place. I think it would be very hard to live in that area after all this. However, some people do want to rebuild - it is a very rare occurance and they just want to go back to their homes. Like people build on the Missippi river, or by Yellowstone volcano.

Why the snide comment about 'Japanese people being smart'? What does that achieve?

It was an incredibly rare and unprecedented occurance to have a tsunami of this size. I understand why people want to see the footage, but to me it just looks like disaster porn? What can be achieved by looking at this footage, and hearing people calling out to their friends to run faster? I dont get it.

Deny ignorance. This event was very rare. Japan's worst tsunami and earthquake since before Leif Erikson landed in the Americas.

Originally posted by Arbitrageur

Originally posted by ThousandIslandSunny
Also, I dont know if you have ever felt a massive quake, but to regain your balance, and your nerve and run is quite a tall order. For these people to comprehend what had happened and run before it was too late must have been incredibly hard for them. I was in Tokyo at the time, and the quake was weaker here than it was there, the feeling of being on a ship, the land swaying, the intense fear and loud noises were overwhelming. Being so judgemental of the dead shows little humanity, in my opinion.

Who's being judgmental?

And you make it sound like the ground was still shaking when the tsunami hit. There was a delay between the major quake and the tsunami, as there usually is. And those workers running in the OP video were so close to the water that it didn't take an 869-style tsunami to affect them, just about any tsunami would have affected them.

And regarding the 869 tsunami, well, if the quake was that massive, and people felt the ground shaking that much, that's all the more reason to expect a large tsunami. So you don't know at the time exactly how big the tsunami will be, you still need to get to higher ground until the all clear is sounded, right?

And in all places in the world, Japanese people should know that. If they aren't teaching that to young schoolchildren at an early age, then why not? They should be. Everybody in Japan should know that tsunamis can follow earthquakes, it's not like earthquakes are rare or unexpected in Japan.

What will be interesting to see is how much rebuilding takes place in low-lying areas where the future tsunamis are likely to hit again.

Then we'll see if the Japanese people are as smart as we all hope they are. If they are really smart, they'll put up a lot more markers, warning future generations about where not to build doe to tsunami risk.

edit on 16-6-2011 by Arbitrageur because: clarification

Originally posted by ThousandIslandSunny
The delay was 20 mins. Try getting yourself together, ascertaining that the epicentre was out to sea, and the tsunami was coming, and then escape - in 20 mins. Most people had no idea how large this tsunami would be, that it would not be wet feet they were dealing with.

I don't understand your wet feet comment.

But watch the beginning of the OP video. It looks to me like those guys running are less than 100 yards from the water, and I'm not talking about the tsunami, I mean the permanent water. My legs might be wobbly for a minute or so after a major quake, and I've been through some though not any that big. But that still leaves 19 minutes and those specific guys in the video should have been a lot further from the water than they were. I can't see how any of your elaborate explanations make any sense that they weren't, unless they thought there wasn't going to be a tsunami so they just ignored the warning, otherwise why would they be that close? I can't believe they couldn't run any further than that in 20 minutes, look how fast they were moving when they saw the water coming, their legs were working fine once they saw the water!

Tsunami are 99.9 percent very small in Japan when they hit land - inches high, not a massive wave like this.

The 869 tsunami did not reach as far inland as the 2011 one. These people did not expect such a massive wave.

The quake was not a 2 second up and down, it was 4, 5 mins long, followed by immediate aftershocks. They did not know they HAD to run, as the tsunami was not expected to be this size. It is a very rare event.

I watched as much of the clip as I could bear. Did you know the man with the camera is calling a man's name who is running. These men simply did not expect this huge tsunami. Why should they when ones that can even compare were in 1933, 869, and in the 1 in the 1800s?

They had no idea the water was coming in that high and that fast, it was not expected. Yes, they did run when they saw the water? What does that mean? They were humans you know, its not to be relished or gawked at. Or are you not aware that Japanese men are human too?

By the time these men realised how big the wave was, it was too late.

Tsunami this big are very rare. They usually are not big enough to take a life. 4 since 869 which have been anywhere near this size. That is pretty rare.

Earthquakes this size are very rare - this was the biggest in Japanese history.

People did not know they had to run. Some went to high ground right away and their instinct saved them. Some did not, many many did not. This says nothing about them as humans. What it says about us as humans that we do not comprehend that they did all they could to escape with the information they had, and the ability they had to run, and that people here are speaking so ill of the dead, is quite a lot really.

Originally posted by Arbitrageur

Originally posted by ThousandIslandSunny
The delay was 20 mins. Try getting yourself together, ascertaining that the epicentre was out to sea, and the tsunami was coming, and then escape - in 20 mins. Most people had no idea how large this tsunami would be, that it would not be wet feet they were dealing with.

I don't understand your wet feet comment.

But watch the beginning of the OP video. It looks to me like those guys running are less than 100 yards from the water, and I'm not talking about the tsunami, I mean the permanent water. My legs might be wobbly for a minute or so after a major quake, and I've been through some though not any that big. But that still leaves 19 minutes and those specific guys in the video should have been a lot further from the water than they were. I can't see how any of your elaborate explanations make any sense that they weren't, unless they thought there wasn't going to be a tsunami so they just ignored the warning, otherwise why would they be that close? I can't believe they couldn't run any further than that in 20 minutes, look how fast they were moving when they saw the water coming, their legs were working fine once they saw the water!