Sunday, February 28, 2010

Back in Japan - The wrath of mother Nature

As I again find myself back on Japanese soil, safely away from freezing cold, falling blocks of ice and icicles and dangerously icy and slipper roads, I thought I could relax for a bit and enjoy the reasonable coldness (seems like I missed the short burst of spring that Japan timed in just as I was away...) a disaster is getting ready to hit Japan...

All over the news now is continuous reports on the possible tsunami waves that will hit the Japanese islands within a few hours (it's 15:15 as I write this) originating from the recent quake outside Chile. People are being evacuated from their homes in some areas of Japan awaiting this potentially devastating act of nature and I found myself having problems tearing myself away from the news to write this report for your benefit.

Although it's mostly waiting at the moment, some tsunami waves have already hit some areas of Japan and the waves have been reported to be as high as 10cm in most cases, but one huge wave was reported to measure 30cm in height as it struck Japan... I cower here in fear and am just thankful that I don't live close to the ocean since a 10cm wave could risk getting my toes wet and then I would have to dry them... The heavy snow and ice in Sweden pale in comparison...

4 comments:

Live Labyrinth said...

HAHAHAHA. I was taking you really seriously until the words "10cm" came into it, then I thought, you...you...you fiend! You genuinely worried me for a moment, no geography isn’t my strong point...yes I am gullible...

aimlesswanderer said...

Heh, bathers on Sydney beaches apparently ignored all warnings, and the "tsunami" was most underwhelming.

Mr. Salaryman said...

LL - Yeah, do you even call a 10-30cm "wave" for a "tsunami wave"? I feel that perspective has been lost somewhere around here...

Aimless - Well, it sounds like they had made a reasonable risk assessment!

Foggia said...

Well, they did have 1.5m in some places in the end, but the problem is not the wave itself when it is so little, it's more that the sea level actually rises for minutes or hours, and can wreck havoc in a harbor, for instance.

Then again the authorities themselves said they overreacted, putting alerts on TV all day long.

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