The force of nature
March 31st, 2011 at 11:00 am by David FarrarThis is amazing footage, from the Daily Telegraph:
The footage shows the devastation wrought to the fishing community of Kesennuma by a 33ft tsunami triggered by Japan’s strongest ever earthquake.
The port, around 300 miles north-east of Tokyo and formerly home to 74,000 people, was left in ruins after the 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami struck on on 11 March 2011.
You really need to watch this. At first things don’t look too bad as the first wave hits and a few cars start floating away. But as the water volume increase and increases it turns into an unstoppable force which rips buildings apart.
Related posts:
- Various thoughts on Japan
- Sea Shepherd’s Watson says tsunami was divine punishment
- Mother Nature
- Editorials 2 March 2010
March 31st, 2011 at 11:08 am
Gets my vote for most disturbing footage.
Vote:March 31st, 2011 at 11:15 am
there’s a lot to be said for building some tsunami resistant tall buildings to allow people to escape and wait it out until the inundation recedes.
Do any of our cities in NZ at risk of Tsunami have any such refuge buildings?
Vote:March 31st, 2011 at 11:21 am
What I find interesting about these videos is that even inadequately sized walls delay the flooding for a vital minute or two and make the initial speed and volume of water far less than it would otherwise have been.
That could well give people time to get away.
The footage from Thailand of the Boxing Day 2004 tsunami showed a powerful wave smacking into things. All the various footage from Japan shows something much more like a tide coming in — higher than usual, and relentless, but comparatively slow and gentle. Were the quakes and tsunamis fundamentally different, or is it because of the protections that the Japanese do already have in place?
Vote:March 31st, 2011 at 11:21 am
wow… I’d be shitting bricks up there.
Vote:March 31st, 2011 at 11:22 am
That is unbelieveable.
Vote:And there were walls designed to hold back tsunami.
What would be even more horrifyng is watching the water roll back.
March 31st, 2011 at 11:23 am
Flippin’ heck! That’s frightening.
Vote:March 31st, 2011 at 11:25 am
The force of nature doesn’t give a stuff about right or left, it’s only a lottery of right place at the wrong time, or wrong place.
Vote:March 31st, 2011 at 11:30 am
Like other graphic footage of this terrible day, it puts into perspective the western media’s obsession with a nuclear power station that all but withstood the same quake and similar-sized tsunami, and in which nobody has died, unlike the many thousands who perished in places such as Kesennuma.
Vote:March 31st, 2011 at 11:44 am
Caused by carbon emissions and climate change eh.
Vote:March 31st, 2011 at 11:55 am
That is amazing, damn that had to be scary being up there watching other buildings being swept away.
P.S. A good point BH on the walls, regarding the impact wasn’t Thailand caused by an underwater collapse, according to this report the Japan one was caused by the earth literally moving over a wide area http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12716432
Vote:March 31st, 2011 at 12:39 pm
It’s hard to tell, but there may have been some people on the roofs of the smaller buildings that were swept away. God – could you imagine it – seeing what looks like a moderate wave come in, and then just seeing that water level rise and rise. Amazing that it eventually wiped out basically everything but the two very tall buildings.
Vote:March 31st, 2011 at 12:54 pm
OK so you’ve witnessed an awesome display of the power of nature……..
……and the UN ,the Greens and Nick Smith think they can control nature.The can’t control nature but they’re sure doing their best to impose controls on us. More taxes please.
Vote:March 31st, 2011 at 1:01 pm
Crikey dick!! That was scary as! Infused has got it….shitting bricks alright.
Vote:March 31st, 2011 at 1:07 pm
The scary thing is, measures can be taken against the earth moving, a volcano erupting, or a tropical cyclone approaching, but nothing can be done to stop the ocean when it comes at you like this. A wall couldn’t be practically built high enough or strong enough to resist such a tremendous amount of energy.
Water weighs 1 ton per cubic m, it is unstoppable when on the march like this.
Here is another scary video of the tsunami:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ikus_TEaGI
It is astonishing how quickly the water rises.
Vote:March 31st, 2011 at 1:16 pm
Spotted this on the HotAir site several days ago and was showing it to my older kids as an education in general.
The strange thing is that having read about tsunamis for years and even having seen the videos of the Boxing Day 2004 tsunami, I still had this impression of a giant wave, as a result of constantly seeing the generic phrase: The tsunami, an X-m high wave, smashed ashore ……., printed in all manner of media, from newspapers to encyclopedias.
But of course, even though technically a wave (a very long form one), it’s nothing at all like the waves we experience all our lives at lakes or beaches. It’s absolutely not as if a 6m high wave, scary as that is, smashes over you – and passes by. It’s really that the entire ocean rises to the reported height (and higher) and then runs at speed over the land for many long minutes.
Perhaps writers, scientists and any person who describes them from now on could try and use a different phraseology that better conveys what it is than the word “wave”? Perhaps we just leave it to the video.
Vote:March 31st, 2011 at 1:18 pm
Sitting here in an earthquake-prone central Wellington building on reclaimed land, I find that rather sobering.
But as usual if you think hard enough, there’s a very simple solution. Simply get Celia and the Council to put up a sign near the airport declaring Wellington Tsunami-Free.
Vote:March 31st, 2011 at 1:24 pm
That is incredible footage. Those people on the roof of the building must have been thinking this is it….ours is next to go
Vote:March 31st, 2011 at 1:33 pm
Given the demographics of Auckland (having the second highest number of residents born overseas), Peters wasn’t necessarily wrong about his “tsunami of migrants statement and having been to Wellington recently and looking up at all the new buildings (unnecessary development)I think “boy! someone made some money out of that!”… Could be they came to milk cows though?
Vote:March 31st, 2011 at 2:22 pm
Whenever I visit Huka Falls I mull over the idea of going through the falls in a kayak. Then I sober up and conclude that it’d be just crazy because there is way too much water, it is flowing with enormous relentless energy, and my chances of survival would be slim.
I get the same feeling looking at the tsunami videos. When you’re in whitewater WITH houses floating past then your chances of survival are not good.
Vote:March 31st, 2011 at 3:18 pm
@Tom Hunter,
My thoughts exactly, while technically a wave, for all intents and purposes when it is approaching shore it is an extremely high and fast moving tide of x metres that will engulf all low lying areas, rather than a wave that will break and receed
Vote:March 31st, 2011 at 6:11 pm
Great education images. I assume this was the outcome of estuary and inlet geography and is so different to the more open ocean result from the Boxing day one in SE Asia. No sign of the wall like wave but here was the more tidal type wave, both very destructive.
Vote:April 1st, 2011 at 10:23 am
Enough Disaster porn.
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