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Aerial photos taken over Japan have revealed the scale of devastation across dozens of suburbs and tens of thousands of homes and businesses. Hover over each satellite photo to view the devastation caused by the earthquake and tsunami.




  1. RexOfRome says:

    History shows again and again
    How nature points up the folly of men.

    Blue Öyster Cult

  2. JohnnyBGoodr says:

    Poor souls…

  3. 1873 Colt says:

    I saw those Boneheads on CNN.com claiming that “the island of Japan moved 8 feet”, showing a picture of the once dry coastline now a bit lower, (or the tide a bit higher) and submerged.

    Journalists never paid attention in any science classes, obviously.

    I also find it hard to swallow the claim that the earth’s axis shifted more than it may any other day.

  4. Ryan says:

    1873 colt

    Yeah, what the hell do those boneheads at the USGS know? It’s not like they went to school for years to do this or anything.

    And it’s not like the earth’s axis shifted during other large quakes.

    Oh wait, yes it did.

  5. Kiwini says:

    [quote]I saw those Boneheads on CNN.com claiming that “the island of Japan moved 8 feet”, showing a picture of the once dry coastline now a bit lower, (or the tide a bit higher) and submerged.

    Journalists never paid attention in any science classes, obviously.

    I also find it hard to swallow the claim that the earth’s axis shifted more than it may any other day.[/unquote]

    It wasn’t the journalists who were asleep in science class. Our planet’s surface moves in unexpected ways, despite our best intentions and your bone-headed denial/lack of awareness. Go take a look at the New Madrid event sometime.

  6. Uncle Dave says:

    #3: In your science classes, you apparently weren’t paying attention the day they taught about plate tectonics.

    The force of the earthquake was so strong that it moved the Japanese island of Honshu 8 feet to the east, said USGS geophysicist Ken Hudnut.

    It also sped up the Earth’s rotation by 1.6 microseconds, according to NASA.

  7. Cap'nKangaroo says:

    Anybody want to start a pool on when the first religious wing nut says this is God’s punishment of Japan for _____________________________? (inset some supposed slight or event from history)

  8. RSweeney says:

    CapnKangaroo,

    Any prediction as to when the first Christian groups will be there on-site setting up aid stations to help the victims?

    Too late, it was Friday.

    Doesn’t fit your prejudices does it?

  9. jbenson2 says:

    RSweeney, well done!

    That was an excellent put-down of the aptly named Cap’nKangaroo.

  10. UncDon says:

    I’m waiting for the announcement that a million people are gone. I think they’ve been severely underestimating losses.

  11. Cap'nKangaroo says:

    #8 and #9 RSweeney and jbenson2

    I made a more extensive response,but it appears the blog flagged it as spam. Maybe to many links.

    So, in short, did I say Christian? I don’t remember specifying Christian wing nuts, though there are more than a handful.

    1. Pat Robertson on Haiti
    2. Pat Robertson on Katrina/New Orleans
    3. Gerhard Maria Wagner on same (he is a Catholic Bishop)
    4. American evangelist John Hagee on Katrina/NO
    5. Al-Qaeda in Iraq on Katrina/NO
    6. Louis Farrakhan on Katina/NO
    7. Prominent ultra-Orthodox Israeli rabbi Ovadia Yosef on Katrina because of Bush II and his stance on Isreal/West Bank

    Maybe you reveal yourself as insecure and overly sensitive when you call me prejudiced.

    [I’ve given up trying to figure out how the spam filter ‘thinks,’ especially when it comes to regulars like you. Anyway, they’re back. — UD]

  12. Dallas says:

    I’m concerned for California as plate stress points in Chile and now Japan have been relieved. Seems logical thatore stress is now shifted to other area. I wonder if there’s a historical pattern of sorts.

  13. nobody says:

    Interesting account by a US programmer working in Japan

    http://kalzumeus.com/2011/03/13/some-perspective-on-the-japan-earthquake/

    Do we think California or British Columbia will act as well – when it happens here?

  14. deowll says:

    Washington and Oregon states have a similar thrust fault plate that could let go at any time.

    The New Madrid fault is also about due. Either of these can produce events on the same level of destruction and are much more dangerous than the California plates as bad as those are.

    My best guess is that _at least_ 20,000 people aren’t going to show up unless they show up dead. It’s a simple fact the people were still there when the wave hit. Some of the early video made that much clear to me and some of the survivors were saying the same thing. People were still there and half the town got washed away or some such.

    Recovery is going to mean major changes because some communities are now at or slightly below sea level. The more recent photos show buildings and debris are still in shallow water so it doesn’t take a genius to figure it out.

  15. Olo Baggins of Bywater says:

    That destruction is just horrific.

    The “Kashima in Minamisoma” pair of images are most interesting to me. Looks like the new bay matches up with an old bay.

  16. deowll says:

    #16 You are most likely correct. Once the stress is released the coast line sinks to approximately the old unstressed level and as the stress builds up the land is uplifted until a major shock releases the stress and the land returns to approximately it previous unstressed level. Of course the waxing and waning of the ice sheets can shift the water line up and down so maybe no cigar.

    As the region tries to recover the sinking of much of the coast means many locations are no longer going to be habitable. Many of the pictures of coastal towns suggest they are located in what once was and is again marshland.

    The salt water may mess up farming this year in flooded regions even if the salt water drains off at least until you have a few rains to flush the salt residue away. That means the farmers may make little to no revenue this year.

  17. t0llyb0ng says:

    I can hover & move the slider back & forth but there is no picture—just blank.

    What setting do I have turned off that I need to turn on? If anybody’s still around here.


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