And sorry, I should add to that last message (836) that I saw somewhere that the force of the quake at Fukushima -- what actually hit it, as opposed to the magnitude 9 over the epicenter -- was around M7.
Re M Bachmeier comments in Post 830:
For anyone who's in any doubt about what a strong ground wave looks like, how fast it travels, and what it can do to objects of any weight, it's worth looking at a rather grisly video of an underground H-bomb test for Project Cannikin in Amchitka, Alaska...
Just a plea to all contributing to this excellent thread to pls keep posting until we are through this and situation is stabilized with some confidence. The combination of expertise, sheer detail, and sharp questions is my reality check. Thanks especially to Astronuc, of course, but also to e.g...
And, in case it's any help, story of same with diagram of unmanned truck and seawater pump unit in The Japan Times:
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110320a1.html
Aimed at cooling spent MOX in no. 3 pool. We live in hope. (Apols if someone has already posted link -- I checked...
I've been following the discussion (as a lurker) about the hole in the side of no. 4 bldg and previously wasn't convinced. Now I am -- something is coming out of that hole and seems to have reached the pipe at the bottom. The photos/grabs from different days show this growth very clearly.
I...