Earthquaaaake!

[bill]

I'm in Osaka...nowhere near the epicenter of this quake, but my building was rolling all over the place. No injuries here, and my family is safe.

I fear for all the people up north of Tokyo. That must be awful.

[PaulH]

Caught a few minutes of it on the news this morning
News over here was focusing on the tsunami rolling across land, what the hell do you do when there's no high ground and that thing is comes towards you

[Gurtie]

watching the news is horrible (and before someone else says it, I don't mean anywhere near as horrible as living through it, of course).

Glad to hear you're OK Bill. Sounds like all of Japan is going to feel the impact indirectly at least given the transport and communication issues it's causing. 

[dogboy]

Just caught wind and though of you Bill.

Looks grim. Good luck.

[Brad]

Glad you are okay Bill.  Looks very grim for the people in N. Japan.

[littleman]

Glad you are okay Bill.  We have tsunami warnings all the way at the west coast of the US.

[Leona]

Glad you and your family are okay Bill. How about you Dogboy, aren't you on the west coast, are you as well littleman?

[ergophobe]

Glad to hear you and your are doing well.

The pictures are staggering as is the fact that the wave was moving at 500 miles per hour toward the US.

Any sailors out there know what this means for any vessels caught out in it? My understanding is that a tsunami at sea is a large, broad wave, so I assume boats would just float above it. But just wondering.

[Gurtie]

I think boats at sea are ok, unless they're unfortunate enough to be over a major blip in the seabed which can do nasty things. Its only when a wave finds a blip in the seabed called landfall that it really wreaks havoc.

[Rumbas]

Phew, good to know you're ok over there Bill.

[dogboy]

No, I'm on the East coast of Florida, all's well here.

LM is in the Bay Area, so I don't think he should have any issues either, since the bay has a tight 'neck'.

...looks just terrible over in Japan though.

[dogboy]

...maybe I spoke too soon?

"Large waves also hit the U.S. western coast, shaking loose boats that weren't moved in time and tearing apart wooden docks in at least two California harbors."

[rcjordan]

I was worried about you, Bill. Glad you're ok.

[dogboy]

On the central coast in Santa Cruz, loose fishing boats crashed into one another and docks broke away from the shore. The water rushed out as quickly as it poured in, leaving the boats tipped over in mud.

Some surfers ignored evacuation warnings and took advantage of the waves ahead of the tsunami.

"The tides are right, the swell is good, the weather is good, the tsunami is there," said William Hill, an off-duty California trooper. "We're going out."

[4Eyes]

glad you and yours are Ok, Bill