Friday, March 11, 2011
Honshu tsunami
Video of the Honshu tsunami is the most awesome, frightening footage I have ever viewed of a natural destructive event, The aerial shots are spectacular; black wave of water & debris - some of it burning - rolling through a village & warehouse district, crushing & carrying away everything, then advancing across farmland - with cars racing out ahead of it. Yet, the water is acting, flowing, just as if you were standing on a flat beach at the edge of the ocean watching tiny wavelets lap over your feet. Scientists will be studying it for years to come. (It's at BBC, CNN, YouTube)
Prior to the 2004 Indian Ocean quake, actual tsunami film was very rare. I had searched for tsunami film & photos before the 2004 event. 2004 videos were shot mostly by amateurs, & some of them were really scary sea level views at Thai resorts. But some news helicopters got into the air for Honshu & captured the big picture, the unstoppable gigantic force. There's probably additional video from Japanese military & science agencies, & even satellites, we haven't seen yet.Why anyone would rush to the beaches of California late this morning to stand on sea level docks & jetties with cameras ready is just crazy. A few people were swept away.
The extent of the devastation in Japan will be even more shocking tomorrow than it is today.
"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." Thomas Jefferson
Prior to the 2004 Indian Ocean quake, actual tsunami film was very rare. I had searched for tsunami film & photos before the 2004 event. 2004 videos were shot mostly by amateurs, & some of them were really scary sea level views at Thai resorts. But some news helicopters got into the air for Honshu & captured the big picture, the unstoppable gigantic force. There's probably additional video from Japanese military & science agencies, & even satellites, we haven't seen yet.Why anyone would rush to the beaches of California late this morning to stand on sea level docks & jetties with cameras ready is just crazy. A few people were swept away.
The extent of the devastation in Japan will be even more shocking tomorrow than it is today.
Labels: in the news
