Earthquake in Japan!

[k woo]

YAMAHA MOTOR CORPORATION U.S.A.
Our counterparts in Japan have told us Yamaha’s facilities have not suffered any damage from the 8.9 magnitude earthquake that hit Japan. We are grateful for this news, but cannot be entirely sure of the quake’s impact on global logistics. We are not anticipating any disruptions at this time. In the meantime, our thoughts and prayers are with the people and families who have been directly impacted.
Yesterday at 12:39pm · Like ·


I was surprised how fast Yamaha posted this on facebook yesterday. I didn't expect to hear anything from Yamaha Corporate USA for some time.

Japan, we are with you.

 

[switchback]

I guess Facebook is good for something:
[list type=decimal]
[*]Political uprisings
[*]Checking up on Yamaha
[/list]

 

[ptfjjj]

I guess Facebook is good for something:
[list type=decimal]
[*]Political uprisings
[*]Checking up on Yamaha
[/list]

+1 I still don't have a facebook account. Haven't really seen the need.

 

[2XADV]

I work with Japan and have many friends there in the Tokyo area and south of Tokyo. All of them seem to be safe. One of my friends from Tokyo today said:

"Due to those down electric power company cannot supply sufficient power in east and north, and tonight government and power company declared they will partially shutdown power supply in east and north (3hours for each area, I hope we will not have impact...)
I think this counter action will be continuous more than few weeks..."

Tough times in Japan for factories if they are losing power everyday.

 

[keeponriding]

I work a lot with teenagers... since FB is their preferred for of communication, I was kind of required.

I still don't know how to use it, but purely by happenstance, I've caught up with old friends from High School I haven't heard from in 40 years.

I also find it a very convenient way to keep track of my two college-age kids...."Solange, what's a beer bong? And why are you using one?"

Meanwhile, that is good news about Yamaha...as devastating as the earthquake/tsunami/meltdown is, Japan does need to maintain exports or risk complete economic collapse.

Nissan, Honda and Toyota all have major manufacturing facilities in the north...I would expect huge disruptions in supply chin for those companies....along with impact on the Japanese economy beyond the cost of response and clean-up.

 

[Motorcyclisted]

+1 I still don't have a facebook account. Haven't really seen the need.

+2

 

[Kevhunts]

The latest news I just heard was they have 6 (of 55) reactors with issues. US officals state the situation is at level 4 (Chernobyl was a 7).
Also rumors about one of their volcanoes has become active.

Toyota, Honda, & Nissan have shut down operations country wide. No word on Yamaha, Suzuki, or Kawasaki but I wouldn't be surprised if they shut down too.

I hope & pray they can get those nukes under control or we will all be in a bad way!

 

[switchback]

Heard this morning that all the auto makers are pretty much shut down. Even if there is no factory damage, parts cannot reach the factories and products cannot get out. I imagine it is the same with Yamaha. There are fears of a stock market crash tomorrow. Getting tired of all this short sighted investing BS.

 

[Ollie]

From what I've read no one is expected to return to work (private sector?) or school until notified otherwise. I think this was for the entire country, due, in large, to unreliable electrical services. What a mess! Even if power were available and consistent how could you have a productive day at work without being distracted by everything that's going on? I know I couldn't.

The media also seem determined to treat this like a horse race. They say the sky is falling, then they bring in an expert to say the opposite, then when the expert's time is up, and he leaves, they say the sky is falling again-round and round we go. I've about had it with intrigue.....clearly, the world is interesting enough without it.

 

[Checkswrecks]

My heart goes out to Japanese friends/colleagues and I can't imagine being in a city in that country without reliable full-time electricity.


You wake up in an apartment high over street level, no electrically pumped water is going up the building, find a breakfast that depended for delivery on an electrically based traffic grid, hopefully just have to stop at the 9th floor of your own building to drop off the kids, down to get on the electric subway to get to work/school, and work/school will be on the 54th floor somewhere else. Once there, the air conditioning / water / lights / computers / phones are all electric, too.


So it's understandable why the country is essentially on stand-down till the impact can be assessed, and just basic life will be changing.

 

[rem]

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/03/13/world/asia/satellite-photos-japan-before-and-after-tsunami.html

There is a vertical line in the middle of each pic. Click and hold to move it to see before and after. RR

 

[Koinz]

It's really unbelieveable to see the devastation.

 

[RedRocker]

Thanks for the pics. :'(

 

[mobyfubar]

That's terrifying. I cannot imagine what it's going to be like for the people there.

 

[Koinz]

I work for a Utility company and our primary generation is Nuclear, so you can imagine our CEO is clearly concerned about the events unfolding in Japan.
Some good information about the details of the Nuclear issues can be found here. http://www.nei.org/

 

[tahoebrian]

It's hard to watch the displaced older folks - many seem to still be in a daze.

I hope Yamaha can stay the course. They have already kicked Tenere delivery out to early August - if you ordered after March 1st.
TahoeBrian

 

[toompine]

I have a structural engineer friend, a world expert in seismic design by the name of Kit Miyamoto. He and his family were visting Japan and on a train when the earthquake hit. They were stuck on the train for 12 hours. I just got an update from him and he is in a van headed for Sendai now to survey the damage and assist were he can. Normal resposne from Kit, whenever there is a major earthquake anywhere in the world he is called in or volunteers to go survey damage and gather data so that we can do a better job of teaching people how to build with a higher degree of safety.

 

[ptfjjj]

I have a structural engineer friend, a world expert in seismic design by the name of Kit Miyamoto. He and his family were visting Japan and on a train when the earthquake hit. They were stuck on the train for 12 hours. I just got an update from him and he is in a van headed for Sendai now to survey the damage and assist were he can. Normal resposne from Kit, whenever there is a major earthquake anywhere in the world he is called in or volunteers to go survey damage and gather data so that we can do a better job of teaching people how to build with a higher degree of safety.

An example of how resiliant the Japanese people are. While he could have just left it for others to deal with, he chooses to immerse himself into a seemingly insurmountable problem.

 

[2XADV]

There was a 6.x Earthquake at Mt. Fuji and now some are worried that Fuji may go active after a 120 year dormant phase. This would be a bad thing for many (including the Yamaha main office where they are located)!

 

[switchback]

Reading some threads over at ADV, it is a shame at the shortsightedness/selfishness of some of the folks who ordered a Tenere. A delay of a month or two is causing some to jump ship. I would go put another couple grand down if I knew it would help.