Skip to main content

Despite tsunami and quake devastation, Japan remains online

japan-tsunami
Image used with permission by copyright holder

As Japan continues to suffer from ongoing damage, devastation and heartache for lost and departed loved ones caused by Friday’s monstrous 8.9-magnitude earthqauke and the resulting tsunami, one thing remains constant: an Internet connection..

According to All Things Digital, “only a small fraction” of Japan’s Internet connections were affected by the horrific wrath wrought upon the island nation by Mother Nature. Because of this fortunate happenstance, the country’s vital communication systems have stayed constant, enabling those in Japan to communicate with one another and the world at large.

Japan’s Internet health report comes via research firm Renesys, which shows that of the 6,000 links connecting Japan’s Internet to the rest of the world, only about 100 were temporarily disabled. And, as Renesys’ James Crowie notes on the company blog, “that number has actually decreased in the hours since the event.”.

Internet service providers in Japan have, of course, reported “congrestion and drops in traffic” due to the quake and tsunami, says Crowie. But most websites are online and operational, “and the Internet is available to support critical communications.”.

The Internet situation in Japan is vastly better than that of the 2006 Taiwan earthquake, which caused a significant number of the underwater cables that carry the Internet to break, resulting in major disruptions..

Survival of Japan’s Internet, says Cowie, is most likely due to the “dense web of domestic and international connectivity” built by Japanese engineers “that is among the richest and most diverse on earth.”.

While Internet connectivity stands strong, the situation in Japan remains dire..

As many as 10,000 people — more than half the population — in the decimated seaside town of Minamisanriku are missing. And the death toll througout the country has climed to 680, with many more still lost. Countless more are homeless or displaced.

The city of Sendai, located nearest the epicenter of the quake, lies awash in the deadly waters of the tsunami that reached as far as three miles inland. Parts of that city continue to burn.

As the country begins recovery attempts from Friday’s disaster, another calamity looms at the damaged nuclear power plant in Fukushima city, where workers flushed the reactor with sea water on Saturday in an attempt to prevent a complete meltdown.

Japan’s government has evacuated a 12 mile radius around Fukushima due to dangers of radiation contamination. Some have already been contaminated. And the panic caused by a potential nuclear catastrophe has left officials and residents alike with  additional hardship on top of disaster.

Andrew Couts
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Features Editor for Digital Trends, Andrew Couts covers a wide swath of consumer technology topics, with particular focus on…
How to change your language in Google Chrome on desktop
Chrome OS

Google Chrome supports a wide range of languages. While it'll default to English in most cases, there's nothing stopping you from changing its settings and displaying pages in Spanish, French, or dozens of other languages.

Changing your default language in Chrome takes only a few seconds, and the technique used is the same across Windows and Mac. Aside from changing your language, note that Chrome now gives you the option to automatically translate pages written in another language – making it easy to read content from around the globe.

Read more
23 of the best Netflix hacks, tips, and tricks
The Netflix home screen.

Netflix is one of the most popular streaming platforms for all things movies and TV shows. Home to an immense library of titles, the Netflix archive is constantly changing and evolving, and so are the many ways you can use your Netflix account. 

For instance, did you know you can access region-locked Netflix shows and flicks by using a VPN? Or that you can disable that pesky Autoplay feature? There are tons of Netflix hacks, tips, and tricks out there, so we’ve gone ahead and rounded up all of our favorites! 
Expand your streaming with a VPN

Read more
How to make a GIF from a YouTube video
woman sitting and using laptop

Sometimes, whether you're chatting with friends or posting on social media, words just aren't enough -- you need a GIF to fully convey your feelings. If there's a moment from a YouTube video that you want to snip into a GIF, the good news is that you don't need complex software to so it. There are now a bunch of ways to make a GIF from a YouTube video right in your browser.

If you want to use desktop software like Photoshop to make a GIF, then you'll need to download the YouTube video first before you can start making a GIF. However, if you don't want to go through that bother then there are several ways you can make a GIF right in your browser, without the need to download anything. That's ideal if you're working with a low-specced laptop or on a phone, as all the processing to make the GIF is done in the cloud rather than on your machine. With these options you can make quick and fun GIFs from YouTube videos in just a few minutes.
Use GIFs.com for great customization
Step 1: Find the YouTube video that you want to turn into a GIF (perhaps a NASA archive?) and copy its URL.

Read more