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Pacific 1,000+ Killed In A Major Tsunami After 8.9 Japan Earthquake

Jan 6, 2005
3,450
3,762
Metro-Vancouver, B.C., Canada
LATEST NEWS: Over 1,000 people dead & hundreds missing!

60 killed in major tsunami after 8.9 Japan quake

AP | Mar 11, 2011, 06.34pm IST

TOKYO: A ferocious tsunami spawned by one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded slammed Japan's eastern coast on Friday, killing at least 60 people as it swept away boats, cars and homes while widespread fires burned out of control. Tsunami warnings blanketed the entire Pacific, as far away as South America, Canada, Alaska and the entire US West Coast.The magnitude 8.9 offshore quake unleashed a 23-foot (7-meter) tsunami and was followed by more than 20 aftershocks for hours, most of them of more than magnitude 6.0.

Police said at least 60 people were killed and 56 were missing. The death toll was likely to continue climbing given the scale of the disaster.

Dozens of cities and villages along a 1,300-mile (2,100-kilometer) stretch of coastline were shaken by violent tremors that reached as far away as Tokyo, hundreds of miles (kilometers) from the epicenter.

"The earthquake has caused major damage in broad areas in northern Japan," Prime Minister Naoto Kan said at a news conference.

Japan issued a state of emergency at a nuclear power plant after its cooling system had a mechanical failure. Trouble was reported at two other nuclear plants as well, but there was no radiation leak at any.

Chief cabinet secretary Yukio Edano said the measure at the nuclear power plant in Fukushima was a precaution and that the facility was not in immediate danger. ( Japan nuclear plants shut after quake )

Even for a country used to earthquakes, this one was of horrific proportions because of the tsunami that crashed ashore, swallowing everything in its path as it surged several miles (kilometers) inland before retreating.

Large fishing boats and other sea vessels rode high waves into the cities, slamming against overpasses or scraping under them, snapping power lines along the way. Upturned and partially submerged vehicles were seen bobbing in the water. Ships anchored in ports crashed against each other. ( US widens tsunami warning to most of Pacific )

A tsunami warning was extended to a number of Pacific, Southeast Asian and Latin American nations, including Japan, Russia, Indonesia, New Zealand and Chile. In the Philippines, authorities said they expect a 3-foot (1-meter) high tsunami. ( Major tsunamis in the world )

In downtown Tokyo, large buildings shook violently and workers poured into the street for safety. TV footage showed a large building on fire and bellowing smoke in the Odaiba district of Tokyo. The tremor bent the upper tip of the iconic Tokyo Tower, a 333-meter (1,093-foot) steel structure inspired by the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...-after-89-Japan-quake/articleshow/7678342.cms
 

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spnadmin

1947-2014 (Archived)
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Jun 17, 2004
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The force of nature - horrible and destructive - awesome and humbling. Yes, prayers for them. I cannot imagine their suffering at this time
 
Jan 6, 2005
3,450
3,762
Metro-Vancouver, B.C., Canada
BBC NEWS

12 March 2011 Last updated at 13:08 ET

Huge blast at Japan nuclear power plant

A powerful explosion has hit a nuclear power station in north-eastern Japan which was badly damaged in Friday's devastating earthquake.

A building housing a reactor was destroyed, but the authorities said the reactor itself was intact inside its steel container.

The Japanese government has sought to play down fears of a meltdown at the Fukushima plant.

It says radiation levels around the stricken plant have now fallen.

A huge rescue and relief operation is under way in the region after the earthquake and subsequent tsunami, which are thought to have killed more than 1,000 people.

Tokyo Electric Power said four of its workers had been injured in Saturday's blast at Fukushima, 250km (155 miles) north of Tokyo, but that their injuries were not life-threatening.

An evacuation zone around the damaged nuclear plant has been extended to 20km (12.4 miles) from 10km, and a state of emergency declared.

The government has urged residents to remain calm and is preparing to distribute iodine to anyone affected.

Tests showed at least three patients evacuated from a hospital near the plant had been exposed to radiation, public broadcaster NHK quoted local government officials as saying. They were among a group of people waiting outside the hospital for rescue helicopters when the explosion hit the plant.

Government spokesman Yukio Edano said the force of the explosion had destroyed the concrete roof and walls of a building around the plant's number one reactor, but a steel container encasing the reactor had not been ruptured.

Mr Edano said radiation levels around the plant had fallen after the explosion. He added that sea water was being pumped into the site to lower temperatures.

Before the explosion, Japan's nuclear agency had said that radioactive caesium and iodine had been detected near the number one reactor. The agency said this could indicate that containers of uranium fuel inside the reactor may have begun melting.

Air and steam, with some level of radioactivity, was earlier released from several of the reactors at both plants in an effort to relieve the huge amount of pressure building up inside.

Scenes of devastation The tsunami that followed the 8.9-magnitude earthquake wreaked havoc along a huge stretch of on Japan's north-east coast, sweeping far inland and devastating a number of towns and villages.

A BBC correspondent in the coastal city of Sendai, in Miyagi prefecture, says the scenes of devastation there are astonishing - giant shipping containers have been swept inland and smashed against buildings, and fires are still burning close to the harbour.

Police said between 200 and 300 bodies were found in just one ward of the city.

The town of Rikuzentakada, in Iwate prefecture, was reported as largely destroyed and almost completely submerged. NHK reported that soldiers had found up to 400 bodies there.

NHK reports that in the port of Minamisanriku in Miyagi prefecture, the authorities say that about 7,500 people were evacuated to 25 shelters after Friday's quake but they have been unable to contact the town's other 10,000 inhabitants.

A local official in the town of Futaba, in Fukushima prefecture, said more than 90% of the houses in three coastal communities had been washed away by the tsunami.

"The tsunami was unbelievably fast," said Koichi Takairin, a 34-year-old truck driver who was inside his four-ton rig when the wave hit Sendai. "Smaller cars were being swept around me. All I could do was sit in my truck."

Tens of thousands of troops backed by ships and helicopters have been deployed on rescue and relief missions. More than 215,000 people are said to be living in 1,350 temporary shelters in five prefectures.

International disaster relief teams are being sent to Japan, with the United Nations helping to co-ordinate the operation.

President Barack Obama has pledged US assistance. One US aircraft carrier that was already in Japan will help with rescue and relief efforts, and a second is on its way.

Japan's worst previous earthquake was of 8.3 magnitude and killed 143,000 people in Kanto in 1923. A magnitude 7.2 quake in Kobe killed 6,400 people in 1995.

source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12720219
 

spnadmin

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Jun 17, 2004
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19,219
12 March 2011 Last updated at 10:24 ET


Timeline: Japan power plant explosion

The Fukushima nuclear power station has been rocked by a huge explosion in one of its six reactor units. Amid growing concerns about radioactive material spreading into the surrounding environment, BBC News looks at the events that led to the blast.
Explosion at Fukushima power station

Friday, 11 March: 1446 local time (0546 GMT)

The 8.9-magnitude earthquake strikes off the coast of Honshu island at a depth of about 24km. The tremor triggers the automatic shutdown of 11 of the nation's nuclear power reactors, including reactor units 1,2 and 3 at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant. Reactor units 4, 5 and 6 were undergoing routine inspections, so were not operating.

The quake causes the power station to be cut off from the national electricity grid. The plant's operators, Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco), find that the diesel-powered emergency generators for units 1 and 2 are not working and notify government officials.

1600: Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (Nisa) sets up an emergency headquarters to gather information on potential damage to the nation's 55 nuclear reactors.

1930: Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano announces that Prime Minister Naoto Kan has declared a "nuclear emergency status". Officials reassure people that this is standard procedure in events like this and no radioactive material has been detected in the area surrounding the power station.

Fukushima Daiichi power station

There are six reactors known as 'units' in the power station.

Unit 1

* 439 MW Boiling Water Reactor (BWR); opened in 1971
* Automatically shut down
* Water level decreasing
* Pressure release implemented
* Explosion observed with unknown effect

Unit 2

* 760 MW BWR; opened in 1974
* Automatically shut down
* Water level lower but steady
* Preparations for pressure release

Unit 3

* 760 MW BWR; opened in 1976
* Automatically shut down
* Preparations for pressure release

Unit 4

* 760 MW BWR, opened in 1978
* Shut for periodic inspection

Unit 5

* 760 MW BWR; opened in 1978
* Shut for periodic inspection

Unit 6

* 1,067 MW BWR; opened in 1979
* Shut for periodic inspection

2100: Residents within a 3km radius of the power station are told to leave their homes, while those within a 10km radius are told to stay at home in case it is necessary to extend the evacuation area.

Following the automatic shutdown of the reactors, and the failure of emergency generators, pressure in the unit builds up as a result of the pumps in the cooling system not working properly.

The pressure is the result of the reactors residual "decay" heat causing the coolant, which is not being circulated, to evaporate.

The consequent increase in pressure in the coolant circuit can be controlled by pressure release valves, but this leads to an increase in pressure within the reactor building containment chamber.

Tepco says that the pressure inside reactor unit 1 is more than twice normal levels.

Saturday, 12 March: 0530 local time

In order to release some of the pressure inside the reactor unit, the decision is taken to vent some of the steam, which contains a small amount of radioactive material, into the air.

0819: An alarm alerts workers that the position of one control rod (used to halt the reactor) is unclear (whether it is fully inserted into the reactor or outside the reactor, allowing it to continue generating heat)

1009: Tepco confirms it has released a small amount of vapour into the atmosphere to reduce pressure in reactor unit 1.

1043: Control rod alarm stops, and all rods are confirmed as being fully inserted.

1058: In order to release some of pressure inside reactor unit 2, some steam was vented into the air. Again, this contains a small amount of radioactive material.

1530: TV cameras capture a massive explosion at the power station. The pictures appear to show that the outer structure of one of four buildings at the plant has collapsed. Tokyo Electric Power Co says four workers have been injured in the blast.

2000: Uncertainty surrounds what was the actual cause of the explosion, and what damaged was caused by the blast.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano confirms that the concrete building surrounding the steel reactor container has collapsed as a result of the blast, but the steel containment chamber itself had not been damaged.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12722719
 

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