Tsunami in Japan, 3/11/11

[TxCat]

Additional links:

Map from Australia Predicting Nuclear Fallout is False

None of the claims circulating in this e-mail and map are true. Read through carefully.

New Blast Reported at Nuclear Facility

This is bad because they think it ruptured the inner steel containment vessel.

By Monday night, officials said that radiation readings around the plant reached 3,130 micro Sievert, the highest yet detected at the Daiichi facility since the quake and six times the legal limit. Radiation levels of that magnitude are considered elevated, but they are much lower than would be the case if one of the container vessels had been compromised.

Industry executives in touch with their counterparts in Japan Monday night grew increasingly alarmed about the risks posed by the No. 2 reactor.

...

The venting problems made it impossible for a time to administer the emergency remedy the plant operator had been using to control heat at the three crippled Daiichi reactors, all of which experienced failures in their electronic cooling systems. That remedy involves pumping in seawater to cool the fuel rods, then opening vents to release the resulting steam pressure that builds in the container vessel. When the vessel is depressurized, workers can inject more seawater, a process known as “feed and bleed.”

Japan's Earthquake Impacts Global Good Supplies

Global supply chains are under threat as Japanese auto makers, electronics manufacturers and steel producers shutter plants following the devastating earthquake and tsunami. Many Japanese factories, retailers and offices are bracing for power outages as a series of rolling blackouts are set to hit Tokyo and the surrounding area in coming weeks.

The effects of the production disruptions are expected to spread across Asia and around the globe, along with an immediate slowdown expected for the $5-trillion (U.S.) Japanese economy, the world’s third largest. In a heavily interconnected global trade and manufacturing system, a reduction or halt in the production of electronics or automotive components in Japan would constrain manufacturing in China and other Asian assembly hubs.

Japan Earthquake Aftermath

WARNING: Potentially upsetting material!

This is a photo gallery.

California Damages Upward of $40M

The damage in Santa Cruz Harbor alone is estimated at $17 million. The harbor is housing 58 commercial fishing vessels not able to leave the harbor for at least a week until it reopens, said Lisa Ekers, director of the Santa Cruz Port District. She said she was also working to get 60 people living on boats back into their homes.

Along the state's North Coast, officials at the heavily damaged Crescent City Harbor were still working on totaling the value of the damage. All told, 53 vessels were damaged, including 15 that sank, said Alexia Retallack, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Fish and Game.

The harbor, which provided berths for more than 100 boats, was virtually destroyed by the waves, she said, devastating the fishing industry in a town where the economy is largely dependent on the day's catch.

Radiation: When to Worry

This article provides information and insight about the potential impact of a nuclear meltdown at the Japan plants. The outlook is somewhat reassuring.

The levels of radiation and potential health consequences were significantly worse at Chernobyl than at Tokyo Electric Power Company's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan, which has has suffered numerous problems since Friday's earthquake and tsunami. .

The two accidents are not in the same realm, experts said.

And some good news:

Groups Use Texts, Social Media for Japan Donations

With 430,000 people displaced from their homes and another 24,000 stranded, disaster response right now is focused on providing necessities such as food, water and medical care.

But gathering donations of canned goods or bottled water in your neighborhood isn't the most efficient way to help

Kremlin Mending Fences With Japan

Willing to forget past rancor with one another, Russia is sending several of its nuclear experts and additional aid to Japan.

[GreenBlack]

I can't believe the damage and for of the tsunami the wave was overwhelming see all the thing swept away by this massive tidal wave.Seeing the video on the news it just amazed me and stunned me.

[TxCat]

More information and links:

A Non-Panic Driven Analysis of the Nuclear Accidents in Japan

This page updates frequently and you may need to refresh your browser to get the latest information.

UPDATE AS OF 10:20 A.M. EDT, TUESDAY, MARCH 15:
The level of radioactivity at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has been decreasing, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

At 8 p.m. EDT March 15, a dose rate of 1,190 millirem per hour was observed. Six hours later, the dose rate was 60 millirem per hour, IAEA said.

About 150 residents near the Fukushima Daiichi site have been checked for radiation and 23 have been decontaminated.

Japanese authorities have distributed potassium iodide tablets to evacuation center (see this page for more information on potassium iodide). If taken within several hours of ingesting radioactive iodine, potassium iodide can protect the thyroid gland.

According to this source, the catastrophe is being handled appropriately and may be under control soon.

How Close is Japan to Nuclear Disaster?

This article disagrees with the previous source. Several good answers to common questions being asked, good factual information.

Japan Rushes to Aid Survivors, Food and Water Scarce

The government of Japan is rushing doctors and aid supplies to thousands of people left without food, water and shelter in the aftermath of a catastrophic earthquake and tsunami that flooded swathes of northeast Japan, as fears of a nuclear meltdown permeate the country.

Radiation Exposure

The aftermath of the bombings of Japan clarified things with certainty, he said. An organization called the Radiation Effects Research Foundation was set up to study the survivors of the bombings. The foundation is a joint effort between the United States and Japan.

"Large numbers of people were exposed to high doses, and they were studied at some depth," McBride said. "We learned an enormous amount from that."

Because of those studies, researchers now have a good idea of just how much radiation it takes to produce particular health effects. For example, an exposure of 50,000 microsieverts (µSv)-- a unit that measures the biological effects of radiation -- can lead to nausea and fatigue within hours. A dose of 50,000 µSv causes hair loss within two or three weeks while a dose of 1 million µSv will cause hemorrhage. Death usually occurs at a dose of 4 million µSv.

India is Monitoring Its Food Imports

With radiation scare spreading across Asia following blasts in nuclear reactors in Japan due to last week's earthquake and tsunami, India is now keeping a close watch on food items imported from the island nation.

...

While India does not import primary food items from Japan, processed foods, sea food, oil seeds and seeds of vegetables such as cauliflower and cabbage come from there, a commerce ministry official said.

Besides, fruits such as citrus along with diary products, confectionery items, tobacco products also come from Japan.

Japanese Ports Severely Damaged, May Be Closed for Months

Japanese ports handling as much as 7 percent of the country's industrial output sustained major damage from last week's earthquake, disrupting global supply chains and causing billions of dollars in losses, industry officials said.

Japan has begun assessing the damage to port infrastructure, vital to receiving aid, commodities and goods for rebuilding areas devastated by the 8.9 magnitude quake and tsunami that are likely to have killed more than 10,000 people.

The box shipping industry was seen as the most strongly affected by the disaster as the destroyed ports handled containerized cargo for Hitachi Ltd., Daikin Industries, and dozens of other companies.

And finally, a bit of hope:

US Teams Join Search and Rescue

Elite search and rescue teams from Virginia and California are searching through rubble in northern Japan, hoping to find victims clinging to life four days after a magnitude 9 earthquake and tsunami swept away entire towns and their residents.

Hours after the historic earthquake rocked Japan Friday and a subsequent tsunami flooded coastal cities, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) deployed two urban search and rescue teams from California's Los Angeles County and Virginia's Fairfax County to Japan to assist with local relief efforts.

[pet]

Sad that all of the disasters are happening to the innocent countries (Japan, New Zealand, etc.). I've seen so many of the videos and photos. It just seems too scary. And then, the radiation crisis.

But the Japanese people stick together. Pointing out, there are no reports of looting or rioting. They seemed prepared for this, accepting it happened, and moving on to maintain their land (pretty efficiently).

[TxCat]

Sad that all of the disasters are happening to the innocent countries

There are non-innocent countries with citizens who do deserve mass destruction? I'm confused by your statement here. A natural disaster is a natural disaster. No one, no matter what country they live in, deserves to have their home, family, and everything else they know ripped from them. No one deserves to live in fear of radiation or further aftershocks. It's important to maintain perspective. Countries contain people, no different from you our I.

[Niverdia]

Sad that all of the disasters are happening to the innocent countries (Japan, New Zealand, etc.). I've seen so many of the videos and photos. It just seems too scary. And then, the radiation crisis.

But the Japanese people stick together. Pointing out, there are no reports of looting or rioting. They seemed prepared for this, accepting it happened, and moving on to maintain their land (pretty efficiently).

I'd dispute the "innoncence" bit (some Chinese and Koreans still hold grudges about WW2~), but pretty much what TxCat said. No country "deserves" natural disasters. Japan just happens to be in a tectonically active zone, so they have been generally prepared for situations like these, although probably not ones of this extent.

I find it positively disgusting when someone takes forces of nature as sort of a "revenge" for what someone did. This way, one could ask why Germany hasn't been hit by serious disasters? Russia? US for bombing Japan?

Also, when people claim that others only care for Japan because it's Japan/home of manga/etc., though I too am somewhat guilty of perhaps sympathizing more with the Japanese than with people from other countries that have been struck by disasters in the recent years... which is simply because I know a bit more about Japan than about Chile, New Zealand or Haiti.
It also disturbs me when someone says that they shouldn't receive outside help because Japan is a rich country. Um, no. Because you can afford something doesn't mean that you'll mobilize your resources / get done what needs to get done ASAP by yourself. I've read that the amount of casualties as consequence of the Kobe earthquake in 1995 was exactly because of poor military mobilization and refusal to accept help from other countries.

[Android]

Japan has been hit with earthquakes before, just this one is a lot more powerful than any others experienced in the past century. I believe this earthquake was a lesson of some sort. Most disasters that happen seem to have lessons. Maybe the lesson is to build more stable nuclear power-plants? I'm not sure.

EDIT: I'm sorry TxCat. I'll do more research next time before I make a statement.

[TxCat]

Japan has been hit with earthquakes before, just this one is a lot more powerful than any others experienced in the past century. I believe this earthquake was a lesson of some sort. Most disasters that happen seem to have lessons. Maybe the lesson is to build more stable nuclear power-plants? I'm not sure.

Please read some of the factual links and information given in the thread before making such statements. Please do not make statements, however vague, which imply some sort of racial or economic blame. It was a natural disaster. No blame to assign. The only 'fault' involved is the geological one which happened to move!

[DoomedDaphnia]

Japan has been hit with earthquakes before, just this one is a lot more powerful than any others experienced in the past century. I believe this earthquake was a lesson of some sort. Most disasters that happen seem to have lessons. Maybe the lesson is to build more stable nuclear power-plants? I'm not sure.

I don't think that any nuclear power plant would have been able to withstand a 9.0 magnitude earthquake. Then again, I'm almost certain that people will use this as grounds to not build nuclear plants even though they're normally safe if maintained properly and are good for powering areas with high populations.

[Insanity]

I know there are members of Magistream who live in these areas. Let's hope they're all ok.

Me and Pink used to live there. Our relatives still lived there and now they're all mostly dead.

It makes me so mad when people say that Japan 'deserved it' for bombing Pearl Harbor. Really? That was a loong time ago, and the US already got them back for that. In my opinion, they were really doing us a favor by bringing the war to our attention and saving the other countries that had been invaded.
Woops. A little off topic :tard:
And some other people said Japan was 'faking it'. I'm pretty sure you can't 'fake' and earthquake, let alone one with a 9.0 magnitude followed by a tsunami.