Aftermath of Tsunami
S. Korean crews joining the rescue operation
Posted on 03/15/2011 8:13:35 AM PDT by SE Mom
Latest news from Japan:
From the BBC-
1456: Tepco says it may start pouring water from a helicopter over Fukushima Daiichi's reactor four in the next few days, to cool the spent-fuel pool.
1439: A 30km (18 mile) no-fly zone is in place around Fukushima, says the IAEA.
1436: The IAEA says Monday's blast at Fukushima may have affected the integrity of the containment vessel - there are fears of more serious radioactive leaks if happen.
1435: Following earlier reports, it appears there has been more than one strong aftershock in Japan - AP reports two tremors measuring over 6.0 within three minutes of each other.
Twitter-
-US Geological Survey counts 451 aftershocks since the initial earthquake struck Japan Friday. 238 of them registered magnitude 5.0 or more.
-Despite situations in Japan & Libya, spksmn Jay Carney says Pres Obama's 5-day trip to Brazil, Chile & El Salvador starting Fri night is on.
-FLASH: More U.S. military personnel in Japan testing positive for low-levels of radiation, relief missions to continue - Navy 18 minutes ago via web
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=13140396
More US Relief Crews Exposed to Radiation in Japan
Navy sending some ships to other side of Japan as more relief crews exposed to radiation
A category 5 hurricane is heading towards the NW USA coastline..pushing a huge storm surge..Just before it crossed the coast, there is a 8.9 earthquake just offshore..so we have the storm surge ATOP the tsunami...heck..the water could reach Spokane...
TEPCO’s shady history
In 2002, Tokyo Electric Co. admitted to falsifying its records of nuclear inspections and hiding the facts for more than a decade. Ironically, the information came from a whistleblower at GE, which helped build the plants and has contracted with TEPCO on operational matters for decades.
Also -
GREAT map here showing all current alerts - scroll over bottom for icon descriptions http://nhss.cr.usgs.gov/
Thanks - I’m so glad we have everything in one place, breaking news was getting lost.
Simon Winchester, author of “Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded”
http://www.amazon.com/Krakatoa-World-Exploded-August-1883/dp/0066212855
Good point. Some of those rubble piles are ten feet thick, and go on for miles. No way are they going to be able to get to all of the corpses before they begin rotting.
How on earth are they going to deal with that? Chemical disinfectant sprayed over the rubble piles? Burning?
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110315p2a00m0na018000c.html
Tokyo supermarkets stripped bare as hoarding breaks out across region
Tokyo supermarkets stripped bare as hoarding breaks out across region
Supermarkets in the Tokyo region have been stripped bare of food and other daily necessities in the wake of the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake, producing shortages across the national capital region.
Hoarding was apparently sparked by the quake and tsunami damage done to factories, as well as difficulty in obtaining raw materials caused by chaos in the distribution network, and the prioritization of the devastated northeast in the provision of basic supplies.
Let’s not forget DDT.
The Japanese cultural norms of passivity and blind acceptance of statements made by those in authority is in the process of severe rupture, no pun intended. When people are pushed to the brink, they demand straight talk and stop believing the empty statements of leaders. The Japanese government has badly handled the nuclear incident and each new development increases the sense of panic. Look for Japanese immigration to the US and other western countries to increase exponentially in the coming months as people look for safe haven.
Here's one that's even scarier.... the Mayan apocalypse of 2012 occurs, and the only thing standing between humanity and extinction are the acting skills of John Cusak.
We all know where the debris went from the 1906 San Fransisco earthquake.
I just read that of the 230,000 killed in the Indonesian tsunami, that only 184,000 bodies were found.
Truly frightening...and impossible.
In my 40+ years of life, a Pacific cyclone has NEVER hit the Washington coast. Granted, we’ve seen some powerful storms, some of them from out at sea, but never a cyclone.
Status of quake-stricken reactors at Fukushima nuclear power plants
TOKYO, March 16, Kyodo News
The following is the known status as of Tuesday evening of each of the six reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant and the four reactors at the Fukushima No. 2 plant, both in Fukushima Prefecture, crippled by Friday’s magnitude 9.0 earthquake and ensuing tsunami.
Fukushima No. 1
— Reactor No. 1 - Cooling failure, partial melting of core, vapor vented, hydrogen explosion, seawater pumped in.
— Reactor No. 2 - Cooling failure, seawater pumped in, fuel rods fully exposed temporarily, vapor vented, damage to containment system, potential meltdown feared.
— Reactor No. 3 - Cooling failure, partial melting of core feared, vapor vented, seawater pumped in, hydrogen explosion, high-level radiation measured nearby.
— Reactor No. 4 - Under maintenance when quake struck, fire caused possibly by hydrogen explosion at pool holding spent fuel rods, pool water level feared receding.
— Reactor No. 5 - Under maintenance when quake struck, temperature slightly rising at spent fuel pool.
— Reactor No. 6 - Under maintenance when quake struck, temperature slightly rising at spent fuel pool.
Fukushima No. 2
— Reactor No. 1 - Cooling failure, then cold shutdown.
— Reactor No. 2 - Cooling failure, then cold shutdown.
— Reactor No. 3 - Cold shutdown.
— Reactor No. 4 - Cooling failure, then cold shutdown.
==Kyodo
S. Korean crews joining the rescue operation
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110314/ap_on_bi_ge/as_japan_earthquake_132
When you finish Krakatoa, check out A Crack in the Edge of the World: America and the Great California Earthquake of 1906
Toshiba sends engineers to Fukushima nuclear power plant
TOKYO, March 16, Kyodo
Toshiba Corp. said Tuesday it has sent engineers to the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant at the request of the government and Tokyo Electric Power Co., aiming to address the problems at the quake-hit facility amid growing fears of radioactive contamination.
The company said dozens of its engineers are set to instruct workers at the plant operated by TEPCO about the usage of pumps to inject water into the plant’s reactors, adding the firm has already sent motors to activate the pumps at the facility.
Toshiba, which supplied much of the equipment for the Fukushima No. 1 power plant’s reactors such as the No. 3 reactor, will consider sending more engineers if necessary, it added.
While Toshiba has around 350 engineers who support electric power companies, two-thirds of them are currently dealing with accidents at the Fukushima nuclear power plant at Toshiba’s headquarters or at the actual site.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Naoto Kan instructed Toshiba President Norio Sasaki to do all he can to contain the problems at the plant.
Hitachi Ltd., which was in charge of constructing the No. 4 reactor at the No. 1 plant, has also sent more than 10 engineers to the central office of TEPCO to respond to technical questions.
Had a crazy thought yesterday... evacuated the entire island. Doesn’t sound as crazy today.
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