TAGAJO: The death toll in Japan's earthquake and tsunami will likely exceed 10,000 in one state alone, an official said Sunday, as millions of survivors were left without drinking water, electricity and proper food along the pulverized northeastern coast.
Although the government doubled the number of soldiers deployed in the aid effort to 100,000, it seemed overwhelmed by what's turning out to be a triple disaster: Friday's quake and tsunami damaged two nuclear reactors at a power plant on the coast, and at least one of them appeared to be going through a partial meltdown, raising fears of a radiation leak.
The police chief of Miyagi prefecture, or state, told a gathering of disaster relief officials that his estimate for deaths was more than 10,000, police spokesman Go Sugawara told The Associated Press. Miyagi has a population of 2.3 million and is one of the three prefectures hardest hit in Friday's disaster. Only 379 people have officially been confirmed as dead in Miyagi.
The nuclear crisis posed fresh concerns for those who survived the earthquake and tsunami, which hit with breathtaking force and speed, breaking or sweeping away everything in its path.
"First I was worried about the quake, now I'm worried about radiation. I live near the plants, so I came here to find out if I'm OK. I tested negative, but I don't know what to do next," Kenji Koshiba, a construction worker, said at an emergency center in Koriyama town near the power plant in Fukushima.
According to officials, at least 1,200 people were killed — including 200 people whose bodies were found Sunday along the coast — and 739 were missing in the disasters.
In a rare piece of good news, the Defense Ministry said a military helicopter on Sunday rescued a 60-year-old man floating off the coast of Fukushima on the roof of his house after being swept away in the tsunami. He was in good condition.
The U.S. Geological Survey calculated the initial quake to have a magnitude of 8.9, while Japanese officials raised their estimate on Sunday to 9.0. Either way it was the strongest quake ever recorded in Japan. It has been followed by more than 150 powerful aftershocks.
Teams searched for the missing along hundreds of miles (kilometers) of Japanese coastline, and hundreds of thousands of hungry survivors huddled in darkened emergency centers that were cut off from rescuers and aid. At least 1.4 million households had gone without water since the quake struck and some 2.5 million households were without electricity. Temperatures were to dip near freezing overnight.
Trade Minister Banri Kaeda said the region was likely to face further blackouts and that power would be rationed to ensure supplies go to essential needs.
Large areas of the countryside remained surrounded by water and unreachable. Fuel stations were closed and people were running out of gasoline for their vehicles.
Public broadcaster NHK said around 380,000 people have been evacuated to emergency shelters, many of them without power.
In Iwaki town, residents were leaving due to concerns over dwindling food and fuel supplies. The town had no electricity and all stores were closed. Local police took in about 90 people and gave them blankets and rice balls but there was no sign of government or military aid trucks.
At a large refinery on the outskirts of the hard-hit port city of Sendai, 100-foot (30-meter) -high bright orange flames rose in the air, spitting out dark plumes of smoke. The facility has been burning since Friday. A reporter who approached the area could hear the roaring fire from afar, and after a few minutes the gaseous stench began burning the eyes and throat.
At a small park near the refinery, trees and large swaths of grass were covered in thick black crude oil. Two large tanker trucks were jammed sideways among the trees, their gas tanks crumpled.
Mayumi Yagoshi, an office worker at the refinery, said she had taken the day off Friday because she had slipped and hurt her back.
"I was lucky, but I feel really bad. My mobile phone doesn't work and I have no idea what happened to everyone else," she said.
In the small town of Tagajo, near Sendai, dazed residents roamed streets cluttered with smashed cars, broken homes and twisted metal.
Residents said the water surged in and quickly rose higher than the first floor of buildings. At Sengen General Hospital the staff worked feverishly to haul bedridden patients up the stairs one at a time. With the halls now dark, those that can leave have gone to the local community center.
"There is still no water or power, and we've got some very sick people in here," said hospital official Ikuro Matsumoto.
One older neighborhood sits on low ground near a canal. The tsunami came in from the canal side and blasted through the frail wooden houses, coating the interiors with a thick layer of mud and spilling their contents out into the street on the other side.
"It's been two days, and all I've been given so far is a piece of bread and a rice ball," said Masashi Imai, 56.
Police cars drove slowly through the town and warned residents through loudspeakers to seek higher ground, but most simply stood by and watched them pass.
Dozens of countries have offered assistance. Two U.S. aircraft carrier groups were off Japan's coast and ready to provide assistance. Helicopters were flying from one of the carriers, the USS Ronald Reagan, delivering food and water in Miyagi.
Two other U.S. rescue teams of 72 personnel each and rescue dogs were scheduled to arrive later Sunday, as was a five-dog team from Singapore.
In Sendai, firefighters with wooden picks dug through a devastated neighborhood. One of them yelled: "A corpse." Inside a house, he had found the body of a gray-haired woman under a blanket.
A few minutes later, the firefighters spotted another — that of a man in black fleece jacket and pants, crumpled in a partial fetal position at the bottom of a wooden stairwell. From outside, the house seemed almost untouched, two cracks in the white walls the only signs of damage.
The man's neighbor, 24-year-old Ayumi Osuga, dug through the completely destroyed remains of her own house, her white mittens covered by dark mud.
Osuga said she had been playing origami, the Japanese art of folding paper into figures, with her three children when the quake stuck. She recalled her husband's shouted warning from outside: "'GET OUT OF THERE NOW!'"
She gathered her children — aged 2 to 6 — and fled in her car to higher ground with her husband. They spent the night huddled in a hilltop home belonging to her husband's family about 12 miles (20 kilometers) away.
"My family, my children. We are lucky to be alive," she said.
"I have come to realize what is important in life," Osuga said, nervously flicking ashes from a cigarette onto the rubble at her feet as a giant column of black smoke billowed in the distance. (AP)
Showing posts with label Japan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Japan. Show all posts
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Japan earthquake: Wave forecast map
Tsunami warnings were issued for coastal areas across the Pacific basin - from Hawaii to Chile - as a result of the waves triggered by the Japan earthquake.
This map shows the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center's "tsunami forecast model" of wave heights above normal sea level across the region and how long after the 0546 GMT earthquake they were expected.
The tsunami was triggered by the most powerful earthquake to hit Japan since records began. The tremor, measured at 8.9 by the US Geological Survey, hit at 1446 local time (0546 GMT) at a depth of about 24km.
The impact has been devastating, with cars, ships and buildings swept away by a wall of water.
This map shows the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center's "tsunami forecast model" of wave heights above normal sea level across the region and how long after the 0546 GMT earthquake they were expected.
The tsunami was triggered by the most powerful earthquake to hit Japan since records began. The tremor, measured at 8.9 by the US Geological Survey, hit at 1446 local time (0546 GMT) at a depth of about 24km.
The impact has been devastating, with cars, ships and buildings swept away by a wall of water.
Huge blast at Japan nuclear power plant
A massive explosion has struck a Japanese nuclear power plant after Friday's devastating earthquake.
A huge pall of smoke was seen coming from the plant at Fukushima and several workers were injured.
Japanese officials fear a meltdown at one of the plant's reactors after radioactive material was detected outside it.
A huge relief operation is under way after the 8.9-magnitude earthquake and tsunami, which killed more than 600.
Hundreds more people are missing and it is feared about 1,300 may have died.
The offshore earthquake triggered a tsunami which wreaked havoc on Japan's north-east coast, sweeping far inland and devastating a number of towns and villages.
Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan declared a state of emergency at the Fukushima 1 and 2 power plants as engineers try to confirm whether a reactor at one of the stations has gone into meltdown.
It is an automatic procedure after nuclear reactors shut down in the event of an earthquake, allowing officials to take rapid action.
Television pictures showed a massive blast at one of the buildings of the Fukushima 1 plant, about 250km (160 miles) north-east of Tokyo.
A huge cloud of smoke billows out and large bits of debris are flung far from the building.
Japan's NHK TV showed before and after pictures of the plant. They appeared to show that the outer structure of one of four buildings at the plant had collapsed after the explosion.
The Tokyo Electric Power Co, the plant's operator, said several workers had been injured.
Cooling systems inside several reactors at both the Fukushima plants stopped working after Friday's earthquake cut the power supply.
Japan's nuclear agency said on Saturday that radioactive caesium and iodine had been detected near the number one reactor of the Fukushima 1 plant.
The agency said this may indicate that containers of uranium fuel inside the reactor may have begun melting.
Air has been released from several of the reactors at both plants in an effort to relieve the huge amount of pressure building up inside.
Mr Kan said the amount of radiation released was "tiny".
Thousands of people have been ordered to evacuate the area near the plants. BBC correspondent Nick Ravenscroft said police stopped him 60km from the Fukushima 1 plant.
Analysts say a meltdown would not necessarily lead to a major disaster because light-water reactors would not explode even if they overheated.
The 8.9-magnitude tremor struck in the afternoon local time on Friday off the coast of Honshu island at a depth of about 24km, 400km (250 miles) north-east of Tokyo.
It was nearly 8,000 times stronger than last month's quake in New Zealand that devastated the city of Christchurch, scientists said.
Some of the same search and rescue teams from around the world that helped in that disaster are now on their way to Japan.
A huge pall of smoke was seen coming from the plant at Fukushima and several workers were injured.
Japanese officials fear a meltdown at one of the plant's reactors after radioactive material was detected outside it.
A huge relief operation is under way after the 8.9-magnitude earthquake and tsunami, which killed more than 600.
Hundreds more people are missing and it is feared about 1,300 may have died.
The offshore earthquake triggered a tsunami which wreaked havoc on Japan's north-east coast, sweeping far inland and devastating a number of towns and villages.
Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan declared a state of emergency at the Fukushima 1 and 2 power plants as engineers try to confirm whether a reactor at one of the stations has gone into meltdown.
It is an automatic procedure after nuclear reactors shut down in the event of an earthquake, allowing officials to take rapid action.
Television pictures showed a massive blast at one of the buildings of the Fukushima 1 plant, about 250km (160 miles) north-east of Tokyo.
A huge cloud of smoke billows out and large bits of debris are flung far from the building.
Japan's NHK TV showed before and after pictures of the plant. They appeared to show that the outer structure of one of four buildings at the plant had collapsed after the explosion.
The Tokyo Electric Power Co, the plant's operator, said several workers had been injured.
Cooling systems inside several reactors at both the Fukushima plants stopped working after Friday's earthquake cut the power supply.
Japan's nuclear agency said on Saturday that radioactive caesium and iodine had been detected near the number one reactor of the Fukushima 1 plant.
The agency said this may indicate that containers of uranium fuel inside the reactor may have begun melting.
Air has been released from several of the reactors at both plants in an effort to relieve the huge amount of pressure building up inside.
Mr Kan said the amount of radiation released was "tiny".
Thousands of people have been ordered to evacuate the area near the plants. BBC correspondent Nick Ravenscroft said police stopped him 60km from the Fukushima 1 plant.
Analysts say a meltdown would not necessarily lead to a major disaster because light-water reactors would not explode even if they overheated.
The 8.9-magnitude tremor struck in the afternoon local time on Friday off the coast of Honshu island at a depth of about 24km, 400km (250 miles) north-east of Tokyo.
It was nearly 8,000 times stronger than last month's quake in New Zealand that devastated the city of Christchurch, scientists said.
Some of the same search and rescue teams from around the world that helped in that disaster are now on their way to Japan.
Japan Earthquake 2011 Summary
The 03/11/2011 earthquake (preliminary magnitude 8.9) near the east coast of Honshu, Japan, occurred as a result of thrust faulting on or near the subduction zone interface plate boundary between the Pacific and North America plates. At the latitude of this earthquake, the Pacific plate moves approximately westwards with respect to the North America plate at a velocity of 83 mm/yr. The Pacific plate thrusts underneath Japan at the Japan Trench, and dips to the west beneath Eurasia. The location, depth, and focal mechanism of the March 11 earthquake are consistent with the event having occurred as thrust faulting associated with subduction along this plate boundary. Note that some authors divide this region into several microplates that together define the relative motions between the larger Pacific, North America and Eurasia plates; these include the Okhotsk and Amur microplates that are respectively part of North America and Eurasia.
The March 11 earthquake was preceded by a series of large foreshocks over the previous two days, beginning on March 9th with an M 7.2 event approximately 40 km from the March 11 earthquake, and continuing with a further 3 earthquakes greater than M 6 on the same day.
The Japan Trench subduction zone has hosted 9 events of magnitude 7 or greater since 1973. The largest of these was an M 7.8 earthquake approximately 260 km to the north of the March 11 event, in December 1994, which caused 3 fatalities and almost 700 injuries. In June of 1978, an M 7.7 earthquake 35 km to the southwest caused 22 fatalities and over 400 injuries.
The March 11 earthquake was preceded by a series of large foreshocks over the previous two days, beginning on March 9th with an M 7.2 event approximately 40 km from the March 11 earthquake, and continuing with a further 3 earthquakes greater than M 6 on the same day.
The Japan Trench subduction zone has hosted 9 events of magnitude 7 or greater since 1973. The largest of these was an M 7.8 earthquake approximately 260 km to the north of the March 11 event, in December 1994, which caused 3 fatalities and almost 700 injuries. In June of 1978, an M 7.7 earthquake 35 km to the southwest caused 22 fatalities and over 400 injuries.
Tsunami Warning/Advisory
Region name Sanriku Oki
Depth about 20km
Magnitude 8.8
| Issued at 13:50 JST 12 Mar 2011 *******************Text******************** Changed; Tsunami Warning --> Tsunami Warning EASTERN PART OF PACIFIC COAST OF HOKKAIDO CENTRAL PART OF PACIFIC COAST OF HOKKAIDO WESTERN PART OF PACIFIC COAST OF HOKKAIDO IBARAKI PREF. WAKAYAMA PREF. KOCHI PREF. Tsunami Warning --> Tsunami Advisory JAPAN SEA COAST OF AOMORI PREF. KUJUKURI AND SOTOBO AREA, CHIBA PREF. UCHIBO AREA, CHIBA PREF. IZU ISLANDS OGASAWARA ISLANDS SAGAMI BAY AND MIURA PENINSULA SHIZUOKA PREF. TOKUSHIMA PREF. SOUTHERN PART OF JAPAN SEA COAST OF HOKKAIDO MUTSU BAY TOKYO BAY PACIFIC COAST OF AICHI PREF. ISE BAY AND MIKAWA BAY SOUTHERN PART OF AWAJI ISLAND BUNGO STRAIT COAST OF EHIME PREF. WESTERN PART OF NAGASAKI PREF. AMAKUSA NADA COAST OF KUMAMOTO PREF. SETONAIKAI COAST OF OITA PREF. BUNGO STRAIT COAST OF OITA PREF. WESTERN PART OF KAGOSHIMA PREF. OKINAWA ISLANDS MIYAKOJIMA AND YAEYAMA AREA Canceled; Tsunami Warning ARIAKE SEA AND YATSUSHIRO SEA DAITOJIMA AREA Pay attention when fishing, swimming etc. at the above coasts as there may be still sea level changes for the time being. Tsunami Advisory AKITA PREF. YAMAGATA PREF. NIIGATA PREF.,EXCEPT SADOGASHIMA ISLAND SADOGASHIMA ISLAND TOYAMA PREF. NOTO AREA, ISHIKAWA PREF. KAGA AREA, ISHIKAWA PREF. FUKUI PREF. KYOTO PREF. NORTHERN PART OF HYOGO PREF. TOTTORI PREF. SHIMANE PREF.,EXCEPT OKI ISLANDS OKI ISLANDS OKAYAMA PREF. HIROSHIMA PREF. KAGAWA PREF. SETONAIKAI COAST OF EHIME PREF. JAPAN SEA COAST OF YAMAGUCHI PREF. SETONAIKAI COAST OF YAMAGUCHI PREF. SETONAIKAI COAST OF FUKUOKA PREF. JAPAN SEA COAST OF FUKUOKA PREF. NORTHERN PART OF SAGA PREF. IKI ISLAND AND TSUSHIMA ISLANDS Pay attention when fishing, swimming etc. at the above coasts as there may be still sea level changes for the time being. *******Tsunami forecast now in effect******** IWATE PREF. MIYAGI PREF. FUKUSHIMA PREF. PACIFIC COAST OF AOMORI PREF. CENTRAL PART OF PACIFIC COAST OF HOKKAIDO IBARAKI PREF. EASTERN PART OF PACIFIC COAST OF HOKKAIDO WESTERN PART OF PACIFIC COAST OF HOKKAIDO SOUTHERN PART OF MIE PREF. WAKAYAMA PREF. KOCHI PREF. MIYAZAKI PREF. TANEGASHIMA AND YAKUSHIMA AREA AMAMI ISLANDS AND TOKARA ISLANDS EASTERN PART OF KAGOSHIMA PREF. KUJUKURI AND SOTOBO AREA, CHIBA PREF. IZU ISLANDS JAPAN SEA COAST OF AOMORI PREF. UCHIBO AREA, CHIBA PREF. OGASAWARA ISLANDS SAGAMI BAY AND MIURA PENINSULA SHIZUOKA PREF. PACIFIC COAST OF AICHI PREF. TOKUSHIMA PREF. SOUTHERN PART OF JAPAN SEA COAST OF HOKKAIDO MUTSU BAY TOKYO BAY ISE BAY AND MIKAWA BAY SOUTHERN PART OF AWAJI ISLAND BUNGO STRAIT COAST OF EHIME PREF. SETONAIKAI COAST OF OITA PREF. BUNGO STRAIT COAST OF OITA PREF. WESTERN PART OF KAGOSHIMA PREF. OKINAWA ISLANDS MIYAKOJIMA AND YAEYAMA AREA OKHOTSK SEA COAST OF HOKKAIDO OSAKA PREF. SETONAIKAI COAST OF HYOGO PREF. WESTERN PART OF NAGASAKI PREF. AMAKUSA NADA COAST OF KUMAMOTO PREF. NORTHERN PART OF JAPAN SEA COAST OF HOKKAIDO ***********About Tsunami Forecast************ Tsunami height is expected to be up to 2 meters, Keep watch on tsunamis. Tsunami height is expected to be about 0.5 meters, Pay attention to tsunamis. |
Magnitude 8.9 - NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
Earthquake Details
- This is a computer-generated message -- this event has not yet been reviewed by a seismologist.
| Magnitude | 8.9 |
|---|---|
| Date-Time |
|
| Location | 38.322°N, 142.369°E |
| Depth | 24.4 km (15.2 miles) set by location program |
| Region | NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN |
| Distances | 130 km (80 miles) E of Sendai, Honshu, Japan 178 km (110 miles) E of Yamagata, Honshu, Japan 178 km (110 miles) ENE of Fukushima, Honshu, Japan 373 km (231 miles) NE of TOKYO, Japan |
| Location Uncertainty | horizontal +/- 13.5 km (8.4 miles); depth fixed by location program |
| Parameters | NST=350, Nph=351, Dmin=416.3 km, Rmss=1.46 sec, Gp= 29°, M-type="moment" magnitude from initial P wave (tsuboi method) (Mi/Mwp), Version=A |
| Source |
|
| Event ID | usc0001xgp |
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