8.8 earthquake hits Japan

Some chilling before and after shots of the quake and tsunami , including one of the reactors.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/events/japan-quake-2011/beforeafter.htm

Nah, it was local TV (Korean). Sorry.

NHK streaming news: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nhk-world-tv
Death toll expected to top 10,000 in one area alone. ****.

There are several formulas for calculating earthquake magnitudes and they diverge by approximately 0.1 near very high and very low values, so there's no final official call. Aftershocks are continuing, with at least 2 dozen measuring more than 6. And no, magnitude 9 on the Richter scale isn't double 8.9.

It really depends on the units you're using: if using tons of TNT for measuring equivalent energy released, 8.9 is about 22 Gigatons. To double that you need to get to Richter 9.1, or about 45 Gt. Richter 9 is about 32 Gt. For comparison, the largest thermonuclear weapon ever tested, a Russian monster called Tsar Bomba, released energy approximately equal to 45 Mt, so it would take a thousand of those, all exploding at once, to get to 9.1 Richter. You can do conversions from earthquake magnitude to various energy measures by entering Richter scale here: http://www.wolframalpha.com/

Finally: shaking on the surface obviously depends not only on total energy released but also on depth at which earthquake happens. Map from USGS:

Good afternoon.
The media focus is, at it probably should be on the plight of the people of Japan in the immediate aftermath of this devastating disaster.
I heard the PM, Naoto Kan say that this has inflicted the greatest hardship on his country since WW2.
Some of you may know that I am a small-e economist. There are some articles starting to circulate about the impact this event may have as it ripples from Japan to the rest of the world. They are not really making news for obvious reasons. But they are there and I think Mr Kan may have had that at least partially in mind.
I have been collecting some notes but if yall think it is not appropriate or informative here, I can go elsewhere.

Please post them here. This will prove to be an economic tsunami that reaches all around the world too.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/ap_on_bi_ge/as_japan_earthquake
Horrific. Death count reaches 10,000 and the worst may not be over. There is real concern over nuke meltdown. This must be the worst catastrophe in modern history.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_japan_earthquake_pacific;_ylt=Av4ZF5_QFz6HNb_sqM986.dv24cA;_ylu=X3oDMTNmZGczMW5zBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTEwMzEzL3VzX2phcGFuX2VhcnRocXVha2VfcGFjaWZpYwRjY29kZQNtcF9lY184XzEwBGNwb3MDNgRwb3MDNgRzZWMDeW5fdG9wX3N0b3JpZXMEc2xrA3RzdW5hbWlzdXJnZQ--
Local tsunami damage.

Then, of course, you have surfers... http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/08599205854600;_ylt=ArSA3KqLXlDdLUAKqMxRyIlH2ocA;_ylu=X3oDMTM0cGZlbjlkBGFzc2V0A3RpbWUvMjAxMTAzMTMvMDg1OTkyMDU4NTQ2MDAEY2NvZGUDbXBfZWNfOF8xMARjcG9zAzUEcG9zAzUEc2VjA3luX3RvcF9zdG9yaWVzBHNsawNpbm5vcnRoZXJuY2E-

http://www.iaea.org/press/?p=1173

Japan Earthquake Update (13 March 2011 13:55 CET)

13 March 2011

Announcements, Featured

Japanese authorities have informed the IAEA’s Incident and Emergency Centre (IEC) that venting of the containment of reactor Unit 3 of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant started at 9:20AM local Japan time of 13 March through a controlled release of vapour. The operation is intended to lower pressure inside the reactor containment.

Subsequently, following the failure of the high pressure injection system and other attempts of cooling the plant, injection of water first and sea water afterwards started. The authorities have informed the IAEA that accumulation of hydrogen is possible.

Japanese authorities have also informed the IAEA that the first (i.e., lowest) state of emergency at the Onagawa nuclear power plant has been reported by Tohoku Electric Power Company. The authorities have informed the IAEA that the three reactor units at the Onagawa nuclear power plant are under control.

As defined in Article 10 of Japan’s Act on Special Measures Concerning Nuclear Emergency Preparedness, the alert was declared as a consequence of radioactivity readings exceeding allowed levels in the area surrounding the plant. Japanese authorities are investigating the source of radiation.

The IAEA has offered its “Good Offices” to Japan to support the nation’s response to the 11 March earthquake and tsunami. One IAEA capability intended to help member states during crises is the Response and Assistance Network (RANET). The network consists of nations that can offer specialized assistance after a radiation incident or emergency. Such assistance is coordinated by the IAEA within the framework of the Assistance Convention.

The IAEA continues to liaise with the Japanese authorities and is monitoring the situation as it evolves.

http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/11031311-e.html

Press Release (Mar 13,2011)
Plant Status of Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Station (as of 8pm March 13th)


[There is no update from the press release issued at 7:00 pm]

Unit 1 (shut down at 2:48pm on March 11th)
- Reactor is shut down and reactor water level is stable.
- Offsite power is available.
- At 8:19am, Mar 12th, there was an alarm indicating that one of
the control rods was not properly inserted, however, at 10:43am,
Mar 12th the alarm was spontaneously called off. Other control rods has
been confirmed that they are fully inserted (reactor is in subcritical
status)
- Status of main steam isolation valve: closed
- Injection of water into the reactor is done by Make-up Water Condensate
System.
- We do not believe there is leakage of reactor coolant in
the containment vessel at this moment.
- At 5:22am, Mar 12th, the temperature of the suppression chamber
exceeded 100 degrees. As the reactor pressure suppression function was
lost, at 5:22am, Mar 12th, it was determined that a specific incident
stipulated in article 15, clause 1 has occurred.
- We decided to prepare implementing measures to reduce the pressure of
the reactor containment vessel (partial discharge of air containing
radioactive materials) in order to fully secure safety.
This preparation work started at around 9:43am, Mar 12th and finished
at 6:30pm, Mar 12th.
- Restoration work in reactor cooling function is in progress to achieve
reactor cold shutdown.

Unit 2 (shut down at 2:48pm on March 11th)
- Reactor is shut down and reactor water level is stable.
- Offsite power is available.
- Control rods are fully inserted (reactor is in subcritical status)
- Status of main steam isolation valve: closed
- Injection of water into the reactor is done by Make-up Water Condensate
System.
- We do not believe there is leakage of reactor coolant in
the containment vessel.
- At 5:32am, Mar 12th, the temperature of the suppression chamber
exceeded 100 degrees. As the reactor pressure suppression function was
lost, at 5:32am, Mar 12th, it was determined that a specific incident
stipulated in article 15, clause 1 has occurred.
- We decided to prepare implementing measures to reduce the pressure of
the reactor containment vessel (partial discharge of air containing
radioactive materials) in order to fully secure safety.
This preparation work started at around 10:33am, Mar 12th and finished
at 10:58pm, Mar 12th.
- Restoration work in reactor cooling function is in progress to achieve
reactor cold shutdown.

Unit 3 (shut down at 2:48pm on March 11th)
- Reactor is shut down and reactor water level is stable.
- Offsite power is available.
- Control rods are fully inserted (reactor is in subcritical status)
- Status of main steam isolation valve: closed
- We do not believe there is leakage of reactor coolant in
the containment vessel.
- We decided to prepare implementing measures to reduce the pressure of
the reactor containment vessel (partial discharge of air containing
radioactive materials) in order to fully secure safety. The preparation
woke started at around 12:08pm, Mar 12th and finished at 12:13pm,
Mar 12th.
- Reactor cold shutdown at 12:15pm, Mar 12th

Unit 4 (shut down at 2:48pm on March 11th)
- Reactor is shut down and reactor water level is stable.
- Offsite power is available.
- At 0:43PM, there was a signal indicating that one of the control rods
may have not properly inserted. However, we confirmed that it was
inserted completely by another signal. We will inspect the reason
of this.
- Status of main steam isolation valve: closed
- Injection of water into the reactor is done by Make-up Water Condensate
System.
- We do not believe there is leakage of reactor coolant in
the containment vessel.
- In order to cool down the reactor, injection of water into the reactor
had been done by the Reactor Core Isolation Cooling System, however,
At 6:07am, Mar 12th, the temperature of the suppression chamber
exceeded 100 degrees. As the reactor pressure suppression function was
lost, at 6:07am, Mar 12th, it was determined that a specific incident
stipulated in article 15, clause 1 has occurred.
- We decided to prepare implementing measures to reduce the pressure of
the reactor containment vessel (partial discharge of air containing
radioactive materials) in order to fully secure safety. The preparation
woke started at around 11:44am, Mar 12th and finished
at around 11:52am, Mar 12th.
- Restoration work in reactor cooling function is in progress to achieve
reactor cold shutdown.

Indication from monitoring posts installed at the site boundary did
not show any difference from ordinary level.
No radiation impact to the external environment has been confirmed.
We will continue to monitor in detail the possibility of radioactive
material being discharged from exhaust stack or discharge canal.

http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/11031312-e.html

Press Releases

Press Release (Mar 13,2011)
Plant Status of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (as of 9pm March 13th)


All 6 units of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station have been shut down.

[There is no update from the previous press release.]

Unit 1(Shut down)
- Reactor has been shut down. However, the unit is under inspection due
to the explosive sound and white smoke that was confirmed after the big
quake occurred at 3:36PM.
- We have been injecting sea water and boric acid which absorbs neutron
into the reactor pressure vessel.

Unit 2(Shut down)
- Reactor has been shut down and Reactor Core Isolation Cooling System
has been injecting water to the reactor. Current reactor water level is
lower than normal level, but the water level is steady. After fully
securing safety, measures to lowering the pressure of reactor
containment vessel has been taken, under the instruction of
the national government.

Unit 3(Shut down)
- Reactor has been shut down. However, as High Pressure Core Injection
System has been automatically shut down and water injection to
the reactor was interrupted, following the instruction by
the government and with fully securing safety, steps to lowering
the pressure of reactor containment vessel has been taken. Spraying
in order to lower pressure level within the reactor containment vessel
has been cancelled.
- After that, safety relief valve has been opened manually, lowering
the pressure level of the reactor, which was immediately followed
by injection of boric acid water which absorbs neutron, into
the reactor pressure vessel.

Unit 4 (shut down due to regular inspection)
- Reactor has been shut down and sufficient level of reactor coolant
to ensure safety is maintained.
- Currently, we do not believe there is any reactor coolant leakage
inside the reactor containment vessel.

Unit 5 (outage due to regular inspection)
- Reactor has been shut down and sufficient level of reactor coolant
to ensure safety is maintained.
- Currently, we do not believe there is any reactor coolant leakage
inside the reactor containment vessel.

Unit 6 (outage due to regular inspection)
- Reactor has been shut down and sufficient level of reactor coolant
to ensure safety is maintained.
- Currently, we do not believe there is any reactor coolant leakage
inside the reactor containment vessel.

Casualty
- 2 workers of cooperative firm were injured at the occurrence of
the earthquake, and were transported to the hospital.
- 1 TEPCO employee who was not able to stand by his own with his hand
holding left chest was transported to the hospital by an ambulance.
- 1 subcontract worker at important earthquake-proof building was
unconscious and transported to the hospital by an ambulance.
- The radiation exposure of 1 TEPCO employee, who was working inside
the reactor building, exceeded 100mSv and was transported to
the hospital.
- 2 TEPCO employees felt bad during their operation in the central
control rooms of Unit 1 and 2 while wearing full masks, and were
transferred to Fukushima Daini Power Station for consultation with
a medical advisor.
- 4 workers were injured and transported to the hospital after explosive
sound and white smoke were confirmed around the Unit 1.
- Presence of 2 TEPCO employees at the site are not confirmed

Others
- We are currently coordinating with the relevant authorities and
departments as to how to secure the cooling water to cool down
the water in the spent nuclear fuel pool.
- We measured radioactive materials inside of the nuclear power station
area (outdoor) by monitoring car and confirmed that radioactive
materials level is higher than ordinary level. Also, the level
at monitoring post is higher than ordinary level. We will continue
to monitor in detail the possibility of radioactive material being
discharged from exhaust stack or discharge canal. The national
government has instructed evacuation for those local residents within
20km radius of the periphery because it's possible that radioactive
materials are discharged.

- We will continue to take all measures to restore the security of the
site and to monitor the environment of the site periphery.

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/13_33.html

Confirmed deaths top 1,500

More than 1,500 people are confirmed dead from the devastating earthquake and tsunami which hit northeastern Japan on Friday.

Miyagi Prefecture has confirmed 643 deaths in Higashi-matsushima, Kesen-numa and Sendai cities.

In Arahama, Wakabayashi ward in Sendai city, 200 to 300 bodies were discovered on the beaches. They are believed to be of people who were swept away by the tsunami. Recovery operations are being hampered by the scale of wreckage.

In the coastal town of Minami-Sanriku, most private homes and other structures have been washed away. About 10,000 people, or more than half the total population of 17,000, remain missing.

Miyagi prefectural police say the death toll in their prefecture alone is almost certain to exceed 10,000.

Total confirmed deaths from the disaster now stand at 1,596. The number of people whose whereabouts are unknown exceeds 10,000.

An NHK survey found that as of 5pm Sunday, about 300,000 people had entered evacuation facilities in 6 prefectures in the Tohoku region.

Sunday, March 13, 2011 21:40 +0900 (JST)



http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/14_07.html

24,000 survivors stranded waiting for help

Rescuers are struggling to get to 24,000 people who remain stranded in the tsunami-struck region.

These isolated outposts have been confirmed in 80 places in Tohoku region including Miyagi, Iwate and Fukushima prefectures.

In Kesen-numa City, in Miyagi, more than 3400 people are still trapped. More than 1700 people are in a island of the city, and 1000 are in a fish market.

In Minami-Sanriku town, at least 2300 residents are cut off. Among them, 800 people are waiting for help in a gymnasium while nearly 1,000 students and adults are thought to have taken shelter in two schools in the area.

In Ishinomaki City, at least 4300 people are isolated. Among them, about 1000 people are in a junior high school and about 600 people are stranded in a shopping center.

In Rikuzen-Takata City, Iwate Prefecture, about 100 students are still waiting to be rescued from a high school playing field.

In Souma City, Fukushima Prefecture, rescuers have still not been able to reach residents trapped in their homes because of flooded roads.

Monday, March 14, 2011 01:51 +0900 (JST)

Some good news...

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/13_29.html

Man saved at sea 3 days after tsunami

Japan's Defense Ministry says one of its naval vessels rescued a man swept away by tsunami waves off Fukushima Prefecture.

The Maritime Self-Defense Force's destroyer Chokai rescued the man on Sunday, about 45 hours after the tsunami, while searching for survivors about 15 kilometers off Futaba Town. He was waving his hands and drifting on a broken roof.

The 60-year-old survivor is Hiromitsu Shinkawa, of Minami Soma city, Fukushima. He has been temporarily hospitalized but has no major injuries.

Shinkawa told officials he was swept away along with his house when he returned home briefly to collect personal items. He says he does not know the whereabouts of his wife, with whom he evacuated earlier.

Sunday, March 13, 2011 18:53 +0900 (JST)

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/14_01.html

Supermarket reopens in quake-hit Sendai

A supermarket has reopened in Sendai, northeastern Japan, for the first time since a powerful earthquake hit the region on Friday.

The large supermarket in the city's Aoba ward resumed selling water, bread and other basic foodstuffs on Sunday after goods began arriving from neighboring areas.

A long line of people had already formed in front of the store by the time it opened at 9:30 AM. Some people said they had been waiting there since the previous night.

Almost all other stores that survived the quake in the area have been closed due to local distribution networks being paralyzed.

Monday, March 14, 2011 01:51 +0900 (JST)

Perhaps you should also wait for Cycl to give an opinion; it's his thread. As one of the posters included in your "y'all" I vote nay: it's customary to wait until the bodies are counted, preferably also buried, and as of right now there's nothing like even a preliminary estimate. Would start a new thread if I were you - and since you brought up thread formats, I wish posters would post links and excerpts, not full texts. We have people logged in here from slow connections.

Okay. No problem.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/14/world/asia/japan-fukushima-nuclear-reactor.html?_r=1

Radioactive Releases in Japan Could Last Months, Experts Say
Excerpt:

...

But Pentagon officials reported Sunday that helicopters flying 60 miles from the plant picked up small amounts of radioactive particulates — still being analyzed, but presumed to include Cesium-137 and Iodine-121 — suggesting widening environmental contamination. In a country where memories of a nuclear horror of a different sort in the last days of World War II weigh heavily on the national psyche and national politics, the impact of continued venting of long-lasting radioactivity from the plants is hard to overstate.

...

More steam releases also mean that the plume headed across the Pacific could continue to grow. On Sunday evening, the White House sought to tamp down concerns, saying that modeling done by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission had concluded that “Hawaii, Alaska, the U.S. Territories and the U.S. West Coast are not expected to experience any harmful levels of radioactivity.”

But all weekend, after a series of intense interchanges between Tokyo and Washington and the arrival of the first American nuclear experts in Japan, officials said they were beginning to get a clearer picture of what went wrong over the past three days, and as one senior official put it, “under the best scenarios, this isn’t going to end anytime soon.”

...

http://www.afp.com/afpcom/en/taglibrary/thematic/actuality

Explosion at Japan nuclear plant: live TV

03/14 | 02:37 GMT

©AFP / Jiji Press

The quake-damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant in the Japanese town of Futaba, on March 12. An explosion shook a quake-damaged Japanese nuclear power plant Monday and plumes of smoke rose from the building, live television showed.

©AFP / Jiji Press

An explosion shook a quake-damaged Japanese nuclear power plant Monday and plumes of smoke rose from the building,

TOKYO (AFP) - An explosion shook a quake-damaged Japanese nuclear power plant Monday and plumes of smoke rose from the building, live television showed.

Japan's nuclear safety agency said the blast, at the number 3 reactor at the Fukushima No. 1 plant, was believed to be caused by hydrogen.

"We believe it was a hydrogen explosion. It is not immediately known if it affected the reactor," said spokesman Ryo Miyake.

http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFTKB00732520110314

March 14 (Reuters) - Smoke was seen rising from the No. 3 reactor at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, domestic media images showed.

Operators had earlier halted injection of sea water into the reactor, resulting in a rise in radiation levels and pressure. The government had warned that an explosion was possible because of the buildup of hydrogen in the building housing the reactor.

http://e.nikkei.com/e/fr/tnks/Nni20110314D14JF699.htm

Some 2,000 Bodies Found On Quake-Hit Miyagi's Coastal Areas

SENDAI (Kyodo)--Some 2,000 bodies were found Monday on two shores in Miyagi Prefecture following Friday's devastating earthquake and massive tsunami, as Japan continued to struggle to grasp the whole picture of the disaster.

The findings will significantly increase the death toll from the magnitude 9.0 quake and ensuing tsunami, with police having so far confirmed 1,597 deaths and 1,481 people missing across the affected areas in northeastern and eastern Japan.

About 1,000 bodies were found coming ashore on hardest-hit Miyagi's Ojika Peninsula and another 1,000 have been spotted in the town of Minamisanriku where the prefectural government has been unable to contact about 10,000 people, or over half the local population.


...

While the Miyagi prefectural government has been unable to contact about 10,000 people in Minamisanriku, comprising more than half the town's population, information has been received that many town residents have evacuated to neighboring Tome city, officials said, adding they are trying to confirm the report.


...

Official confirmation of explosion at reactor 3 and video here:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/14/us-japan-quake-idUSTRE72A0SS20110314