Friday, March 18, 2011
One week after the earthquake & tsunami that happened to Japan
It's Touching that the Evacuees at shelters forming strong bonds amid adversity
SENDAI — A rice ball and a quarter of a sausage is a typical meal for an evacuee staying at a shelter in the aftermath of Friday’s devastating earthquake and ensuing tsunami that flattened a countless number of homes in northeastern Japan.
With their houses destroyed or damaged, residents who escaped the catastrophe say they still lack water, food and medicine, and gasoline is in short supply in Miyagi Prefecture.
The arrival of emergency food for residents hoping that the worst is over is being hampered by the severity of the disaster, leaving them with only small rations of rice, bananas, bread and rice balls.
‘‘We had a series of earthquakes like the Great Hanshin earthquake and measures should’ve been taken about how to distribute food,’’ said 55-year-old Yoshinobu Ishikawa, who is staying alone at a shelter in Natori in the prefecture.
With temperatures close to zero, however, people attempted to cheer each other up. People waited patiently in long lines for their ration of water, supplied by water tanks, with very few complaints.
In Fukushima Prefecture, the nuclear crisis at a power plant, which was crippled by the mega earthquake, has added to residents’ worries.
Many of the people in devastated areas have not been able to contact their families, friends and co-workers as they cannot use mobiles phones due to a lack of electricity.
In many shelters, notes posted on walls are the only means to search for loved ones. But they are also being used to keep spirits up.
Among the notes listing the names and whereabouts of evacuees, some had messages reading, ‘‘Thank you for helping us’’ and ‘‘Let’s make it through together.’‘
The coast of Miyatojima Island in Miyagi Prefecture was devastated by the tsunami, with residents left isolated by the collapse of a bridge linking the island to the mainland. Rescue workers have been attempting to remove debris at various locations in the prefecture but their work has not been easy.
‘‘I have friends, relatives and co-workers but haven’t heard from them,’’ said Yoshihisa Watanabe, a 55-year-old man who came searching for clues on the opposite shore of the island where houses were flattened.
‘‘I think they always had a sense of urgency because of the way the island is located. So I’m hoping that they moved to higher ground,’’ said Watanabe, who came by car.
At an elementary school in the nearby city of Higashimatsushima, which has been turned into a shelter, people were packed into classrooms.
In the hallway, a junior high school student started crying out the minute she saw her friend for the first time since the earthquake. ‘‘You’re alive. I’ve been hoping to hear from you for so long,’’ the tearful girl told her friend.
The situation of the evacuees is tough, with food supplies tight, and communication and information tools constrained. Some shelters do not have televisions and rely on radios for news and other necessary information for living in shelters.
But the evacuees’ shared plight has helped them to build ties and support each other.
‘‘There are various types of people here but we are staying as one,’’ said a 30-year-old woman staying at a shelter in Natori with her husband and two-year-old son.
‘‘I wanted information so much, but the more information I get through the media, the more I become worried as I see what has actually happened in various places. It’s terrifying,’’ said the woman who declined to give her name.
But seeing other people at the shelter who have also suffered terrible experiences, she realizes she is not alone. ‘‘I know it’s not only about me, it’s about us.’’
With their houses destroyed or damaged, residents who escaped the catastrophe say they still lack water, food and medicine, and gasoline is in short supply in Miyagi Prefecture.
The arrival of emergency food for residents hoping that the worst is over is being hampered by the severity of the disaster, leaving them with only small rations of rice, bananas, bread and rice balls.
‘‘We had a series of earthquakes like the Great Hanshin earthquake and measures should’ve been taken about how to distribute food,’’ said 55-year-old Yoshinobu Ishikawa, who is staying alone at a shelter in Natori in the prefecture.
With temperatures close to zero, however, people attempted to cheer each other up. People waited patiently in long lines for their ration of water, supplied by water tanks, with very few complaints.
In Fukushima Prefecture, the nuclear crisis at a power plant, which was crippled by the mega earthquake, has added to residents’ worries.
Many of the people in devastated areas have not been able to contact their families, friends and co-workers as they cannot use mobiles phones due to a lack of electricity.
In many shelters, notes posted on walls are the only means to search for loved ones. But they are also being used to keep spirits up.
Among the notes listing the names and whereabouts of evacuees, some had messages reading, ‘‘Thank you for helping us’’ and ‘‘Let’s make it through together.’‘
The coast of Miyatojima Island in Miyagi Prefecture was devastated by the tsunami, with residents left isolated by the collapse of a bridge linking the island to the mainland. Rescue workers have been attempting to remove debris at various locations in the prefecture but their work has not been easy.
‘‘I have friends, relatives and co-workers but haven’t heard from them,’’ said Yoshihisa Watanabe, a 55-year-old man who came searching for clues on the opposite shore of the island where houses were flattened.
‘‘I think they always had a sense of urgency because of the way the island is located. So I’m hoping that they moved to higher ground,’’ said Watanabe, who came by car.
At an elementary school in the nearby city of Higashimatsushima, which has been turned into a shelter, people were packed into classrooms.
In the hallway, a junior high school student started crying out the minute she saw her friend for the first time since the earthquake. ‘‘You’re alive. I’ve been hoping to hear from you for so long,’’ the tearful girl told her friend.
The situation of the evacuees is tough, with food supplies tight, and communication and information tools constrained. Some shelters do not have televisions and rely on radios for news and other necessary information for living in shelters.
But the evacuees’ shared plight has helped them to build ties and support each other.
‘‘There are various types of people here but we are staying as one,’’ said a 30-year-old woman staying at a shelter in Natori with her husband and two-year-old son.
‘‘I wanted information so much, but the more information I get through the media, the more I become worried as I see what has actually happened in various places. It’s terrifying,’’ said the woman who declined to give her name.
But seeing other people at the shelter who have also suffered terrible experiences, she realizes she is not alone. ‘‘I know it’s not only about me, it’s about us.’’
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Vast devastation, search for survivors after Japan quake
Prime Minister Naoto Kan said he is sending 50,000 troops for the rescue and recovery efforts following Friday's 8.9-magnitude quake that unleashed one of the greatest disasters Japan has witnessed — a 23-foot (7-meter) tsunami that washed far inland over fields, smashing towns, airports and highways in its way.
The official death toll stood at 413, while 784 people were missing and 1,128 injured. In addition, police said between 200 and 300 bodies were found along the coast in Sendai, the biggest city in the area near the quake's epicenter. An untold number of bodies were also believed to be lying in the rubble and debris. Rescue workers had yet to reach the hardest-hit areas.
"Unfortunately, we must be prepared for the number to rise greatly," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told reporters Saturday.
Japanese media quoted local officials as saying the death toll was expected to top 1,000 as authorities tried to reach the hardest-hit areas.
More than 215,000 people were living in 1,350 temporary shelters in five prefectures, or states, the national police agency said. Since the quake, more than 1 million households have not had water, mostly concentrated in northeast.
Kan said a total of 190 military planes and 25 ships have been sent to the area.
"Most of houses along the coastline were washed away, and fire broke out there," he said after inspecting the quake area in a helicopter. "I realized the extremely serious damage the tsunami caused."
Adding to the worries was the damage at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, where two reactors had lost cooling ability.
Aerial scenes of the town of Ofunato showed homes and warehouses in ruins. Sludge and high water spread over acres of land, with people seeking refuge on roofs of partially submerged buildings. At one school, a large white "SOS" had been spelled out in English.
The earthquake that struck off the northeastern shore ranked as the fifth-largest earthquake in the world since 1900 and was nearly 8,000 times stronger than one that devastated Christchurch, New Zealand, last month, scientists said.
Edano said an initial assessment found "enormous damage."
Police said 200-300 bodies were found along the coast in Sendai, the biggest city in the area. Authorities said they weren't able to reach the area because of damage to the roads.
For more than two terrifying, seemingly endless minutes Friday afternoon, the quake shook apart homes and buildings, cracked open highways and unnerved even those who have learned to live with swaying skyscrapers. Then came the devastating tsunami that washed far inland over fields and smashed towns.
The town of Rikuzentakada, population 24,700, in northern Iwate prefecture, looked largely submerged in muddy water, with hardly a trace of houses or buildings of any kind.
The entire Pacific had been put on alert — including coastal areas of South America, Canada and Alaska — but waves there were not as bad as expected.
Residents in Miyagi prefecture, who spent the night on top of a building, were rescued Saturday morning, the Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported.
"I was unable stay on my feet because of the violent shaking," a woman with a baby on her back told television in northern Japan. "The aftershocks gave us no reprieve, then the tsunami came when we tried to run for cover."
In one of the worst-hit residential areas, people buried under rubble could be heard calling out "Help" and "When are we going to be rescued?", the Kyodo news agency reported hours after the quake and tsunami. Rescuers were having a hard time reaching areas due to destroyed roads.
TV footage showed fires engulfing a large waterfront area in northeastern Japan. Houses and other buildings caught fire across large swathes of land in Kesennuma, near Sendai.
Kyodo reported that contact was lost with four trains along the northeast coast.
In one town alone on the northeastern coast, Minami-soma, some 1,800 houses were destroyed or badly ravaged, a Defense Ministry spokeswoman said.
A second, magnitude 6.6 quake struck central Japan along the northwest coast around 4 a.m. local time on Saturday, causing buildings to sway.
Rebuilding Northeast Japan to take Years, Billions
TOKYO — It took only minutes for the earthquake and tsunami to devastate Japan’s northeast. Rebuilding will take years—if it can be afforded.
The relentless wall of water that the quake unleashed killed thousands, swept away whole towns, inundated roads and knocked ports, oil refineries, steel plants and factories out of action.
Experts say the cost of the destruction likely exceeds that of the catastrophic 1995 Kobe earthquake, estimated by Standard & Poor’s to have totaled $159 billion.
The four most severely affected prefectures—Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima and Ibaraki—are home to industries from farming to auto parts to electronics and make up some 6% of Japan’s economy.
The biggest port on the northeast coast, Sendai, has been destroyed. It handled mainly container shipments of exports including rubber and marine products, office machinery, paper goods and auto parts. Three others—Hachinohe, Ishinomaki and Onahama—were severely damaged and will likely be out of commission for months.
Six oil refineries that can turn 1.4 million barrels of oil a day into fuel—a third of Japan’s refining capacity—are shut down, two due to fires.
Steel plants have also been hit.
Nippon Steel Corp’s factory in Kamaishi, Iwate Prefecture was shut after the tsunami flooded part of the plant. The facility makes steel and wire rods for vehicle powertrains and chassis. Sumitomo Metal ’ plant in Kashima, Ibaraki Prefecture also went dark after the earthquake.
Elsewhere, widespread power shortages from damage to four nuclear plants—an unfolding crisis in itself—have forced many companies to halt production.
Sony Corp has halted output at several factories, including one that makes Blu-Ray discs. Toshiba Corp has done the same. Automakers have stopped making cars nationwide.
Companies are also facing problems shipping components, receiving raw materials and getting workers to facilities that are working, said Dale Ford, an analyst at technology market research firm IHS iSuppli.
The components made by Japan’s hi-tech industry are destined for final assembly in China and other countries. Analysts said there’s enough inventory in the global supply chain to tide over customers up to four weeks and companies such as Apple, Dell and Lenovo will have to switch to backup sources by then to avoid shortages of parts for iPads and computers.
Initial estimates of insurance losses from the disaster range as high as $60 billion.
Reconstruction will be extremely challenging because the damage is so widespread and has likely destroyed power lines and water treatment facilities, said Jun Yang, president of the Hong Kong branch of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
“In my view, it would take five to 10 years to rebuild or repair,” said Yang, who as an associate professor at Hong Kong University, carried out field research in Sichuan, China, after the devastating earthquake there in 2008.
That time frame doesn’t include any radiation contamination from earthquake-crippled nuclear reactors, which could have a “potentially significant effect on the post-earthquake rebuilding,” he said.
“The destruction to ports, power plants and oil refineries in northeast Japan has been extensive,” economists Matt Robinson and Ruth Stroppiana at Moody’s Analytics wrote in a report. “The cleanup will take months, and the rebuilding of key infrastructure will take substantially longer.”
The rebuilding effort is expected to require tens of billions of dollars of public spending that will benefit construction companies but add to the already swollen national debt.
After the 1995 Kobe quake, Japan’s economy was able to rebound relatively quickly because the government hiked public spending by more than 15% in the following 12 months.
This time around, the government can’t afford to spend so freely because it’s already straining under a debt load that is double the size of the economy, said the Moody’s analysts.
Any stimulus package will probably be paid for in later years by austerity measures, they said.
The mammoth recovery effort will likely mean rebuilding entire towns from scratch and it could be several years before significant construction work is even started, said Ken Collis, an Australian standby member with RedR, which coordinates engineering teams for disaster relief efforts.
Collis said that from his experience helping on reconstruction efforts in the Maldives after the 2004 tsunami, the initial planning phase could take up to a year as people who have lost their homes are given temporary shelter and officials decide what exactly is needed and where money is best spent.
Another year could be spent on designing the new roads, bridges, houses and other buildings that need to be rebuilt, while a third year is spent putting contracts out for bidding.
“It could easily take three years before significant reconstruction is done,” Collis said.
He said housing, transport links and factories and other businesses would all have to be rebuilt at the same time.
“It’s very difficult to provide a lot of housing if there are no jobs available or transport to and from,” he said.
Reuben Chu, president of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers, contrasted the disaster with the Sichuan quake, saying they each posed different problems.
Rebuilding after the Sichuan quake was technically challenging because much of the destruction was on steep hillsides.
That’s not such a big problem in northeastern Japan. Instead, Chu said, the biggest challenge will be getting enough money, materials and workers.
One of the big problems that planners face at the outset of the rebuilding phase is whether it’s a good idea to rebuild in the same place with the same type of buildings, said Collis.
Many survivors are suffering from psychological trauma, he said. “People would be horrified if they were asked to go back live in same location.”
Status of quake-stricken reactors at Fukushima nuclear power plants
TOKYO — The following is the known status as of Wednesday 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, which were crippled by Friday’s magnitude 9.0 earthquake and the ensuing tsunami.
Fukushima No. 1 plant
Fukushima No. 2 plant
Fukushima No. 1 plant
- Reactor No. 1 - Suspended after quake, cooling failure, partial melting of core, vapor vented, building damaged Saturday by hydrogen explosion, seawater being pumped in.
- Reactor No. 2 - Suspended after quake, cooling failure, seawater being pumped in, fuel rods fully exposed temporarily, vapor vented, building housing reactor damaged Monday by blast at reactor No. 3, damage to containment vessel on Tuesday, potential meltdown feared.
- Reactor No. 3 - Suspended after quake, cooling failure, partial melting of core feared, vapor vented, seawater being pumped in, building housing reactor damaged Monday by hydrogen explosion, high-level radiation measured nearby on Tuesday, plume of smoke observed Wednesday, damage to containment vessel likely.
- Reactor No. 4 - Under maintenance when quake struck, fire Tuesday possibly caused by hydrogen explosion at pool holding spent fuel rods, abnormal temperature rise in spent-fuel storage pool but water level not observed, fire observed Wednesday at building housing reactor, no water poured in to cool pool, spraying of boric acid being considered.
- Reactors No. 5, No. 6 - Under maintenance when quake struck, temperatures slightly rising in spent-fuel storage pools.
Fukushima No. 2 plant
- Reactors No. 1, No. 2, No. 4 - Suspended after quake, cooling failure, then cold shutdown.
- Reactor No. 3 - Suspended after quake, cold shutdown.
Over 15,000 dead or missing as search for quake victims picks up
SENDAI — The search for victims of Japan’s massive earthquake has gradually expanded across a wider area, with access improved by the removal of debris left by tsunami, rescue officials said Thursday, the seventh day since the quake.
Meanwhile, fuel shortages have hampered the delivery of relief supplies to shelters where survivors are staying, while also limiting the use of heavy machinery and heating appliances, they said.
The number of those who died or are unaccounted for has exceeded 15,000—more than 5,400 deaths and nearly 9,600 missing, while some 380,000 are still staying in about 2,000 shelters in eight prefectures, the National Police Agency said, based on its noon tally.
Around 2,000 recovered bodies were identified Thursday in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, of which 870 were returned to their families, according to the NPA.
The number of partially or completely destroyed buildings reached 100,396, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.
Yukihiko Akutsu, parliamentary secretary of the Cabinet Office, said in Miyagi Prefecture he was instructed by Ryu Matsumoto, state minister for disaster management, to focus from Thursday on livelihood support for survivors staying at shelters.
In the severely hit coastal city of Rikuzentakata in Iwate, the development in rubble removal has enabled the Self-Defense Forces to build roads so rescue workers can search for victims across greater areas.
Mayor Futoshi Toba said, ‘‘There were some areas where we could not enter, but now we can go anywhere (in the city) by car.’‘
He added, however, ‘‘We need fuel for heating, activating heavy machines and delivering relief goods to shelters, but we face difficulties.’‘
The prefectural government of Miyagi has almost completed confirming isolated areas from the air, and it will start distributing relief materials to these areas by helicopter, one of its officials said.
Sendai Airport, which was submerged by a tsunami following the quake, reopened part of its runways for use by police and SDF airplanes to transport relief materials. It has not been decided when commercial flights will be resumed.
As another development, express bus lines between Sendai and Morioka as well as Morioka and Aomori were resumed Thursday, connecting all of the six prefectural capitals, including Akita, Yamagata and Fukushima, in the Tohoku region.
In Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, meanwhile, Mayor Hiroshi Kameyama told the municipal task force meeting that the number of missing people in the city of 160,000 will reach around 10,000.
On Thursday, temperatures in the quake-hit areas in northeastern Japan dropped to midwinter levels, marking 5.9 degrees below zero in Morioka, Iwate, 2.7 degrees below zero in Sendai, Miyagi, and 3.5 degrees below zero in the city of Fukushima.
At a shelter in Sendai, all of the 400 survivors staying had received blankets by Wednesday. One 65-year-old woman said, however, that she had woken during the night ‘‘due to the cold.’‘
As temperatures are expected to remain low in these areas through Friday morning, the Japan Meteorological Agency called on residents to take care.
In the heavily damaged coastal city of Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, meanwhile, elementary as well as junior and senior high schools reopened for the first time since the quake.
At prefecture-run Ofunato High School, around 250 students arrived on foot or by bicycle. First-grader Ayumi Urashima, 16, said, ‘‘On the way to school, I met one of my friends who I had not been able to contact. We hugged each other.’’
Meanwhile, fuel shortages have hampered the delivery of relief supplies to shelters where survivors are staying, while also limiting the use of heavy machinery and heating appliances, they said.
The number of those who died or are unaccounted for has exceeded 15,000—more than 5,400 deaths and nearly 9,600 missing, while some 380,000 are still staying in about 2,000 shelters in eight prefectures, the National Police Agency said, based on its noon tally.
Around 2,000 recovered bodies were identified Thursday in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, of which 870 were returned to their families, according to the NPA.
The number of partially or completely destroyed buildings reached 100,396, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.
Yukihiko Akutsu, parliamentary secretary of the Cabinet Office, said in Miyagi Prefecture he was instructed by Ryu Matsumoto, state minister for disaster management, to focus from Thursday on livelihood support for survivors staying at shelters.
In the severely hit coastal city of Rikuzentakata in Iwate, the development in rubble removal has enabled the Self-Defense Forces to build roads so rescue workers can search for victims across greater areas.
Mayor Futoshi Toba said, ‘‘There were some areas where we could not enter, but now we can go anywhere (in the city) by car.’‘
He added, however, ‘‘We need fuel for heating, activating heavy machines and delivering relief goods to shelters, but we face difficulties.’‘
The prefectural government of Miyagi has almost completed confirming isolated areas from the air, and it will start distributing relief materials to these areas by helicopter, one of its officials said.
Sendai Airport, which was submerged by a tsunami following the quake, reopened part of its runways for use by police and SDF airplanes to transport relief materials. It has not been decided when commercial flights will be resumed.
As another development, express bus lines between Sendai and Morioka as well as Morioka and Aomori were resumed Thursday, connecting all of the six prefectural capitals, including Akita, Yamagata and Fukushima, in the Tohoku region.
In Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, meanwhile, Mayor Hiroshi Kameyama told the municipal task force meeting that the number of missing people in the city of 160,000 will reach around 10,000.
On Thursday, temperatures in the quake-hit areas in northeastern Japan dropped to midwinter levels, marking 5.9 degrees below zero in Morioka, Iwate, 2.7 degrees below zero in Sendai, Miyagi, and 3.5 degrees below zero in the city of Fukushima.
At a shelter in Sendai, all of the 400 survivors staying had received blankets by Wednesday. One 65-year-old woman said, however, that she had woken during the night ‘‘due to the cold.’‘
As temperatures are expected to remain low in these areas through Friday morning, the Japan Meteorological Agency called on residents to take care.
In the heavily damaged coastal city of Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, meanwhile, elementary as well as junior and senior high schools reopened for the first time since the quake.
At prefecture-run Ofunato High School, around 250 students arrived on foot or by bicycle. First-grader Ayumi Urashima, 16, said, ‘‘On the way to school, I met one of my friends who I had not been able to contact. We hugged each other.’’
Daybreak Reveals Huge Devastation in Tsunami-hit Japan
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan confronted devastation along its northeastern coast on Saturday, with fires raging and parts of some cities under water after a massive earthquake and tsunami that likely killed at least 1,000 people.
Daybreak was expected to reveal the full extent of the death and damage from Friday's 8.9 magnitude earthquake and the 10-meter high tsunami it sent surging into cities and villages, sweeping away everything in its path.
In one of the worst-hit residential areas, people buried under rubble could be heard calling out "help" and "when are we going to be rescued," Kyodo news agency reported.
The government warned there could be a small radiation leak from a nuclear reactor whose cooling system was knocked out by the quake. Prime Minister Naoto Kan ordered an evacuation zone around the plant be expanded to 10 km (6 miles) from 3 km. Some 3,000 people had earlier been moved out of harm's way.
Underscoring concerns about the Fukushima plant, 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo, U.S. officials said Japan had asked for coolant to avert a rise in the temperature of its nuclear rods, but ultimately handled the matter on its own. Officials said a leak was still possible because pressure would have to be released.
The unfolding natural disaster prompted offers of search and rescue help from 45 countries.
China said rescuers were ready to help with quake relief while President Barack Obama told Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan the United States would assist in any way.
"This is likely to be a humanitarian relief operation of epic proportions," Japan expert Sheila Smith of the U.S.-based Council on Foreign Relations wrote in a commentary.
The northeastern Japanese city of Kesennuma, with a population of 74,000, was hit by widespread fires and one-third of the city was under water, Jiji news agency said on Saturday.
The airport in the city of Sendai, home to one million people, was on fire, it added.
TV footage from Friday showed a muddy torrent of water carrying cars and wrecked homes at high speed across farmland near Sendai, 300 km (180 miles) northeast of Tokyo. Ships had been flung onto a harbor wharf, where they lay helplessly on their side.
Boats, cars and trucks were tossed around like toys in the water after a small tsunami hit the town of Kamaichi in northern Japan. Kyodo news agency reported that contact had been lost with four trains in the coastal area.
Japanese politicians pushed for an emergency budget to fund relief efforts after Kan asked them to "save the country," Kyodo news agency reported. Japan is already the most heavily indebted major economy in the world, meaning any funding efforts would be closely scrutinized by financial markets.
Domestic media said the death toll was expected to exceed 1,000, most of whom appeared to have drowned by churning waters.
The extent of the destruction along a lengthy stretch of coastline suggested the death toll could rise significantly.
Even in a nation accustomed to earthquakes, the devastation was shocking.
"A big area of Sendai city near the coast, is flooded. We are hearing that people who were evacuated are stranded," said Rie Sugimoto, a reporter for NHK television in Sendai.
"About 140 people, including children, were rushed to an elementary school and are on the rooftop but they are surrounded by water and have nowhere else to go."
Japan has prided itself on its speedy tsunami warning system, which has been upgraded several times since its inception in 1952, including after a 7.8 magnitude quake triggered a 30-meter high wave before a warning was given.
The country has also built countless breakwaters and floodgates to protect ports and coastal areas, although experts said they might not have been enough to prevent disasters such as the one that struck on Friday.
In Tokyo, many residents who had earlier fled swaying buildings slept in their offices after public transport was shut down. Many subways in Tokyo later resumed operation but trains did not run.
"I was unable stay on my feet because of the violent shaking. The aftershocks gave us no reprieve. Then the tsunamis came when we tried to run for cover. It was the strongest quake I experienced," a woman with a baby on her back told television in northern Japan.
FIRES ACROSS THE COAST
The quake, the most powerful since Japan started keeping records 140 years ago, sparked at least 80 fires in cities and towns along the coast, Kyodo said.
Other Japanese nuclear power plants and oil refineries were shut down and one refinery was ablaze.
Auto plants, electronics factories and refineries shut, roads buckled and power to millions of homes and businesses was knocked out. Several airports, including Tokyo's Narita, were closed and rail services halted. All ports were shut.
The central bank said it would cut short a two-day policy review scheduled for next week to one day on Monday and promised to do its utmost to ensure financial market stability.
The disaster occurred as the world's third-largest economy had been showing signs of reviving from an economic contraction in the final quarter of last year. It raised the prospect of major disruptions for many key businesses and a massive repair bill running into tens of billions of dollars.
The tsunami alerts revived memories of the giant waves that struck Asia in 2004.
Warnings were issued for countries to the west of Japan and across the Pacific as far away as Colombia and Peru, but the tsunami dissipated as it sped across the ocean and worst fears in the Americas were not realised.
The earthquake was the fifth most powerful to hit the world in the past century.
"The building shook for what seemed a long time and many people in the newsroom grabbed their helmets and some got under their desks," Reuters correspondent Linda Sieg said in Tokyo. "It was probably the worst I have felt since I came to Japan more than 20 years ago."
The quake surpasses the Great Kanto quake of September 1, 1923, which had a magnitude of 7.9 and killed more than 140,000 people in the Tokyo area.
The 1995 Kobe quake caused $100 billion in damage and was the most expensive natural disaster in history. Economic damage from the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was estimated at about $10 billion.
Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world's most seismically active areas.
source: Yahoo! News
Daybreak was expected to reveal the full extent of the death and damage from Friday's 8.9 magnitude earthquake and the 10-meter high tsunami it sent surging into cities and villages, sweeping away everything in its path.
In one of the worst-hit residential areas, people buried under rubble could be heard calling out "help" and "when are we going to be rescued," Kyodo news agency reported.
The government warned there could be a small radiation leak from a nuclear reactor whose cooling system was knocked out by the quake. Prime Minister Naoto Kan ordered an evacuation zone around the plant be expanded to 10 km (6 miles) from 3 km. Some 3,000 people had earlier been moved out of harm's way.
Underscoring concerns about the Fukushima plant, 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo, U.S. officials said Japan had asked for coolant to avert a rise in the temperature of its nuclear rods, but ultimately handled the matter on its own. Officials said a leak was still possible because pressure would have to be released.
The unfolding natural disaster prompted offers of search and rescue help from 45 countries.
China said rescuers were ready to help with quake relief while President Barack Obama told Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan the United States would assist in any way.
"This is likely to be a humanitarian relief operation of epic proportions," Japan expert Sheila Smith of the U.S.-based Council on Foreign Relations wrote in a commentary.
The northeastern Japanese city of Kesennuma, with a population of 74,000, was hit by widespread fires and one-third of the city was under water, Jiji news agency said on Saturday.
The airport in the city of Sendai, home to one million people, was on fire, it added.
TV footage from Friday showed a muddy torrent of water carrying cars and wrecked homes at high speed across farmland near Sendai, 300 km (180 miles) northeast of Tokyo. Ships had been flung onto a harbor wharf, where they lay helplessly on their side.
Boats, cars and trucks were tossed around like toys in the water after a small tsunami hit the town of Kamaichi in northern Japan. Kyodo news agency reported that contact had been lost with four trains in the coastal area.
Japanese politicians pushed for an emergency budget to fund relief efforts after Kan asked them to "save the country," Kyodo news agency reported. Japan is already the most heavily indebted major economy in the world, meaning any funding efforts would be closely scrutinized by financial markets.
Domestic media said the death toll was expected to exceed 1,000, most of whom appeared to have drowned by churning waters.
The extent of the destruction along a lengthy stretch of coastline suggested the death toll could rise significantly.
Even in a nation accustomed to earthquakes, the devastation was shocking.
"A big area of Sendai city near the coast, is flooded. We are hearing that people who were evacuated are stranded," said Rie Sugimoto, a reporter for NHK television in Sendai.
"About 140 people, including children, were rushed to an elementary school and are on the rooftop but they are surrounded by water and have nowhere else to go."
Japan has prided itself on its speedy tsunami warning system, which has been upgraded several times since its inception in 1952, including after a 7.8 magnitude quake triggered a 30-meter high wave before a warning was given.
The country has also built countless breakwaters and floodgates to protect ports and coastal areas, although experts said they might not have been enough to prevent disasters such as the one that struck on Friday.
In Tokyo, many residents who had earlier fled swaying buildings slept in their offices after public transport was shut down. Many subways in Tokyo later resumed operation but trains did not run.
"I was unable stay on my feet because of the violent shaking. The aftershocks gave us no reprieve. Then the tsunamis came when we tried to run for cover. It was the strongest quake I experienced," a woman with a baby on her back told television in northern Japan.
FIRES ACROSS THE COAST
The quake, the most powerful since Japan started keeping records 140 years ago, sparked at least 80 fires in cities and towns along the coast, Kyodo said.
Other Japanese nuclear power plants and oil refineries were shut down and one refinery was ablaze.
Auto plants, electronics factories and refineries shut, roads buckled and power to millions of homes and businesses was knocked out. Several airports, including Tokyo's Narita, were closed and rail services halted. All ports were shut.
The central bank said it would cut short a two-day policy review scheduled for next week to one day on Monday and promised to do its utmost to ensure financial market stability.
The disaster occurred as the world's third-largest economy had been showing signs of reviving from an economic contraction in the final quarter of last year. It raised the prospect of major disruptions for many key businesses and a massive repair bill running into tens of billions of dollars.
The tsunami alerts revived memories of the giant waves that struck Asia in 2004.
Warnings were issued for countries to the west of Japan and across the Pacific as far away as Colombia and Peru, but the tsunami dissipated as it sped across the ocean and worst fears in the Americas were not realised.
The earthquake was the fifth most powerful to hit the world in the past century.
"The building shook for what seemed a long time and many people in the newsroom grabbed their helmets and some got under their desks," Reuters correspondent Linda Sieg said in Tokyo. "It was probably the worst I have felt since I came to Japan more than 20 years ago."
The quake surpasses the Great Kanto quake of September 1, 1923, which had a magnitude of 7.9 and killed more than 140,000 people in the Tokyo area.
The 1995 Kobe quake caused $100 billion in damage and was the most expensive natural disaster in history. Economic damage from the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was estimated at about $10 billion.
Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world's most seismically active areas.
source: Yahoo! News
People queue outside a supermarket in downtown Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, on Thursday.
Back to this blog...
Well, i haven't posted things to this blog for around 1-2 months already...
While i was away, there seems to be lots of things happening in Japan, and i haven't had time to post about it here yet, so now I'm going to post some of the world shocking news of the incident that happened in Japan in these past few days...
While i was away, there seems to be lots of things happening in Japan, and i haven't had time to post about it here yet, so now I'm going to post some of the world shocking news of the incident that happened in Japan in these past few days...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)