Japan is in troubles

There is no denying the fact that on 11th March, 2011 an 8.9 rector scale earthquake has thumped the north-west of Japan, triggering a tsunami that convey ships and cars booming into coastal towns. It has provoked tsunami warnings around the Pacific. It is a fact that about forty people have been inveterate dead, but the toll is anticipated to increase piercingly. One more 39 have been reported missing. The government has issued a warning that another strong earthquake could strike Japan. Japan alleged that it was operating on an atomic power emergency footing but supposed no radiation leaks were identified among its reactors. The four nuclear power plants closest to the quake have been safely shut down, the United Nations atomic watchdog said on Friday. A 10-metre tsunami has hit the city of Sendai city, according to media reports, and a tsunami alert is in place all the way down the Pacific coast.

Suffice it to say, the quake socked 370 km from Tokyo at a depth of 24 km. It was felt as far away as Beijing. Officials are warning the tsunami could reach 10 meters high. Waves have hit Tokyo. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre, west of Honolulu, Hawaii, issued a widespread warning extending across virtually the entire Pacific Ocean, including Australia, Antarctica and South America. Minor tsunamis reached Taiwan’s coastline without causing any damage, according to Taiwan’s central weather bureau. Coastal areas in Hawaii, which is some 4,000 miles east of the epicenters, are being evacuated. “We have about four hours to evacuate the coast,” said John Cummings from Honolulu emergency services. The first waves are expected to hit at 12h55 universal time. Indonesia is likely to be hit by waves at 11h00 universal time. The Philippine government on Friday strongly urged residents of its Pacific coast to go farther inland. Seismologists are warning that waves of up to a metre could hit there between 09h00 and 11h00 universal time. There are fears that some low-lying islands in the Pacific could be completely submerged by the wave. In Japan, Sendai airport is underwater and is closed as our several other airports, including Tokyo’s Hareda airport. Roads and train services closed and four million homes are without power. Numerous injuries have been reported by police in Japan’s Miyagi prefecture and there is widespread flooding in the area. The quake struck off the north-east coast of the island of Honshu in the early afternoon, strongly shaking buildings in Tokyo. It triggered dozens of fires in Tokyo. The Yokohama oil refinery has caught fire in Iichihara, near Tokyo. Many were injured after a roof caved in during a school graduation ceremony at a hall in east Tokyo. “People are remaining calm and gathering in earthquake centers and public parks away from tall buildings and wondering how they’re going to get home tonight,” says correspondent Justin McCurry. “There are tens of thousands of people on the streets of Tokyo and public transport is still crippled.”
He adds that it is difficult to gauge what the reaction has been in the worst-hit areas because there are problems with communication. The car park at Tokyo Disneyland was drenched with water-logged segments from the ground due to liquefaction of soil caused by the tremor. The Japanese health ministry says radiation from the Fukushima nuclear plant has reached a level where it poses a threat to human health. The UN atomic watchdog says a fire at spent fuel storage pond at the plant broke out on Tuesday. Prime Minister Naoto Kan has warned that the radiation could spread, after a third explosion followed by a fire hit a reactor at the plant on Tuesday. There are fears that low-level radiation echelon which may have reached as far as the capital Tokyo. The explosions have also raised fears of a meltdown at the nuclear plant. As media news, it is evident that four out of the six reactors at the plant are in problem. Blasts have occurred at buildings housing the No. 1, 2 and 3 reactors and their containment vessels after cooling systems were knocked out by the quake’s tsunami.

In view of the above it is evident that the International Atomic Energy Agency predominated that radiation was on the rampage into the atmosphere on Tuesday after a fire broke out at a spent fuel storage pond of the nuclear plant. The nuclear watchdog later deep-rooted the fire was extinguished. It may be pointed out here that authorities have evacuated non-essential staff from the Fukushima plant as engineers work around the clock to cool the nuclear reactors. Residents within 20 km of the plant have been asked to leave and people within 30 km of the plant have been asked to stay indoors. The nuclear crisis was sparked by a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami, which is expected to have claimed at least 10,000 lives. Japan’s premier strongly has criticized the operator of the Fukushima plant, Kyodo News reported. “The TV reported an explosion. But nothing was said to the premier’s office for about an hour,” the agency quoted him as saying. “What the hell is going on?” On Tuesday, panic selling sent Tokyo shares down over 10 percent on worries the nuclear crisis would become a catastrophe. The Nikkei index closed off 1,015.34 points at 8.605.15. With ports, airports, highways and factories across Japan shut down; analysts say the impact on the Japanese economy is severe.