One year ago on March 6, 2011, a trifecta of disasters hit Japan. First was a 9.0 earthquake which caused a massive tsunami to hit the shore. A tsunami so large that the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant suffered a triple meltdown. A combination of all three killed as many as 20,000 people, left tens of thousands of homes and businesses in ruins, and turned that area of Japan into a ghost town.
Tag Archives: tsunami
Scientists test sick Alaska seals for radiation 6
According to Reuters, scientists in Alaska are investigating whether local seals are being sickened by radiation from Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant.
Scores of ring seals have washed up on Alaska’s Arctic coastline since July, suffering or killed by a mysterious disease marked by bleeding lesions on the hind flippers, irritated skin around the nose and eyes and patchy hair loss on the animals’ fur coats. More…
Ring of Fire strikes again. 7.3 magnitude quake off the coast of Japan Reply
Image below from March 11th, 2011, tsunami
A powerful earthquake struck off Japan’s northeastern coast on Sunday, July 10, 2011. Tsunami advisories were issued following the Japan earthquake, Tokyo Breaking News reported. The alert was later lifted.
According to Reuters, Fukushima nuclear plant workers evacuated to higher ground following the earthquake, with no immediate reports of injuries or damage. Tokyo Electric Power said that there did not appear to be any further damage at the nuclear plant.
In March, Japan’s earthquake and tsunami devastated the country, and wreaked havoc at the Fukushima nuclear plant.
The Associated Press reports:
The quake hit at 9:57 local time (0057 GMT), and a warning of a tsunami was issued for most of the northeastern coastline. The epicenter of the quake was in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Japan’s main island, Honshu, at a depth of about 20 miles (30 kilometers).
Japanese officials predicted the quake could generate tsunami of up to 20 inches (50 centimeters), but the initial waves were only about 4 inches (10 centimeters). The tsunami warning was lifted after the forecast arrival time of the waves
Update:
Japan’s Meteorological agency at first estimated the strength of the quake at 7.1, but later revised that to 7.3. It also revised the depth estimate from 10 to 30 kilometers.
Close-up underwater footage of Fukushima reactor spent fuel pool in debris Reply
TEPCO released footage for the first time on Wednesday of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant Unit 3 reactor’s spent fuel pool. The fuel rods, covered in debris from the March explosions, weren’t visible in the footage but officials believe they are largely undamaged. In an operation filmed by a robot camera, 40 milliliters of water was collected from the spent fuel pool. The water is contaminated with high levels of radioactive material which needs further analysis for evaluation.
