March 12th, 2011 -- Posted in Earthquakes, Natural Disasters, Tsunami |
by Victoria M. Johnson
The situation keeps worsening in Japan. Not only did Friday’s quake and resulting tsunami ravage Japan’s eastern coast, but now 686 are confirmed dead and 9,500 people are missing from the coastal village of Minamisanriku. Authorities confirmed that only about 7,500 residents were evacuated from the village of 17,000 residents.
Man Devastated by Japan 2011 Quake and Tsunami
Officials are still evaluating the calamitous damage. Shaking from the 8.9 quake, the force of the 32-foot high raging tsunami, over a hundred aftershocks and fires. According to AOL News AP report, four whole trains are missing. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano says, “Our estimates based on reported cases alone suggest that more than 1,000 people have lost their lives in the disaster. Unfortunately, the actual damage could far exceed that number considering the difficulty assessing the full extent of damage.”
Aided by emergency responders from dozens of countries, 50,000 Japanese troops have joined the rescue and recovery efforts. More than 215,000 people are living in temporary shelters in five prefectures (states). And more than 170,000 were evacuated from their homes due to the threat of radiation from a nuclear power plant malfunction.
March 11th, 2011 -- Posted in Earthquakes, Tsunami |
by Victoria M. Johnson
Earthquake, tsunamis, fires, aftershocks, and now a looming nuclear power plant disaster. Japan has been hammered in the last 24 hours. As the death toll rises and reports of over 700 hundred missing and thousands injured continues, we can only imagine what the survivors are experiencing.
National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) map on 11 March 2011 shows the predicted travel times of the tsunami.
The USGS reports that since the 8.9 earthquake hit Japan, at least 124 quakes magnitude 5 or higher have rattled the area. But it could be worse in the disaster-struck country. According to the New York Times, “from seawalls that line stretches of Japan’s coastline, to skyscrapers that sway to absorb earthquakes, to building codes that are among the world’s most rigorous, no country may be better prepared to withstand earthquakes than Japan.”
However, the quake has forced the closure of five nuclear power plants in Japan. Kyodo News reported at 2:00pm that radiation 1,000 times higher than normal is being detected at the Fukushima nuclear plant. MSNBC.com interviewed, Edwin Lyman, a senior scientist with the Union of Concerned Scientists. “It’s just as bad as it sounds,” he said. But Steve Kerekes, spokesman for the U.S.-based Nuclear Energy Institute, said that while the situation was serious, a meltdown remains unlikely.
March 11th, 2011 -- Posted in Earthquakes, Tsunami |
by Victoria M. Johnson
At 2:46 pm a magnitude 8.9 earthquake rocked Japan. This is Japan’s largest quake on record, and one of the largest ever recorded in the world. The epicenter was 231 miles northeast of Tokyo. The quake triggered a 32-foot tsunami that pummeled Japan’s eastern coast, killing hundreds of people as it swept away everything in its path. In the cities closest to the epicenter, Sendai and Honshu, hundreds of bodies were found with over 500 people reported missing and 627 people injured.
Aftermath of Earthquake and Tsunami
More than 50 aftershocks have been recorded, with tremors reaching as far as Tokyo. The photos of the region show catastrophic devastation. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, a tsunami warning has been issued for parts of the U.S. West Coast in addition to the earlier warning for Hawaii and the western Pacific islands. A 7-foot tsunami reached Hawaii at 9:00 am but did not cause major damage. Officials warned that the waves could get larger. A magnitude 7.3 struck this area of Japan two days ago, causing no damage.