Crisis in Japan - Page 68

Monster Earthquake in Japan - Tsunami Hits Coast
Fear Nuclear Meltdown

Nuclear Reactor Overheats, Fear of Radiation Leaks, Worst Earthquakes in History of the Country, More then 1000 Dead,

Tokyo - A Strong earthquake shook Japan, a huge tsunami devastated the country! Probably over 1000 people lost their lives. The extent of the destruction is enormous: airports are destroyed, burning oil refineries. A plant exploded! A ship and an entire train are missing.

A Nuclear power plant is only cooled by battery. According to experts, can cause meltdown!

In the control room of Japan's Fukushima No.1 nuclear reactor plant, the radioactivity on the 1000-times the normal value has increased. The agency Kyodo reported Saturday morning (local time) and referred to the national nuclear safety authority. Prime Minister Naoto Kan has extended the evacuation area. He urged people in a radio of 10 kilometers of the power station, to reach safety.

Heinz Smital, a nuclear physicist and nuclear expert at Greenpeace, told BILD.de: "This is a sign that the situation is worsening. The core cooling seems to not work, various systems are more likely to not work. The measure to allow pressure is correct in principle, to save to reactors integrity."

The nuclear expert added: "There is need for action, the reactor is becoming a real problem case. I suspect that the evacuation zone around the reactor is still extended."

Other nuclear power plants across the country switched off. In a plant, a fire broke out, where 3,000 people were taken to safety.


More Tsunami warnings were issued for the entire Pacific coast. A two-meter-high tsunami reached Hawaii.

Hans-Henning Judek, employees of the German-Japanese Society in Yokohama: "It's already on the kidneys, it wobbles here for three more hours. " A Japanese colleague told BILD: "Traffic lights, subways, buses-nothing works! I have to stay the whole night in the office."


All about the Live-Ticker!
I believe these are for Germany's Time Zone which is 8 hours behind Japan's. I have no idea what the actual time is though, They are in chronological order though, from newest to oldest.

6.47 Clock: According to preliminary information from the police Saturday afternoon, there were nearly 1,400 deaths and missing persons. 784 people reported missing. 215,000 people have found refuge in emergency shelters.

6.46 Clock: Sendai - A day after the devastating earthquake on Saturday afternoon by earthquake measuring 6.8 rocked the country by a Japanese. As the U.S. seismological announced that the epicenter was practically in the same area off the northeast coast of the country such as the earthquake measuring 8.9 on the previous day. Whether they can lead to further damage was not immediately known.

6.45 Clock: In the vicinity of the damaged Japanese nuclear power plant Fukushima been detected radioactive cesium. The Kyodo news agency reported Saturday, citing the Nuclear Safety Commission. It is possible that in proceeding in the reactor meltdown.

05:43 Clock: The tsunami waves have hit the California port facilities and dozens of boats are destroyed. The California Governor Jerry Brown called a state of emergency in the affected areas. A young man was swept away by the waves and drowned.

05:27 Clock: Tens of thosands of soldiers for use in the disaster regions mobilized to rescue survivors. A total of 20,000 troops, 190 aircraft and ships, and a total of 50,000 volunteers were mobalized.

04:46 Clock: The tool has increased to at least 398 police. Kyodo news agency reported this, citing the information. More then 800 people are still missing. About 210,000 people lost their homes.

02:52 Clock: The Japanese government reports serious accidents in 2 nuclear plants, an emercy meeting is convened. The nuclear power plant in Fukushima was unusually high before, but so far no radioactive leak has occured, authorities said. A second reactor in Fukushima had its coolant system fail. For this reason, pressure needs to be let out. This could lead to leakage of radioactivity.

01:40 Clock: After the failure of the cooling system in the Fukushima 2 nuclear power plant, the authorities arranged evacuations for residents who live without a radius of 3 kilometers around the plant. Previously, there was an evacuation for residents who lived within 10 kilometers of Fukushima 1 Power plant.

01:23 Clock: Japan declares an emergency at Fukushima 2 power plant, after it's cooling system failed. This now applies to a total of five reactors at two nuclear power plants in a state of emergency. Affected are two nuclear reactors in Fukushima 1 and three in nearby Fukushima 2 power plant. All five reactors were shut down after the devastating earthquake on friday.

01:06 Clock: Large tsunami waves in the South Pacific island grouds have flooded. In the island of Tonga, several of the low-lying islands were hit. No one was injured. No property damage reported. In the United States, at least five people were watching the waves off the coast and were washed away. Four were rescured from the waters off the U.S State of Oregon, a man went missing on Friday.

01:04 Clock: Prime Minister Naoto Kan flew in by helicopter in the disaster area to get an overview of the situation in the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

00:46 Clock: Fukashima nuclear reactors 1&2 declared an emergency. Even the nuclear emergency cooling system in the three reactors at the nuclear plant had failed, the Kyodo agency reported Satuday, citing the operating company Tepco.


22:58 Clock: Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, radioactivity is measured at a thosand times the normal level. The news agency Kyodo reported Saturday (local time), a security committee measured the amount in control room No.1. Due to the risk of radiation escaping, Prime Minister Naoto Kan advised residents without a radius of 10 kilometers of the power plant to leave there homes and move to safety. The radioactivity outside the power plant was 8 times above normal, Kan said, according to a report by the news agency Jiji.

22:55 Clock: Authorities say the radioactivity has spread. Evacuations have been expanded.

22:50 Clock: Japan has decided to release pressure in the Fukushima-Daiichi reactor. International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, reported this on friday evening in Vienna. The controlled release of vapor will be filtered to keep radioactivity in the plant, the Japanese authorities told IAEA.

22:02 Clock: Japan quake, according to U.S researchers, is the strongest in region since 1200 years ago. The earthquake may have caused damage amounting to tens of billions of dollars in Japan. According to scientists, this is the worst earthquake in the history of japan, and worlds fith largest on record.

21:52 Clock: Cabinet Secretary explained the released amount of radioactivity for safety. After the failure of the cooling system in the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan, authorites gave permission to drain the reactor due to pressure. The success of this measure is not gauranteed. Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano, said the released amount of radioactivity would be "very low." As evacuations have already been arranged, and with the winds blowing toward the sea, "we can gaurantee security," Edano said at the televised press conference.

21:46 Clock: Tsunami caused damage in California. After the severe earthquake in Japan on friday, tsunami waves arrive in California. The northern California town of Crescent City was hit by two meter high waves. "About 30 boats in the harbor were damaged." Also, in the port of Santa Cruz, south of San Francisco, numerous boats were broken, and some boats were torn off their docking and set adrift.

21:44 Clock: Salvage THW experts to help earthquake victims in Japan earthquake zone. Germany will send about 40 experts of the Technical Relief (THW) to the Japanese. The THW team of the Rapid Deployment Unit Search and Rescue International (SEEBA) was to leave for Japan on Saturday, said Interior Minister Hans-Peter Freidrich said on Friday evening. "Now, fast help is needed. The German government immediately offered assistance, the THW is well prepared for this, he said. Four THW experts are already on their way to support the claimed area of the German Embassy in the exploration of further assistance.

21:12 Clock: Mini-tsunami reaches New Zealand's coast. The tsunami struck early on Saturday morning (local time) around the north coast of New Zealand. There was a measured 15 to 20 cm higher water level. The Civil Defence announced that the water would rise in some places by up to one meter. People should stay away from beaches. Evacuations were not provided.

20:43 Clock: The number of missing people is rising: Officially on Saturday morning (local time) at least 547 people are missing according to early estimates. The number of injured is nearly 800. Prime Minister Naoto Kan said the earthquake has caused serious damage in large parts of northern Japan.

20:41 Clock: Tsunami hazard on the west coast of South America: Chile and Ecuador. Thousands evacuate their homes. In Chile, about 4500 inhabitants on Easter Island were evacuated.

20:39 Clock: Eight million households without electricity. The first night after the worst earthquake in Japan's History, millions of people spent it in total darkness. More then eight million households had no electricity or phone. Hundreds of thosands without gas, or water, the Kyodo news agency reported on Saturday, "It is pitch black in our neighborhood," said Mikiko Tazaki in the city of Sendai in northwestern Honshu main island, which was particularly hit hard by the tsunami following the quake. "We do not have electricity or clean water. We have no heating, it is cold" said the mother of an eleven year old son.

20:07 Clock: Strong earthquake reported in northern Japan. the Television station NHK reports it was a 6.6 quake.

19:30 Clock: The cooling system in the nuclear plant Fukushima Daiichi has failed. The pressure in the reactor has increased by half. The Japanese Nuclear Safety Authority announced it could slow the radiation stream by releasing pressure in the reactor. The operation would reportedly have no impact on the environment or the health of the people in the area. The engineers would do their utmost to get the cooling system back up and running, said the authority. The prospects for success are currently low. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that Washington has made coolant available for Japan.

19:28 Clock: The Japanese government warned of further tsunamis, reports the TV station NHK

19:22 Clock: Japan asks EU for help - especially search dogs. The government in Tokyo need urgent search and rescue teams, and search dogs especially for the detection of the buried, the European Commission said on Friday evening in Brussels.

18:43 Clock: In a reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, the pressure increases, the Kyodo news agency reported on Saturday. Tepco trying to reduce the pressure, according to the news agency, Jiji. According to the Nikkei business daily, this radiation could reach the outside.

18.32 Clock: reprocessing plant in Japan at risk. Even in an earthquake zone is the Rokkasho reprocessing plant currently being cooled with emergency power as well. "There are about 3,000 tons of highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel," said the international nuclear expert Mycle Schneider. This corresponds approximately to the amount of fuel that is stored in 25 to 30 atomic reactors. "If the rods are not cooled, it ignites spontaneously," said Schneider.

17.58 Clock: The Japanese news agency Kyodo reports: probably more than a thousand deaths.

17.28 Clock: More and more victims: the police said 200-300 bodies in the coastal city of Sendai were found. The death of 110 other people has been confirmed officially, 350 were missing, there were at least 544 injured.

17:18 Clock: The Agency for Technical Relief (THW) is Saturday afternoon with about 40 supporters in the earthquake region flying on to Japan.

17.04 Clock: First tsunami waves reach U.S. West Coast. It arrived on the shores of the U,S State of Oregon, said the radio station KCBS

16.49 Clock: The Japanese football league has all 19 weekend matches scheduled for the time being postponed.
[b]
16.45 Clock: The Kyodo news agency reported from a dam in the district of Fukushima. Homes were swept away by the floods.[b]

16:40 Clock: On the coast of Maui, Hawaii, tsunami waves reached a height of two meters. Experts have warned that the waves could still be larger.

16:35 Clock: The federal government sends first workers to Japan. Four experts from the Agency for Technical Relief (THW) were already en route to Tokyo.

16.30 Clock: Facebook users Gabriel Castro Aliaga writes: "Hold on, Japan! Be strong! From Chile, 8.8 earthquake survivors! "

16:26 Clock: Contrary to initial fears, exhibits of the Meissen porcelain factory worth about two million euros was not destroyed. "We have received a mail from our representatives in Tokyo. The prorcelain works of art have survived the shock unscathed," said a company spokesman.

16.18 Clock: The German branches of the Japanese car manufacturer Toyota, Mazda and Nissan reported no casualties so far in Japan.

16.13 Clock: Readers of the New York Times "describing as they experienced the horror:

•"Tokyo Bill":" I just swam my afternoon rounds on the ground floor of the Izumi Garden Tower. The other swimmers and I were shaken.

•"Owen Finn":"It was absolutely awesoe here in Yokohama....There were many aftershocks, I saw a ten-story building move back and forth. The phones do not work, I cannot get through to my wife in Tokyo. The trains do not move, the whole transit system is paralyzed."

•"Shaun Joel Ketch": "I am on the 36th floor in the Photo of Izumi Garden Tower in Tokyo. Just now I have seen a massive fire behind the Tokyo Tower and the Rainbow Brdige...."

15:57 Clock: Authorities seach for missing ship: A ship with 80 port workers has been washed away by the tsunami, said a spokesperson for the Coast Guard.

15:54 Clock: In the Japanese city of Miyagi Kesennuma in the northeastern province, fires are breaking out on a wide scale. Japanese Military helicoptors are showering the fires in many parts of the city.

15.43 Clock: The office of the Hamburg-based Otto Group has been badly damaged. "The good news is that no one was injured by our staff there," said a company spokesman.

15:38 Clock: State of emergency in the Fukushima nuclear plant: Apparently, the emergency cooling system is running only on battery power. The battery supplies energy for only a few hours, said the Society for Plant and Reactor Safety (GRS) in Cologne, referring to Japanese data. "In the worst case, threatening a meltdown," said GRS spokesman Sven Dokter.

15:35 Clock: UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon: "Japan has every possible help offered. The Japanese people has always been generous donors and partners for those most in need around the world," said Ban. "In this spirit, we now stand on the side of Japan, and we will do everything and really everything possible at this difficult time."

15:17 Clock: The waves in Hawaii were visible to the naked eye, but they had no destructive force. According to the authorities, they reached a height of 50 to 70 centimeters.

15:02 Clock:Production facility of automotive supplier Bosch has been damaged apparently. About five injured employees but there is no evidence, said a company spokesperson. Reports say that there is some damage to the buildings, at some sites, the machines were damaged.

14:57 Clock: In an oil factory in the northeast of the country, there was a violent explosion. The incident occured in a large facility in Shiogama, a suburb of the port city of Sendai, Japanese media reported, citing the police. Huge flames rose above the factory.

14.52 Clock: The first foothills of the tsunami reached Hawaii. The local television showed images of high waves off the beaches of the United States belonging to the island of Oahu.

14.51 Clock: In California, the authorities expected as a result of the severe earthquake in Japan, one to two meters high tsunami.

14.47 Clock: President Christian Wulff, sent a message of condolence to Emperor Akihito. He had learned "with extreme dismay" of the earthquake and tsunami, said Wulff.

14.38 Clock: The tsunami Indonesia coast with a height of only ten centimeters reached. According to the Indonesian meteorology office, a second, higher wave is not excluded.

14:33 Clock: Police in the coastal city of Sendai are reporting that they have found between 200-300 bodies.

14:20 Clock: Germany reports from the German BILD about how terrible the earthquake was:

• Ikuko Kubokawa, staff member of the German Industry and Commerce in Tokyo: "I lived for 33 years in Japan and in the last days I had a really strange feeling. Then it happened. Everything suddenly shook and wobbled. I did not know if I would survive the evening! I'm scared and I cry all the time. I couldn't reach my husband and children from the phone, but via e-mail. Thank God they're doing good..” We now stay in office, it is absolutely impossible to get home. "

• Hans-Henning Judek, employees of the German-Japanese Society in Yokohama: "It's already on the kidneys. It wobbles here for three hours, "a colleague". Traffic lights, subways, buses - nothing works anymore! I have to stay up all night in the office. "

• A German employee of Carl Zeiss AG, headquartered in Tokyo: "So what I've seen! First there was a long deep earthquake, then a short break, and then again. We have evacuated all staff and placed in special rooms. The majority of our colleagues are now waiting in the office. There is no light, water, or working toilets..."

13:51 Clock: The numbers of deaths is at least 60

13:49 Clock: Barack Obama has expressed his condolences to the Japanese people and offered help. "Michelle and I speak to the people of Japan, our deep condolences, especially to hose who have lost their loved ones in the quake and tsunamis," said from a written and spoken statement from Obama.

13:46 Clock: More than 700 flights out of Japan have been canceled. 13,000 passengers stranded at Tokyo's Narita Airport, 10,000 at Haneda Airport.

13:39 Clock: 2000 residents near a Japanese nuclear plan evacuated from the area.

Residents living without 2 kilometers of a nuclear plant in the Fukushima Prefecture are ordered to evacuate.

13:09 Clock: Taiwan tsunami alert called off. The waves that hit were small and there is no report of damages.

12:59 Clock: A ship with 100 people on board was swept away. The fate of these people is unknown.

12:40 Clock: Chile, Ecuador, and Peru under tsunami alert. The tsunami will reach shortly before midnight local time (Saturday, 4:00 Clock GMT) first to the north of Chile. Just almost exaclty a year after the country was hit by an earthquake of magnitude 8.8 (more than 500 deaths)

12:36 Clock: So far, 44 confirmed death toll from the quake and tsunami. Scores of people missing.

12:27 Clock: Atomic Alarm, the Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan has declared a nuclear alert. There were no radioactive leaks in or around the nuclear power plants. This is a precaution so that authorities can easily take emergency measures if the need arises, said government spokesman Yukio Edano.

12:00 Clock: Merkel Japan secures support on German Channels. "Be assured that in these tragic hours, Germany stands at the side of Japan ready to help," said Angela Merkel, responding to the statement from Japanese Prime Minister Natoto.

11:24 Clock: Death tool rises to at least 32 according to CNN, tsunami warnings issued for 20 countries.

11:19 Clock: Turbine building of the Onagawa nuclear plant is burning. Radioactivity was not withdrawn. The fire from the affected building is separated from the reactor building.

10:57 Clock: Seismologists: Japan earthquake was measured even in Germany.

10:55 Clock: According to the UN Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, four nuclear power plants, which are closest to the epicenter, switched off.

10.42: Tsunami alert in the U.S., The authorities on the west coast, warned of a tidal wave that could arrive in about 6 hours. In Neah Bay, Washington, It is expected at about 7:18 local time.

10:27 Clock: Sony, one of the largest exporters of the country, is closing six factories.

10:13 Clock: 19 Deaths. Several of the victims were killed by the collapse of houses.

10:01 Clock: In the nuclear power plants in Fukushima Prefecture, an "abnormal condition" is given, the news agency Kyodo reported. Details were not immediately known.

9:51 Clock: The agency Jiji reports more then 10 dead. In the north, more aftershocks. Power failures in the prefectures of Aomori, Akita, Iwate, and Yamagata.

9:44 Clock: Dozens of fires raging across the country, at least 50 according to news agency. Several explosions in a burning oil refinery north of Tokyo.

9:30 Clock: Government: It is "probably about the worst earthquake to date in the history of Japan"

9:25 Clock: evacuations in the Phillipines and Russia: tens of thosands of people were brought as a precaution against an impending tsunami safety.

9:13 Clock: Japanese authorities say there is risk of furth tsunamis and strong aftershocks. All ports closed in Japan.

9:11 Clock: The death toll is rising, according to japanese radio. Japans prime minister speaks of "enormous damage."

8:59 Clock: The U.S. Tsunami Warning Centre extends the warning almost all coastal areas in the Pacific on - even to Australia and South America.

8.51 Clock: Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle (FDP) has offered support to the Asian country. However, Japan has not requested any assistance.

8.42 Clock:Aftershocks continue to shake the disaster area.The quake was felt in even in Beijing, as the Chinese news agency Xinhua reported.

8.30 Clock: The Japanese broadcasting from the first reported deaths and at least 20 injured. Several children were flushed into the sea.

8:11 Clock: A ten-meter high tsunami hit the port of Sendai in the north, reports the Kyodo agency.

8.02 Clock: cars and houses are swept away by the tsunami, images in the current live TV broadcast. In an oil refinery north of Tokyo in Chiba, a large fire broke out. Over parts of the city of Yokohama rose to black clouds of smoke.

7:55 Clock: The local trains and subways in Tokyo stop operation. At least six fires reported so far.

7:38 Clock: Several people have been buried by landslides in the north. Details not yet known.

7:30 Clock: The U.S. classifies the seismological earthquake a magnitude of 8.8 on up.

7:26 Clock: A four-foot tsunami hits Japan's Pacific coast.

7:19 The Kyodo news agency reports that the Tokyo Narita airport was closed.