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Global Jet Stream Forecast (March 13-21st)
Japan earthquake: USS Reagan ‘went through radioactive cloud’
This satellite image shows the extent of the damage caused by the tsunami in Fukushima prefecture. Picture: AFP/DigitalGlobe Source: AFP
THE crew of the US aircraft carrier, on a humanitarian mission to Japan, received a month’s worth of radiation in about an hour, a US newspaper reported yesterday.
The fleet said that the radiation was from a plume of smoke and steam released from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant.
The US Seventh Fleet has now moved its ships and aircraft away from the nuclear power plant after discovering low-level radioactive contamination.
The aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan was about 160 kilometres offshore when its instruments detected Read more…
Nuclear nightmare: Japanese reactor meltdown could propel ‘death cloud’ to US West Coast
Some Japanese officials have admitted that Tokyo Electric’s Fukushima Dai-Ichi atomic reactor No. 1 may experience a total meltdown. That disaster would be followed by the release of a deadly radioactive death cloud that would drift over the Pacific and poison the people of the U.S. West Coast.
A worried Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency spokesman Yuji Kakizaki warned:“If the fuel rods are melting and this continues, a reactor meltdown is possible,” Kakizaki said.
A core meltdown of the nuclear pile occurs from an intense build-up of heat Read more…
Shinmoedake volcano erupts in Japan
A volcano in southwestern Japan erupted Sunday after nearly two weeks of relative silence, sending ash and rocks up to four kilometres (two and a half miles) into the air, a local official says.
It was not immediately clear if the eruption was a direct result of the massive 8.9-magnitude earthquake that rocked northern areas Friday, unleashing a fierce tsunami and sparking fears that more than 10,000 may have been killed.
The 1,421-metre (4,689-feet) Shinmoedake volcano in the Kirishima range saw its first major eruption for 52 years in January. There had not been any major activity at the site since March 1.
Authorities have maintained a volcano warning at a level of three out of five, restricting access to the entire mountain.
In April last year, the eruption of the Eyjafjoell volcano in Iceland dispersed a vast cloud of ash, triggering a huge shutdown of airspace that affected more than 100,000 flights and eight million passengers.
Damage from mega quake increasing, death toll feared to top 1,800
The loss of life and destruction caused by Friday’s catastrophic earthquake in Japan grew Saturday, with the combined number of people who have died or remain unaccounted for expected to exceed 1,800, while an explosion occurred at a nuclear power plant injuring four workers.
But the number of victims could increase as authorities struggle to grasp the extent of the devastation in the face of continuing aftershocks and the large areas affected.
The death toll exceeded 687 as of Saturday midnight, a police tally showed, while a further 200 to 300 unidentified bodies were transferred to Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. About 650 people were noted as missing following the 2:46 p.m. quake with a magnitude of 8.8, the strongest ever recorded in Japan.
On top of that figure, Miyagi prefectural Read more…
Japan Quake Shifts Earth Axis: Though Slight, Days Will Be Shortened In Centuries
The Montreal Gazette
By Carmen Chai, Postmedia News
Initial results out of Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology show that the 8.9-magnitude earthquake that rattled Japan Friday shifted the earth’s rotation axis by about 25 centimetres.
INGV’s report, which came hours after the devastating incident, is equivalent to “very, very tiny” changes that won’t be seen for centuries, though, Canadian geologists say.
Only after centuries would a second be lost as each day is shortened by a millionth of a second, according to University of Toronto geology professor Andrew Miall.
“Ten inches sounds like Read more…
Japan may have hours to prevent nuclear meltdown
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Japanese officials may only have hours to cool reactors that have been disabled by Friday’s massive earthquake and tsunami or face a nuclear meltdown.
Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) (9501.T) is racing to cool down the reactor core after a highly unusual “station blackout” — the total loss of power necessary to keep water circulating through the plant to prevent overheating.
Daiichi Units 1, 2 and 3 reactors shut down automatically at 2:46 p.m. local time due to the earthquake. But about an hour later, the on-site diesel back-up generators also shut, leaving the reactors without Read more…
E. Asia, S. America under tsunami warning after Japan quake
03/11/2011 10:45
Biggest earthquake to hit Japan in 140 years triggers 10-meter tsunami, kills at least 6 people; 4 million homes without power; hotel collapses in city of Sendai, people feared buried in rubble; UN rescue teams on standby.
SINGAPORE – A tsunami warning has been issued for areas across East Asia and the western coast of South America following a huge earthquake that hit Japan on Friday, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.
Among the countries for which a tsunami warning is in effect are: Read more…
Quake Shakes Northeast Japan
A hefty earthquake jolted northeastern Japan shortly before noon on Wednesday, providing an unwelcome reminder of just how prone to seismic activity the country is 2 weeks after the Christchurch disaster.
While the 7.2 magnitude quake was centered 160 kilometers off the coast and was about 14 kilometers underwater, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, it was felt all the way down to central Tokyo’s Otemachi business district – 416 kilometers to the south.
Though there weren’t immediate reports of damage, the Japan Meteorological Agency immediately issued a tsunami alert for parts of the northeastern coast of Japan, predicting modest waves of up to 50 centimeters.
Zardari to seek nuclear technology cooperation with Japan
TOKYO: President Asif Ali Zardari said Monday that since Japan was negotiating a deal with India to cooperate on peaceful uses of nuclear energy, the similar cooperation should be extended to his country.
“If Japan is willing to cooperate with India in nuclear technology and (is) giving nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, I do not see any reason why we should not deserve the same,” Zardari said in an interview with the Japanese media in Islamabad ahead of his departure for a three-day visit to Japan, published in leading Read more…
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