NUCLEAR EMERGENCY IN JAPAN

Global Network board member Makiko Sato in Japan sends the latest report following the earthquake in her country.

According to repeated TV news:
No.2 reactor of Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in norther part of Japan cannot be cooled down any more, as its inner diesel-powered emergency electricity supply is now out at 20:00, a few hours after the electricity blackout happened in the area. As for No. 1, No. 3 reactors, they still have some time to run our of electricity for cooling them.

Citizens living within 3 km from the plant were urged to evacuate into some buildings, as radioactive leakage is expected if emergency electricity supplies are out. As last resort, before the blackout would be somehow overcome, eight electricity power trucks of the electricity company's and some of Security Defense Forces were dispatched for the No. 1 plant. The latter arrived at 19:48, but no information has delivered as to the connection went successful and how long one such truck can hold for supplying.

Anti-nuclear power plant groups are circulating their suggestions or appeals, including advice of eating iodine or one specific sea weed rich in it.

Bodies of 200-300 people have been found on streets in Sendai, Fukushima, where the river were inundated with Tsunami.

In Tohoku area, 4.5 million households are still out of electricity. In Tokyo area, there are 3.61 million households without electricity. Japanese government has requested U.S. forces in Japan for help.

Another activist in Japan, Junko Abe, reports that:

Tsunami will grow more powerful. The 2nd and the 3rd stage attacks will be more powerful than the 1st stage ones. It will attack other parts of the Pacific coast, areas such as Hokkaido, Shikoku and Kyushu. The first stage attacks were of 10m high.



UPDATE: Thanks, Bruce, for your concern. So bad. Not look it will be heading for better. Quakes and tsunami never die out. People in the northern parts are still very much endangered, and fires in several cities have not been contained. One of the gas tanks on fire in Ichihara, Chiba, has just exploded, spreading toxic gas around. Nearby residents have been evacuated.

It is a small relief to read that the damages were not so big in Hawai'i, but still, to people on small islands in the Pacific, the fear of Tsunami must be so large. Please take care. Right now, warning of 10m high tsunami at one area has been issued on TV.

(I'm quoting this just as I hear NHK TV news.).....................
The evacuation area around Fukushima nuclear power plant was enlarged from 3 to 10 km early this morning.

Inside the operating room of No.1 ( I heard No. 2) reactor of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant 1,000 times higher radioactivity has been detected.

One expert now appearing on TV is saying that there is a 'minor possibility' that the containment vessel will be broken down. The announcer and the expert are saying a slight radioactivity was detected at the front gate of the plant but that this may not be from the reactor itself but from some broken tubes or something around it. I've just got a Gov. paper from an anti-nuke activist in Tokyo via email who also is a core member of GreenPeace Japan. This was released by the central government at 22:35 last night, which regards Gov. emergency counter-measures to contain damages in every aspect.

The paper says at 21:41 last night our prime minister ordered that in case of evacuation,
residents be over 10 km radius away from the No.1 plant. (Actual evacuation 'recommendation' for expanded area of 10 km-radius was issued around 5:00 this morning. )

One expert fear the repeated quakes in the northern part ( still going on) might trigger ones in the southeastern, and then in the southern area, as has been afraid, but so far, it seems OK.

One of the hard hit area in a Miyagi town at the river mouth, the ground of the whole area has sunk, meaning another Tsunami might endanger people left even on the roof terrace of 3 or 4 story-concrete buildings, so the local authority is right now asking for their help. The fear of Tsunami is still warned as to every part in Japan. Several towns in Miyagi, Iwate, Fukushima have been totally destroyed. Fatalities around Japan may be thousands or more.

Many workers in Tokyo had to stay in nearby public buildings like universities, community centers, and so on, as Japan Rail (JR) trains didn't run because of blackout. Part of transportation including some lines of JR recovered late at night. I'm totally in a safe place, feeling devastated, praying nuclear power plant(s) in Japan might not cause further disaster.

Makiko