Japan earthquake

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Cooper on Nuke Plant Blast: Time for Me to Leave?

Anxiety is obvious as news of second blast comes in

(Newser) - Not two months after he and his crew were attacked while covering the protests in Egypt, Anderson Cooper once again put himself in (or near) harm’s way, this time to cover the Japan earthquake. While reporting on the situation at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant, Cooper received word of...

Radioactive Steam Could Be Pumped Into Air for Months

Seawater cooling nuclear cores needs to be released periodically

(Newser) - Japan's attempts to avert a full-scale meltdown in its damaged nuclear reactors by flooding them with seawater has an ugly byproduct: radioactive steam, which may continue to be pumped into the air for weeks or even months, reports the New York Times . Operators periodically flood the cores with seawater, which...

2K Bodies Found in Battered Region of Japan

Adds to confirmed quake toll of 1,597

(Newser) - Some 2,000 bodies were found today on the coast of Japan’s Miyagi prefecture, adding to the confirmed quake death toll of 1,597, with 1,481 people confirmed missing. More than 1,000 bodies drifted ashore in the area, and another thousand were found in the town of...

Clint Eastwood Tsunami Film Yanked in Japan

Distributor calls 'Hereafter' 'not appropriate' now

(Newser) - Clint Eastwood's latest film, Hereafter, which has scenes of a tsunami destroying a Thai village, has been yanked from theaters in Japan following the nation's catastrophic earthquake. Hereafter opened in Japan late last month, and had been scheduled to play until the end of March. The film's distributor, Warner Entertainment,...

Dog Teams Held Up by Japanese Rules

Frustrated Swiss team waiting, US negotiating

(Newser) - Strict Japanese rules against importing dogs are holding up canine teams that could be critical in rescuing survivors of the nation's massive quake. A Swiss team of 25 handlers and nine dogs has already been delayed, and US officials are negotiating with Japan to speed the movement of search-and-rescue dog...

Second Explosion Rocks Japanese Nuke Plant

Radiation leaked, officials say levels are low

(Newser) - A second hydrogen explosion rocked Japan's Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant today as workers scrambled to avert a meltdown disaster. The explosion occurred in a separate unit of the reactor from the one hit by an earlier explosion Saturday. Nuclear agency officials said radiation was leaked, but that levels were low...

Japan Earthquake: Death Toll Estimate Passes 10K, Plus More on Nuclear Emergency
In Japan, Officials Knew Risk of Hydrogen Explosion
plus: death toll could pass 10k
Mar 13, 2011 5:05 PM CDT

In Japan, Officials Knew Risk of Hydrogen Explosion

Plus: Estimated death toll passes 10K, and more from Japan

(Newser) - When officials decided to vent radioactive steam from one of the damaged nuclear power plants in Japan, they knew it could result in a hydrogen explosion. And, even though an explosion is exactly what happened, the decision was still the best option for avoiding a total meltdown, the AP reports...

Japanese Volcano Shinmoedake Erupts
 Japanese Volcano Erupts 
Mar 13, 2011 1:01 PM CDT

Japanese Volcano Erupts

Shinmoedake had been quiet for a few weeks

(Newser) - It's an even better time to not be in Japan: Adding to the country's burgeoning humanitarian crisis after Friday's massive earthquake and tsunami, a volcano in the country's south erupted today. The Shinmoedake volcano spewed ash some two and a half miles into the air, its first activity in a...

Japan Declares Emergency at 2nd Nuke Plant

22 people found to be contaminated at Dai-ichi plant

(Newser) - The International Atomic Energy Agency said today that Japan has declared a state of emergency at a second earthquake-ravaged nuclear plant after measuring higher-than-permitted levels of radiation. The IAEA says the source is being investigated, but all three reactors at the Onagawa plant are currently under control. Japan also said...

Man Rescued 9 Miles Off Japan Coast

On his roof, of course

(Newser) - Disasters often yield miracles, and a 60-year-old Japanese man is a case in point: Rescuers plucked Hiromitsu Shinkawa off of his roof last night, from nine miles out at sea where the tsunami swept him. Shinkawa was from the city of Minamisoma, which was virtually leveled in the destruction, reports...

Google Shows First Satellite Photos of Post-Quake Japan

Before-and-after views show extent of damage

(Newser) - Google yesterday released its first satellite pictures of Japan taken since Friday's quake, revealing in stark detail before-and-after views of Kamaishi, maps indicating which roads remain passable, and other images of the massive devastation. Google also set up a Picasa gallery full of before-and-after images from around the northeast region...

Risk of Meltdown Grows at Damaged Nuclear Reactors

Japan working to keep at least two from catastrophic failure

(Newser) - Wire services are scrambling to assess the danger surrounding Japan's damaged nuclear reactors, but this much is clear: At least two are in serious trouble, and officials were taking extraordinary measures to avert full-blown meltdowns. Phrases like "possible partial meltdown" ( from AP ) and "assuming the possibility...

Earthquake Moved Japan 8 Feet

Earth's axis also shifted slightly

(Newser) - Some numbers related to the Japan earthquake, from CNN and ABC :
  • 8: Number of feet the coast of Japan moved eastward.
  • 4: Number of inches the Earth's axis shifted.
  • 160: Number of aftershocks in the first 24 hours, most of them with a magnitude of at least 5.0.
  • 59
...

Japan to Distribute Iodine Tablets Near Nuclear Plant

Officials downplay danger, say it's only a precaution

(Newser) - If it's been tough to gauge how much risk is posed by Japan's damaged nuclear plants, it's because officials have given what the New York Times describes as "confusing accounts" of exactly what's going on. Safety officials say the explosion at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant destroyed walls of the...

9,500 Missing in One Japanese Town

It amounts to half the population

(Newser) - As the rescue mission continues in Japan, the first truly scary numbers are emerging. Government officials in the northern town of Minamisanriku say 9,500 are missing, according to the official Kyodo news agency. That represents about half the town's population, notes the CBC . Still, confusion is rampant, and the...

Building Housing Japan Nuclear Reactor Explodes

Japanese scramble amid fears of nuclear meltdown

(Newser) - An explosion at a nuclear power station today destroyed a building housing the reactor amid fears that it was close to a disastrous meltdown after being hit by a powerful earthquake and tsunami. Footage on Japanese TV showed that the walls of the reactor's building had crumbled, leaving only a...

Japan Wakes to Scenes of Devastation

Massive rescue operation gets under way

(Newser) - Morning has brought a clearer sense of the devastation in Japan caused by the fifth-largest earthquake recorded since 1900. Japanese media reports say the death toll from the quake-tsunami combination will certainly exceed 1,000, but no firm totals could be had. More than 120 aftershocks were recorded, reports AP...

Coast Guard Searches for Man Swept Out to Sea
 Coast Guard Searches 
 for Man Swept Out to Sea 
Tsunami victim in US
Mar 11, 2011 5:46 PM CST

Coast Guard Searches for Man Swept Out to Sea

He was taking photos of tsunami waves along California coast

(Newser) - The tsunami that roiled the US West Coast today may have claimed at least one victim. The Coast Guard is searching for a man swept out to sea while taking photos in northern California, reports the Eureka Standard-Times . The man and two friends were near the mouth of the Klamath...

Japan Nuclear Plant Will Vent Small Amount of Slightly Radioactive Vapor to Reduce Pressure
Radiation Levels Soar
at Japan Nuclear Plant 
UPDATED
Mar 11, 2011 4:11 PM CST

Radiation Levels Soar at Japan Nuclear Plant

At least a small amount has seeped outside

(Newser) - The earthquake that rocked Japan today damaged a major nuclear power plant, and officials said radiation levels were around 1,000 times higher than normal in the control room of a reactor, reports MSNBC . At least a small amount has leaked outside, but it's not clear how much danger it...

Video Captures First Moments of Japan Quake

It's probably the strongest in 1,200 years in the region

(Newser) - Scientists are still trying to get a handle on just how devastating today's 8.9-magnitude earthquake was in Japan. One official with the US Geological Survey figures it's the biggest in the region in 1,200 years and ruptured a patch of the earth's crust 150 miles long and 50...

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