Video- RT footage of Japan Kessenuma 'ghost' port city smashed by tsunami

What Can The Japanese Tsunami Teach Us About Prepping For Disasters And Emergencies?

The American Dream
March 16, 2011

The Japanese tsunami is a crystal clear example of just how unpredictable disasters and emergencies can be.  Nobody ever dreamed that a tsunami in Japan could wash cars, homes and people up to 6 miles inland.  But that is exactly what happened.  So while it is great to make elaborate preparations for potential disasters and emergencies, it is also absolutely essential to have backup plans.  After all, what good is all of that emergency food that you have stored up going to do if a massive tsunami comes along and rips your house off the foundation and deposits it into the sea?  Not that all of us shouldn’t be busy prepping.  Of course we should be.  All over Japan right now the supermarkets are being stripped bare.  Don’t you think that many of those people are wishing that they had stored up some food?  It is those that prepare that have the best chance of surviving disasters and emergencies.  No plan is foolproof, but having a plan is much better than not having a plan.

For example, there are lots of people in Japan right now that are wishing that they would have stored up at least a bit of fresh water to drink.  There are homes in Japan that are still completely surrounded by saltwater from the tsunami, and if those homes do not have running water at this point then the people inside are going to get thirsty really quick.

Read the rest of the article.

Japan’s Nikkei plunges 11 percent on radiation fears, sending global markets into a tailspin

PAN PYLAS
Washington Post
March 15, 2011

LONDON — Japan’s stock market nose-dived nearly 11 percent, leading world markets sharply lower on Tuesday, as an escalating nuclear crisis threatened to compound the devastation from last week’s earthquake and tsunami.

Investors took fright on the news that a radiation leak was detected at a crippled power plant and residents were warned to stay indoors. The benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average sank a staggering 10.6 percent — more than 1,000 points — to close at 8,605.15 after hitting a midday low of 8,227.63 points, more than 14 percent down.

Following on from Monday’s 6 percent decline, the first trading day since the devastating earthquake and tsunami struck the northeastern coast, the Nikkei has now suffered its worst two-day trading losses for 40 years.

The chill was felt across all markets, with the yen boosted by Japanese investors repatriating funds as a precautionary measure against risk and to pay for reconstruction. Oil prices took another hit on fears over the impact on global consumption.

Full article here

17 U.S. Sailors Were Exposed To Radiation From Japanese Nuclear Reactor (WHILE AT SEA!)

Tokyo nuke cloud crisis

VIRGINIA WHEELER
The Sun
March 14, 2011

Japan is teetering on the brink of nuclear catastrophe amid fears a radioactive cloud could envelop Tokyo’s 13 million residents.

The Foreign Office warned Brits to avoid the capital as it was feared a SECOND nuclear reactor was heading for meltdown after Friday’s devastating earthquake and tsunami.

And there were heightened concerns early today following a hydrogen blast 170 miles north of Tokyo at the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant.
Read entire article

Chain Reaction: Third Explosion at Fukushima Nuclear Plant

BBC News
Tuesday, March 15, 2011

RELATED: Cover Up Of Fukushima Chain Reaction Underway 

A quake-stricken nuclear plant in Japan has been hit by a third explosion in four days, amid fears of a meltdown.

The blast occurred at reactor 2 at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, which engineers had been trying to stabilise after two other reactors exploded.

One minister has said it is “highly likely” that the rods might melt. Radiation levels near the plant have risen.

The crisis was sparked by a 9.0-magnitude quake and tsunami on Friday.

Full story here.

———————————————————————

AFP: Higher radiation recorded north of Tokyo: Kyodo

Higher radiation levels were recorded Tuesday in a region north of the Japanese capital Tokyo after a blast at a earthquake-hit nuclear power plant, Kyodo News reported.

———————————————————————

Emergency Cooling Effort Failing at Japanese Reactor, Deepening Crisis

HIROKO TABUCHI, KEITH BRADSHER and MATT WALD
NYT News Service
Tuesday, March 15, 2011

TOKYO: Japan’s struggle to contain the crisis at a stricken nuclear power plant worsened sharply early on Tuesday morning, as emergency operations to pump seawater into one crippled reactor failed at least temporarily, increasing the risk of an uncontrolled release of radioactive material, officials said.

With the cooling systems malfunctioning simultaneously at three separate reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station after the powerful earthquake and tsunami, the acute crisis developed late Monday at reactor No. 2 of the plant, where a series of problems thwarted efforts to keep the core of the reactor covered with water — a step considered crucial to preventing the reactor’s containment vessel from exploding and preventing the fuel inside it from melting down.

The plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power, said late Monday that repeated efforts to inject seawater into the reactor had failed, causing water levels inside the reactor’s containment vessel to fall and exposing its fuel rods. After what at first appeared to be a successful bid to refill the vessel, water levels again dwindled, this time to critical levels, exposing the rods almost completely, company executives said.

Workers were having difficulty injecting seawater into the reactor because its vents — necessary to release pressure in the containment vessel by allowing radioactive steam to escape — had stopped working properly, they said.

Full story here.

CIA Sends USAID to Japan to Manage Nuclear Disinfo Campaign

Kurt Nimmo
Prison Planet.com
Monday, March 14, 2011

A large scale cover-up of the extent and severity of Japan’s multiple nuclear meltdowns is now underway, according to Yoichi Shimatsu, the former editor of the Japan Times Weekly. Mr. Shimatsu appeared on CCTV, China’s state-run television network.



“Following a high-level meeting called by the lame-duck prime minister, Japanese agencies are no longer releasing independent reports without prior approval from the top,” writes Shimatsu. “The censorship is being carried out following the imposition of the Article 15 Emergency Law.”

Shimatsu contends that the Obama White House sent a team to consult the Naoto Kan government. Instead of dispatching experts from the Department of Energy, Nuclear Safety Agency and Health Department, representatives of USAID were sent to micromanage the cover-up.

Since the 1960s, USAID – short for United States Agency for International Development – has maintained a close working relationship with the CIA, and Agency officers often operated abroad under USAID cover, according to author William Blum (Killing hope: U.S. military and CIA interventions since World War II, p. 142, 200, 234). The close relationship between USAID and the CIA is also documented in the long-suppressed “family jewels” documents (see pages 607 to 613).

The CIA and the spooks are naturally concerned about their foothold on the Misawa Air Force Base in the Iwate Prefecture, hard hit by the earthquake.

“Misawa, the hub of US electronic warfare and high-tech espionage in East Asia with its fleet of P-3 Orions and an ECHELON eavesdropping antennae,” Shimatsu notes.

In addition, the establishment is worried about geopolitical aspects of the crisis, most notably in regard to regional “enemies” Pyongyang, Beijing and Moscow. Both China and Russia have both offered aid without strings attached and this is undoubtedly considered a threat by the political establishment in the United States.

The Pentagon also has a vested interest in stage managing information emerging from Japan. In addition to its sprawling military bases in the country since the end of the Second World War, one of the military industrial complex’s major players, Westinghouse, runs a nuclear fuel operation at Tokai in the Ibaraki prefecture.

Westinghouse took control of Japan’s Nuclear Fuel Industries Ltd — the country’s sole producer of fuel for both boiling-water reactors and pressurized-water reactors — in 2009.


Toshiba Westinghouse closed the plant on Friday after the earthquake struck.
The CIA, through USAID, is running a disinfo campaign on Japan’s earthquake crippled nuclear facilities for geopolitical reasons. The Japanese people will ultimately suffer, as will millions of other people who happen to be downwind from the stricken plants.

Japan’s nightmare gets even WORSE: All THREE damaged nuclear reactors now in ‘meltdown’ at tsunami-hit power station

RICHARD SHEARS
UK Daily Mail
March 13, 2011

• - Fuel rods appear to be melting inside three over-heating reactors
• - Experts class development as ‘partial meltdown’
• - Molten fuel could burn through reactor safety shields
  
• - Earlier blast at Fukushima nuclear plant felt 25 miles away
  
• - Eleven workers injured after hydrogen ignited
• - 180,000 people have been evacuated from the area
• - Engineers desperately trying to cool reactors with sea water
  
• - Up to 160 people so far exposed to radiation

The Japanese nuclear reactor hit by the tsunami went into ‘meltdown’ today, as officials admitted that fuel rods appear to be melting inside three damaged reactors.


That means there is a risk that molten nuclear fuel can melt through the reactor’s safety barriers and cause a serious radiation leak.


There have already been explosions inside two over-heating reactors at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, and the fuel rods inside a third were partially exposed as engineers desperately fight to keep them under control after the tsunami knocked out emergency cooling systems.

Japanese chief cabinet secretary Yukio Edano said it was ‘highly likely’ that the fuel rods inside all three stricken reactors are melting.

Full article here

Nuclear Disaster ‘Will Have Political Impact as Great as 9/11′

Spiegel
March 14, 2011

The nuclear disaster in Fukushima makes it hard to ignore the vulnurabilities of the technology. It could spell the end of nuclear power, German commentators argue on Monday. The government in Berlin may now cave in to mounting pressure to suspend its 12-year extension of reactor lifetimes, they say.

The nuclear accident at Japan’s Fukushima plant following Friday’s earthquake and tsunami has led to anxious questions in Germany about the safety of its own nuclear reactors and is putting the government under intense pressure to rethink its decision to extend plant lifetimes by an average of 12 years.

German media commentators across the political spectrum are saying the accident in a highly developed nation such as Japan is further evidence that nuclear power isn’t safe. One commentator in the conservative Die Welt went as far as to liken the global impact of the Fukushima explosions to that of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition of conservatives and the pro-business Free Democratic Party (FDP) reversed the planned phaseout of the 17 nuclear reactors by 2021, amending a decision taken by a previous center-left government in 2002 to end nuclear power generation in Germany.

Full article here

Both Japan And New Zealand Earthquakes, Volcanic Eruptions Were Precisely Predicted Last Month By Solar Watchers

Is California next?

Steve Watson
Prisonplanet.com
March 14, 2011

Watch the incredible video below, posted to Youtube on February 15th, that predicts both recent earthquakes in Japan and New Zealand by analyzing solar activity.

The video highlights the Japanese islands as the main area of concern and predicts that an earthquake of magnitude 8 or larger could hit due to the effect of increased sun spot activity on our planet, in particular an X class solar flare and a significant hit of the Earth by a recent Coronal Mass Ejection.

It also predicts possible volcanic eruptions around the Japan Islands, an eventuality that has also played out with the eruption of the the Shinmoedake volcano in south-western Japan yesterday, which sent ash and rock over two miles into the atmosphere. As is annotated on the video, another volcano, Sakirajima, also produced explosive eruptions on February 21st.

The video also cites “a potential event around 45-50 Degrees Latitude, most likely fit region is the base or South Island New Zealand”, adding that the “possible magnitude could be 6.2 to 6.5″. The earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, occurred just a week later on February 21st and measured 6.3.

Alarmingly for Americans, the Gulf Of California is also cited as a potential hotspot for imminent earthquake activity.



Now watch the following exclusive interview with Meteorologist, astrophysicist, consultant, and owner of the business Weather Action, Piers Corbyn, who goes over in more detail with Alex Jones how solar activity is triggering natural events that can be disastrous to us here on Earth.

Of course, you won’t hear any of this information from the mainstream media, who are already ridiculously citing global warming caused by humans as a potential causal effect.

Nuclear Expert: Radiation Could Spread To US West Coast

Fukushima crisis escalates after second explosion, officials admit reactor rods have been fully exposed

Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet.com
Monday, March 14, 2011

Nuclear expert Joe Cirincione warns that radiation from Japan’s multiple potential nuclear meltdowns could spread to the US west coast and that the threat represents an “unprecedented crisis,” as another explosion rocked the Fukushima complex and officials admitted that nuclear fuel rods at reactor number two have been fully exposed.



“The worst case scenario is that the fuel rods fuse together, the temperatures get so hot that they melt together in a radioactive molten mass that bursts through the containment mechanisms and is exposed to the outside. So they spew radioactivity in the ground, into the air, into the water. Some of the radioactivity could carry in the atmosphere to the West Coast of the United States,” Cirincione told Fox News.

When host Chris Wallace questioned whether radioactivity could travel thousands of miles across the Pacific, Cirincione responded, “Oh, absolutely.

Chernobyl, which happened about 25 years ago, the radioactivity spread around the entire northern hemisphere. It depends how many of these cores melt down and how successful they are on containing it once this disaster happens.”

“One reactor has had half the core exposed already,” explained Cirincione.

“This is the one they’re flooding with sea water in a desperate effort to prevent it from a complete meltdown. They lost control of a second reactor next to it, a partial meltdown, and there is actually a third reactor at a related site 20-kilometers away they have also lost control over. We have never had a situation like this before.”

Fears that the radiation could reach the United States have prompted the California Department of Public Health to issue a statement saying they are assessing the situation and that they have radioactivity monitoring systems in place for air, water and the food supply.

As the Washington Blog has documented, pollution from Chinese coal factories routinely hits California.

But it’s not just the west coast that could be affected. According to Yoichi Shimatsu, former editor of the Japan Times, “In the event of a major meltdown and continuous large-volume radioactive release, airborne particles will be carried across the ocean in bands that will cross over the southern halves of Oregon, Montana and Idaho, all of California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, the Dakotas, northern Nebraska and Iowa and ending in Wisconsin and Illinois, with possible further eastward drift depending on surface wind direction.”

Shimatsu now states that after a high-level government meeting, “Japanese agencies are no longer releasing independent reports without prior approval from the top,” and that censorship of what is really occurring at the plant is being overseen under the Article 15 Emergency Law.

Following dramatic footage of another blast, this time affecting Fukushima Daiichi’s reactor 3, which shot plumes of smoke high into the air, officials from the Tokyo Electric Power Co. have conceded that fuel rods at the facility’s reactor number 2 have been fully exposed, threatening a complete meltdown.

The Pentagon has also confirmed that radiation particles were detected by helicopters flying 160km (100 miles) away from the nuclear plant, suggesting widespread environmental contamination. The discovery of the two radioactive isotopes, cesium-137 and iodine-121, can only mean one thing, according to the Seattle Times: “One or more of the reactor cores is badly damaged and at least partially melted down.”

“If true, this also means that the Japanese government is blatantly lying to its people and the world, in its relentless determination to prevent panic and to pursue the party line that after two massive blasts the cores are still stable,” writes Tyler Durden. “And judging by the time stamp, this was announced before last night’s second blast: if radioactivity had spread then, how about now? And who can blame Americans and people around the world who are concerned that radiation may be coming their way if nobody is to be trusted.”

Reports are also circulating that sailors on the USS Ronald Reagan were exposed to radiation doses equivalent to a month’s worth in one hour when they sailed into a radiation cloud off the coast of Japan.

All the evidence clearly indicates that the Japanese government is covering up the true scale of the disaster in an effort to prevent hysteria from engulfing a population already devastated by last week’s earthquake and tsunami, not to mention ongoing powerful aftershocks that continue to spread terror.

*********************

Paul Joseph Watson is the editor and writer for Prison Planet.com. He is the author of Order Out Of Chaos. Watson is also a fill-in host for The Alex Jones Show. Watson has been interviewed by many publications and radio shows, including Vanity Fair and Coast to Coast AM, America’s most listened to late night talk show. 

Nuclear fuel rods fully exposed at Japan reactor – Jiji

Reuters
March 14, 2011

Nuclear fuel rods at a quake-stricken Japanese nuclear reactor are now fully exposed, Jiji news agency said, quoting the plant’s operator, Tokyo Eletcric Power Co .

The report referred to the Fukushima Daiichi complex’s No.2 reactor, where levels of water coolant around the reactor core had been reported as falling earlier in the day.

The Jiji report said a meltdown of the fuel rods could not be ruled out. A meltdown raises the risk of damage to the reactor vessel and a possible radioactive leak, experts say.

Radioactivity Detected 60 Miles From Fukushima Power Plant

Tyler Durden
Zero Hedge
March 14, 2011

The latest in an endless escalation of bad news comes from Seattle Times: “Pentagon officials reported Sunday that helicopters flying 60 miles from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant picked up small amounts of radioactive particulates — still being analyzed, but presumed to include cesium-137 and iodine-121 — suggesting widening environmental contamination. The detection of the highly radioactive elements heralds the beginning of an ecological and human tragedy. The two radioactive isotopes can mean only one thing: One or more of the reactor cores is badly damaged and at least partially melted down.” 

 If true, this also means that the Japanese government is blatantly lying to its people and the world, in its relentless determination to prevent panic and to pursue the party line that after two massive blasts the cores are still stable. And judging by the time stamp, this was announced before last night’s second blast: if radioactivity had spread then, how about now? And who can blame Americans and people around the world who are concerned that radiation may be coming their way if nobody is to be trusted.

Read the rest of the article.

Second Explosion At Nuclear Plant, US Aircraft Carrier Sails Into Radioactive Cloud

BBC News
Monday, March 14, 2011

A second explosion has hit a Japanese nuclear plant that was damaged in Friday’s earthquake, but officials said the reactor core was still intact.

A huge column of smoke billowed from Fukushima Daiichi’s reactor 3, two days after a blast hit reactor 1.

The latest explosion, said to have been caused by a hydrogen build-up, injured 11 people, one of them seriously.

Soon afterwards, the government said a third reactor at the plant had lost its cooling system.

Full story here.

———————————————————–

US aircraft carrier reportedly sails into radioactive cloud

Jerusalem Post
Monday, March 14, 2011

The US Pentagon was expected to announce that US sailors on the USS Ronald Reagan, an aircraft carrier, were exposed to radiation when the carrier sailed into a radioactive cloud off the coast of Japan, according to a New York Times report.

US government officials told the NY Times that sailors and other military personnel onboard were exposed to a month’s worth of radiation in an hour’s time. They added that US helicopters flying humanitarian missions some 60 miles north of damaged Japanese reactors were coated with particulate radiation. Theaircraft were washed off.

Despite the scare, officials said there was no indication that any of the military personnel experienced ill effects from the exposure, comparing it to “natural background radiation” that all people are exposed to daily.

A second hydrogen explosion rocked a stricken nuclear power plant in Japan where authorities have been scrambling to avert a meltdown after last week’s devastating earthquake and tsunami.

Store shelves empty in Tokyo as uncertainty reigns

Shinichi Saoshiro and Terril Yue Jones
Reuters
March 14, 2011

Commuters and residents of the Japanese capital faced confusion and uncertainty on Monday over the supply of food and energy after Friday’s devastating quake and tsunami which crippled a nuclear power plant.

Some store shelves were emptied and many train lines were shut down as Tokyo commuters returned to work after a weekend glued to horrific images of the extensive damage about 150 miles to the north.

In the largely residential Nerima district of Yokyo, staples like rice, bread and instant noodles were sold out. Lights were kept off on the produce shelves and meat refrigeration units to conserve electricity.

“About 40 to 50 people were lined up outside when we opened at 10. A day’s worth of food sold out in an hour. We had a second shipment delivered at midday and that sold out in an hour too,” said Toshiro Imai, a store manager in Tokyo.

Full article here 

Super earthquake No2 alert in Japan

TOM WELLS
The Sun
March 14, 2011

SHATTERED Japan is braced for a fresh quake nightmare – with a mega aftershock likely to hit at any moment.

The alert was issued as millions who survived the tsunami that devastated the hi-tech superpower spent a third day without food, water or electricity — and amid heightening fears of nuclear catastrophe.

Today the president of Japan’s Red Cross compared the aftermath of the disaster to “Osaka and Tokyo after World War Two”.

Tadateru Konoe spoke as rescue workers searched the blazing rubble and debris in the town of Otsuchi for survivors.

He said: “Everything is destroyed and flattened. This is a complete disaster. In my long career in the Red Cross, this is the worst I have ever seen.”

Full article here

New dramatic video: Tsunami wave spills over seawall, smashes boats, cars

RAW, japan, The first moments of Tsunami as it reaches Kamaishi coast After Earthquake.

Tracking Page: Japan’s Nuclear Meltdown, Aftershocks & Fallout

Infowars
March 13, 2011

Following Japan’s nuclear plant emergency and earthquake aftermath, this page will continue to monitor the ongoing situation, and will include added content as we know more.



LIVE FEEDS:
THE ALEX JONES SHOW – LIVE SUNDAY 4-6 PM CST / M-F 11-2 PM CST
Watch BBC live coverage.
Latest on The Drudge Report

Fears of second explosion at quake-hit N-plant as exclusion zone stretches to 13 miles

UK Daily Mail
March 13, 2011

Japan’s nuclear crisis was growing today amid the threat of multiple meltdowns, as more than 170,000 people were evacuated from the quake- and tsunami-savaged northeastern coast where police fear more than 10,000 people may have already died.

As the exclusion zone around the facility was widened to more than 13 miles today, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said that a hydrogen explosion could occur at Unit 3 of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex, the reactor that could be melting down.

Crowded shelters expose scale of disaster

Financial Times
March 13, 2011

The enormity of the humanitarian crisis facing Japan became apparent on Sunday evening as nearly 300,000 people left homeless and dazed by the earthquake and tsunami bedded down in makeshift emergency shelters in the Miyagi and Iwate prefectures.

Temperatures dropped to near-freezing and, with no electricity in much of the region, survivors in more remote areas were struggling without heat, food and, in some cases, clean water. Telephone networks remained disrupted, hampering efforts to account for more than 90,000 people.

Nuclear Plant Designer Says Japanese Government Suppressing Scale Of Crisis

BBC News
Sunday, March 13, 2011

A former nuclear power plant designer has said Japan is facing an extremely grave crisis and called on the government to release more information, which he said was being suppressed. Masashi Goto told a news conference in Tokyo that one of the reactors at the Fukushima-Daiichi plant was “highly unstable”, and that if there was a meltdown the “consequences would be tremendous”. He said such an event might be very likely indeed. So far, the government has said a meltdown would not lead to a sizeable leak of radioactive materials.

Volcano in southern Japan erupts

Molly Hennessy-Fiske
Los Angeles Times
March 13, 2011

The Shinmoedake volcano on Japan’s Kyushu island, after lying dormant for a couple of weeks, resumes activity in a blast heard miles away. It was unclear if the eruption was linked to Friday’s massive earthquake in the north.

The Japanese weather agency has reported that a volcano in southern Japan began spewing ash and rock even as the country struggled to recover Sunday from the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami.

“Worst Crisis Since WWII”

Joe Weisenthal
Business Insider
March 13, 2011

Forget the idea that the impact from the earthquake will resemble that of Kobe in 1995 (where economic damage totaled around $100 billion).

Japanese PM Naoto Kan just addressed the nation, and called this the country’s worst crisis since WWII.

Cabinet Chief Edano also spoke. Among his comments (via Time Out Tokyo):
* There wil be rolling blackouts around the country. Tokyo will be included.

* At reactor #3, there’s still not an adequate water reading, but it may be a problem with the gauge.

* Admittedly the food response has been inadequate, but it’s getting solved.

Insured losses from Japan quake could hit $35 billion

Reuters
March 13, 2011

NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) – Last week’s earthquake in Japan could lead to insured losses of nearly $35 billion, risk modeling company AIR Worldwide said, making it one of the most expensive catastrophes in history.

That figure is nearly as much as the entire worldwide catastrophe loss for the global insurance industry in 2010, and could be the triggering event that forces higher prices in the insurance market after years of declines.

AIR said its loss estimate range was $14.5 billion to $34.6 billion. That was based on a range of 1.2 trillion yen to 2.8 trillion yen, converted at 81.85 yen to the dollar.

Cooling at Sixth Reactor Fails

Kyodo News
March 13, 2011

Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Sunday another reactor of its quake-hit Fukushima nuclear power plants had lost its cooling functions, while at least 15 people at a nearby hospital were found to have been exposed to radioactivity.

The utility supplier notified the government early Sunday morning that the No. 3 reactor at the No. 1 Fukushima plant had lost the ability to cool the reactor core. The reactor is now in the process of releasing radioactive steam, according to top government spokesman Yukio Edano.

Japan death toll expected to soar past 10,000; nuclear threat looms amid massive blackouts

NY Daily News
March 13, 2011

The death toll from Japan’s devastating earthquake and tsunami on Friday is expected to exceed 10,000, Japanese news services announced Sunday.
There are already 1,300 confirmed dead and 10,000 people are missing in just one town.

About 190 people were within a six-mile radius of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant when its roof blew off Saturday, raising radiation levels rose. Officials have confirmed 22 people have been contaminated.

Monster aftershock could strike within days

Sydney Morning Herald
March 13, 2011

NORTH-EASTERN Japan can expect another monster earthquake large enough to trigger a tsunami within days, the head of the Australian Seismological Centre says.

The director, Kevin McCue, said there had been more than 100 smaller quakes since Friday, but a larger aftershock was likely.

”Normally they happen within days,” he said. ”The rule of thumb is that you would expect the main aftershock to be one magnitude smaller than the main shock, so you would be expecting a 7.9.

Japan races to avert multiple nuclear meltdowns

ERIC TALMADGE and MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press
March 13, 2011

(AP:KORIYAMA, Japan) Japan’s nuclear crisis intensified Sunday as authorities raced to combat the threat of multiple reactor meltdowns and more than 170,000 people evacuated the quake- and tsunami-savaged northeastern coast where fears spread over possible radioactive contamination.

Nuclear plant operators were frantically trying to keep temperatures down in a series of nuclear reactors _ including one where officials feared a partial meltdown could be happening Sunday _ to prevent the disaster from growing worse.

Radiation Increases as Cooling Systems Fail at Fukushima Plant in Japan

Tsuyoshi Inajima and Yuji Okada
Bloomberg
March 13, 2011

Japanese officials battling to prevent a potential meltdown at a nuclear power station said an explosion was possible at a second reactor building after the plant’s cooling system failed.

Water levels temporarily fell at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s No. 3 reactor at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi plant 135 miles north of Tokyo, raising the possibility of a hydrogen explosion, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said in Tokyo today
.
Asia’s largest utility is battling to prevent a meltdown of two reactors at the nuclear power station by flooding them with water and boric acid to eliminate the potential for a catastrophic release of radiation into the atmosphere.

Japan Fears Second Reactor Blast

BBC News
Sunday, March 13, 2011

There is a risk of a second explosion at the quake-hit Fukushima power station, Japanese officials have said.

However, chief cabinet secretary Yukio Edano said the facility could withstand the impact and the nuclear reactor itself would not be damaged.

Another reactor at Fukushima nuke plant loses cooling functions

Kyodo News
March 13, 2011

Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Sunday another reactor of its quake-hit Fukushima nuclear power plants had lost its cooling functions, while at least 15 people at a nearby hospital were found to have been exposed to radioactivity.

The utility supplier notified the government early Sunday morning that the No. 3 reactor at the No. 1 Fukushima plant had lost the ability to cool the reactor core. The reactor is now in the process of releasing radioactive steam, according to top government spokesman Yukio Edano.

U.S. West Coast in Path of Fallout

“If There Were a Reactor Meltdown or Major Leak at Fukushima, the Radioactive Cloud Would Likely be Blown Out … Towards the US West Coast” 

Washington’s Blog
March 13, 2011 

Agence-France Presse notes:

California is closely monitoring efforts to contain leaks from a quake-damaged Japanese nuclear plant, a spokesman said Saturday, as experts said radiation could be blown out across the Pacific.

Image source: Wikimedia commons

Quake moved Japan coast 8 feet; shifted Earth’s axis

Ken Voigt
CNN
March 12, 2011

The powerful earthquake that unleashed a devastating tsunami Friday appears to have moved the main island of Japan by 8 feet (2.4 meters) and shifted the Earth on its axis.

“At this point, we know that one GPS station moved (8 feet), and we have seen a map from GSI (Geospatial Information Authority) in Japan showing the pattern of shift over a large area is consistent with about that much shift of the land mass,” said Kenneth Hudnut, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

Tsunami warning center raises magnitude of Japan quake to 9.1

Ken Kobayahshi
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
March 12, 2011

The Japan earthquake was the fourth most powerful ever recorded with a magnitude of 9.1, twice more powerful than the initial estimate of 8.9, Gerard Fryer, geophysicist of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, said this morning.

Three others that were more powerful since the late 1800s when seismometers started measuring ground motions were in 9.5 in Chile in 1960, 9.2 in Alaska in 1964 and 9.1 in Sumatra in 2004, according to Fryer.

NOAA – Magnitude 8.9 Strong Earthquake Jolts Northern Japan

In this handout image provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), model runs from the Center for Tsunami Research at the NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory show the expected wave heights of the tsunami as it travels across the Pacific basin March 11, 2011. The largest wave heights are expected near the earthquake epicenter, off Japan. The wave will decrease in height as it travels across the deep Pacific but grow taller as it nears coastal areas. In general, as the energy of the wave decreases with distance, the near shore heights will also decrease (e.g., coastal Hawaii will not expect heights of that encountered in coastal Japan).

———

Nuclear Radiation, Fallout Safety Information

——————–

Message from Infowars:

As always, we should hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.
It is admitted that the first plant has melted down, and 6 more nuclear power plants in Japan are in danger. If they fail, this situation could get even worse. Japanese authorities are distributing potassium iodide to its population for thyroid protection.

For U.S. populations, we can hope that most of the radiation will disperse into the ocean and never reach us, however, with the U.S. West Coast in the direct path of the jet stream from Japan, it is a good precaution to stock up on potassium iodide or natural iodine from kelp, which can prevent the absorption of radioactive iodine, the most common complication from radiation poisoning.

Consult with your doctor or medical professional before taking these or any supplement (we are NOT giving medical advice). However, unfortunately, we cannot count on the government to be honest and upfront with us about the dangers of fallout, so you should consider your own potential risks and don’t wait until things are already underway.

Try these Google shopping links or check your local stores for iodine from kelp and potassium iodide. Check Wikipedia and other sources for more info on the safety of potassium iodide and recommended doses.

RELATED:

Cooling at Sixth Reactor Fails

Nuclear Plant Designer Says Japanese Government Suppressing Scale Of Crisis

Japan Fears Second Reactor Blast 

Radiation protection

Wikipedia – Potassium iodate may be used to protect against accumulation of radioactive iodine in the thyroid by saturating the body with a stable source of iodine prior to exposure.[1] Approved by the World Health Organization for radiation protection, potassium iodate (KIO3) is an alternative to potassium iodide (KI), which has poor shelf life in hot and humid climates.[2] The UK, Ireland, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, and US states Idaho and Utah are known[by whom?] to stock potassium iodate in tablet form.[citation needed] It is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use as a thyroid blocker, and the FDA has taken action against US websites that promote this use.[3][4]

***

It is recommended that you consult your physician or a medical expert prior to usage

Recommended Dosage for Radiological Emergencies involving radioactive iodine[5]

Age	KI in mg	KIO3 in mg
Over 12 years old	130	170
3 – 12 years old	65	85
1 – 36 months old	32	42
< 1 month old	16	21

Volcano in southern Japan erupts

Molly Hennessy-Fiske
Los Angeles Times
March 13, 2011

The Shinmoedake volcano on Japan’s Kyushu island, after lying dormant for a couple of weeks, resumes activity in a blast heard miles away. It was unclear if the eruption was linked to Friday’s massive earthquake in the north.

The Japanese weather agency has reported that a volcano in southern Japan began spewing ash and rock even as the country struggled to recover Sunday from the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami.

Japan’s Meteorological Agency issued a warning Sunday that the Shinmoedake volcano resumed activity after lying dormant for a couple of weeks.

The volcano is on Kyushu island, about 950 miles from the epicenter of Friday’s magnitude 9.0 earthquake, which devastated much of the country’s northeastern coast.

Read full article