Poor Japan

Well bad things come in threes...

2308: An explosion is heard at Fukushima's second reactor, the Kyodo news agency reports.



2311: The news agency said the blast was heard at 0610 local time on Tuesday (2110 GMT Monday). No other details were immediately announced.



2316: Kyodo now says that the suppression pool may have been damaged at the second reactor.
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This is some serious shit, especially for those who lived through both atomic bombings.
 
More information being taken from the BBC World Twitter feed.

2344: Tokyo Electric says that 50 employees are still staying at the Fukushima plant



2340: Tokyo Electric officials are now holding a news briefing. They say the blast at reactor 2 happened "near the pressure vessel". They also confirm that some staff at the nuclear power plant are being evacuated.



2333: More details on the reported blast at Fukushima's reactor 2. The explosion is feared to have damaged the reactor's pressure-suppression system, Kyodo says. It adds that "radiation tops legal limit" after the explosion.
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Appearently there is fears that there may be a full containment breach. Waiting on more information from more than one source on this.

If that's the case though... those are 50 brave personnel.
 
From the "breaking news" window from Kyodo News:

  • BREAKING NEWS: TEPCO detects radiation of 8,217 micro sievert per hour, 8 times annual limit (09:03)
  • BREAKING NEWS: Water level rises to cover 1.2 m of No. 2 reactor's fuel rods: TEPCO (08:50)
  • NEWS ADVISORY: 1,300 people isolated in Kesennuma, Miyagi Pref. (08:43)
  • BREAKING NEWS: Lower pressure after blast suggests damage to suppression pool: agency (08:39)
  • BREAKING NEWS: Lower pressure after blast triggers damage to suppression pool: agency (08:35)
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That radiation number is huge, but the water level increase is a sign of hope.

I just hope a major tragedy can be averted here. It looks like they're running out of time.
 
Quick scan of the BBC World Twitter.

0241: And Mr Kan also confirms earlier reports that a fire has broken out at Fukushima's reactor 4.

0303: Radiation is 400 times the annual legal limit near Fukushima's reactor 3, the Kyodo news agency reports.

0306: Winds over the stricken nuclear plant are blowing slowly towards the Kanto region, which includes Tokyo, Reuters reports.

0309: Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano says: "Now we are talking about levels that can impact human health. I would like all of you to embrace this information calmly. These are readings taken near the area where we believe that the release of radioactive substances is occurring. The further away you get from the power plant or reactor the value should go down".

0331: A fire which broke out Tuesday at Fukushima has now been extinguished, media reports say.

0337: A low level radioactive wind could reach Tokyo in 10 hours, Reuters is quoting the French embassy in the Japanese capital as saying.
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And they're still getting aftershocks in the country that on their own would be considered major earthquakes (some in the 5.0 to 6.0 Mag. range).
 
The AFTERSHOCKS are 5.0 - 6.0?!

Jesus man. . .
 
Not sure how precise it is as of now...

0145: The official death toll from the earthquake and tsunami rises to 2,414, Japanese police say. But officials fear that at least 10,000 may have died.
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Ironic fact: If Japan wasn't vital to the international economy, only America would help.
 
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Torsty said:
Say what?
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Don't worry too much. He meant to say "opinion," not "fact."

Truth is, many other countries would still be helping. This isn't about propping up a world economy, this is about helping your fellow man.
 
Another earthquake has struck, this time in Shizuoka Prefecture.

http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2011/03/78331.html

A strong earthquake with a magnitude of 6.4 jolted Shizuoka Prefecture and its vicinity, including Tokyo, on Tuesday evening, at a time when Japan is struggling to tackle the aftermath of the catastrophic quake in the country's northeast last week.

(Continued)
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More mess... As taken from the BBC World Twitter

1805: "There is little left but roofs piled high, the wooden shards of the homes ripped up, and the odd family photo protruding from the mud," says our correspondent. "The aftershocks go on, there is snow and it is getting colder and the thousands cut off have a daily battle just to live."



1810: The president of the EU Council, Herman Van Rompuy, said Europe is ready to assist Japan if asked. "An earthquake powerful enough to make the world wobble on its axis, a massive tsunami, an emergency in nuclear power stations. Any one of these would be a tragedy. Thousands of people have died and this has turned this tragedy into a catastrophe," he said of the nuclear crisis.

1823: The BBC's Chris Hogg in Tokyo says there are now believed to have been four blasts at Fukushima. The fourth reportedly occured in reactor four, where spent fuel rods are stored, he says.
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Also an interesting ( link ) showing that the temperatures at reactors 4-6 at the Fukushima #1 NPS may be also rising.

10 picture image gallery from the BBC ( link )
 
I have to thank you Woodie and Alan for keeping us updated. Between the two of you I've been keeping up rather well with this.
 
It's funny, Zy. Sometimes, I see something, run here to post it, and find he's already posted it! ;)

I'm sure the same has occurred on his end.

The sheer tragedy, and now escalating into a catastrophe, interests me greatly. This whole Fukushima situation is like a rotten cherry on top of a garbage sundae for those people. It almost hurts to see all that's happening there.

On that note, there's a few things, as reported by Al Jazeera English (no print reports yet):

a. Another explosion has been heard on the Fukushima site. Fears are that it's Reactor 4.
b. Officials have asked the US for assistance dealing with the nuclear problem, including flying in helicopters to pour water over the spent fuel rods that were on fire last night.
c. Radiation levels in Tokyo were detected at up to 1000x normal. This is likely due to weather conditions, as Fukushima is experiencing a bit of a snowstorm at the moment.
d. The US has upgraded the catastrophe here at Fukushima from a 4 (below Three Mile Island) to a 6 (between Three Mile Island and Chernobyl). Fears are, that "if the international community doesn't step in," the catastrophe will inevitably be upgraded again to a 7 (the highest on the IAEA's scale).
 
Heh, indeed... same has occured here. Think I found something new and Alan ninja'd posted. Diana should hire us as Iwaku News Correspondents ;)

Though it's hard at times due to the fact that some of the information takes a small while to get confirmed from more than one source. Most of the focus of course is on the powerplants.

Most of my information is coming via BBC and Al Jazeera live coverage.

Speaking of which, talk of using helicopters to cool reactor four at Fukushuma #1 NPS has spiked talks about this related to Chernobyl.

BBC World Twitter Feed

2058: The BBC's Aidan Lewis adds: "The operator of the plant, Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco), has given no information about their employees. But one expert suggested that workers who have retired or are based in other parts of the country are likely to be called in as the crisis drags on. Those already on duty are being hailed as heroes."


2107: Canada's Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, has downplayed the risk of radiation to people living on its Pacific Coast. "There is no evidence of a scenario that presents any risk to this country in terms of... radiation or nuclear fallout coming to Canada," he told reporters. Residents of the western province of British Columbia have been ignoring the advice of local health authorities and emptied pharmacies in Vancouver and Victoria of anti-radiation medicines such as potassium iodide, the AFP news agency reports.


2120: Reuters has reported that two workers are missing at the Fukushima plant - they have not been named but Japan's nuclear safety agency said they had been in the turbine area of reactor four.

2123: The BBC's Roland Buerk in Tokyo says that as well as dropping water from helicopters onto the fourth Fukushima reactor - in an attempt to cool it down - officials are considering removing the outer panels, to reduce the build up of hydrogen which caused the previous explosions.

2126: Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) has just announced it is abandoning the plan to use helicopters to drop water as it would be too impractical, AP reports. It said other options were being considered, including using fire engines. Our correspondent said there had been concerns over the proposal, not least because of the possible health impact for the helicopter pilots.
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One other thing (that CNN brought up) is the lack of looting occuring. In other cases when natural or man made disaster have occured, looting usually occurs soon after. To the credit of the Japanese, this has not occured after the earthquake and tsunami. Instead things have been quite orderly in comparison. Neat lines at stores and markets (where prices on goods such as food and water has been slashed), and patient waiting at gas stations where wait times can be on average an hour or more, for a rationed limit of 10 liters of fuel.

If only America could be so orderly and calm at any moment in time...
 
Oooooh hell...

2152: AFP is reporting a new fire at the number four reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

2153: Flames are rising from the reactor, AP reports.
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Also an update on those missing workers

2154: More on those two workers reported to be missing from Fukushima. A national nuclear safety agency spokesman, Masami Nishimura, said they went missing on Friday, the day the quake and tsunami struck, not after Tuesday's explosion, AFP reports.
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Also... as the major news networks have been making the same mistake... little fact.

Link

Perhaps for a little heart warming in the middle of this wreck... a man reunited with his dog

link
 

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Woodrat said:
Also... as the major news networks have been making the same mistake... little fact.

Link
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That's why I've been specifying which one of the two in my posts, because the media -- particularly here in the US -- either ignores specifics, or believes there's only one.

All of the events happening are at the Dai-ichi plant. Regarding the Daini plant (No. 2), this is the status of the reactors:

http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2011/03/78335.html

Fukushima No. 2 -- Reactor No. 1 - Cooling failure, then cold shutdown.
-- Reactor No. 2 - Cooling failure, then cold shutdown.
-- Reactor No. 3 - Cold shutdown.
-- Reactor No. 4 - Cooling failure, then cold shutdown.
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General Electric has offered assistance to Japan, in light of their nuclear emergency.

The reactors in the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant were made by GE.

http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2011/03/78389.html

GE to offer technical assistance to Japan, Tokyo Electric
NEW YORK, March 15, Kyodo
General Electric Co. of the United States, which supplied the nuclear reactors at the quake-hit Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, said Tuesday it will offer technical assistance to the Japanese government and the plant's operator Tokyo Electric Power Co.

More than 1,000 engineers from the company's joint venture with Hitachi Ltd., the Wilmington, North Carolina-based GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy Inc., will provide assistance, it said.


Responding to a request by Tokyo Electric, GE will also provide 10 truck-mounted gas turbines for emergency use to address power shortages in Japan, it said.
==Kyodo
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Also, this from the "breaking news" feed at the top of Kyodo's news pages:

BREAKING NEWS: Spraying boracic acid eyed to prevent recriticality at No. 4 reactor (08:54)
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Last, a series of tweets depicting how one man averted tragedy with his son and son's friend:

@DailyYomiuri

A man escaped the tsunami by backing his car into a very narrow alley. The waters lifted his car up 2 floors like an elevator and cont...

cont... placed it safely back down on the ground again. The man's 8yo son and friend were also in the car and all 3 got through unhurt.
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