Earthquake, Tsunami and Nuclear explosions hit Japan
On March 11, 2011, The Tohoku region, North East
Japan was hit by a 8.9 (later upgraded to 9.0) magnitude earthquake with
devastating effects across the region. The main cities in this region are:
Fukushima, Sendai, Yamagatam, Shinjo, Koryama and others. The quake led to
tsunami which aggravated the damages to properties and lives. The tsunami
swept away every houses, vehicles and
structures on it's path. Over 1600 lives have been confirmed dead by 1700
hours on Sunday (March 13, 2011), while close to 10,000 lives could not be
accounted for.
On March 13, there are fears that there could be nuclear meltdown on some
of Japan's nuclear power stations which could lead to the release of radiations
to the surroundings of the plants. The radiations could travel distances.
Japan has several nuclear power stations (up to 22 or more) providing
about 35% of the energy need of the country. Each power plant has several
reactors. Most of the nuclear power stations are located close to
water sources (the ocean) for cooling the moderator water, which is
the medium
through which heat that generates steam inside the nuclear rector is
distributed. Click Nuclear Power to
learn more on how nuclear power plants work.
The earthquake led to the tsunami and the
tsunami led to the nuclear crisis and the fear of possible radiations
emanating from the power stations. Specifically two (2) of the nuclear
reactors at Fukushima nuclear power station was said to have lost substantial cooling water
because of the tsunami to the extent that the reactors were overheating.
For the fear that the reactors can meltdown and release radiations,
Japanese
Authorities issued evacuation orders to people living within 20
kilometres of the first plant and within 10 kilometres of the second
plant. Furthermore, people living within 30 kilometres of the first plant
are asked to remain indoors and close all windows.
Japanese engineers have been working on
cooling down the plants and apparently some progress is being made in this
regard. Also, the spent fuel at another location not too far from
Fukushima has been exposed and there are fears of radiation release; fire
and a loud explosion were reported at this station. Partial meltdown was
also reported one of the two plants earlier mentioned and it is feared
that the second plant will meltdown too.
By the weekend of March 19th/20th, 2011, the number of confirmed deaths
from the devastation caused by the combined effects of the earthquake and
the tsunami had risen to over 7,000 people with over 10,000 still being
searched. Officials said that the death toll is expected to rise to above
18,000.
Japan is not new to natural disasters,
particularly earthquakes. There have been several occurrences in the past.
The Japanese archipelago is located in an area where several continental
and oceanic plates meet. Examples of past earthquakes are the Great
Kanto Earthquake, (considered as the worst in Japanese history), hit the
Kanto plain around Tokyo in 1923 and resulted in the deaths of over
100,000 people. Also, in January 1995 a strong earthquake hit the city of
Kobe and surroundings. Known as the Southern Hyogo Earthquake or Great
Hanshin Earthquake, it killed 6,000 and injured 415,000 people. 100,000
homes were completely destroyed and 185,000 were severely damaged.
