Tag Archives: earthquake

Fukushima, International

One Year Later: Remember Miki Endo, Fujio Koshita, and the dozens of others who lost their lives trying to save others

In one city, Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, there are 26 statues.  They represent the bodies who could not be identified.  1,555 residents of Rikuzentakata died on March 11, 2011.

Al Jazerra Rikuzentakata report.

Visit Foreign Volunteers Japan.

In Minamisanriku Town, Miyagi Prefecture, relief volunteers are still working there one year later.  Before they started yet another day of work, 300 volunteers gave a sunrise prayer for the thousands of missing and dead.

Minamisanriku Town was one of the hardest hit by the tsunami. It’s where Miki Endo stayed at her Disaster Center post blasting evacuation orders over the town’s loudspeaker system, until the tsunami blasted away the three story building she was in.   Watch haunting Japanese video report here: Minamisanriku, hometown of Heroine Miki Endo is becoming Atlantis

But Miki was not alone in that Disaster Center, she had dozens of co-workers as well as her boss, all hoping they could help.

One co-worker was at the hill top Evacuation Center, but he couldn’t bear seeing what was happening and returned to the Disaster Center.  He led many of his co-workers to the top of the three story building, unfortunately the tsunami was four stories tall, and all were killed.

The skeletal remains of the Disaster Center has become a shrine.

Visit savemiyagi.org.

Don’t forget the eight firefighters of Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture.  The 57 year old firefighter, Fujio Koshita, rang a warning bell even as the tsunami headed right for him!  Seven other firefighters died helping people get to higher ground.

They say Fujio violated his own rule about personal safety: “Don’t die. Rescuers must stay alive.”

Watch the Brian Barnes video of Otsuchi tsunami. In the video you can see that water levels rose even before the tsunami hit, it caught videographers by surprise.  At 6:20 into the video they realize the city was already flooding.  At 8:00 in the tsunami finally hits, you can hear cracking sounds as buildings break.

Visit otsuchi.org

According to the latest official Japanese government numbers, more than 19,000 people were killed.  Many more are still without permanent places to live.  3,000 people are still listed as missing.  I’m sure there are many dozens of other heroes and heroines that we will never hear about.  But true heroes never die: “…The fireman was brave. I’m proud of him.”-16 year old Kaito Yamasaki

Fukushima

Government/Corporate Incompetence: Nearly One Year Later & officials still don’t understand the magnitude of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear diasaster!

I’ve been following this tragedy since March 11, 2011, and the one constant in all this is the unbelievable level of incompetence within the government leadership, and with the corporations in charge of the nuclear power industry in Japan!

Today, March 11, 2012, an official report says the corporate & government leadership of Japan still don’t know what is really going on with the General Electric designed nuclear disaster reactors at Fukushima Daiichi!

Dozens of government sanctioned investigation teams have revealed the insufficient measures against tsunami, and the inadequate responses to the nuclear accident.  But, no one knows just how bad it is inside the reactor units!

Of major concern: Radiation levels emitted from the power plant are still so high that TEPCo still doesn’t know where the high levels of radiation are actually coming from, so far everything they’ve been telling the media has been a wild ass guess!  TEPCo (Tokyo Electric) has recently admitted that radiation levels are so high around some areas of the nuclear compound that they can not send people in to find out what’s going on!

You know, I’ve said it many times before, Bill Nye (that old science guy) has said it many times, the Ukrainians and Russians have said it: Why don’t they dump sand, lead and concrete on the damn thing?

Business/Economics, International, Technology

One Year later: Tourist bus finally removed from top of two story building in Japan

On March 11, 2011, a 17 ton tourist bus was left on top of a two story community hall building, after the tsunami sucked itself back out to sea.

That was in Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, Honshu, Japan (Nippon).

On March 10, 2012, nearly one year later, the bus was finally removed from the roof.  Many survivors said it was a bad reminder of the tsunami.  The owner of the bus company said the sight of his bus on the roof drove him to swear that he will operate his bus line again.

The bus had been sitting in a garage, 500 meters (1,640 feet) from its resting place, when the tsunami swept it away.  Watch NHK reporter who filmed as she ran from disaster video to see the bus immediately after the tsunami.

Fukushima

Japan Modern Day Atlantis round 11: More than 10,000 earthquakes hit Japan in the past year! Japan Islands shift Eastward!

Japan’s Meteorological Agency reporting that in the past 12 months, Japan has been hit with 10,119 earthquakes!

70% are considered aftershocks to the March 11, 2011 Mega Quake.  The agency includes quakes that are weak but can still be felt by humans.

Japan’s Geospatial Information Authority reported that the main islands of Japan have shifted eastward. Yamada Town, in northeastern Iwate Prefecture, moved about 76 centimeters (more than 2 & half feet) to the east.

The scientists say massive crust movements are still taking place, and they warn people to be prepared for more big quakes!

JAPAN MODERN DAY ATLANTIS ROUND 10: NEW MEGA QUAKE PREDICTED FOR TOKYO BAY

 

Business/Economics, International, Technology

Government Incompetence: Japan officials knew Tsunami Shelters were insufficent after 2004, yet said nothing until now!

After the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the Japanese government concluded that their tsunami shelter guidelines were insufficient.  Only now are they issuing the new guidelines!

The government study of tsunami shelter construction in Japan, revealed that such shelters would not hold up to a tsunami similar to the one that occurred in the Indian Ocean.  On March 11, 2011, Japan was hit with such a tsunami.

The new guidelines (developed before the 2011 tsunami) recommend the use of stronger building foundations, among other things.

Fukushima

Japan Modern Day Atlantis round 10: New Mega Quake predicted for Tokyo Bay

After five years of research, a team of scientist, some from the University of Tokyo, have concluded that Tokyo Bay is set to experience a Mega Quake.

The research caused the geologists to realize the fault line, running under the Kanto area of Japan, is actually 10 km (6 miles) closer to the land’s surface, than first thought.  They have upped the expected earthquake on the fault from a Japanese magnitude 6 to magnitude 7.  Magnitude 7 is the maximum on the Japanese quake intensity scale!

But wait, there’s more!  The research does not include any data for the March 11, 2011, Mega Quake. The researchers say they are now updating their five year study with that data.

JAPAN MODERN DAY ATLANTIS ROUND 9: MARCH 11, 2011 MEGA QUAKE CAUSED 80 SEPERATE EARTHQUAKES WITHIN 15 MINUTES

Fukushima

Japan Modern Day Atlantis round 9: March 11, 2011 mega quake caused 80 seperate earthquakes within 15 minutes

Masatoshi Miyazawa, an associate professor at Kyoto University’s Disaster Prevention Research Institute, says that after almost a year of study, he has concluded the March 11 Mega Quake caused a record number of  ‘induced’ earthquakes.

He says that within 15 minutes of the magnitude 9 earthquake, at least 80 quakes were triggered on different fault lines all over Japan.  From islands north of Hokkaido to islands south of Kyushu.  One quake was 1,300 km (807.8 miles) away from the magnitude 9 Mega Quake.

The magnitudes of the 80 earthquakes ranged from 2 to 4.7.

Miyazawa says many of the induced earthquakes occurred near volcanoes, and he suspects the record number of ‘induced’ quakes was the result of a radical shift in the power balance between tectonic plates.

JAPAN MODERN DAY ATLANTIS ROUND 8: NEW STUDY SAYS FUTURE TSUNAMIS A BIGGER THREAT THAN FIRST THOUGHT

Fukushima

Japan Modern Day Atlantis round 8: New study says future Tsunamis a bigger threat than first thought

Officials with Japan’s Land Ministry have issued new warnings about the dangers of tsunamis.  They revised their estimations of tsunami damage, based on what happened on March 11, 2011.

They concluded that earthquakes of magnitude 8.4 or greater, just off Japan’s Pacific coastline, could generate huge tsunamis.

On the Pacific side of Japan, tsunamis could reach 12 meters (39 feet) high, and destroy eight of Japan’s 19 Pacific ports. Officials say the existing tsunami walls are not sufficient to protect the ports.

JAPAN MODERN DAY ATLANTIS ROUND 7 & WHAT ECONOMIC RECOVERY? PEOPLE FLEEING NUCLEAR DISASTER IN JAPAN DESTROYING THE LOCAL ECONOMY AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

Fukushima

Government Incompetence: 5 People starved to death at Fukushima!

Local officials have revealed that not everyone was evacuated out of the 20km (12.4 miles) “No-Go” zone around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

Officials have revealed that at least five bodies were found that showed signs of starvation.  Most of them were old people.  One man was trapped on the second floor of his home after the tsunami destroyed the first floor. He was found only two weeks after the March 11, 2011, disasters.   A woman was trapped because she could not walk, she was found in April 2011.