A survey of Japanese businesses that shut down, or reduced production, because of the 9.0 quake/tsunami, shows that at least half blame it on damage to their buildings.
The next biggest reason is destroyed infrastructure: Lack of electricity, destroyed roads/rails.
Honda said today, that the suspension of car production at its Saitama and Suzuka factories will be extended to 03 April 2011.
They hope to resume motorcycle production at their Kumamoto factory on Monday.
Video aired on NHK, shows multiple tsunami waves racing inland on March 11.
An hour and a half after the 9.0 quake, video was taken by helicopter, which flew from Sendai City south to Iwaki City.
The tsunami waves swallowed everything in their path. People in tall buildings can bee seen scrambling for the roof tops.
Professor Fumihiko Imamura at the Tohoku University Disaster Control Research Center, says he can see a tsunami rare effect, called undular bore, hit Natori City, Miyagi.
Undular Bore is a phenomenon in which a series of tsunami waves surge high near the shore and flood onto land one after another. At least 20 undular bores hit the north east (Pacific) coast of Honshu.
People who just have to have a hybrid car will be glad to know that Toyota plans to start making them again.
Toyota’s hybrids are made in Japan, and production was shut down due to parts shortage (thank Mother Earth, 11 March 2011 quake-tsunami). They plan to resume production on Monday.
Production of non-hybrid Toyota vehicles, made in Japan, remains halted.
Some farming villages that escaped the tsunami, did not escape radiation from Fukukshima Daiichi nuclear plant.
What has people amazed is that these farming villages are outside the government’s 30km nuclear disaster zone.
Soil samples have revealed that radiation levels are more than 1,000 times normal. Wind and rain is suspected for bringing the radiation outside the 30km zone.
This is proof that nuclear disasters affected far greater areas than what most people think. This will just add to the world’s growing food supply problems.
NHK reporting that their helicopter crew confirms that there is white smoke come from reactors 1, 2, 3 & 4. This is the first time smoke has come from reactor 1.
Cabinet Secretary, Yukio Edano, announced that reactor 1 is showing pressure increase, even after temperatures were brought down with water. The problem now is that every time they inject water into the cooling system it results in higher pressure in the containment system, which is also bad.
The Japanese government has told people not to eat the vegetables, and not to drink the water, because of radiation contamination. At the same time they say “There is no immediate threat.”
What they mean by that is, that the levels, and types, of radiation contamination is such that you will not notice any bad effects “immediately”. However, if you continue to eat, drink, or expose yourself to even the lowest levels of contamination, over time you will suffer bad effects.
For example: Iodine-131 is a short life span radioactive isotope. It collects on your thyroid glands (just like iodide), and if it builds up will cause cancer. Even low levels of iodine-131 will build up on your thyroid if you keep eating, drinking, or exposing yourself to the contamination. This is why the Japanese government is telling people to stop eating the vegetables, and stop drinking the water, even though there is no “immediate” threat.
In other words, it’s still bad, bad, bad!
Japanese have been told that tap water is contaminated. They’ve also been told not to feed the water to their babies.
The level of contamination is too high for infants. The contamination is mainly short life span Iodine-131. Iodine-131 collects on your thyroid gland, and can cause cancer.
The Japanese government will be issuing clean water to parents with infants, who are, I believe they said, 12 months and younger.
Some people think they can boil the water. The problem is that the radioactive isotopes in the water then become air born in the steam rising from the boiling water, and you breath them in. Also, if you boil for a only a short time there will still be contamination in the water.
The Consumer’s Guide has a web page that explains how to make water safe to drink. Scroll down until you get to the title “More Rigorous Purification Methods”. This section talks about distilling to get rid of radiation fallout in water. It’s more complicated than just boiling. When you distill you’re basically capturing the steam rising off the boiling water, then funneling it into a cup, or pot, to collect it. The article then suggests you filter the water as well.
Japanese officials have asked people to not give infants tap water.
This is based on government limits on radiation levels that are considered harmful to infants. Radioactive iodine is one of the contaminants found in the water. Radioactive iodine causes thyroid cancer.
The official says the source of the radiation is not clear. Can you say, Fukushima?
TEPCo said that Japan needs to prepare for rolling blackouts well into summer 2011.
The power shortage is a direct result of the nuclear disaster.
TEPCo is warning Japanese industries to make plans for the power shortage, such as reducing production.