Anyone in Japan? Tsunami alert - any more news ? PLEASE

[RatherBeOnThePiste]

DH who gets these things has had a tsunami alert for Japan. Does anyone have any more info? Itsjust breaking news about the massive earthquake at the moment.

that sounds serious MmeLindt, where did you hear it? is it official UK embassy advice?

seth - bbc24 just reported it. Also reporting radiation is now 'extremely high' There is no water in the spent fuel pool.

The summary is that if a recriticality occured in the pools because the water boiled off or leaked out then the event certainly comes closer to a Chernobyl.

latest FCO advice

thanks Kitten

The Japanese stockmarket has fallen 10.5% since this morning.

The Yen is paradoxically rising sharply though because traders think Japan will have to sell its foreign assets and repatriate them into Yen. That will make it nearly impossible for Japanese firms to export goods though if the Yen is very strong.

The Japanese economy is going to suffer a very sharp contraction.

bloody vultures. That's right, turn a national disaster into a money-makng exercise for rich bastards who don't give a stuff about anyone else. God that makes me angry

On a very silly and positive note - has anyone else seen this ebay listing? the item itself not amusing, but the description is hilarious, and the fact that the man selling it has now decided to give 90% of his takings to the Red Cross fund for Japan is rather lovely. If you do find time to click on it, make sure you read all the Q&A as well - it's worth it.

Am very heavy-hearted for the people of Japan and anyone living there at the moment. love to you all.

Echoing what Sakura said about Wales, I've heard Welsh sheep farmers say they were out working all day in the heavy rain soon after Chernobyl blew. That rain then caused them to be banned from selling lambs for many years after Chernobyl, because their grass was so contaminated. The problem was that they weren't warned to stay indoors. I can really sympathise with your German friend, MmeLindt.

As I watched the news last night, the cabinet minister, who has been very red, sweaty, shiny and nervous throughout all the news conferences about the reactors, looked visibly relaxed. 25 km from the sight, the radiation levels are as high as an X-Ray, but apparently nobody is bothered by this

just turned on the BBC, TEPCO is "close" to getting the cooling generator up and running.

LOts of people leaving Tokyo on trains heading South, mainly people with children

its just remarkable that those workers in the reactors are still working relentlessly. They know the amount of radiation and they are still going through the motions.

I know slim, the government apparently has raised the level of radiation that it's acceptable to work in. WTF, but then, what else can they do. There's loads of kids, babies, that are going to be really affected if this isn't brought under control

I just don't understand why they didn't evacuate sooner. The poor people living there.

Sakura, our news here depict a bleak picture. Apparently one of the reactors has no more water with spent fuel rods exposed, I've just seen footage of helicopters dumping water?

they didn't evacuate sooner because the news here has been so patchy, TEPCO has been very secretive about info. There are looooads of towns way above Tokyo, full of people with children, but most have got nowhere to go

yes, the fuel rods are exposed. They need to get water onto them.

I never thought I'd see something on this scale in Japan in my lifetime. We are so smug about our little comforts.

It's so scary. I do hope that those who need to get out can.

Sakura. Are you safe?

It's hard to gague what the risks are. I'm in the South, so okay, but they're being so secretive with info.

I'm being a bit self-absorbed about the nuclear problem because I know there are so many more immediate and serious problems going on atm, but it's hard not to worry about it.

The chinese are evacuating their citizens from Japan, increasing extra flights. they've sent two ships to japan to fill with people.

Sakura. I do hope you stay safe. Do you have the means to leave? I just can't imagine what you are going through

Never thought I'd be studying wind patterns to asess the risks of nuclear fall-out

TanteRose, Seth, the south westerly wind apparently flows to the north-east and will blow the radiation away from Tokyo and out to sea. they are due to start Friday through to Sunday. Today, the air is more settled and going in a southerly direction, which is more of a problem, but for the past few days the nuclear particles have been blown out to the pacific. Detailed wind map

Japan is just not getting a break here, is it?

I realise my "problem" is not one, when compared with what is happening for people living in Tokyo and NE Honshu, but I'm struggling to understand what the facts are with regards the safety of the nuclear situation:
in the link posted yesterday from the British Embassy, they (being people infinitely more qualified to understand and evaluate the situation than I, or most of the journalists informing the world's media) stated more than once that the threat of radiation to people in Tokyo even in a worst case scenario was so small as to be non-threatening to human health. Any other experts out there have an opinion on this?

My DH is now saying we should not go to Hokkaido, as (in his view) the 'worst case scenario' could be infinitely worse than that predicted by our top scientific advisors. He feels that this meeting just presents 'one' opinion and there may be others out there contradicting this. Yes, the BBC and others are painting a much worse picture, but are they really unbiased enough and qualified enough to comment on this? Is my DH just a conspiracy theorist, or should we really not believe anyone in power?

He is telling me to go to Hokkaido on my own...

I really feel for anyone living close to what's going on: I'm struggling to make a decision about a holiday in place much further away from the epicentre of the problem even than Tokyo, FGS; how it's possible to work out whether it's safe to continue living there, I don't know. Hope you are all finding a way to deal with all the conflicting advice and opinions.

Is everyone signed up to LOCATE?

Yesterday we were emailed the same post tante rose posted earlier.

Best wishes to those MNers in Japan, my thoughts are with you.

As far as I can tell, many governments are advising their citizens to leave, but - as far as I can see - in the case of (at least) the French and the British, this is not because of the nuclear threat, but due to other difficulties: threat of further earthquakes/tsunamis, lack of electricity and possibly food, disruption to transport etc. Of course, the media just say "UK advising citizens to leave Japan", without going into details. This cannot be easy for anyone.