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Original poster

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

518 replies

RatherBeOnThePiste · 11/03/2011 06:50

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.

OP posts:
TanteRose · 17/03/2011 02:28

Morning all - I still here 50km south of Tokyo, not planning to go anywhere...

I am surprising calm, but my Jps DH is freaking out a bit..he always was a bit of a worrier Grin

oh gotta go, Self Defence minister giving a news conference...

elvisgirl · 17/03/2011 02:30

I don't think they are being deliberately secretive with the information. It must be very hard to get the information out of the plant in the first place & it does seem to be changing rapidly with time. The raw data then needs a certain amount of interpretation & then predictions made.There is such a large amount of uncertainty involved that it is probably difficult to say anything of use without givin such a large margin of error that it wouldn't be of much use. They have to be careful what they say as the media will leap onto it & could get it wrong. Even the BBC was found to be reporting some doses in milliSv when it was actually microSv.

The workers' emergency dose limit has been raised to 250mSv. Depending on the type of radiation, rate of exposure & mechanism of exposure, health effects do not generally start occuring until 1000-2000mSv. Death can be a possibility after around 5000mSv but the chance is greatly reduced with prompt medical treatment. There may be an increased chance of contracting certain cancers in the future, but people in the developped world have between a 1 in 2 and 1 in 3 chance of getting a cancer during their lifetime anyway & it is unlikely any dose absorbed could significantly increase that (unless it was a specific uptake, like massive dose of inhaled iodine-131 - unlikely as they'd be wearing respiratory protection or be too far away).

sakura · 17/03/2011 04:11

oh, they're definitely being secretive with information elvisgirl. The mayor of one of the town's inside a 25km radius of Fukushima has announced that he has been getting his information from the TV !! and that the government has given them no information at all. They're all staying inside, but residents there are getting angry, angry that the plant has been put there (probably without asking local residents' permission) and angry that nobody is telling them anything

sakura · 17/03/2011 04:15

but anyway, please don't stop posting, your posts are very helpful. Just my stress levels are rising a bit, they're saying they can't even get close to the No 4 reactor to cool it down.

slim22 · 17/03/2011 05:12

US officials on CNN are saying that basically, the japanese officials are getting their information from TEPCO.
One would think in something of this scale the highest military command in the land would be right there in their face along with UN/atomic energy commissioin specialists to coordinate and get absolutely all the facts right and all the resources available.

This makes me so angry! of all places on this planet, one would think this is the place best prepared to DEAL with something of this magnitude in a "scientific" way.
I do understand the situation changes hour by hour but you would think these are scenario sthat would have been thoroughly thought out, thoroughly rehearsed. There should be a plan B, plan C etc, etc......

Am in total awe of the japanese people, no looting, no shouting,Bless them, they never had the government they deserved.

MmeLindt · 17/03/2011 06:01

Beanmachine
I am following several people on twitter trying to get a better picture of the situation but it is very difficult as most views are coloured by the viewers preconceptions and opinion of nuclear power. There was a good list of people to follow, I will dig it out when on pc later.

Sakura and the other MNetters
Do let us know if there is any way of assisting you. I think we all feel so helpless.

I did read that even "worst case" would limited to area directly around the plant. Then later a much worse scenario. Very difficult to understand or make any sense out of it.

sakura · 17/03/2011 06:26

I can't believe they're getting all their info from a private company, and I'm angry that TEPCO are more worried about stocks and shares than giving people clear, concise information

MmeLindt · 17/03/2011 06:46

Good article here. I like that he grabbed a bottle of brandy before diving under the desk.

sakura · 17/03/2011 07:03

that was a great article Smile

sakura · 17/03/2011 08:06

According to the BBC, the radiation levels in Tokyo are slightly raised but nothing near the levels that would harm human health

BeenBeta · 17/03/2011 08:13

I have been watching the helicopter drops of water this morning. The risk of radiation must be so high that the helicopters are flying at high altitude making brief sweeping runs across the plant. They are not hovering low over the pools where the spent rods are.

It seems a bit of a symbolic effort to me. By the time the water reaches the pool level it is just a spray and 90% must be missing the target. The total amount beng dropped is not that significant anyway.

The TEPCO officials keep saying that they have a new power line almost ready whch will bring an external electric feed to the plant that will allow them to start the pumps - but there is so much damage at the plant I wonder how realistic that is. The pictures of No 3 and No 4 reactor buildings here show extreme levels of destruction. The reactors and the spent fuel pools are somewhere under that tangle of wreckage.

I just think it is going to take a long time to get this fully under control. They will do it in the end but there remains a serious question about what else happens between now and then.

BeanMachine · 17/03/2011 08:38

It is nice to read positive things, MmeLindt.

It must be difficult right now to keep the focus on the people who really need help immediately, given this ongoing threat hanging over the country.

Let's just keep hoping that the worst does not happen and that one morning very soon, we can all wake up to more positive news...

exexpat · 17/03/2011 10:47

sakura - have you looked at the live geiger counter in Tokyo on webcam that beenbeta linked to the other day? It's here and is currently reading 23.49cpm.

I'm not sure what the normal rate in Tokyo is, but normal background radiation in Cornwall, by way of comparison, is 45-60cpm because of the granite and so on. And on a flight it could be 300cpm or more.

BeenBeta · 17/03/2011 10:52

There is also a Twitter post I have just read that has readings from around the area north of Tokyo. The readings are for a radius beyond 20 km from the plant. They all fell in the 20 - 40 range but would obvioulsy be higher nearer the plant.

I read anything below 100 is normally considered safe for prolonged exposure.

slim22 · 17/03/2011 11:01

Great article

PlasticFlamingo · 17/03/2011 12:23

I have decided to leave the area and am now in Osaka, due to fly out on Saturday. We decided the misinformation was too confusing and my older child was so stressed by the earthquakes, that we would leave for a while. My husband is staying, I wish he would come with us. Good Luck to everyone.

mmmwine · 17/03/2011 12:37

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

sakura · 17/03/2011 12:40

I just hope they can get that generator up and running

MmeLindt · 17/03/2011 12:57

Twitter reports of further earthquake. Hope you guys are ok over there.

MmeLindt · 17/03/2011 12:58

Seems it was not a big one though?

beijingaling · 17/03/2011 13:02

Just seen this link from the telegraph. It has regularly updated radiation reading for japan. www.targetmap.com/viewer.aspx?reportId=4870

exexpat · 17/03/2011 13:04

Just seen a tweet that power cable has been reconnected to the Fukushima plant - hope that means they can get the pumps working again.

exexpat · 17/03/2011 13:05

MmeLindt - no, don't think it was a big one - BBC just reported a 5.4 which is not very significant in terms of recent aftershocks - see map on Japan tab here.

sakura · 17/03/2011 13:24

thanks for those links exexpat and beijingaling

MmeLindt · 17/03/2011 15:45

Here is the info that I promised this morning:

BrianDunning Brian Dunning
People are asking me for my sources re: Fukushima. Here is a list of the best: tinyurl.com/6hq6fdp - I'll keep tweeting highlights.

21 hours ago Favorite Undo Retweet Reply

Also, this might be interesting - about the [[BrianDunning Brian Dunning
People are asking me for my sources re: Fukushima. Here is a list of the best: tinyurl.com/6hq6fdp - I'll keep tweeting highlights.
21 hours ago Favorite Undo Retweet Reply Germans]]

It is great when someone agrees with me. Although I tweeted about that and promptly had a reply from an irate German on my blog.