tsunami

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Experts: 30 Years Until Fukushima Can Be Closed

Process will be time-consuming and costly

(Newser) - Officials say Japan’s Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant is relatively stable, but a government panel still believes it will be at least 30 years before it can be safely decommissioned and closed. The panel of experts, named by Japan’s Atomic Energy Commission, noted that it took a decade...

20M Tons of Tsunami Debris Heads for US Shores

Expected to reach Hawaii in early 2013, then mainland in 2014

(Newser) - Debris from the massive tsunami that struck Japan in March is on its way: Up to 20 million tons of trash, like "confetti soup," is slowly drifting across the Pacific Ocean and heading toward the United States, reports the LA Times . Already garbage has been found 2,000...

'Doomsday' Comet Passing by Earth

Online theorists saw armageddon

(Newser) - A comet touted as the bringer of Armageddon will fly past Earth tomorrow night in a knot of icy fragments, Space.com reports. At least one astronomer, however, does not foresee earthquakes and tsunamis. The so-called "doomsday comet," Elenin, "was a second-rate, wimpy little comet that never...

Japan Firm Builds 'Noah's Ark' For Next Tsunami

Giant tennis ball also functions as toy house

(Newser) - It’s Noah’s Ark for the 21st century: A Japanese firm has built a tiny, floating shelter that can hold four adults, the AP reports. Called the “Noah,” the enhanced-fiberglass contraption looks like a huge tennis ball and doubles as a toy house for kids. Cosmo Power...

Alaska Earthquake: 7.1 Quake Hits Off Alaska
 7.1 Quake Strikes Off Alaska 
Sep 2, 2011 6:48 AM CDT

7.1 Quake Strikes Off Alaska

Tsunami warning issued for parts of Aleutian Islands

(Newser) - A tsunami warning is in effect this morning following a 7.1-magnitude earthquake off Alaska, in a remote part of the Aleutian Islands, NPR reports. The US Geological Survey says the quake's depth was 22.1 miles. The West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center put a warning into...

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan Resigning
 Japan PM Resigning 
Aug 26, 2011 8:27 AM CDT

Japan PM Resigning

Naoto Kan will officially quit next week

(Newser) - Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan announced today he would resign after almost 15 months in office amid plunging approval ratings over his government's handling of the tsunami disaster and nuclear crisis. In a nationally televised speech, Kan said he was stepping down as chief of the ruling Democratic Party...

Quake Survivors Return $78M in Found Cash

Nearly 6,000 safes have washed ashore in Japan

(Newser) - In the five months since a massive earthquake and tsunami devastated the east coast of Japan, honest citizens have returned $78 million in cash—$48 million found in thousands of wallets, and $30 million from some 5,700 safes that turned up onshore, reports ABC News . One safe had $1...

Japanese Seethe Over Hushed Radiation Forecasts

Thousands exposed because gov't agencies refused responsibility

(Newser) - Anger is growing in Japan over the government hiding radiation forecasts from the public, causing unnecessary exposure to thousands, letting contaminants into the country's food supply, and not acknowledging that there even was a meltdown for three months after the initial disaster, reports the New York Times . Thousands of...

Japan Tries to Lure Back Scared Tourists

Numbers are way down, and hotel discounts are way up

(Newser) - Looking for an inexpensive vacation? Go to Japan. This is the country's unofficial message to a dwindling population of visitors scared away by the recent natural disasters and the threat of radiation exposure, the Global Post reports. To draw tourists back in, hotels are offering bargain-bin specials. Japan needs...

Fukushima Nuclear Plant Stabilized

Workers on track for cold shutdown within six months

(Newser) - Some good news from Japan: The Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant is stabilized and a cold shutdown should be achieved within six months. Even so, Tokyo Electric Power Co. warns that final cleanup—which will involve encasing the plant in concrete—could take more than 10 years. Engineers have recently...

Japan Tsunami Taller Than 10-Story Building

Giant wave was biggest recorded in decades: Experts

(Newser) - The tsunami that struck Japan in March rose to a staggering 132.5 feet at its highest, taller than a 10-story building, according to 150 researchers who have collected data from thousands of locations along the country's east coast. Here's how it stacks up: The killer wave was...

Tepco Knew of Fukushima Design Flaw, Did Nothing

Electric switcher swamped by tsunami, killing plant's cooling system

(Newser) - Senior Tepco engineers were aware of design flaws at five of its Fukushima Dai-ichi reactors for decades, but complacency and cost-consciousness prevented the company from fixing those problems, reports the Wall Street Journal . While newer reactors have backup diesel generators and electrical switchers placed securely in the well-protected reactor building,...

Japan's Big Roadblock: 25M Tons of Debris

Before the nation can fully rebuild, it has years of cleanup ahead

(Newser) - A giant kiln at a cement factory in Japan finally returned to action today and incinerated 10 tons of debris from the March earthquake. Which sounds like a handsome total until you consider that an estimated 25 million tons remain, reports the Wall Street Journal . The nation is now grappling...

Japan Earthquake: 6.7-Magnitude Quake Triggers Tsunami Warning
Another Big Earthquake
Rattles Japan
UPDATED
Jun 22, 2011 5:53 PM CDT

Another Big Earthquake Rattles Japan

6.7-magnitude earthquake hits; tsunami warning canceled

(Newser) - A magnitude-6.7 earthquake rattled northeast Japan Thursday morning. It was the same area of the Pacific where a massive magnitude-9 quake hit on March 11, triggering a deadly tsunami. The Japan Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami warning for Iwate Prefecture but canceled it about an hour later. There were...

Tepco Halts Water Filtering at Fukushima

Power company running out of room to store contaminated water

(Newser) - Tokyo Electric launched its much-hyped water filtration system yesterday at its foundering Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant—only to shut it down a mere five hours later. The setback is very serious, notes the New York Times, with Tepco in grave danger of running out of room for the tens of...

Tsunami-Tossed Ships Return to Water, Slowly

Each ship will cost roughly $1M to put back

(Newser) - Remember the shocking pictures of beached boats and ships after Japan’s March tsunami attack? in one fishing town, they’re still there, untouched months after the disaster. More than a dozen ships heaved inland sit with red bellies and propellers exposed among the demolished houses of Kesennuma, a jarring...

Inside Fukushima Cleanup: Willy-Nilly Safety, Training

Many workers lack training, equipment needed

(Newser) - Three months after the crisis at Japan’s Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant began, the Wall Street Journal takes a look at safety measures in interviews with seven of the people they're designed to protect. One contractor had just a 30-minute briefing before stepping onto the grounds in the...

Japan's PM Beats Censure, Hints He'll Resign

Naoto Kan acknowledged 'shortcomings' after earthquake

(Newser) - Prime Minister Naoto Kan defeated a no-confidence motion today over his handling of Japan's triple disasters, but the victory may be short lived—he said he is willing to resign once the country's recovery kicks in. Kan, who has been criticized for delays in the construction of temporary...

Opera Stars Ditch Japan Tour Over Radiation Fears

Experts say there's nothing to worry about

(Newser) - A pair of New York’s top opera stars due to sing in Japan have canceled their performances following the earthquake, the AP reports. Now, the Metropolitan Opera has to “scour the world” to find replacement singers for soprano Anna Netrebko and tenor Joseph Calleja, even though experts said...

Fukushima's Tsunami Plan: One Page

Nuclear plant thought it was immune to waves, thanks to decade-old memo

(Newser) - Nuclear officials in Japan thought the Fukushima reactors were safe from the biggest waves a quake could hurl at them—thanks to a decade-old, one-page memo from the plant operator, reports the AP . Granted, it’s a double-size page, but it gives few details to back its claim that no...

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