Fukushima: China Syndrome Possible?

Nuclear Power Plants:

According to the Associated Press, Japan has declared a state of emergency following the failure of the cooling system at the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant. Officials say there has been no leak of radiation or radioactive material.

One facility in Fukushima developed a mechanical failure in the reactor cooling system after it was shut down and emergency power supply failed but there was no radiation leak. Past midnight local time, it was reported that The Tokyo Electric Power Company was considering venting out superhot gas from the reactor vessel into the atmosphere, which could result in the release of radioactives. The core of the reactor remains hot however, so cooling is still required. Unnamed officials at the Japanese Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency reported that due to lack of electricity the emergency cooling system is currently powered by a battery, which lasts about eight hours. Another six batteries have been secured, and the government may use military helicopters to fly them in. A precautionary state of emergency has been declared. More than 2,000 residents living within a 3-kilometer (1.9 mi) radius of the plant were evacuated, while residents living within a zone 3 to 10 kilometers (1.9 to 6.2 mi) away were asked to evacuate.

Japanese officials have announced their intentions to vent “slightly radioactive” gas to relieve pressure within the reactor vessel.

Casualties:

Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) has confirmed at least 1000 dead and another 88,000 missing in six different prefectures.

By 09:30 March 11 UTC, Google Person Finder, which was previously used in the Haiti, Chile, and Christchurch earthquakes, was collecting information about survivors and their locations.

It has been confirmed that two passenger trains containing an unknown number of passengers disappeared in a coastal area during the tsunami.

It has also been confirmed that a ship carrying 100 people was swept away by the tsunami. The current status of the ship is still unknown.

Four were swept out to sea by the tsunami off the coast of Crescent City, California, United States, near the Oregon border, with two of them later found alive, one still missing, and one dead. A man who was taking pictures of the tsunami waves on the Northern California coast was also swept out to sea and is missing. The United States Coast Guard is now searching for him.

2011 Sendai Earthquake and Tsunami:

The 2011 Sendai earthquake and tsunami (東北地方太平洋沖地震, Tōhoku Chihō Taiheiyō- oki Jishin, literally “Tōhoku region Pacific Ocean offshore earthquake”) was a 9.1-magnitude megathrust earthquake that created tsunami waves of up to 10 metres (33 ft). It was measured at 7 on the Japan Meteorological Agency seismic intensity scale in the northern Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, with an initially reported magnitude of 7.9, while the JMA’s tsunami warning listed the magnitude as 8.4, later updated to 8.9. The earthquake focus was reported to be off the Oshika Peninsula, the east coast of Tōhoku on 11 March 2011, at 05:46 UTC (14:46 local time) at a depth of 24.4 kilometres (15.2 mi). News reports by Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) indicate that at least 1000 people have died and another 88,000 are missing in six different prefectures, although it is feared the total number of dead could be far higher.

The magnitude of 8.9 made it the largest earthquake to hit Japan in recorded history, and the seventh largest in the world since records began. It is thought to have been the largest earthquake to have struck Japan in the last 1,200 years.

Tsunami:

The earthquake triggered a tsunami warning for Japan’s Pacific coast and at least 20 countries, including the entire Pacific coast of North and South America from Alaska to Chile. The tsunami warning issued by Japan was the most serious on its warning scale, implying that the wave was expected to be 10 meters (33 ft) high. According to Kyodo news agency, a wave that high was observed at 3:55pm JST flooding Sendai Airport, which is located near the coast of Miyagi prefecture, with waves sweeping aside cars and flooding various buildings as they traveled inland. Kyodo news agency has reported a four-meter-(13 ft) high tsunami hitting Iwate Prefecture in Japan. A 0.5-meter (20 in)-high wave hit Japan’s northern coast. Reports indicate that the wall of water was higher than some Pacific islands and the danger of tsunami flooding prompted warnings for almost the entire Pacific basin.

In a statement to the press, an official from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said: “An earthquake of this size has the potential to generate a destructive tsunami that can strike coastlines near the epicentre within minutes and more distant coastlines within hours.”