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March 14, 2011

Tokyo, Japan

Hello everyone, I am writing to update you guys on what's happening here in Japan.

I managed to get home safely on Saturday afternoon (about 20 hours after the earthquake) and my apartment was relatively unscathed. I found a few things on the floor but nothing was really broken. Interestingly, life in Tokyo seemed to have gone back to normal.

Now the reality...

So far, 1300 bodies have been found and over 10,000 people are still unaccounted for. Japan death toll is currently estimated at 10,000. 

On Saturday, a nuclear reactor in one of the power plants in Fukushima (240km from Tokyo) blasted causing the roof of the building surrounding the reactor to collapse, leading to significant radioactive leakage and injuring four people. You can watch the footage here -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHfR_wybvw0

Two nuclear plants have been affected by the earthquake. The plant in Fukushima, which is under state of emergency, has (or had) a total of six nuclear reactors. One has already blasted, and two other are currently on the verge of collapsing as well. Just a bit of background info... Nuclear reactors use the heat generated from radioactive elements to heat up water and generate power. Even after the reactor is turned off, it can take days for it to cool down requiring massive amounts of water. So when the earthquake stroke on Friday, the reactors were immediately turned off and entered the self-cooling mode. The earthquake, however, caused a major power outage in the area and the water pump stopped working. There were a couple of more layers of emergency cooling procedures in place but they have all failed miserably. Long story short, as I write this email, the nuclear reactors continue to heat up and the government is trying to cool them down using their last reaort: pumping sea water into the tank. Japan's nuclear safety agency said the number of people exposed to radiation from the Fukushima plant could reach 160. Workers in protective clothing were scanning people arriving at evacuation centers for radioactive exposure. Around 140,000 people had been evacuated from areas near the plant and another nuclear facility nearby, while authorities prepared to distribute iodine to people in the vicinity to protect them from radioactive exposure.

The last news we had was that they haven't been able to successfully contain the heat in the reactors, and another one could explode at any moment. Even if that happens, however, they are predicting that there probably won't be much radiation leakage so people in Tokyo shouldn't be affected. Currently, Japan is still being hit by several aftershock quakes ranging from magnitudes 3 to 5. While this is nothing to be alarmed about, experts are predicting that there is still 70% chance of another major earthquake (7 or higher) striking Japan.
(http://wireupdate.com/wires/15821/japan-says-70-percent-chance-of-a-new-major-earthquake-by-wednesday/). Unless another catastrophe or accident happens, it is said that everything should be under control in a few weeks. Moreover, even though radiation can reach Tokyo in a couple of hours if something happens in Fukushima, it is unlikely that it is going to reach Tokyo.

The French embassy, however, thinks otherwise and has told French people to start evacuating Tokyo (use google translator if you can't read French -> http://www.ambafrance-jp.org/spip.php?article4569). My French friend has already purchased a ticket back to France.

What concerns me is that the Japanese media is currently under what they call "press restraints" and they are limiting information to reach the population. Historically both the Japanese government and Tepco, Tokyo's power company, have had cases where they have hidden information from the population causing some controversies. The idea this time is to avoid major panic in Tokyo until it is really necessary. If people decide to evacuate Tokyo all at once, there is no way the transportation system is going to sustain the massive outflow of people, not to mention the economic impact that it could cause. 

Japan is heavily reliant upon nuclear power and stopping them can lead to serious consequences. Today, Tepco has announced some planned power outages in the city for the next few weeks which will have a negative impact on the economy. Without power, public transportation and water distribution will be limited. 

My plan is to follow the news closely and if there is any sign that things could get worse, I will be ready to jump off the boat.