Japan Earthquake/Tsunami

Okay off to bed D: I hope they have started Reactor Fill/Seawater charging by the time I get up |:

0638: The Japanese government is warning of the risk of another reactor explosion at the Fukushima plant - AFP.

0640: That's the No 3 reactor at risk of an explosion, AFP makes clear in an update

0650: Despite that risk of a second explosion, the government spokesman says reactor No 3 could withstand a blast in the same way that reactor No 1 did.

0656: Yukio Edano, the government spokesman who's been giving regular updates to the press, tries to provide further reassurance by saying that the radioactivity so far released into the environment does not pose a threat to human health.

Family Guy's writer makes crude comment on the Japanese disaster

Never going to watch/support Family Guy again. >_>;

0342: The Huffington Post tries to get to the bottom of the geological impact of the quake, quoting seismologist Daniel McNamara as saying the quake caused the land to sink: "You see cities still underwater; the reason is subsidence. The land actually dropped, so when the tsunami came in, [the water is] just staying."

Family Guy's writer makes crude comment on the Japanese disaster

Never going to watch/support Family Guy again. >_>;

Under another perspective: It's his job to be an insensitive *** for the sake of humor, but this one should have never been posted as it is particularly tasteless, insensitive and disgusting.

The thing is, I don't think he was trying to be funny. There's no humour in that statement. Coming from someone who enjoys edgy humour I see it as him just being an attention ***, not a comic.

It's not a joke talking about pearl harbour's death toll, there's no punchline or wit. It's just tasteless and HELP I AM TRAPPED IN 2006 PLEASE SEND A TIME MACHINE.

0847: The New York Times has a piece on doubts about nuclear energy in light of the problems at the Fukushima nuclear plant.

IT BEGINS! /enter the pundits

That article actually wasn't that bad, though. Pretty neutral, if you ask me.

1304: A reminder that Japan's nuclear safety agency rates the incident at level 4 on a scale of 1-7. The accident at Three Mile Island was 5, Chernobyl was 7.

1309: Japan's Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) is preparing to put sea water into the No 2 reactor at Fukushima Daiichi, or Fukushima 1, power station, Reuters reports. It has already been pouring water into reactors No 1 and 3 to try to cool them.

1319: Sumo stablemaster Tamanoi, formerly ozeki Tochiazuma, said Sunday the stable's training complex in Fukushima Prefecture had been washed away by the tsunami caused by Friday's deadly earthquake in northeastern Japan, Kyodo reports. ''This is very, very hard because Soma is a town we've spent considerable time in," he is quoted as saying. "One day I'd like to go with my wrestlers and encourage the people over there."

1336: Dramatic rescue stories are starting to come through. Kyodo news has this one from a 60-year-old man spotted floating in the sea on a piece of roof.

1342: The earthquake that struck on Friday was the largest in Japan since records began. Here's a site offered by the Japanese Science Media Centre with more technical details and graphics on the quake.

1349: British regulators will be studying closely the nuclear crisis in Japan to "learn any lessons" for power stations in the UK, Energy Secretary Chris Huhne has said.

1353: A state of emergency has been declared at a second nuclear power plant in Japan, the International Atomic Energy Agency has said. "Japanese authorities have informed the IAEA that the first, or lowest, state of emergency at the Onagawa nuclear power plant has been reported by Tohoku Electric Power Company," a statement said, according to the AFP news agency. The alert was declared "as a consequence of radioactivity readings exceeding allowed levels in the area surrounding the plant". "Japanese authorities are investigating the source of radiation," it added.

1358: The Onagawa nuclear power plant is located near the town of Onagawa and the city of Ishinomaki city, in Miyagi prefecture, which was the region hardest hit by the earthquake. A fire broke out in the turbine building of one the reactors at Onagawa on Friday, but was put out. A water leak was also reported at another reactor on the site.

1400: Kendra Barua in Yokohama writes:"We are more than 275 kms south of Fukushima but the panic has already started to happen. Gas stations are out of gas, stores are running out of food, emergency supplies have virtually run out and people are evacuating to the south. Aftershocks still continue and the meteorological center still sends strong earthquake warnings to our cell phones. They have also said there is more than 70 percent chance of a magnitude 7 earthquake happening in the next three days. Addition to that, the nuclear fallout is very serious. The PM was almost in tears and we could see fear in his eyes. We aren't even sure if the gov is telling all the truth about the radiation extent. Power cuts will start tommorow until the end of April in most central Japan. Anywhere from 3-6 hours per day is expected. People are in need of true information and the steps they should take without causing panic. Since the Japanese government does not seem to be capable of making critical decisions, foreign help is critical in the decision making process as well." Have Your Say

1404: As the Japanese prime minister said earlier, the earthquake is a disaster the likes of which Japan has not see for decades. But BBC World Affairs editor John Simpson has made the point that the timing of the quake is a big stroke of luck for Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who is currently trying to crush a rebellion against his rule. The Libyan story was at the top of the international news agenda until Friday, and Libyans opposed to the Gaddafi regime and calling for international intervention will be worried about people forgetting them.

1408: The earthquake in Japan is likely to have caused between $14.5bn and $34.6bn damage to property in the country, a risk analysis firm AIR Worldwide has said. Its estimate did not, however, cover the effects of the subsequent tsunami. There would be a "significant increase in the damage estimate", it added.

1411: The BBC's Chris Hogg in Tokyo says the rescue operation in north-east Japan is proving difficult. "Some of the worst affected areas are hard to reach. In some villages and towns, many of the buildings appear have been washed away," he says. "The earthquake was the largest anyone here can remember but it was the giant wave of water that followed that caused so much of the devastation. The prime minister has told his people they need to pull together if they are to survive the biggest challenge Japan's faced since the end of World War II."

1419: The governor of the Bank of Japan has said it will provide 2 trillion ($24bn) to 3 trillion ($37bn) yen of liquidity to the banking system on Monday to keep markets stable in the wake of the disaster and keep short-term borrowing costs down. "We will monitor market conditions and plan to provide markets with a lot of liquidity first thing tomorrow morning," Masaaki Shirakawa said. He added that the bank would also thoroughly consider the economic impact of the earthquake when the board meets for an interest rate review on Monday.

1424: The BBC's Alastair Leithead has been travelling around Miyagi prefecture. He says: "In one cove along the Pacific coast, everything has been destroyed or swept away. I saw the roof of a factory on the roadside. Its girders were bent like coat-hangers. All around here, there is thick mud. There are piles of chopped-up wood that once formed houses. Cars have been crushed as if they were smashed into a wall. The extent of damage is incredible. There is nothing really left here at all."

1437: Patrick Fuller of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), who is Ishinomaki, one of the worst affected cities, tells the BBC: "I'm at the hospital in Ishinomaki and the situation is dire. This is a town of about 130,000 people. Half the town was engulfed by the tsunami and the scene of devastation is absolute. There are pockets of people who are still stranded. There are others limping into the hospital as I speak. Just five minutes ago I witnessed an elderly lady die before she could get through the doors. The Red Cross is doing an incredible job here. They have had volunteers coming in from all over the country."

1444: Mr Fuller says some of the local roads are open, but helicopters are still the main way to get to inaccessible areas: "Five miles down the road from here, a bridge was washed away. There are about 700 people in an evacuation centre on the other side. One of our medical teams had to get over there by helicopter to take them three days' food and water, and evacuate the seriously injured. It is a desperate situation here. You don't really get a picture if you are sitting in Tokyo, or even if you are in Sendai. Yes, the power's off and people are facing difficulties, but compared with here it is nothing."

1447: He adds: "There is a real threat, particularly amongst the elderly here, many of whom are suffering from hypothermia. They were caught in the tsunami, they were in the water, and it is bitterly cold here at night. It is a very worrying situation. Hopefully it will stabilise in the coming days if the power comes back on and food starts coming into the shops. But people are in a deep state of shock here."

1456: Radiation levels at the Onagawa nuclear power plant in Miyagi prefecture are about 700 times higher than normal but are still low, the Tohoku Electric Power Company has said, according to the Maichi Shinbum website. Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency dismissed the possibility that the Onagawa plant was to blame, saying it was likely caused by the radioactive substances that scattered when a hydrogen explosion hit the troubled Fukushima plant on Saturday.

1458: Meanwhile, Japan's meteorological agency has said the wind that is blowing over the Fukushima-Daiichi plant will blow from the west during Sunday night, pushing any radioactivity towards the Pacific Ocean, the Reuters news agency reports. Earlier, the wind was blowing from the south, raising concerns radioactivity could affect residential areas.

1501: More than 1,300 people are now confirmed to have been killed by the earthquake and tsunami which hit north-eastern Japan on Friday, state broadcaster NHK says.

1507: NHK reports that the death toll now stands at 1,351. In Miyagi prefecture, 515 deaths have been confirmed in the cities of Higashimatsushima, Kesennuma and Sendai. The bodies of between 200 and 300 people swept away by the tsunami were discovered on beaches near Sendai. In Minamisanriku, most buildings have been washed away and about 10,000 people remain missing, NHK adds. Police in Miyagi say the death toll is almost certain to exceed 10,000.