Magnitude Raised – (NHK World News Japan) Japan’s Meteorological Agency says the magnitude of Friday’s earthquake that hit the Pacific coast of northeastern Japan was 9.0 instead of 8.8/8.9 as earlier announced. The agency made the correction on Sunday morning after analyzing seismic waves and other data. The magnitude is equivalent to that of the 2004 earthquake off Sumatra, Indonesia, which triggered massive tsunamis in the Indian Ocean. The agency says the focal zone of Friday’s quake was about 500-kilometers long and 200-kilometers wide. Destructive movement along the fault continued for more than 5 minutes. The Meteorological Agency says only 4 other quakes in the world have recorded magnitudes of 9 or over. The largest was the magnitude 9.5 quake that hit the Chilean coast in 1960, killing more than 1,600. The quake also triggered tsunamis in Japan, leaving 142 people dead. The 2004 quake off Sumatra registered a magnitude of 9.1. Subsequent giant tsunamis killed more than 200,000 people.
Over 10,000 unaccounted for in northeast Japan – (NHK) In Friday’s major earthquake and tsunamis, 689 people have been confirmed dead in eastern Japan. The death toll will exceed 1,000, as hundreds of bodies are still unidentified in Miyagi and Iwate prefectures. On top of that, more than 10,000 people in several prefectures have not been in contact with anyone.
In the coastal town of Minami-sanriku in Miyagi Prefecture, about 10,000 people have not been in contact. That is more than half the town’s population of 17,000. Most of the town’s buildings have been washed away by a tsunami, though a hospital and several other concrete structures are still standing.
In Miyagi Prefecture, 178 people have been confirmed dead. The death toll in the prefecture could exceed 500 as hundreds of bodies are still unidentified. On a beach in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture’s main city, 200 to 300 unidentified bodies have been found. It is believed they were swept away by a tsunami. Police have not yet confirmed the number. About 100 bodies in each of 2 other cities in the prefecture have been carried into gymnasiums for identification.
In neighboring Iwate Prefecture, 258 people have been confirmed dead and the death toll will rise above 500. The city of Rikuzen-takata has been devastated by a tsunami. The Self-Defense Forces say they have found 300 to 400 bodies there.
Nuclear reactors in serious status – (NHK Japan) Work on cooling nuclear reactors is facing difficulties at 2 power plants in quake-hit Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan. At the Fukushima Number One Power Plant, both the number one reactor, and the number two reactor’s emergency generators broke down, making it difficult to pump water into the reactors. That allowed temperatures in the reactors to rise.
Pressure inside the containment vessel of the reactors also remains higher than normal. The Tokyo Electric Power Company, the plants’ operator, tried to restore depressurizing equipment using a mobile generator. But the plan failed as the equipment had already been damaged by tsunami waves.
At the Number Two Plant, cooling water temperatures in its 3 reactors remain at 100 degrees Celsius–more than 3-times higher than the normal operating temperature. The utility is considering other options to restore failed cooling systems for these reactors. On Saturday, the government’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said 2 radioactive substances, cesium and iodine, had been detected near the Number One reactor at the Number One power plant. This indicates nuclear fission of uranium fuel. The agency announced some fuel in the reactor had partially melted. Sea water is being used to try to cool that reactor. The electric company is not sure how soon it will be able to completely halt the reactors at the 2 power stations.
Evacuation area expanded to 20km radius – (NHK Japan) The prefectural government of Fukushima has expanded the evacuation area around Fukushima Number 1 Power Station from an earlier established 10-kilometer radius to a 20-kilometer radius. The decision was made at the instruction of the prime minister’s office shortly before 6:30 PM, local time, (3:00am New York EST) at a nuclear disaster task force meeting on Saturday. The prefectural government is working to determine which towns and villages fall under the new evacuation order. It is maintaining an evacuation instruction for a 10-kilometer radius around the Number 2 Power Station.
US Navy to join MSDF in search for missing – (NHK Japan) US Navy ships, including an aircraft carrier, will join vessels from Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force in the search for the missing off the coast of the country’s quake-hit northeast. Following the quake, the MSDF sent 25 ships to waters off the region. The vessels are looking for those who may have been swept into the sea by tsunami waves triggered by the temblor.
Japan’s Defense Ministry says the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and 2 Aegis-equipped destroyers dispatched by the US Navy will join the MSDF search, starting Sunday. The aircraft carrier arrived in the waters off Kesennuma City, Miyagi Prefecture, on Saturday night. The USS Blue Ridge and other vessels of the US Navy’s 7th Fleet based in Yokosuka will also help the search mission.
The Air Self-Defense Force’s Matsushima base and Sendai airport, both in Miyagi Prefecture, were flooded, leaving them inoperable. The wide flight deck of the US aircraft carrier is expected to serve as an airport on the sea for planes that will be engaged in the search.
United States reactor experts en route to Japan – (NHK Japan) The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has dispatched 2 specialists to Japan to discuss how to deal with the accidents at 2 quake-damaged nuclear power plants in Fukushima. The 2 experts are scheduled to arrive on Sunday as part of a rescue team from the US Agency for International Development. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission oversees operations and management of nuclear power plants in the United States. Chairman Gregory Jaczko says the organization has some of the world’s top nuclear experts and is ready to assist in any way possible.
Japan quake causes casualties abroad – (NHK Japan World) Tsunami waves triggered by the massive quake off Japan’s Pacific coast have caused casualties not only at home but abroad. Indonesian authorities and state-run media say a 1.5-meter tsunami hit the island of New Guinea on Friday evening, killing one man riding a bike near the coast. The United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says a tsunami of over 2.4 meters was recorded in northern California on Friday. Seven people were swept away, with six rescued and one still missing. The Chilean interior ministry says a several-meter high tsunami reached the country early on Saturday. Dozens of ships in a port were destroyed or swept away.
Food, Water, Fuel Shortages – Sendai, Japan (CNN) Long lines at grocery stores and gas stations along with continued aftershocks and power outages greeted many in Japan on Sunday morning, nearly two days after the devastating earthquake and tsunami that left hundreds dead and missing.
Supplies of food and gas were running out in Sendai, the northern coastal city close to the epicenter of Friday’s quake. Those who survived the earthquake and chose to remain in the city were enduring two-hour waits at the supermarket, according to a CNN iReporter in Sendai with the username joeyjenkins. “They have waited for I don’t even know how long to get gas, as the gas station manually pumps the gas since there is no electricity,” joeyjenkins wrote, adding they were without power until early Sunday.
Schools and hospitals and Sendai have been turned into shelters, and volunteers were handing out bottles of water, CNN correspondent Kyung Lah reported from the city. Fears of power outages in Tokyo, about 200 miles south, sparked a run on flashlights, said iReporter Jessica Tekawa, 26. (more)