Strong Quake Hits Japan on One-Month Anniversary of Disaster
Photo: Reuters
A strong aftershock rattled northeastern Japan Monday, triggering new tsunami warnings and the evacuation of an already-crippled nuclear power plant. Authorities also urged more people living near the plant to prepare to leave the area, citing concerns about long-term health risks from leaking radiation.
The U.S. Geological Survey initially reported the magnitude of the aftershock at 7.1, the same strength as one that hit on Thursday. But authorities later revised it downward to 6.6. A tsunami warning was issued for portions of the northeast coast, but was lifted less than one hour later.
Monday's aftershock struck just hours after people across Japan bowed their heads in silence to mark the one-month anniversary of the massive March 11 earthquake and tsunami that killed up to 25,000 people and triggered the crisis at the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power plant on the country's northeastern coast.
More than 13,000 bodies have been recovered and more than 14,000 remain missing, many still lying under the rubble or washed out to sea.
Officials at Japan's nuclear safety agency said workers were temporarily evacuated Monday from the Fukushima nuclear plant, which has been leaking radiation since the March 11 quake. They said outside electrical power to three of the plant's units was cut off, disrupting the injection of cooling water into the reactor cores, but that the electricity was restored after less than an hour. The officials said they had detected no change in radiation levels.
Authorities also announced preparations to expand the 20-kilometer evacuation zone around the Fukushima plant.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said residents should prepare to evacuate from certain towns and villages outside the zone as soon as radiation levels exceed pre-determined levels.
He said the government will coordinate with municipal officials in those areas and that residents should wait for further instructions.
Edano also said residents living between 20 and 30 kilometers from the stricken Fukushima plant should be packed and ready to leave on short notice if the situation at the plant deteriorates. He said those who are ill or have small children should leave the zone in advance of any emergency.
Edano said the decision to evacuate specified communities outside the 20-kilometer radius is based on radiation concentrations caused by geological and weather factors. He said residents must also be prepared for a new emergency at the plant, even though the likelihood of that is considerably lower than before.
The Greenpeace environmental group issued a statement earlier Monday calling for the government to evacuate residents from several radiation hotspots and to remove the most vulnerable people from Fukushima city. It said its own monitoring showed residents of the city could receive the annual maximum dose of radiation within a few weeks.
Earlier Monday, repair crews at the Fukushima plant had begun using remote-controlled power shovels and bulldozers to clear rubble from two nuclear reactors that were damaged by hydrogen explosions.
Officials said they were also preparing to transfer highly radioactive water from a tunnel next to the plant's number two reactor into a condenser. Technicians have been pumping less radioactive water into the ocean since last week to make room in a temporary storage facility for the more dangerous water.
The crisis has made many Japanese distrustful of nuclear power. About 2,000 to 3,000 people took part in a protest march Sunday demanding that the government shut down all nuclear plants in the country.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
Comments (19)
There are many goods-carrying ships available, some even onshore, many can carry 60 000 tons. Why not sacrifice some ships as container vessels for the radioactive water. What keeps water out should be able to keep water in.
Feeling so sad for the Japanese and the situation which they are in, without extending much help personally. But I am sure, all the days are not one and definitely they will come out of present struggle and crisis and they will move to safer days as earlier in due course. I am also sure that the present trend of after effects will lie down in its own and the japanese will be safer in days to come. With all the very best and with all emotional support, Yours loving, Peethambaran.P.M
Quake after quake and crisis after crisis . Those repeated crisis indicate that the situation of our environment is deteriorating into worst . What they can do more them offering prayers and be patient . They can do more through change the policy of their countries by protesting against unacceptable linger of politicians which has led our world to this miserable level .
It seems the rang of radiation will extend gradually which will spread fear and funk among public rapidly . I sympathize with Japanese child who should cope with our mistakes . Even ocean and marine life can not be saved in this catastrophe . I run out of words to say anything .
It's a matter of regret a series of earthquake hit Japan one after another. We pray to god to relieve Japan from this catastrophic consequences. Besides,Japan government should shut down all radioactive plant in this moment. God bless them.
Our endurance is being tested strongly. We shall overcome. We believe.
thank you, i pray every one is recovering from the aftermath earthquake and tsunami. Also, my advice to the Japanese is that be aware that the country is in the red zone,
There is no such thing as a "one-month anniversary." "Anniversary" can by definition be marked only on dates which are integral numbers of YEARS after the referenced event. VOA owes its audience correct use of English.
These events only conform that we are helpless in-front of MOTHER NATURE. Its high time we have a rethink about nuclear power generation. We have to keep this earth livable for generation's to come. My prayer's are for people of JAPAN
Shut up Jean!
My thoughts and prayers remain with the Japanese people and that the earth may calm once again. I have been astounded by stories of strength and kindness from this great country. I sincerely hope they are getting as much aid as is needed.
Hinduism offers some fixes to prevent future crises. Japan by its name and culture of work ethic is strongly bound to religion. Tantra and Vaastu are among the widely dominant religious norms that guide human beings to live in peace. They have made some very major blunders in these realms. Fixing them can help their coexistence with nature.
I NEED HLEP TO JAPAN TOKYO ON ME MARCH 11 12 13 14 2011, JAPAN BY QUAEK. DANIEL BOYTER 39. YEAR OLD 1605 NOTYLE. DR
The demand to shut down all nuclear plants in the country is of no help rather creating another period of turmoil. For years, millions are able to benefit from those power plants and it's never fair to compare the recent March11 disaster either to Chernobyl or Three Miles Island. Japan on the other hand simply needs support not another criticism.
Philippines have only one neuclear reactor for electrics but you refuse to run it because of potential disaster. It's easier said than done,amigo.
I feel so sorry for Japan. But I don't understand the Japanese government's actions for the leak of nuclear reactor. Earthquake and tsunami are natual disasters but the wide spread of radioactive substances is caused by the government's wrong measures. They should have received the UAS's help to protect people from radioacive materials.
Why have to drain the toxic water into the sea,are there no other alternative options . this will raise international crisis. esp to then neighboring country .I am worrying about the salt we eat in future will be tainted.
The construction of Bataan Nuclear Power Plant began in 1976 in response to the 1973 oil crisis. Days after the April 1986 Chernobyl disaster, the succeeding administration decided not to operate the plant. Strong opposition from its citizens and the fact that it has been built near major earthquake fault lines and close to the then dormant Pinatubo volcano were considered.
A new magnitude 6.6 aftershock yesterday triggered a mudslide which left six people dead. 
The crisis at a  on the northeast coast of Japan is now as severe as the  in 1986, officials have said. Radiation is continuing to leak from the plant, which was damaged during the devastating magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami last month, which left thousands dead. Japanese authorities have warned the crisis is now a "major accident" with "wider consequences" than previously thought.

A spokesperson for , the Japanese government nuclear authority, said officials had upgraded the crisis to a level seven on the —the same applied to the Chernobyl disaster—because of a number of factors, including the detection of radiation in crops. "We have upgraded the severity level to seven as the impact of radiation leaks has been widespread from the air, vegetables, tap water and the ocean," he said.

 
, the operator of the plant, has warned radiation was continuing to leak from the site and the magnitude of the crisis could exceed that of Chernobyl. Despite this, Japanese nuclear safety officials have insisted the leakage of radiation was small compared to the devastated plant in the former . "In terms of volume of radioactive materials released, our estimate shows it is about ten percent of what was released by Chernobyl," one nuclear official said.

The news comes as a new blow after another powerful aftershock yesterday which left at least six people dead after they were killed in a  in the city of . The landslide, which destroyed numerous homes, was triggered by a  6.6 aftershock which came exactly a month after the 9.0 magnitude earthquake. Fire officials in the city said three people had already been rescued and taken to hospital, and emergency workers were working to free an unknown number of others.
The International Nuclear Events Scale; the accidents at the Fukushima I have been elevated to level seven, the highest level on the scale, putting it on par with the , originally the accidents were rated at level five, the same level of the . 
Workers at the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant returned after they were briefly evacuated following the earthquake, and officials issued tsunami warnings for the northeast coast which were later cancelled. Workers have been fighting a desperate battle to prevent the reactors from overheating and entering . Raging fires burned into the night after the earthquake, and TEPCO reported widespread power outages; hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses had power cut off.

Reports of the change in severity at the damaged nuclear plant followed the announcement that the  around the site was to be expanded. A spokesperson for the government confirmed the radius of the zone would be expanded to include another five communities over the next several weeks. He stressed there was "no need to evacuate immediately" but said concerns had been raised over health risks from the leaking radiation.

The new development at the plant and the aftershock are new blows to a country wounded after the massive earthquake in March, which caused a tsunami that washed away whole towns and villages along the country's northeast coast. Thousands of bodies have been recovered, and many more are still unaccounted for, many left under mounds of rubble or washed out to sea. More than 150,000 people remain displaced, living in emergency shelters.


Before the aftershock struck yesterday, survivors of the first earthquake marked the time it hit a month ago with a  across the country. Writing to seven international newspapers, , the ,  expressed his gratitude to people globally for their support. "Through our own efforts and with the help of the global community, Japan will recover and come back even stronger. We will then repay you for your generous aid," he wrote. "With this in our hearts, we now stand together dedicated to rebuilding the nation."



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de:Nachbeben in Japan – Behörden weiten Sicherheitszone aus
es:Aumentan el nivel de alerta radioactiva en la central nuclear Fukushima
fr:Les accidents de Fukushima évalués de niveau 7 par les autorités japonaises
pl:Fukushima: łączna ocena INES awarii podniesiona do 7. stopnia