But the facility still remained off limits to reporters and, for a kilometer radius around the plant, to the general public, due to the continued high levels of radiation and ongoing efforts to prevent yet more blasts and leaks.
Fukushima: A closer look — Radiation readings rose steadily as the journalists neared the plant, reaching 6. There, they put on respirator masks, adding to an ensemble of a protective suit, two pairs of gloves, two sets of plastic booties over their shoes and a radiation detector. Fukushima: A closer look — The crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station is visible through a bus window Saturday.
Fukushima: A closer look — Journalists pass a newly built sea wall next to the crippled nuclear power station. Fukushima: A closer look — Workers dressed in protective suits and masks are checked for radiation outside a building at J-Village, a soccer training complex now serving as an operation base for those battling Japan's nuclear disaster in Fukushima.
Fukushima: A closer look — A employee of the Tokyo Electric Power Company walks up stairs near temporary housing built for workers who live at J-Village, at the former soccer training complex. Fukushima: A closer look — A worker carries his belongings as he walks among the temporary housing structures at J-Village. Fukushima: A closer look — A deserted field and buildings inside the contaminated exclusion zone around the crippled nuclear power station are seen through the bus window.
Fukushima: A closer look — A deserted neighborhood inside the contaminated exclusion zone is visible through the bus window.
March 11, - At p. The earthquake causes a tsunami with foot waves that damage several nuclear reactors in the area. It is the largest earthquake ever to hit Japan.
Number of people killed and missing. Read More. The combined total of confirmed deaths and missing is more than 22, nearly 20, deaths and 2, missing. Deaths were caused by the initial earthquake and tsunami and by post-disaster health conditions. Other Facts. A microsievert mSv is an internationally recognized unit measuring radiation dosage.
People are typically exposed to a total of about 1, microsieverts in one year. The debris was not considered to be radioactive. The top of the wave moves faster than the bottom, causing the sea to rise dramatically. In some places a tsunami may cause the sea to rise vertically only a few inches or feet. In other places tsunamis have been known to surge vertically as high as feet 30 meters.
Most tsunamis cause the sea to rise no more than 10 feet 3 meters. The Indian Ocean tsunami of December caused waves as high as 30 feet 9 meters in some places, according to news reports.
In other places witnesses described a rapid surging of the ocean. Flooding can extend inland by a thousand feet meters or more. The enormous energy of a tsunami can lift giant boulders, flip vehicles, and demolish houses.
They may be more like a very rapidly rising tide. This may be accompanied by much underwater turbulence, sucking people under and tossing heavy objects around. Entire beaches have been stripped away by tsunamis.
More than , people lost their lives, many of them washed out to sea. The most damaging tsunami on record before was the one that killed an estimated 40, people in following an earthquake in the South China Sea.
In some 36, people were killed by tsunamis in the South Java Sea, following the eruption of Indonesia's Krakatoa volcano. In northern Chile more than 25, people were killed by a tsunami in But tsunamis have been generated in other bodies of water, including the Caribbean and Mediterranean Seas, and the Indian and Atlantic Oceans.
North Atlantic tsunamis include the tsunami associated with the Lisbon earthquake , which killed as many as 60, people in Portugal, Spain, and North Africa. This quake caused a tsunami as high as 23 feet 7 meters in the Caribbean. Some were generated locally and others were the result of events far away, such as the earthquake near Portugal.
The combined death toll from these Caribbean tsunamis is about 9, If you feel a strong quake do not stay close to shore. If you hear of an earthquake be aware of the possibility of a tsunami and listen to the radio or television for additional information.
Remember that an earthquake can trigger killer waves thousands of miles across the ocean many hours after the event generated a tsunami. If you see the ocean receding unusually rapidly, that's a good sign that a tsunami may be on its way.
Go to high ground immediately. The magnitude 9. It struck off the coast at p. The National Police Agency says 18, people died, mostly in the tsunami, including 2, whose remains have not been found. Local authorities still regularly conduct searches in the sea and along the coast for traces of those still missing.
None of the fatalities has been directly linked to radiation. Nearly half a million people were displaced across the northeastern region. In addition, Tokyo Electric Power Co. The waves overtopped and destroyed protective tsunami seawalls at several locations. The massive surge destroyed three-story buildings where people had gathered for safety. Near Oarai, the tsunami generated a huge whirlpool offshore, captured on video. The tsunami caused a cooling system failure at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant , which resulted in a level-7 nuclear meltdown and release of radioactive materials.
The electrical power and backup generators were overwhelmed by the tsunami, and the plant lost its cooling capabilities. The earthquake was not a factor," Titov said. Very low levels of radioactive chemicals that leaked from Fukushima have been detected along the North American coast offshore Canada and California. Trace amounts of cesium and cesium radioactive isotopes were found in seawater collected in and In the tsunami's aftermath, Japan's Meteorological Agency was criticized for issuing an initial tsunami warning that underestimated the size of the wave.
The country recently unveiled a newly installed, upgraded tsunami warning system. In some regions, such as Miyagi and Fukushima, only 58 percent of people headed for higher ground immediately after the earthquake, according to a Japanese government study published in August Many people also underestimated their personal risk , or assumed the tsunami would be as small as ones they had previously experienced, the study found. Scientists from around the world descended on Japan following the earthquake and tsunami.
Researchers sailed offshore and dropped sensors along the fault line to measure the forces that caused the earthquake. Teams studied the tsunami deposits to better understand ancient sediment records of the deadly waves.
0コメント