FROM 'JAPAN TIMES', TODAY: At least 35 killed and 17 missing after Typhoon Hagibis tears through country, flooding rivers and submerging cities.
Hagibis, the 19th named storm of the season, tore through Japan’s main island of Honshu on Saturday and early Sunday packing winds of up to 144 kph at landfall, killing 35 and leaving 17 unaccounted for as of Sunday afternoon, according to Kyodo News. NHK reported 166 people were injured.
Cities and towns across the country — including in Nagano, Niigata, Miyagi, Fukushima, Ibaraki, Kanagawa and Saitama prefectures — were inundated by flood waters after levees failed in the face of record rainfall,forcing many people to abandon submerged homes. The damage could worsen in the coming days as the water levels may rise along flooded rivers.
WITH THE RECORD-BREAKING FLOODING IN JAPAN ONGOING, NOW WOULD BE A "GOOD" TIME FOR TEPCO TO HAVE ITSELF AN "OOPS!" MOMENT AND ANNOUNCE TO THE WORLD THE UNFORTUNATE "ACCIDENT" OF A MASSIVE LEAK FROM ALL THOSE TANKS FULL OF RADIOACTIVE WATER STORED ON THE GROUND AT THE FUKUSHIMA NUCLEAR PLANT.
I WOULD HOPE THAT THERE WILL BE INTERNATIONAL MONITORING DURING THIS TIME AND FOR DAYS, AT LEAST, AFTERWORD.
ANY SUDDEN RISE IN RADIATION LEVELS IN AIR OR WATER WOULD INDICATE THAT TEPCO HAD RELEASED CONTENTS OF AT LEAST SOME TANKS.
WITH LANDSLIDES PREDICTED AND EXPECTED, IT WOULD BE MOST CONVENIENT IF THE WATER RUNOFF FROM THE NEARBY MOUNTAINS BEHIND THE DAI'ICHI FACILITY CREATED MUDSLIDES OR SUCH EXTREME FLOODING THAT TEPCO COULD CLAIM THAT AS THE REASON FOR SUCH AN "ACCIDENT".
WITH BOTH LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL PROTESTS AGAINST TEPCO'S PLANS TO JUST GO AHEAD AND DUMP THAT ONE MILLION TONS OF NUCLEAR WASTE INTO THE PACIFIC, THIS NATURAL DISASTER IS A PERFECT COVER FOR TEPCO TO "LOSE" THE STORAGE TANKS IN FLOODING AND/OR LANDSLIDES.
SUCH AN ACCIDENT WOULD SAVE TEPCO MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF DOLLARS.
MAY THEY RESIST THE TEMPTATION TO USE NATURE AS A SCREEN AGAINST ILLEGALLY DUMPING THAT WASTE.
MAY THEY HAVE THE HONOR AND DECENCY TO NOT TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS ONGOING CRISIS.
FROM 'JAPAN TIMES', YESTERDAY:
Record-breaking rainfall, strong winds and severe flooding struck areas from central to northern Japan on Saturday as Typhoon Hagibis made landfall on Shizuoka Prefecture’s Izu Peninsula and directly hit Tokyo and its surrounding areas.
At least two people were killed, nine were missing, and 86 others were injured across 27 prefectures.
More than 100 rivers were at risk of overflowing, including the Arakawa River in Tokyo’s Edogawa Ward, the Karasawa River in Saitama Prefecture and Koito River in Chiba Prefecture.
A level 5 special warning for heavy rain, the highest issued by the Meteorological Agency, was issued at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday urging residents in Tokyo, Shizuoka, Kanagawa, Saitama, Gunma, Yamanashi and Nagano prefectures to evacuate to a secure building or move to the second floor. At just before 8 p.m., the special rain warning was extended to Ibaraki, Tochigi , Niigata, Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures.
As of early Sunday morning, the typhoon was traveling toward the Tohoku region, and as many as 340,000 residents in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, were advised to evacuate. According to the Meteorological Agency, Hagibis was predicted to move into the Pacific Ocean off Tohoku by around 9 a.m. Sunday.
Over 6 million people across Japan were urged to evacuate earlier in the day.
//WW
Fukushima woman being rescued by helicopter dies after being accidentally dropped to the ground. A Tokyo Fire Department helicopter rescuing a 77-year-old woman in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, who had been isolated because of flooding caused by Typhoon Hagibis, accidentally dropped her about 40 meters to the ground because her rescuers did not properly attach her to the rope when they were attempting to winch her to safety during the botched operation.
ReplyDeleteShe died after being taken to a hospital.
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/10/13/national/fukushima-woman-rescued-helicopter-dies-accidentally-dropped-ground/#.XaNqO0ZKi70
Emergency workers rescue residents in a flooded residential area in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture. IN PICTURES: The chaotic aftermath of Typhoon Hagibis.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/10/13/national/photo-gallery-typhoon-hagibis/#.XaNrMkZKi70
Japan's Embassy in South Korea puts radiation levels in Fukushima and Seoul on website. Questions have also been raised about the safety of the Olympics being held in Tokyo next year, with some South Korean lawmakers pushing for a boycott and travel ban over what they portray as radiation risks from Fukushima.
ReplyDeleteThe city of Fukushima, some 70 km away from the stricken nuclear power plant, is set to host baseball and softball games during the Olympics.
And food from the Fukushima region is expected to be served to Olympic athletes as part of government efforts to tout the safety of produce from the area and its strict safety controls.
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/09/30/national/japanese-embassy-south-korea-lists-fukushima-radiation-levels/#.XaNtOEZKi70
AS AN ONLINE 'FRIEND' FROM THAT AREA OF THE WORLD POINTED OUT TO ME YESTERDAY, IN ALL HONESTY, THERE HAVE BEEN FREQUENT SPIKES IN RADIATION LEVELS NEAR THE DAI'ICHI PLANT AFTER MONSOON RAINS, BECAUSE OF THE WATER RUNNING DOWNHILL INTO THE PLANT AREA, FLOWING BENEATH THE CRIPPLED PLANT AND PICKING UP RADIATION THERE AND THEN FLOWING ON OUT INTO THE HARBOR RIGHT BENEATH THE BUILDINGS. TRUE, BUT ANY CONTINUING SPIKE AFTER RUNOFF HAS SUBSIDED SHOULD RAISE RED FLAGS THAT TEPCO IS, INDEED, TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE SAD SITUATION THERE. EVERYONE WHO TRUSTS TEPCO, RAISE A HOOF?
ReplyDelete