The Natural Disaster Thread

[Guest Klitschko]

So sad, the bwawas newa stick togewa

[BLACK VICTIM]

we ol sem peepo nid stick gewa

[Mr Q]

.

[revs]

we ol sem peepo nid stick gewa

as i read this i thought of Jar Jar Binks

[MrJibbles]

11.17pm: Here's the latest release from Associated Press:

Cooling systems have failed at a second nuclear reactor (Unit 3) on Japan's devastated coast, hours after an explosion at a nearby unit (Unit 1) made leaking radiation, or even outright meltdown, the central threat to the country following a catastrophic earthquake and tsunami.

The Japanese government said radiation emanating from the plant appeared to have decreased after Saturday's blast, which produced a cloud of white smoke that obscured the complex. But the danger was grave enough that officials pumped seawater into the reactor to avoid disaster and moved 170,000 people from the area.

Japan's nuclear safety agency then reported an emergency at a second reactor unit when its cooling systems malfunctioned.

Japan dealt with the nuclear threat as it struggled to determine the scope of the earthquake, the most powerful in its recorded history, and the tsunami that ravaged the north-east of the country Friday with breathtaking speed and power. The official count of the dead was 686, but the government said the figure could far exceed 1,000.

Teams searched for the missing along hundreds of miles of the Japanese coast, and thousands of hungry survivors huddled in darkened emergency centres that were cut off from rescuers and aid. At least a million households have gone without water since the quake struck. Large areas of the countryside were surrounded by water and unreachable.

The explosion at the nuclear plant, Fukushima Daiichi, 170 miles (274 km) north-east of Tokyo, appeared to be a consequence of steps taken to prevent a meltdown after the quake and tsunami knocked out power to the plant, crippling the system used to cool fuel rods there.

The blast destroyed the building housing the reactor, but not the reactor itself, which is enveloped by stainless steel 15 cm thick. Inside that superheated steel vessel, water being poured over the fuel rods to cool them formed hydrogen. When officials released some of the hydrogen gas to relieve pressure inside the reactor, the hydrogen apparently reacted with oxygen, either in the air or the cooling water, and caused the explosion.

"They are working furiously to find a solution to cool the core," said Mark Hibbs, a senior associate at the Nuclear Policy Program for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Nuclear agency officials said Japan was injecting seawater into the core, an indication Hibbs said, of "how serious the problem is and how the Japanese had to resort to unusual and improvised solutions to cool the reactor core."

Officials declined to say what the temperature was inside the troubled reactor, Unit 1. At 1,200C (2,200F), the zirconium casings of the fuel rods can react with the cooling water and create hydrogen. 2,200C, the uranium fuel pellets inside the rods start to melt, the beginning of a meltdown.

Chief cabinet secretary Yukio Edano said radiation around the plant had fallen, not risen, after the blast but did not offer an explanation. Virtually any increase in dispersed radiation can raise the risk of cancer, and authorities were planning to distribute iodine, which helps protect against thyroid cancer. Authorities moved 170,000 people out of the area within 12 miles (19 km) of the reactor, said the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, citing information from Japanese officials.

Although the government played down fears of a radiation leak, Japanese nuclear agency spokesman Shinji Kinjo acknowledged there were still fears of a collapse of the power plant's systems, rendering it unable regulate temperatures and keep the reactor fuel cool.

Yaroslov Shtrombakh, a Russian nuclear expert, said it was unlikely that the Japanese plant would suffer a meltdown like the one in 1986 at Chernobyl, when a reactor exploded and sent a cloud of radiation over much of Europe. That reactor, unlike the reactor at Fukushima, was not housed in a sealed container.

In Japan early Sunday, firefighters had yet to contain a large blaze at the Cosmo Oil refinery in the city of Ichihara.

Four million households remained without power. The Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported that Japan had asked for additional energy supplies from Russia.

Prime minister Naoto Kan said 50,000 troops had joined the rescue and recovery efforts, helped by boats and helicopters. Dozens of countries offered to pitch in. President Barack Obama said one American aircraft carrier was already off Japan and a second on its way.

Aid had just begun to trickle into many areas. More than 215,000 people were living in 1,350 temporary shelters in five prefectures, the Japanese national police agency said.

"All we have to eat are biscuits and rice balls," said Noboru Uehara, 24, a delivery truck driver who was wrapped in a blanket against the cold at a shelter in Iwake. "I'm worried that we will run out of food."

The transport ministry said all highways from Tokyo leading to quake-stricken areas were closed, except for emergency vehicles. Mobile communications were spotty and calls to the devastated areas were going unanswered. One hospital in Miyagi prefecture was seen surrounded by water, and the staff had painted "SOS," in English, on its rooftop and were waving white flags.

Around the nuclear plant, where 51,000 people had previously been urged to leave, others struggled to get away.

"Everyone wants to get out of the town. But the roads are terrible," said Reiko Takagi, a middle-aged woman, standing outside a taxi company. "It is too dangerous to go anywhere. But we are afraid that winds may change and bring radiation toward us."

[Flojo]

Compilation of some of the dumbest comments made by people regarding the tsunami

http://karmajapan.tumblr.com/

http://ignorantandonline.tumblr.com/

[BLACK VICTIM]

am i missing something lol

f*ck*ng inbreds

[MrJibbles]

0720: Kenji Rikitake tweets: "Miyagi Police Dept Chief said the death in the prefecture will exceed 10,000; 379 bodies are recovered as of noon (NHK http://is.gd/qiwot3) "

Wow, just wow. This is so sad.

Key points

The government has warned of a possible nuclear meltdown in another reactor at the earthquake-damaged Fukushima 1 power station, which was hit by a big explosion on Saturday. It said the cooling system had failed at the No 3 reactor and the fuel rods inside had been exposed

More than 200,000 people are being evacuated from the area around Fukushima 1 and its sister plant, Fukushima 2 (both are in Fukushima prefecture)

At least 1,300 people are thought to have died but, with 10,000 people unaccounted for in one port town alone, the death toll seems certain to rise significantly

Nationwide, up to 300,000 people have been evacuated

Three US warships are off the coast to help in the Japanese government's huge relief effort

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12307698

[Guest THEREALTULSE]

Anyone think that the U.K should tax all benefit claiments a certian sum i.e 15% in order to fund aid relief?

I think it's a fantastic idea.

[NiNES.]

wah ?

[Afroman]

Anyone think that the U.K should tax all benefit claiments a certian sum i.e 15% in order to fund aid relief?

I think it's a fantastic idea.

[Skenghis Khan]

interesting comparing whats currently happening in japan to the aftermath of hurricane katrina. In terms of speed and effectiveness of the relief efforts.

[Guest Yilmaz]

Yeah cos George Bush don't care about black people

Kanye told us

[Guest Esquilax]

From what I can see these quakes/ tsunamis are more devastating than the hurricane in NO

But I see what you mean

[Mr Q]

Japan aren't currently in a war that they care more about than their own people.

I'm not sure a developed nation could ever deal with a disaster as poorly as America did with Katrina.

[Skenghis Khan]

From what I can see these quakes/ tsunamis are more devastating than the hurricane in NO

But I see what you mean

ofc, far more devastating.

but that makes the point even more acute init

[Francis Coquelin]

Notice how there has been no looting or rioting in Japan following this disaster

you're so transparent it's unreal

[icamefromnothing]

We have added some new items for the RED CROSS Relief fund

http://icamefromnothing.bigcartel.com/category/japan-relief-fund

[MARVELL]

nah ^^ you're a cool guy and everything but i didnt see you do sh*t for the aid reliefs going on in darfur, haiti, palestine, chile, to name a few that have happened in the last 18 months. allow jumping on this japan bandwagon. 400,000 people are still homeless in haiti, and over a million in sudan.

Japan made $5 trillion last year. they'll do just fine

[Heero Yuy]

lol wrong thread bro ?

/

That possible meltdown is a madness, swear the rest of the world don't really seem like there taking this thing that seriously. would expect to see all the big nations sending over their scientists, trying to find a unified solution

[Guest Esquilax]

nah ^^ you're a cool guy and everything but i didnt see you do sh*t for the aid reliefs going on in darfur, haiti, palestine, chile, to name a few that have happened in the last 18 months. allow jumping on this japan bandwagon. 400,000 people are still homeless in haiti, and over a million in sudan.

Japan made $5 trillion last year. they'll do just fine

Don't be a c*nt mate

Just because JPN has a higher GDP than Haiti etc doesn't mean they deserve our help any less

If this happened here I would expect the international community to aid us, regardless of our financial situation, we have an obligation to send aid.

[MrJibbles]

[Heero Yuy]

Its like scenes from 2012, f*ck*ng nuts

[MARVELL]

nah ^^ you're a cool guy and everything but i didnt see you do sh*t for the aid reliefs going on in darfur, haiti, palestine, chile, to name a few that have happened in the last 18 months. allow jumping on this japan bandwagon. 400,000 people are still homeless in haiti, and over a million in sudan.

Japan made $5 trillion last year. they'll do just fine

Don't be a c*nt mate

Just because JPN has a higher GDP than Haiti etc doesn't mean they deserve our help any less

If this happened here I would expect the international community to aid us, regardless of our financial situation, we have an obligation to send aid.

nobody ever said that. But you have countries who are in no way on their own able to cope with the disasters and post disaster efforts

such as haiti. They deserve specialist help, not hundreds of millions of donations from ordinary citizens in countries alot less richer than them

when they have trillions of dollars in cash reserves, WTF is that reserve meant for?

why do they always expect ordinary people to donate sh*t?

let me see HSBC match lady gaga's donation, since they made 5billion last year alone. lets see the super conglomerates donate

about some donate to the redcross fund, nah mate. Bank of nippon's profit is more than 5 african countries put together.

Bill gates has got his billiionaire buddies to donate half their wealth to charity...this is the perfect opportunity to put that into use

if this happed to the UK i would expect our Nato, US, and EU buddies as well as the puppet dictators in the middle east and the oligarchs who ripped off their countries to receive a red carpet welcome by the UK govt to be the top aid relief assistants, not some admin clerk in barbados and johannesburg to be bullied into donating into the office fund for the redcross UK effort.

[Guest Klitschko]