Japan earthquake – News Stories About Japan earthquake - Page 8

Japan Connects All Six Reactors at Fukushima Dai-ichi Plant to Power Lines, but It Will Be Days Before Juice Is Turned On

Japan Gets Power Lines
Hooked Up at Plant

Mar 22, 2011 11:53 AM CDT

Japan Gets Power Lines Hooked Up at Plant

But it will be days before they can test all the cooling systems

(Newser) - A potential milestone in Japan's efforts to get the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant under control: Workers have for the first time connected all six reactors to power lines, a development that could finally revive the plant's cooling systems, reports the AP . The caveat: They won't turn the juice back on to...

Radioactive
Milk a Threat
—if You Drink
58K Cups

Mar 22, 2011 11:01 AM CDT

Radioactive Milk a Threat —if You Drink 58K Cups

Heath officials blowing things way out of proportion in Japan: researcher

(Newser) - Japan is finding elevated radiation levels in milk, spinach, and water —scary, right? Richard Knox at NPR sits down with RPI health physicist Peter Caracappa to crunch some numbers about what those levels mean. The gist:

The max radiation a US nuclear worker is allowed to be exposed to

...

Japan Nuclear Crisis: At Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Plant, Regulators Granted Extension Despite Warning Signs

Regulators Ignored
Warning Signs
at Fukushima

Mar 22, 2011 7:42 AM CDT

Regulators Ignored Warning Signs at Fukushima

Despite noted problems, an extension was granted for oldest reactor

(Newser) - Government regulators were concerned about the oldest reactor at Japan’s Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant—but still approved a 10-year extension for reactor No. 1, just a month before the devastating earthquake and tsunami that landed the country in its current nuclear crisis. A report from the regulatory committee noted...

Japan Nuclear Crisis: Fukushima Nuclear Pool Near Boiling Point

Japan Nuclear Pool
Near Boiling Point

Mar 22, 2011 4:45 AM CDT

Japan Nuclear Pool Near Boiling Point

Work resumes at stricken plant

(Newser) - Workers resumed efforts to bring Japan's Fukushima nuclear complex under control today but a pool for storing spent fuel at the plant has presented yet another problem, AP reports. A nuclear safety official says the pool is heating up and temperatures are at or near the boiling point. The pool...

First American Death in Japan Tsunami Confirmed

First American Victim of Japan Tsunami Confirmed

Mar 21, 2011 7:20 PM CDT

First American Victim of Japan Tsunami Confirmed

Taylor Anderson, 24, was last seen biking home from the school where she taught

(Newser) - From Japan, fresh heartbreak that truly hits home: The first known American victim of the earthquake has been confirmed. "It is with deep regret that we inform you that earlier this morning we received a call from the US Embassy in Japan that they had found our beloved Taylor's...

Warren Buffett: Japan Presents a 'Buying Opportunity'

Buffett:
Japan Presents
'Buying Opportunity'

Mar 21, 2011 12:30 PM CDT

Buffett: Japan Presents 'Buying Opportunity'

Country's 'economic future' unchanged, says investing guru

(Newser) - There’s no need to panic about Japanese markets post-earthquake, says Warren Buffett: Such cataclysmic events often create a “buying opportunity,” he tells Reuters from South Korea. “It will take some time to rebuild,” but the market plunge “will not change the economic future of...

North Korea: Use Your Dog
as an Earthquake Alarm

Mar 21, 2011 11:31 AM CDT

North Korea: Use Your Dog as an Earthquake Alarm

State media looks to animals' 'sixth sense' for disaster

(Newser) - North Korea has a team of experts ready to alert the country to impending earthquakes—the only trouble is, its members can’t talk. State news media has encouraged citizens to look to their pets for notice of coming natural disasters, advising North Koreans to watch for dogs barking furiously,...

An Illustrated Guide to
Japan's 'Radiation Problem'

Mar 21, 2011 10:39 AM CDT

An Illustrated Guide to Japan's 'Radiation Problem'

Fukushima reactor having pretty tiny effect

(Newser) - Just how much radiation, relatively speaking, is leaking out of the Fukushima reactor? Randall Munroe, maker of the gloriously geeky xkcd webcomic , was getting pretty confused by the various media reports, so he talked to a friend who is the senior reactor operator at Reed Research Reactor, and with her...

Many Chinese Salt-Buyers Want Their Money Back

Mar 21, 2011 9:23 AM CDT

Many Chinese Salt-Buyers Want Their Money Back

But some stores say 'tough luck'

(Newser) - All those panicked consumers in China who bought all the salt off store shelves ? Yeah, they'd like their money back now. "I regret it very much. I will never behave this silly anymore," says one woman who was refused a refund for the four-year supply she purchased....

Workers Evacuated
From Japan Nuclear Plant

Mar 21, 2011 7:28 AM CDT

Workers Evacuated From Japan Nuclear Plant

Smoke rises from damaged reactor

(Newser) - Workers at Japan's Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant were evacuated again today after smoke rose from one of the damaged reactors, the AP reports. The cause of the smoke was not yet clear. Earlier today, a village about 20 miles from the plant was advised by the Health Ministry its tap...

Japan's Death Toll Hits 18K

Mar 21, 2011 2:25 AM CDT

Japan's Death Toll Hits 18K

Damage costs could top $235B

(Newser) - The numbers are grim—more than 18,000 dead and $235 billion in rebuilding costs. These are the estimates coming out of Japan today, as the police, World Bank, and other organizations weigh in on the extent of the damages from the March 11 earthquake, reports AP . Nationwide, 8,600...

World's Costliest
Natural Disasters

Mar 20, 2011 4:59 PM CDT

World's Costliest Natural Disasters

The price tag of 2008's earthquake in China? $147B

(Newser) - Japan's devastating earthquake has pushed natural disasters back into the headlines again, and the Telegraph runs down the most costly in history:

Earthquake in Sichuan, China, 2008: The 7.8-magnitude temblor killed more than 70,000 and left 11 million homeless. Cost: $147 billion.
Earthquake in Kobe, Japan, 1995: The

...

US Could
Learn From
Japanese Grace

NICHOLAS KRISTOF

Mar 20, 2011 7:15 AM CDT

US Could Learn From Japanese Grace

Less pushiness, more selflessness is the solution, says Nick Kristof

(Newser) - Japan has long had an extreme dichotomy between its people and its politicians, and last week's earthquake underscored that fault line: "The Japanese government has been hapless. And the Japanese people have been magnificent, enduring impossible hardships with dignity and grace," writes Nicholas Kristof in the New York ...

Japan Pulls
2 Survivors
From Rubble

Mar 20, 2011 6:00 AM CDT

Japan Pulls 2 Survivors From Rubble

Eighty-year-old and grandson rescued after 9 days

(Newser) - An 80-year-old woman and her 16-year-old grandson emerged today from the rubble in northeastern Japan, nine days after the 9.0 earthquake that leveled their two-story house. The teen, Jin Abe, finally managed to pull himself out of the wreckage, and authorities spotted him waving for help from the collapsed...

Earthquake Prediction:
California Is Next

Earthquake Prediction: California Is Next

And hit to San Andreas or Cascadia faults could be even 'scarier'

(Newser) - Is what happened in Japan set to repeat itself in California? Author Simon Winchester thinks so. In an article for Newsweek that’s turning some heads , Winchester notes that though scientists aren’t sure why, major earthquakes have a tendency to happen in clusters, with a quake on one side...

Japan Makes Progress
Stabilizing Nuclear Plant

Mar 19, 2011 5:33 PM CDT

Japan Makes Progress Stabilizing Nuclear Plant

Fukushima Dai-ichi gets some of its cooling functions back

(Newser) - The latest news from Japan's Fukushima Dia-ichi plant has a rare note of optimism—tempered with plenty of don't-get-your-hopes-up-too-high sentiment. The biggest bright spot is that workers have apparently restored power to the cooling systems of two reactors, Units 5 and 6, reports the Wall Street Journal . Those units posed...

Japan Finds Radiation
in Water, Milk, Spinach

UPDATED

Mar 19, 2011 8:21 AM CDT

Japan Finds Radiation in Water, Milk, Spinach

But official cautions that levels not high enough to affects humans

(Newser) - Japan has detected elevated radiation levels in spinach and milk in the prefecture containing its foundering Fukushima nuclear plant and a neighboring prefecture, reports the Wall Street Journal . Milk produced roughly 30 miles away from the plant had around five times the normal amount of radioactive material iodine-131, while spinach...

What It's Like to Drive
Into a Tsunami

Mar 18, 2011 4:20 PM CDT

What It's Like to Drive Into a Tsunami

Driver captures moment when big wave takes his car for ride

(Newser) - The dramatic videos of Japan's earthquake and tsunami just keep coming. In this newly released one, a driver's camera captures the moment when a wave overwhelms his car on a coastal road. He got out safely. "When I turned the corner I could see the wall of water,"...

Japan Admits
Response Fell Short

Mar 18, 2011 3:26 PM CDT

Japan Admits Response Fell Short

'In hindsight, we could have moved a little quicker,' says spokesman

(Newser) - As Japan continues its struggle to get the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant under control, a government spokesman acknowledged that the initial response to the earthquake and tsunami was lacking, reports AP . "In hindsight, we could have moved a little quicker in assessing the situation and coordinating all that information and...

Quake May Cause
iPad Part Shortage

Mar 18, 2011 2:58 PM CDT

Quake May Cause iPad Part Shortage

Toshiba shut down a flash memory facility

(Newser) - The earthquake that rocked Japan may also put a dent into Apple’s iPad supply, a financial analyst warned yesterday. Two key iPad 2 components—its super-thin battery and its flash memory—are manufactured in Japan, research firm HIS iSuppli noted. Toshiba, which makes the device’s flash memory, had...