Earth ChangesS


Nuke

Japan Raises Nuke Crisis Severity to Match Chernobyl

Yuri Kageyama & Ryan Nakashima
Associated Press
Mon, 11 Apr 2011 23:40 UTC
Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant.
© Air Photo Service Co. Ltd., JapanMarch 20, 2011 aerial photo taken by a small unmanned drone of damaged Unit 4, left, and Unit 3 of the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant.
Japan's nuclear regulators raised the severity level of the crisis at a stricken nuclear plant Tuesday to rank it on par with the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, citing the amount of radiation released in the accident.

The regulators said the rating was being raised from 5 to 7 - the highest level on an international scale overseen by the International Atomic Energy Agency. However, there was no sign of any significant change at the tsunami-stricken Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant.

The new ranking signifies a "major accident" with "wider consequences" than the previous level, according to the Vienna-based IAEA.

"We have upgraded the severity level to 7 as the impact of radiation leaks has been widespread from the air, vegetables, tap water and the ocean," said Minoru Oogoda of Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency.
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Cloud Lightning

I-29 closed indefinitely north of Fargo because of flooding

Bill McAuliffe and Paul Walsh
Star Tribune
Mon, 11 Apr 2011 15:39 UTC
fargo,flood
© MPR Photo/Ann Arbor Miller
A stretch of Interstate Hwy. 29 will remain closed indefinitely north of Fargo, where overland floodwaters are running 8 inches deep across its driving lanes.

North Dakota Gov. John Dalrymple, in Fargo during the continuing flood emergency, said it would remain closed indefinitely. The highway is closed between Fargo and Hillsboro, nearly 40 miles to the north.

Dalrymple and other officials indicated that the flood crisis had moved from Fargo and Moorhead, where the Red River crested Saturday, to outlying areas to the north, downstream. Several people were evacuated from rural homes over the weekend and emergency agencies remained on alert for more Monday.
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Nuke

Japan expands nuclear evacuation zone as new quake hits


Raw Story / Reuters
Mon, 11 Apr 2011 15:24 UTC
Image
© Unknown
Japan on Monday expanded the evacuation zone around its crippled nuclear plant because of high levels of accumulated radiation, as a strong aftershock rattled the area one month after a quake and tsunami sparked the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl.

A magnitude 7.1 tremor shook buildings in Tokyo and a wide swathe of eastern Japan on Monday evening, triggering a small tsunami alert. NHK state television said it caused the off-site power supply for two damaged reactors to shut down.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the aftershock struck 38 km (24 miles) west of the city of Iwaki, at a depth of 13 km (8 miles).

Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), which operates the plant, said workers had stopped pouring cooling water on reactors No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 at Fukushima.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said villages and towns outside the 20 km (12 mile) evacuation zone that have had more accumulated radiation would be evacuated. Children, pregnant women, and hospitalized patients should stay out of some areas 20-30 km from the Fukushima nuclear complex, he added.
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Bizarro Earth

Italy: New Eruption Started at Italy's Etna

Erik Klemetti
Big Think
Sun, 10 Apr 2011 14:54 UTC
Etna_1
© RavingWebcam capture of Etna on April 10, 2011. The new lava flow can be seen on the upper right-hand slope of the volcano.
Another quick weekend post!

Etna has sprung back to life as April opens, with new eruptions from the Southeast Crater Cone. Friday and Saturday (April 8-9), the Italian volcano produced some ash and a 3-km lava flow, but then quieted. However, the seismicity under the volcano continued and late tonight into today (April 10), Etna starting producing small strombolian explosions from the Southeast Crater Cone (see below). You can check out a full description of the renewed activity on the INGV-Catania website (written by, surprise, Dr. Boris Behncke - be sure to follow him on Twitter for all sorts of updates). This is now the third eruption at Etna since the beginning of 2011. Eruptions reader Pgen Pgen also posted a timelapse of some of the April 9-10 activity at Etna.
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Bizarro Earth

7.1 aftershock hits Japan


Los Angeles Times
Mon, 11 Apr 2011 02:56 UTC
A warning for a small wave is issued on the one-month anniversary of the giant quake and tsunami.

Image
© Kyodo NewsSurvivors in Miyako, Japan, observe a moment of silence in the rubble exactly a month after a massive earthquake and tsunami.
A strong earthquake rattled Japan's northeast Monday and sparked a fresh tsunami alert on the one-month anniversary of the massive temblor and wave that devastated the northeastern coast and unleashed a still-unfolding nuclear crisis.

The 7.1-magnitude aftershock briefly forced Tokyo's main international airport to close both of its runways. The epicenter was just inland and about 100 miles north of Tokyo. The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex said the latest quake had no impact on the plant.

A warning was issued for a three-foot tsunami, the same as for after an aftershock that shook the northeast coast last week. That quake generated no tsunami.

People at a large electronics store in the northeastern city of Sendai screamed and ran outside, though the shaking made it hard to move around. Mothers grabbed their children, and windows shook. After a minute or two, people returned to the store.
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Nuke

Improvisation, Frustration Mark Japan's Nuclear Crisis at 4 Weeks- No End in Sight

Matt Smith
CNN
Sun, 10 Apr 2011 01:20 UTC
people demonstrated in Tokyo
© CNNMore than 2,000 people demonstrated in Tokyo on Sunday against the use of nuclear power in Japan.
Beneath the cherry blossoms of Shiba Park, more than 2,000 people lined up for a Sunday afternoon march calling for Japan's nuclear power stations to be shut down.

A week before, a similar protest -- though in a chilly drizzle, not on a warm, sunny day -- drew about 250.

And a month of frustration, desperation and anger boiled over at Tokyo Electric Power Company's headquarters Friday as officials from towns around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant demanded to know when the crisis that has besieged their farming communities would end.

"The nuclear plant situation needs to be resolved as soon as possible. If not, we farmers will die," one of the officials, Iwao Suzuki, told the utility's executives.

But the response from Naomi Hirose, the managing director of Japan's largest utility, offered little encouragement to the delegation or the rest of the world.
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Phoenix

US: Texas wildfires destroy homes, buildings


Reuters
Sun, 10 Apr 2011 22:23 UTC
Wildfires scorched more than 230,000 acres in Texas on Sunday, roaring through a West Texas town, destroying an estimated 80 homes and buildings and critically injuring a firefighter.

The Texas Forest Service reported more than 60,000 acres burned and 40 homes lost in one blaze that raced through West Texas and into the small mountain town of Fort Davis. The fire rushed across 20 miles in 90 minutes.

Officials at the scene, however, estimated at least 100,000 acres in two counties had burned from the fire, which continued to grow Sunday evening.

"I can only describe it as an ocean of black, with a few islands of yellow," State Representative Pete Gallego said.
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Snowman

US: 10 inches of snow in Flagstaff, I-17 closed


Arizona Daily Sun
Sat, 09 Apr 2011 18:51 UTC
Image
Flagstaff resident David Ellsworth took this photo in his front yard on S. Gila Dr. at 10 am on Saturday morning.
A winter storm warning remains in effect through 5 pm as a spring snowstorm that has already dropped nearly a foot of snow in areas of Flagstaff continues to move across the region.

As of 10:30 am, the National Weather Service in Bellemont said it had so far received reports of 12 inches of snow in Grand Canyon Village, 10 to 11 inches in Flagstaff, 10 inches in Parks, 7 inches in Williams, 4.5 inches in Kachina Village and 4 inches in Doney Park. Sedona received an inch of snow all in one hour.

The Arizona Department of Transportation said that the I-17 North is closed between State Route 179 and Flagstaff because of the snow. ADOT is encouraging people to avoid driving unless necessary.
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Cloud Lightning

US: Tornado causes 'major devastation' but no deaths in Iowa city

Ben Smith
CNN
Sun, 10 Apr 2011 18:41 UTC
An Iowa community was shut down much of Sunday afternoon while emergency crews remained hard at work, sifting through wreckage caused by a wave of powerful tornadoes that swept across the state overnight.


The twisters caused major damage to about 60% of Mapleton, a city of about 1,200 residents, Monona County Sheriff Jeff Pratt told reporters Sunday.

It was all part of a violent storm system that struck overnight, originating in eastern Nebraska and following a warm front across northern Iowa, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Frank Boksa.

But despite causing extensive damage, it did not lead to any fatalities, said Stefanie Bond, a spokeswoman for Iowa's Homeland Security & Emergency Management Division.
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Cloud Lightning

US: The nation's weather


Mercury News
Sun, 10 Apr 2011 18:38 UTC
A very large storm will move out of the Rockies and into the Plains, the most active weather system in the country Sunday. The particularly large storm will spread from the northern Plains through the central Rockies and into the upper Midwest.

While the spring storm will initially lack the moisture coming up from the Gulf of Mexico, it will begin to produce strong thunderstorms from Texas through Illinois as it moves eastward later in the day and on Monday. These thunderstorms will have the potential of turning severe, with damaging wind, hail, and even possibly tornadoes.

Residents in the Southeast should monitor weather conditions due to approaching severe weather.
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