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Powerful Magnitude 7.3 Earthquake Jolts Fukushima Area

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  • Powerful Magnitude 7.3 Earthquake Jolts Fukushima Area

    Feb 14, 2021
    STAFF REPORT, KYODO, JIJI

    A powerful magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck late Saturday off the coast of Tohoku, leaving at least 50 people injured and knocking multiple power plants offline.

    The quake, which measured a strong 6 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale — the second-highest level — jolted Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures in the Tohoku region. No tsunami warning was issued.

    The injuries were reported in Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, but it was not immediately clear if anyone was seriously hurt.

    Nationwide, at least 950,000 homes were without power as of midnight, top government spokesman Katsunobu Kato said at a news conference. Kato later said that multiple power plants in the nation were offline.

    A government source said the power outage situation was expected to improve through the early hours of Sunday but that more time would be needed in the Tohoku region.

    The quake, which was also felt in Tokyo, where it registered a 4 on the Japanese scale, struck at around 11:07 p.m., according to the Meteorological Agency. The epicenter was off the coast of Fukushima, about 220 kilometers (135 miles) north of Tokyo. Its focus was estimated to be at a depth of about 55 kilometers.

    ... No abnormalities have been found at the Fukushima Nos. 1 and 2 nuclear power plants, according to Tokyo Electric Power. The same was true for Japan Atomic Power Co.’s inactive Tokai No. 2 nuclear power plant in the village of Tokai in Ibaraki Prefecture and Tohoku Electric Power Co.’s Onagawa nuclear plant in Miyagi Prefecture, according to their operators.

    The epicenter of the earthquake that occurred on Feb. 13 at 11:08 p.m. is located in Fukushima Prefecture | JAPAN METEOROLOGICAL AGENCY

    Video / Pictures:

    News on Japan, Business News, Opinion, Sports, Entertainment and More



  • #2
    Japan earthquake sparks leak at Fukushima nuclear power plant

    Japan was on Saturday rocked by an earthquake. It has been reported that this has led to a nuclear fuel spill at Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power plant, although no one has been harmed,

    18:32, 13 FEB 2021 / UPDATED19:13, 13 FEB 2021

    Reports on Saturday revealed a 7.1 magnitude quake had struck off the coast of Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1 – with worries the facility could have been damaged.

    According to NHK, there has been a leak of nuclear fuel at the plant which is in the Fukushima Prefecture.

    Pool water used for storing spent nuclear fuel may have escaped and contaminated the surrounding area.

    However, reports also suggest the risk to workers and the surrounding area is low as the level of radiation is not an extreme risk.

    TEPCO reports: "a patrol found that about 160 ml of pool water for storing spent nuclear fuel at Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1 in preparation for decommissioning in Fukushima Prefecture had leaked into a ditch next to the pool.

    "It seems that it overflowed due to the shaking of the earthquake, but according to the Nuclear Regulatory Agency, the amount is small, so there is no effect on the cooling of nuclear fuel, and the radiation dose is low, so there is no concern about exposure to workers."

    The report continued that as of 1:40 am on Sunday, local time: "No major abnormalities have been found at the Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Plant, and there is no change in the values of the monitoring posts that measure radiation levels around the nuclear power plant."

    Japan was on Saturday rocked by an earthquake. It has been reported that this has led to a nuclear fuel spill at Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power plant, although no one has been harmed

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    • #3
      Quake damage in Tohoku region

      NHK WORLD-JAPAN
      3 hours ago

      A landslide has occurred at a major expressway in Fukushima Prefecture in northeastern Japan.

      Our reporter viewed the site. "We are over Soma City in Fukushima Prefecture. You are looking at the Joban Expressway. Embankments have collapsed and covered roads. We can see that guardrails are stuck under the mud."

      Police in Miyagi Prefecture say the quake lifted up about 10 meters of another section of the expressway.

      ... About 850,000 households in the Tohoku and Kanto regions were without electricity at one time. But power supplies are gradually being restored.

      Officials say some districts in Miyagi and Fukushima Prefectures are without water, owing to ruptured pipes.

      Video:


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      • #4
        Water leaks indicate new damage at Fukushima nuclear plant

        Feb 19, 2021 Updated 4 hrs ago
        By MARI YAMAGUCHI - Associated Press

        TOKYO (AP) — Cooling water levels have fallen in two reactors at the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant since a powerful earthquake hit the area last weekend, indicating possible additional damage, its operator said Friday.

        New damage could further complicate the plant’s already difficult decommissioning process, which is expected to take decades.

        Tokyo Electric Power Co. spokesman Keisuke Matsuo said the drop in water levels in the Unit 1 and 3 reactors indicates that the existing damage to their primary containment chambers was worsened by Saturday's magnitude 7.3 quake, allowing more water to leak.

        ... TEPCO initially reported that there was no abnormality at the plant from Saturday's quake.

        Matsuo said the cooling water level fell as much as 70 centimeters (27 inches) in the primary containment chamber of the Unit 1 reactor and about 30 centimeters (11 inches) in Unit 3. TEPCO wasn't able to determine any decline in Unit 2 because indicators have been taken out to prepare for the removal of melted debris, it said.

        Increased leakage could require more cooling water to be pumped into the reactors, which would result in more contaminated water that is treated and stored in huge tanks at the plant. TEPCO says its storage capacity of 1.37 million tons will be full next summer.

        ... Meanwhile, the Tokyo High Court on Friday held the government as well as TEPCO accountable for the 2011 nuclear disaster, ordering both to pay about 280 million yen ($2.6 million) in compensation to more than 40 plaintiffs forced to evacuate to Chiba, near Tokyo, for their lost livelihoods and homes.




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