Is the first picture Real ? OMG ! i'm shocked...
It is entirely real, Hezam. Here's another of a fire breaking out in Natori City, Miyagi Prefecture. I'm looking all over for more information on the escalated situation at the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
Update: As I said earlier, the situation at the Fukushima nuclear power plant was not contained as was previously reported. The pressure is indeed rising despite efforts from the United States and the Japanese government. The power grid is already screwed up, the coolant isn't helping, and the outlook seems dire. The possibility of a radiation leak is very high. The Japanese government is doing everything it can to contain the situation, but there's a lack of power to the emergency cooling system. This isn't good at all, so please hope for the best with this situation. Japan does not need a radiation leak in addition to the horrific devastation that has already been dealt.
Update #2: The Japanese government will be releasing radioactive vapor outside the reactor in an attempt to lessen the pressure building inside it. That is obviously a temporary fix, and one I doubt is going to help long term. This is just horrifying. It was already terrible, but this? This is unimaginable. Everything that could go bad has gone bad, so let's just hope a meltdown does not occur.
Update #3: An estimated 80,000 people are missing following the tsunami & earthquake. That does not bode well for the death toll being low. Also, the pressure inside the Fukushima Daiichi #1 reactor is reported to be about 1.5 times more than normal. They are definitely going to release some amount of radioactive vapor in an attempt to lessen the pressure building inside. Japan has declared a state of atomic power emergency in response to this.
Update #4: Reuters has reported that another earthquake has hit northern Japan. The preliminary magnitude is 6.6, will post more on this as more information becomes available. A 7.9 magnitude earthquake has hit central Japan, not to be confused with the 6.6 magnitude earthquake in northern Japan. Will post more as information becomes available.
Update #5: One person out of four people swept out to sea in Crescent City, California have been confirmed to have died. A number of boats and houses have been damaged & destroyed. The former mention is somewhat appalling to me! How many hours have they had in warning? Any death with so much warning is questionable, yet regrettable.
Update #6: The U.S. Geological Survey has reported that the 8.9 magnitude quake earlier has apparently ruptured our planet's crust, creating a hole around 150 miles long; 50 miles across. What the hell does that mean!? Will update as more information becomes available.
Update #7(2:22 PM CST): The Japanese Trade Ministry has reported that pressure inside the Fukushima reactor may have risen to 2.1 times designed capacity. A French news agency on the ground in Japan has reported that the dam breaking I mentioned earlier did in fact occur, and that several neighborhoods in the area were washed away in the ensuing flood. To make matters worse, it's reported that 10 separate reactors throughout the area affected have stopped working. I have no idea what that means, but I will update as more information becomes available(Will try to differentiate between being safely shut down and malfunctioning as in the Fukushima Daiichi's #1 reactor's case).
note: adding timestamp to all future updates.
Update #8(2:28 PM CST): Reports of losing contact with four commuter trains in the area affected have come in.
Update #9(2:58 PM CST): Earthquake in the
Nagano prefecture has been confirmed. The magnitude is not yet confirmed but is exceeding 6.0 on the moment magnitude scale. It's been confirmed by the Kyodo news agency that at least 88,000 people are missing following the 8.9 magnitude earthquake and the events that ensued.
Update #10(3:14 PM CST): The following is an excerpt from the Reuters factbox regarding U.S. Navy vessels being positioned for earthquake and tsunami relief.
USS ESSEX, (an amphibious assault vessel -- complement: 1,200 (Navy) 1,800 (Marines) with the embarked 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, arrived in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, this morning. The ship is making preparations to depart as early as Friday evening.
USS BLUE RIDGE (command and control ship -- complement: approximately 1,500 all Navy), which arrived in Singapore this morning, is loading a Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Relief kit and making preparations to depart Saturday morning.
The USS BOXER Amphibious Ready Group, which includes:
- USS BOXER (amphibious assault ship complement: 1,174 Navy, 2,070 Marines).
- USS GREEN BAY (amphibious transport dock - complement: approximately 360 crew -- can deliver a force of approximately 800 Marines).
- USS COMSTOCK (amphibious dock landing ship - complement: approximately 347 Navy crew and approximately 400 Marines), is currently at sea in the Western Pacific en route to a scheduled replenishment in Guam."
International aid is coming as quickly as it can, and I'm certain Japanese agencies and groups have been working tirelessly since the earthquake occurred to help.