Fukushima Prefecture, Japan — A massive quake struck off the coast of Japan, triggering a tsunami warning to evacuate the same coastal area where a quake and tidal wave devastated the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant in March 2011.
Initial reports from the U.S. Geological Survey estimated the quake at magnitude 7.3, but has since revised the number to M 6.9 — still a powerful temblor by any definition — and was felt even in Tokyo, nearly 150 miles to the southwest of the epicenter.
#Trains stops after #Tsunami warning issued after 7.3 #magnitude #Japan quake#津波観測#津波警報 pic.twitter.com/J9cJBmSDKo
— dotemirates (@dotemirateseng) November 21, 2016
The Japan Meteorological Agency has held to the 7.3 magnitude intensity of the quake.
According to reports, the earthquake struck at a depth of around six miles, and was centered just 12 miles off the coast of Iwaki City in the Fukushima prefecture. Alarm sirens blared shortly afterward and residents were urged to evacuate immediately as a tsunami moved quickly toward the coast.
Tsunami warning in effect as a magnitude 7.3 earthquake strikes off Fukushima in Japan. ? Sirens in. Pray for ??
pic.twitter.com/KP88rCivEw— E (@esheikh_) November 21, 2016
Although the largest tsunami wave was estimated to be approximately 3 feet (90 cm) in height — by comparison, the 2011 tsunami dwarfed that, between 60 and 100 feet tall (18 to 27 meters) — unconfirmed reports from Japan’s public broadcasting network, NHK, claimed the cooling system at TEPCO’s Number 3 reactor in the Fukushima nuclear facility had been knocked offline. Although TEPCO initially denied that claim, it has since stated that cooling system did, indeed, shut down, however, it plans to have the system operational as soon as possible.
According to NHK, cooling equipment for the spent nuclear fuel pool in the reactor No. 3 of Tepco’s Fukushima No. 2 power plant has stopped.— The Japan Times (@japantimes) November 21, 2016
That cooling system is essential to prevent nuclear fuel rods from exploding — as happened in the 2011 earthquake and subsequent tsunami.
#TEPCO plans to resume the operation of the cooling system within the next few hours – #NHK https://t.co/BwQgqubz2s …
— robert garcia (@robertgarcia223) November 21, 2016
Original reports in Japan warned the tsunami could reach as high as 10 feet — and although waves hitting the coast have been much smaller, the government warned residents further waves might still be on the way.
CNBC reported TEPCO has claimed no damage to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility — however, it would be worth noting, the company has been exposed for a pattern of mendacity and suppression about the extent of the damage the plant incurred in 2011. Power blackouts have been reported in the area.
Workers at Fukushima Daiichi were evacuated along with residents in the area, according to a TEPCO spokesperson cited by CNBC.
A fire has been reported inside a chemical factory in Iwaki City, though that has not been confirmed.
“An Iwaki city fire dept official said there was smoke or fire at Kureha’s research center in a petrochemical complex in Iwaki city at 6:17 a.m., but it was extinguished at 6:40 a.m. Other details were not clear, he said, adding that no other major damage in the city has been reported at the moment,” CNBC reported.
Ships in ports in the tsunami warning zone quickly moved out to sea to avoid being knocked into the coast and being damaged by the tidal waves.
Live footage of the incoming waves amid the piercing tsunami warning sirens echoed the images five years ago on a far smaller scale — and this event is the largest alarm and evacuation effort since that time.
New Zealand and Hawai`i were not under threat of a tsunami from this quake.
This is a developing story and will be updated as needed.
Claire Bernish writes for TheFreeThoughtProject.com, where this article first appeared.
……What could possibly go wrong by building a ‘Dirty’ reactor on a fault line on an earthquake prone geophysical location immediately adjacent to the ocean & directly over a contiguous water table relatively close to a megalopolis such as Tokyo?….& then another earthquake hits the same relative area of a man-made volcano…Japan’s one & only Mt.Fukushima…still belching uncontrolled amounts of highly radioactive hot particles into the air & dumped like a waterfall into the Pacific Ocean ever since the ‘Event’ & consequent Tsunami with a suspicious Hydrogen Mushroom Cloud[sic](security under the aegis of an Israeli corporation ie:stuxnet?)
….So now 5 or so years later …another predictable earthquake shakes things up again with another accompanying small tsunami…& the reactors cooling unit goes off line & it takes them approx. 40 min to restart???…WTF???…& if we can even believe this?
….Unfuknbeeleevable! head scratching & hand wringing lunacy… that the whole Nuclear site wasn’t shut down immediately & covered like a sarcophagus with 100′ of dense concrete (not that I personally know what I’m talking about regarding what should be done technically) …but… common sense would suggest this closure as a prerequisite & obvious thing to do…..or is depleted uranium too valuable to the Pentagon’s contractors for their projectile warheads?…these people don’t care if another earthquake finally does the ultimate destruction …as long as they can milk it to secure their contracts for as long as possible…as complete insanity!
….I live on the NW coast of Canada in the Great Bear Rain Forest & it’s radiation been heading my way here ever since it happened…& the fish packers here in this little fishing villages are telling me that they’ve noticed the weird tumors & bleeding gills on the fish coming in compared to the healthy fish pre- Fukushima 2010…just google Dana Durnford the nuclear proctologist.
Great post. We hear nothing in our media about this in the U.S. It’s ignorance is Bliss her in America.
No one here is informed by anything other than being led by the nose with click bait articles about reality stars or the president elect.
…try David Icke Headlines as another window on the world…cheers
I know of him. Don’t know if you are saying I’m a conspiracy promulgator or that you think he is a good source of info. Cheers
Absolutely Not insinuating anything neg. about you whatsoever…just a helping hand …cheers
Was anything said here about the 300 tonnes of radioactive waste water that Fuk-Us-hima has been pumping into the Pacific Ocean EVERY DAY since the (bankster-made) disaster? It’s an ELE (Extinction Level Event) that will kill the Pacific and eventually all our oceans. Humanity does not have the technology to solve this (bankster-caused) problem. We’ll need divine or extraterrestrial intervention if We are to survive.
They idiots built it in a tsunami pathway! Take it down!
Have they been able to turn the reactor cooling system back on since it turned off after the Nov 21 quake?