Large Scale Central

Letter from Tokyo

General Discussion
#1

…as some of you know, for the last eight years I have lived and worked in Tokyo, and mrs tac and I have many good and close Japanese friends -

We got this earlier today -

'Thank you worried about us and all our family fine.

I’m sorry I couldn’t send e-mail you because my feeling is a very tired and depressed,every day occurred aftershock and our area after a big earthquake we got aware over 50 times.
Northeast Japan got aftershock over 200 times.
Also everyday rolling blackouts and we can’t buy rice, bread,dairy products, eggs other many food or gasoline.
If we want to get gas we have to do long line and one car gets only 2000 yen.
We can’t go far away.
I think that these things in what place.
And everyday NHK TV announced to worry about nuclear reactor problem.
Y******a came home late every day because of power cut some place can take a train some place can’t take it and have to walk.
Yesterday he walked very dark long way and no traffic light.
Every things get confused in Japan now and TV announced the death and missing toll is over 13500 people we got disheartened now.

I wish everyone cheer up soon.

And we are grateful for the warm support of the international community.
I know 72 rescue workers and two dogs from Australia.

Now get urgent announced from now on 4 hours power cut we can’t use any household appliance.

But thank you very much.

Fko and Y**a’

Thoughts and prayers, gentlefolk all.

tac

#2

Terry
Thanks for posting that,am at a loss for words.
All the petty little squabbles and inconveniences that we experience here in the UK that seem so important at the time pale into insignificence compared to what those people are going through.
Our thoughts are with them.
Regards
David

#3

I have been following NHK coverage here, our daily news coverage is pitiful to the point of stupidity in some cases.

The situation at the nuke plant is very very very grim, if they cannot get water onto the reactors they could face a full meltdown if it hasnt already partially occured.

God forbid something like that happens here, our politicians would gripe and finger point blame each other and cry about the cleanup costs all while doing nothing to actually fix the problem, all while the disaster area became Thunderdome. The calm resolution of the Japanese is something for the world to learn from.

#4

My daughter lives close the the Cascadia fault line. I worry, but cannot seem to convey my worry to her in any meaningful sense.

Sigh.

As I understand it, the “melt down” is coming from reactor #4, which only contains spent fuel, not that that really makes any difference.

One has to wonder why they can’t get the emergency generators back on-line. Perhaps it is time to do to the president of that energy company what M. Bonaparte did to his generals from time to time, “pour l’encouragement des autres.”

#5

Steve they have been building a new power line IN to the power plant for several days now to fire up the pumps again, they are alomst there but, I had to ask, this IS a power plant right? are there not power line coming OUT of the plant? I was shocked that there is no redundancy in power supply to the place. I guess they never considered what might happen if the plant had to shut down or that the emergency gensets would never run out of fuel or be hit by a 35’ tsunami.

#6

Well, we don’t have power lines running into our hydroelectric dams that I know of. Why would they have them… ???

I still have trouble with why the generators didn’t kick in. It is my understanding that they had generators. If they were messed up by the Sue Nami, couldn’t they have flown in some mechanics?

I don’t know the answers to these questions, I’m just wondering. What did I miss?

#7

One report I saw said that there were diesel backup generators permanently in place. They were designed to provide backup power for the plant, and especially to pump its cooling water in case of an emergency that caused the plant’s power output to go off.

The problem is that those generators are installed at a low level. The thinking was that a nearby seawall would protect that emergency generator installation from flooding, even by tsunami surges. That turned out to be wishful thinking, and when the tsunami wave topped the seawall, the generators were swamped and rendered useless.

The report didn’t say which plant(s) and / or unit(s) were in that situation, but it is obvious that the emergency shutdown and cooling for several of these plants was inadequately designed, constructed and protected.

Mother nature can sometimes be a bitch!

Happy RRing,

Jerry

#8

Just astounded at what has happened there. Unbelievable.

#9

Nature bats last.