NHK Live Stream

I didn't realize that I hadn't shared this NHK Live Stream before now. It's broadcast almost always in real time with translators going sentence by sentence and letting you know what's going on.

Things are very, very bad for the Fukushima reactor. Radiation levels are 8 times what can safely be absorbed by a human body in a year near the plant. People are being told to stay indoors - not open the windows - and not use ventilation.

To me - that sounds like being trapped. These people closest to the reactor are in big trouble, and the fear is that wind and rain will quickly carry this stuff to Tokyo.

Even if it's a weak form, even if it doesn't cause any sickness or side effects, can you take that chance with your children? There are no stakes I would put on her life. None at all. All these people should go away just in case.

Another reactor and the wind

Wind is now blowing north to south, and the second reactor housing exploded in the night.

They evacuated the plant operators and they think there is the possibility that the reactor core cracked.

It feels like it's just a matter of time before it goes full meltdown. It won't be as bad as Chernobyl, but its getting worse and worse.

Rods in the second reactor cannot be cooled

They reported half an hour ago that they were pumping 4.4 tons of water per second through the second reactor in order to cool it down, and just now they reported that the water was all gone. That second reactor is not going to last like this.

A full scale meltdown? Maybe not yet, but we are pointing toward that eventuality.

Sent from my iPhone 4

On the Shinkansen to Hakata

We decided that if the reactor was going to suffer a full meltdown, it would probably happen within the next 48 hours. At that point, the extent of the nuclear debris being pumped into the air from either an explosion (unlikely) or simply the steam bleeding they are manually performing would be made clear. If the nuclear debris in the air is such that Tokyo and Yokohama are exposed to any level of radiation at all beyond what our sun rains down on us every day - well that's a level of risk I'm not willing to gamble on with my daughter.

We will ride out the next few days far away from any possibility of radiation exposure - and then see what happens.

Worst case scenario - we leave Japan via Fukuoka.

Best case scenario - the Safety Agency gets a grip on the Fukushima plant and averts a larger environmental and health hazard.

Over 10,000 have already died - this country has suffered quite enough.

Radiation = 放射線　（ほうしゃせん）

These are words I never thought I would teach on my blog - words that I never thought I would have to use at all...

Scary first-person video

Credit goes to Gizmodo:

http://gizmodo.com/#!5781566/this-is-the-scariest-first+person-video-of-the-japan-tsunami-yet

Another explosion at the power plant

Ok - I'm probably going to die here along with 15 million other folks when the nuclear rain starts pouring down on Tokyo.

This is definitely not what I thought was in store when we came to Japan in January.

It's almost time to get the hell out of here and run away to Fukuoka. I told my friends I wouldn't go down to an Earthquake, but I'm not so positive on my chances against Plutonium.

Earlier estimates revised

Looks like it was about 30 minutes from earthquake to tsunami impact around Sendai. Up from my earlier 15 minute estimate. They say the dead will largely be elderly people who didn't have the speed or strength to escape in time. It's really sad.

You're starting to see some stories of families being reunited or people being found in extraordinary circumstances (like the guy who was washed out to sea and found two days later - luckiest dude in the whole city).

That stuff does little to balance against the horror, but its better than nothing.

Sent from my iPhone 4

Ouch

That is biting the hell out of your tongue.

My sister said "I bit my tongue and then pulled it into my mouth scrapping my teeth along the way.

Why would you not open your mouth first before retracting your one and only tongue.

Tongue, as most know, is 舌 (した) but we also say ベロベロ (which has a rather explicit double meaning).

It's been upgraded here

I previously said that I couldn't understand why the west was reporting an 8.9 magnitude because it was 8.8 over here. Well, now they say 9.0 like the US recently reported.

Wow. I've been in a few earthquakes, but a 9.0 is at the top for sure.

The dead and missing toll jumped from 1700 to over 3000 while I took a nap this afternoon. Legs feel like whipped wet noodles after walking 27 Km. I'm too old for this crap...

But they discovered two people alive trapped someplace (didn't hear where from the news caster). Thats good news.

And the meltdown happened

As we suspected, the meltdown, a level 4 disaster on the international scale of 0-7 happened today. I don't know all the details except what the NHK is reporting, but having significant amounts of radiation affect the building where the reactor is contained doesn't sound good.

It may not be three mile island (yet) and lets hope it doesn't get there, but last night the guy came on tv and said "the reactor hasn't been damaged, radiation is contained."

And we all sat around the tv saying "bullshit".

We are still feeling the effects of the quake here. I'm waiting to get a haircut and felt a good size tremor just now.