Tsunami warning is canceled following Alaska quake

(CNN) -- A tsunami warning has been canceled for a number of coastal communities in Alaska following a magnitude 7.2 earthquake that struck Thursday near the Aleutian Islands, officials said.

The strength of the earthquake, which was initially reported with a magnitude of 7.4, was revised to a magnitude 7.2, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

"No destructive tsunami has been recorded, and no tsunami danger exists along the coast of the U.S," the Tsunami Warning Center said.

The warning, which was issued for a 250-kilometer (155 mile) radius from the epicenter, covered the coastal communities from Unimak Pass, located about 80 miles northeast of Dutch Harbor, to Amchitka Pass, about 125 miles west of Adak.

CNN

Tsunami warning is canceled following Alaska quake

NEW: Tsunami warning is canceled, center says U.S. Geological Survey downgrades quake off coast of Alaska to 7.2Official: "We have told folks in the effected area to get to higher ground"

(CNN) -- A tsunami warning has been canceled for a number of coastal communities in Alaska following a magnitude 7.2 earthquake that struck Thursday near the Aleutian Islands, officials said.

The strength of the earthquake, which was initially reported with a magnitude of 7.4, was revised to a magnitude 7.2, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

"No destructive tsunami has been recorded, and no tsunami danger exists along the coast of the U.S," the Tsunami Warning Center said.

The warning, which was issued for a 250-kilometer (155 mile) radius from the epicenter, covered the coastal communities from Unimak Pass, located about 80 miles northeast of Dutch Harbor, to Amchitka Pass, about 125 miles west of Adak.

CNN

IAEA criticizes Japan's Tepco for underestimating tsunami threat (The Christian Science Monitor)

Tokyo – Japan’s nuclear power industry is under pressure to improve safety after international inspectors criticized the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant operators.

In a preliminary report issued Wednesday, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) had underestimated the tsunami hazard, despite warnings that a huge wave could breach the plant’s 5.7-meter protective wall.

The waves that crashed into the nuclear power complex following the March 11 magnitude-9.0 earthquake were more than 50 feet tall.

RELATED: Japan earthquake: 5 ways the international community is helping

The 18-member team, led by Britain’s chief nuclear safety official Mike Weightman, backed Tepco’s claims that the damage had been inflicted by the tsunami, not the earthquake that preceded it as some reports had suggested earlier.

“In terms of the cause it is clear – the direct cause was a tsunami, associated with an earthquake, of tremendous size,” Mr. Weightman told reporters in Tokyo.

Japan’s nuclear power industry, reeling from the Fukushima accident and a loss of public and government enthusiasm for new nuclear plants, will find it difficult to ignore the IAEA’s findings. Inspectors called for the nuclear industry to take a more active role in prevention of such disasters going forward: “Nuclear plant designers and operators should appropriately evaluate and provide protection against the risks of all natural hazards.”

Unless operators can convince regulators and host communities that their facilities are safe, the country’s 54 reactors could be subject to temporary closure while safety improvements are made, severely crimping power to the country.

RELATED Japan's 9.0 earthquake

With only 19 reactors currently in operation in the country, experts speculate that, in a worst-case scenario, all reactors could be offline by the middle of 2012. That would deprive Japan of 30 percent of its electricity generation and result in forced power cuts over the long term.

'Constructive suggestions'Crucially, the inspectors called for Japan’s regulatory body to be independent of the government. The current regulator is attached to a ministry that promotes the nuclear power industry.

''[The government] needs to make sure that not only are they independent in structure, but also independent in the resources, the expertise that they have available to them,a€

Goshi Hosono, the director of the government's nuclear crisis task force, told reporters: ''The IAEA is aware that [Japanese] regulatory authorities, including the nuclear safety agency and the Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan, were not necessarily in the best shape and the current government also has such a view. So I think reorganization is inevitable.”

Tempered criticism The IAEA report produced few new revelations, and its criticism of tsunami defenses was tempered by praise for the emergency efforts to cool the three Fukushima reactors that suffered meltdowns in the hours after the disaster.

It said: “The response on the site by dedicated, determined and expert staff, under extremely arduous conditions has been exemplary and resulted in the best approach to securing safety given the exceptional circumstances.”

Weightman said the team, which will present its findings to the IAEA in Vienna later this month, had been granted access to nuclear sites and received the full cooperation of Tepco and nuclear safety officials.

The inspectors described the evacuation and attempts to protect the public as “impressive and extremely well organized,” adding that a “suitable and timely follow-up program on public and worker exposures, and health monitoring would be beneficial.”

But Shaun Burnie, nuclear adviser to Greenpeace Germany, dismissed the IAEA report as a whitewash.

“It is clear that Tepco knew about the melting of unit 1 within the first 16 hours of the earthquake at the time, but did not release that information for two months,” he told the Monitor. “This had consequences for emergency services and evacuations, yet the IAEA ignored this.

“This, and so much more, was ignored and covered up by the IAEA. We had no confidence in the IAEA fact-finding mission before, and this confirms our position.”

Sign up for our daily World Editor's Picks newsletter. Our best stories, in your inbox.

IN PICTURES: Japan's nuclear crisis

Yahoo! News

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Japan's parliament passes tsunami recovery budget

TOKYO (AP) — Japan's parliament passed a $48 billion tsunami recovery budget Monday, but it will cover only a fraction of the cost of what was the most expensive disaster ever.

Mounting frustrations over the government's response and a still unfolding nuclear crisis, meanwhile, are threatening to topple the country's increasingly unpopular prime minister as more budgetary battles lie ahead.

The supplementary budget bill for the fiscal 2011 year that started in April was unanimously approved by parliament's upper house budget committee Monday morning and was made into law at the chamber's plenary session later in the day. The more powerful lower house had approved the plan Saturday.

The budget will cover the building of new houses for the more than 100,000 people who remain without proper shelter, the massive undertaking of clearing debris and rubble, reconstruction of fishing grounds, and support for disaster-hit businesses and their employers.

"I'm anxious to get the budget plan approved as quickly as possible so that we can reimburse funds for the projects immediately," Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said at the budget committee meeting.

Further outlays are expected to follow in the months ahead, he said.

The March 11 magnitude-9.0 earthquake and ensuing tsunami, which wiped out large swaths of Japan's northeastern coastline, are believed to have caused an estimated $300 billion in damage, making it the most expensive disaster ever.

More than 26,000 people are dead or missing.

Though the new budget passed relatively smoothly, Prime Minister Naoto Kan's government is coming under growing pressure for its handling of the crisis and can expect greater opposition from rival parties in future budget negotiations.

"We support this budget plan just because of the urgent need to fund reconstruction projects," said Mikishi Daimon, an opposition lawmaker from the Communist Party.

Opposition leaders have called on Kan ? who was already unpopular before the disaster ? to step down for his handling of the aftermath, particularly his response to the subsequent crisis at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant.

Polls show the public is also not satisfied with his efforts.

A poll released Monday by the Asahi, a major newspaper, found 55 percent of respondents have "few expectations" for Kan's Cabinet to handle the disaster response properly. Only 27 percent said they were "hopeful," according to the nationwide telephone survey conducted April 23 and 24 among 1,842 randomly selected households. A poll of that size would normally have a margin of error of plus- or minus-3 percentage points.

The budget does not include any government support for the massive compensation liability of the nuclear plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano made clear Monday that TEPCO bears unlimited liability because the tsunami and quake were "not impossible to foresee" and not an exception under the nuclear accident compensation law.

TEPCO spokesman Takashi Kurita said the operator was preparing to install an air purifier inside the Unit 1 reactor building to reduce radioactivity by 95 percent over the next few days ? a step to allow workers into the area for the first time since the crisis began so they can resume their primary goal of restoring cooling systems.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.We've updated the Conversation Guidelines. Changes include a brief review of the moderation process and an explanation on how to use the "Report Abuse" button. Read more.

USATODAY.com

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Toyota making drastic production cuts after Japan quake, tsunami

By the CNN Wire Staff STORY HIGHLIGHTSToyota announces drastic production cuts in North America and ChinaThe company had already announced that it dropped production in Japan The cuts come amid difficulty in supplying parts after last month's quake and tsunami in Japan (CNN) -- Toyota has announced drastic production cuts in North America and China due to difficulty in supplying parts following the massive earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

Previously, Toyota Motor Engineering and Manufacturing North America, Inc. (TEMA), had said it would suspend production on Mondays and Fridays between April 15 and April 25. That will continue through June 3, the company said in a statement.

"During the same period, production will run at 50% on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday," the statement said.

In addition, Canadian production will be suspended for the week beginning May 23, and U.S. production for the week starting May 30.

No decisions have been made for production after June 3, according to Toyota Motor Corp.

"No layoffs are planned during this period," the statement said. "Team members will utilize nonproduction time for training and plant improvement activities."

"We are trying to continue production as much as possible and keep our work force intact in order to facilitate a smooth transition back to full production when all parts are available," said Steve St. Angelo, executive vice president of TEMA.

Last month, Toyota told its U.S. plants to prepare to shut down because of parts supply problems.

Toyota employs 25,000 workers in North America. It operates nine plants in the United States in Kentucky, Indiana, Texas, Tennessee, Alabama, West Virginia, California and Mississippi. It also operates three plants in Canada and one in Mexico.

In China, the company plans to go to 30% to 50% production from Thursday through June 3 because of difficulties delivering parts.

Toyota had already announced that it dropped production in its manufacturing facilities in Japan to 50%.

Officials said Tuesday that the drop in production would continue and that Toyota would stop production all together between the dates of April 28 to May 9.

The earthquake and subsequent tsunami struck Japan on March 11, leaving thousands dead.

View the Original article

California tsunami victim found washed ashore 380 miles away

Tsunami victim's body washes ashoreSTORY HIGHLIGHTSDustin Douglas Weber of California was swept out to sea by the tsunami from JapanHe was photographing the surge last monthWeber's body was found on a beach in Oregon near the Columbia River (CNN) -- The body of a 25-year-old northern California man swept out to sea while trying to photograph the tsunami's arrival from Japan last month has washed ashore about 380 miles away, in Oregon, officials there said Tuesday.

Dustin Douglas Weber of Klamath, California, was standing on a sand bar near the mouth of the Klamath River in Del Norte County, California, when he was swept away March 11, authorities said.

Tsunami's first moments

View the Original article

Hawaii may get Japan tsunami trash

Researchers: Hawaii may get hit with trash from Japan's tsunami By Brian Walker, CNN STORY HIGHLIGHTSResearchers create a simulation of how the trash will move in the Pacific OceanTrash should begin washing up on beaches in Hawaii within a year, the simulation showsIt will then hit parts of Canada, Oregon, Washington and California in 2014, the simulation showsRELATED TOPICSJapanHawaiiGreat Pacific Garbage Patch (CNN) -- The Hawaiian islands may get a new and unwelcome addition in coming months -- a giant new island of debris floating in from Japan.

Researchers in Hawaii have created a simulation showing exactly how the houses, tires, chemicals and trees washed to sea by the March 11 tsunami will float across the Pacific and eventually hit the U.S. coast.

The team, led by Nikolai Maximenko and Jan Hafner at the International Pacific Research Center of the University of Hawaii at Manoa have spent years preparing computer models by following real world observations of floating buoys, according to a statement.

The first wave should begin washing up on beaches in Hawaii within a year, the simulation shows.

After it passes Hawaii it should begin hitting beaches stretching from Vancouver down through Oregon, Washington and to the tip of Baja California in 2014, before bouncing back toward Hawaii for a second impact.

That second impact five years from now could be even more concentrated and harmful to Hawaii's beaches and reefs, the researchers found.

The flotsam and trash eventually makes its way into what's called the North Pacific Garbage Patch, a sort of circulating whirlpool of garbage hundreds of miles in diameter.

There it eventually decomposes and breaks up in collisions over many years.

View the Original article

Dog rescued 3 weeks after being washed out to sea by tsunami

PreviousTenn., Ky. surrender key execution drug to DEA

NextMass 'scareware' attack hits 1.5M websites, still spreading

To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters

View the Original article