Crimes Against Nature: Water Overflows from 12 Fukushima Barriers

Radioactive water may have reached the ocean, says plant operator

Water has overflowed 12 barriers around holding tanks at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, and some of it may have reached the ocean, the plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) said on Sunday.

“The utility says workers found water overflowing from five barriers Sunday afternoon. They found additional overflows in seven barriers Sunday evening,” reported NHK.

Although the barriers are 30 centimeter high, they already contained at least 20 centimeters of water due to earlier downpours brought by Typhoon WIPHA. The barriers overflowed after more than 100 millimeters of rain fell in four hours  Sunday afternoon. Workers can pump out the water at a rate of about 1.5 centimeters per day.

“The operator of the crippled plant also says workers released some of the water accumulated inside barriers into the ground. The utility says the water met safety standards for radioactivity set by the Nuclear Regulation Authority.” said NHK.

Other Disaster News in Japan

More rain amplifies misery on Izu Oshima Island

Izu Ōshima Island is keeping its evacuation advisories in effect as town officials brace for more torrential rains that  may cause further destructive mudslides.

Officials in Ōshima have already evacuated more than 580 people and issued evacuation advisories to nearly 2,300 people in 1,200 households on the island on Saturday, reported NHK.

Massive mudslides caused by Typhoon WIPHA last week killed at least 27 people, with 19 others still missing, presumed dead. The typhoon destroyed or damaged more than 300 buildings, and overflowing rivers and mudslides continue to  close roads.

Izu Ōshima, a volcanic island in the Izu Islands, lies about 100 km south of Tokyo and is administered by the Tokyo Metropolitan government.

Related Links

• Fukushima Potentially More Disastrous Than Hiroshima October 18, 2013

Global Disasters/ Significant Events Headlines – 11 April 2013

N. Korea’s missile launchpad moves into firing position

Japanese government is on high alert after defense officials said their satellite images showed North Korea (NK) had raised a missile launcher located in eastern part of the country.

• Meantime, military analysts speculate that NK probably would launch multiple medium-range missiles simultaneously or within a short period.

• “There are clear signs that the North could simultaneously fire off Musudan, Scud and Nodong missiles,” South Korea’s Yonhap news agency quoted an anonymous military source as saying.

• S. Korea is currently on “Watchcon 2” military alert, the highest alert level before going into “state of war,” due to the  “vital threat” from North Korean missiles.

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Flash floods kill dozens, displace tens of thousands in Kenya

At least 32 people were killed and more than 20,000 others displaced by flash floods triggered by extreme rain events in Kenya.

• “Several parts of the country especially the Coast and Western Kenya regions have been affected by flooding following an increased heavy downpour countrywide,” according to Kenya’s Red Cross Society (KRCS).

• Rainstorms and Floods have caused widespread destruction to property and the infrastructure, and severely disrupted farming in the affected regions, especially in Western Kenya, the Coastal region, and parts of Rift Valley.

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Flash floods hit Panua nature preserve, Sulawesi island, Indonesia

“Residents have been evacuated and several trans-Sulawesi roads have been cut off after flash floods hit the Panua nature preserve in Pohuwato, Gorontalo,” said a report.

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DISASTER CALENDAR – April 11, 2013 — 
SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,066 Days Left 

Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.

• SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,066 Days Left to ‘Worst Day’ in the brief Human  History
• The countdown began on May 15, 2011 …

GLOBAL WARNINGS

• WARNING: Human impact 2.85 x Earth’s diminishing carrying capacity
• WARNING: RAPID PLANETARY DECLINE IN PROGRESS!
• Europe: The First Phase of Collapse Has Started 
• United States: The First Phase of Collapse Has Begun

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Mass Die-offs

Drought Affecting Millions in China

4th consecutive year of drought plaguing 53 percent of arable land in China

Lingering severe drought has left millions of people and farm animals in China without drinking water.

The worst affected areas are southwest China’s Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan provinces, and northwestern Shaanxi and Gansu provinces.

in Yunnan province 134 rivers and 138 reservoirs have dried up, reports say.

• Two separate droughts across vast areas have affected at least ten million people, damaging or destroying large amounts of crops.

• “Yunnan, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces face the worst drought among the western regions of the country, with a total of 31.67 million mu (2.11 million hectares) of arable land affected, or 53 percent of the total arable land affected by drought across the country,” said the report.
  

• At least 4.97 million people in southwest China’s Yunnan Province have been affected by the drought. More than 1.43 million people and 796,000 livestock lack sufficient drinking water.

• “In Gansu, lingering drought that began last autumn has affected 3.123 million people 47 counties and districts of which 643,400 are still facing a drinking water shortage, according to the provincial Civil Affairs Bureau.”

• More than one million people in Guizhou and Gansu provinces are facing drinking water shortages.

China Disaster News

• China’s Dangerous Air Pollution Extends to Japan March 12, 2013
• Thousands of Dead Pigs Dumped in Shanghai River March 11, 2013
• China Shrouded in Sand, Dust and PM March 10, 2013

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March 15, 2013 — DISASTER CALENDAR SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,093 Days Left 

Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.

• SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,093 Days Left to ‘Worst Day’ in the brief Human  History
• The countdown began on May 15, 2011 …

GLOBAL WARNINGS

• WARNING: Human impact 2.85 x Earth’s diminishing carrying capacity
• WARNING: RAPID PLANETARY DECLINE IN PROGRESS!
• Europe: The First Phase of Collapse Has Started 
• United States: The First Phase of Collapse Has Begun

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Mass Die-offs