The last samurai - Japanese survivor found a month after the tsunami.

Every now and then details came from Japan regarding people and animals found stranded in remote or deserted villages almost one month after the 9.0 earthquake. Rescue workers, journalists, and people who happened to be in those areas rushed to help those lucky to escape the deadly tremble followed by tsunami but also to inform the world about their deeds.

The latest report of this kind is about a 75 years old Japanese farmer found by a journalist, on Friday, April 8, stranded alone in Minami Soma, Fukushima Prefecture, inside the 20 kilometer radius evacuation zone around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex.

He seemed to have locomotor problems and was unaware of his wife’s whereabouts. He was a sort of the last samurai of Minami Soma who fought for his life ever since authorities had ordered evacuations and his neighbors have all fled his city. Rescuers found him surrounded by fallen trees, dead pigs and garbage strewn by the horrifying March 11 tsunami in Japan.

Kunio Shiga mentioned that the tsunami came just a few yards off his doorstep and his only connection with the world was a battery-powered radio he had listened for days in his home with no electricity, running water or heating. Shiga recounted his traumatizing experience, how he had nearly starved, with no electricity or running water and no rescuers ever coming for him. The farmer agreed to be taken to a shelter.

A relatively long list of persons and animals stranded in different places in Japan after the earthquake stirred distrust and rumors that these are fake reports, invented to attract attention and increase mass media audience. Some openly stated that “they do not buy this anymore”.

New powerful 7,1 earthquake strikes Japan, triggering tsunami warning

Initially, the Japanese Meteorological Agency reported it as a 7.4 magnitude earthquake with its epicenter located about 40 km east of Ojika Peninsula (closer to the coast than last month's 9,0 earthquake). Later, U.S. representatives of the Geological Survey have established its magnitude at 7.1 on the Richter scale.

The National Police Agency said there were no reports of casualties from anywhere in the earthquake zone. The earthquake struck on Thursday around 11:30 PM local time (15:30 GMT). The epicenter was almost 50 km deep and about 120 km away from Fukushima, in the Pacific Ocean. Approximately 90 minutes later the tsunami warning has been lifted too.

As a precaution, workers have been evacuated from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, although there have been no reports of damage so far, and it seems the power is still on there.
However, we still have to wait for the workers to return to the power plant in order to know for sure if any new leaks have developed as a result of this new and powerful earthquake. For the moment, the radiation level remains the same.

Japan update: 2 lucky tsunami survivors found after 9 days

Incredibly, rescuers found 2 more survivors on Sunday, 9 days after the tsunami hit!

An 80-year old woman and her 16-year old grandson trapped for over a week under the rubble in their own house, living on yogurt and scraps of food salvaged from a refrigerator and surviving the cold from the snowstorm last week without any electricity. Extremely lucky and resilient - that's how I can describe them!

The will to live made them both strong enough to endure everything nature threw at them. Yesterday, the young man managed to pull himself though a hole in the roof and alert the rescuers nearby. They were both showing signs of hypothermia, but were still conscious and happy to be alive after such an ordeal.

The latest official figures after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan show 8,277 dead and 12,722 missing.

Japan's nuclear crisis - The situation is still deteriorating

The fire at the reactor 4 is "apparently out", they announced on Tuesday several Japanese publications. "The fire which occurred on the fourth floor of the reactor 4 is apparently off, " said agency Jiji. 

IAEA stated that there were places whre the radioactivity was up to 400 milisievert per hour. Medical observations show that starting from a level of 100 milisievert/h the cancer risk is increasing dramatically in the human body.

As the situation develops, people are starting to compare the potential of this crisis with the 1986 Chernobyl explosion. The author William Tucker said "This is not going to be a Chernobyl... The Soviets didn't have a containment structure on top of their reactor."

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant does. It has a massive structure of concrete and steel sitting on top of its reactors. But given the fact that the emergency cooling system failed due to the tsunami, the authorities are now trying other ways of containing the situation, like pumping seawater to cool the fuel rods and even using a helicopter to attack the problem directly from above.

The plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, has tried to keep the population calm, saying that serious radioactive leaks can be averted. But given the company's track record, we can't help but question their candidness.

"The history of Japan's nuclear industry and the government, that is very closely tied with the industry, is less than glorious in regards to public information and full disclosure, and what is going on now is actually an illustration of that," says Arjun Mahkhijani, president of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research.

In 2002, TEPCO's president and some executives resigned after it was revealed that they have falsified the repair and inspection records. "It was discovered that TEPCO had covered up incidents of cracking in an important piece of equipment with the reactors' vessels of all its reactors, and as a result, they were forced to close down all 17 reactors," says Philip White of the Citizens Nuclear Information Center.
Then, in 2007, after a 6.8-magnitude earthquake, TEPCO told the public the plant had only suffered a minor fire and leak of radioactive water. It was later revealed that the fire had burned for a few hours and hundreds of gallons of radioactive water had leaked into the sea.

For the moment though, the situation at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has not reached a critical level, but the events are still unfolding.

We'll just have to keep an eye on these developments. So follow the news!

Practical Advice - Earthquake Preparedness

Following the earthquake in Japan, here are some things you need to know in order to be prepared for an emergency situation (like an earthquake).

How can I plan ahead for an earthquake?

Make sure each member of your family knows what to do no matter where they are when earthquakes occur:
- Establish a meeting place where you can all reunite afterwards.
- Find out about earthquake plans developed by children's school or day care.
- Know where your gas, electric and water main shutoffs are and how to turn them off if there is a leak or electrical short.

- Locate your nearest fire and police stations and emergency medical facility.

- Talk to your neighbors - how could they help you or you them after an earthquake.

- Take Red Cross First Aid and CPR training courses.

Remember that transportation may be disrupted, so keep some emergency supplies - like food and liquids both at home and at work if possible (see more info below).

What emergency supplies do I need?

- Fire extinguisher.
- Adequate supplies of medications that you or family members are taking.
- Crescent and pipe wrenches to turn off gas and water supplies.
- First-aid kit and handbook.
- Flashlights with extra bulbs and batteries (or manual hand-driven flashlights)

- Water for each family member, ideally for at least two weeks (allow at least 1 gallon per person per day) and purification tablets or chlorine bleach to purify drinking water from other sources

- Canned and package foods, enough for several days and a mechanical can opener. Include extra food for pets if necessary.

- Portable radio with extra batteries.
- Waterproof, heavy-duty plastic bags for waste disposal.


What should I do during an earthquake?

If you are INDOORS - STAY THERE! Lay down near a dense and solid furniture piece that you have near you, something that can protect you in case of debris falling (or even a collapsing ceiling). Stay clear of windows and fireplaces. Get out of the kitchen (which is a dangerous place during an earthquake). Don't run downstairs or rush outside while the building is shaking or while there is danger of falling and hurting yourself or being hit by falling glass or debris.

If you are OUTSIDE - get into the open, away from buildings, power lines, chimneys or anything else that might fall on you.

If you are DRIVING - stop carefully. Move your car as far out of traffic as possible. Do not stop on or under a bridge, or overpass, or under trees, light posts or power lines. STAY INSIDE your car until the shaking stops. When you resume driving watch for breaks in the pavement, fallen rocks, and bumps in the road at bridge approaches.

Radiation exposure threat in Japan

In a nutshell: Nuclear alert and radioactive leakage, smoldering fires at the refinery, thousands of people still trapped under rubble, interrupted communications, and dozens of replicas of the huge earthquake still rock Japan. 

The Japanese Government declared a state of emergency following the earthquake off the eastern coast of the country on Friday, 11.March. The first estimates say that over 3,000 people died in the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and the devastating tsunami that followed, but authorities fear that the actual death toll could exceed 10,000. Nevertheless, the search for survivors continues.

After the earthquake, all nuclear reactors in the area automatically shut down, beginning a slow cool-down process. Howerver, the cooling systems in the 40-year old Fukushima nuclear reactors 1 and 3 failed and the coolant began to evaporate from heat building up inside. To reduce pressure, the steam had to be vented, which released the first amount of radiation into the atmosphere. Caesium-137 and Iodine-131 were detected near Reactor 1. The nuclear alert in Japan is currently just one step bellow the maximum alert level established in the Chernobyl accident.

A fire at a fourth reactor followed by an explosion has released even more radiation and the Government is currently telling people within a 20-mile radius to stay indoors.

More and more countries express concern over Japan's nuclear incidents. Radiation is also increasing in Russia, where Russian troops are preparing to evacuate residents of the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin, in the event of a worsening situation.