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NEWS ABOUT: tsunami

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Deadly 6.8 Quake Rocks Philippines

At least 42 dead, houses buried

(Newser) - A powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake shook the central Philippines today, killing at least 42 people and triggering a local tsunami alert. Houses were buried, windows were shattered, and walls were cracked by the shaker, causing panicked residents to flee their homes, schools, offices, and stores. The quake struck in a... More »

Girl Lost in 2004 Tsunami Found Safe: Report

Grandfather discovers girl looking for home in Indonesia

(Newser) - Seven years ago, an 8-year-old girl was pulled from her mother's arms by the tsunami in Indonesia; now, word is she's been discovered alive. An acquaintance brought a 15-year-old girl to her grandfather's home this week; his name—Ibrahim—was the only one she could remember, state... More »

Google Street View Shows Tsunami Destruction

Images have been updated to reflect damage

(Newser) - Google Street View has been updated to show what Japan looks like after the tsunami and earthquake in March. Google also launched a site called Memories for the Future where users can compare before-and-after shots of the disaster zone. Between July and November, Google dispatched its camera-clad vehicles through 27,... More »

Japan Uses Disaster Budget to Fund Whaling Hunt

Official defends the controversial move

(Newser) - Of Japan's $230 billion in supplementary budgets meant for tsunami reconstruction, $29 million will be used for … a whaling hunt. An official confirmed the move today, and simultaneously defended it, noting that some whaling towns were hit badly by the March 11 tsunami, and the funding will help... More »

Radiation Found in Japanese Baby Formula

Levels not high enough to pose health risk, parents told

(Newser) - Nearly nine months after the 9.0 earthquake and tsunami wrought havoc on Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant, the country's nuclear nightmare is continuing. Traces of radiation have been found in infant formula for the first time and while government experts say the levels aren't high enough to... More »

No Wonder It Was So Bad: Japan Had Two Tsunamis

They merged into an ultra-powerful wave

(Newser) - This might explain why the tsunami that devastated Japan in March caused so much death and destruction: Scientists think it was actually two tsunamis that merged into one uber-powerful wave, reports CNN . Satellites show two wave fronts combining far out at sea to create a tsunami double the normal height... More »

'Dangerous' Nuke Plant Opens Its Doors

Journalists witness 'twisted metal, crumpled trucks'

(Newser) - Reporters toured the Fukushima nuclear plant yesterday, looking out a bus window at debris that still littered the site some 8 months after a tsunami and earthquake devastated Japan, the Guardian reports. One reporter described "twisted metal, crumpled trucks, large water tanks that have been dented and bent,"... More »

Experts: 30 Years Until Fukushima Can Be Closed

Process will be time-consuming and costly

(Newser) - Officials say Japan’s Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant is relatively stable, but a government panel still believes it will be at least 30 years before it can be safely decommissioned and closed. The panel of experts, named by Japan’s Atomic Energy Commission, noted that it took a decade... More »

20M Tons of Tsunami Debris Heads for US Shores

Expected to reach Hawaii in early 2013, then mainland in 2014

(Newser) - Debris from the massive tsunami that struck Japan in March is on its way: Up to 20 million tons of trash, like "confetti soup," is slowly drifting across the Pacific Ocean and heading toward the United States, reports the LA Times . Already garbage has been found 2,000... More »

'Doomsday' Comet Passing by Earth

Online theorists saw armageddon

(Newser) - A comet touted as the bringer of Armageddon will fly past Earth tomorrow night in a knot of icy fragments, Space.com reports. At least one astronomer, however, does not foresee earthquakes and tsunamis. The so-called "doomsday comet," Elenin, "was a second-rate, wimpy little comet that never... More »

Japan Firm Builds 'Noah's Ark' For Next Tsunami

Giant tennis ball also functions as toy house

(Newser) - It’s Noah’s Ark for the 21st century: A Japanese firm has built a tiny, floating shelter that can hold four adults, the AP reports. Called the “Noah,” the enhanced-fiberglass contraption looks like a huge tennis ball and doubles as a toy house for kids. Cosmo Power... More »

7.1 Quake Strikes Off Alaska

Tsunami warning issued for parts of Aleutian Islands

(Newser) - A tsunami warning is in effect this morning following a 7.1-magnitude earthquake off Alaska, in a remote part of the Aleutian Islands, NPR reports. The US Geological Survey says the quake's depth was 22.1 miles. The West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center put a warning into... More »

Japan PM Resigning

Naoto Kan will officially quit next week

(AP) - Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan announced today he would resign after almost 15 months in office amid plunging approval ratings over his government's handling of the tsunami disaster and nuclear crisis. In a nationally televised speech, Kan said he was stepping down as chief of the ruling Democratic Party... More »

Quake Survivors Return $78M in Found Cash

Nearly 6,000 safes have washed ashore in Japan

(Newser) - In the five months since a massive earthquake and tsunami devastated the east coast of Japan, honest citizens have returned $78 million in cash—$48 million found in thousands of wallets, and $30 million from some 5,700 safes that turned up onshore, reports ABC News . One safe had $1... More »

Japanese Seethe Over Hushed Radiation Forecasts

Thousands exposed because gov't agencies refused responsibility

(Newser) - Anger is growing in Japan over the government hiding radiation forecasts from the public, causing unnecessary exposure to thousands, letting contaminants into the country's food supply, and not acknowledging that there even was a meltdown for three months after the initial disaster, reports the New York Times . Thousands of... More »

Japan Tries to Lure Back Scared Tourists

Numbers are way down, and hotel discounts are way up

(Newser) - Looking for an inexpensive vacation? Go to Japan. This is the country's unofficial message to a dwindling population of visitors scared away by the recent natural disasters and the threat of radiation exposure, the Global Post reports. To draw tourists back in, hotels are offering bargain-bin specials. Japan needs... More »

Fukushima Nuclear Plant Stabilized

Workers on track for cold shutdown within six months

(Newser) - Some good news from Japan: The Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant is stabilized and a cold shutdown should be achieved within six months. Even so, Tokyo Electric Power Co. warns that final cleanup—which will involve encasing the plant in concrete—could take more than 10 years. Engineers have recently... More »

Japan Tsunami Taller Than 10-Story Building

Giant wave was biggest recorded in decades: Experts

(Newser) - The tsunami that struck Japan in March rose to a staggering 132.5 feet at its highest, taller than a 10-story building, according to 150 researchers who have collected data from thousands of locations along the country's east coast. Here's how it stacks up: The killer wave was... More »

Tepco Knew of Fukushima Design Flaw, Did Nothing

Electric switcher swamped by tsunami, killing plant's cooling system

(Newser) - Senior Tepco engineers were aware of design flaws at five of its Fukushima Dai-ichi reactors for decades, but complacency and cost-consciousness prevented the company from fixing those problems, reports the Wall Street Journal . While newer reactors have backup diesel generators and electrical switchers placed securely in the well-protected reactor building,... More »

Japan's Big Roadblock: 25M Tons of Debris

Before the nation can fully rebuild, it has years of cleanup ahead

(Newser) - A giant kiln at a cement factory in Japan finally returned to action today and incinerated 10 tons of debris from the March earthquake. Which sounds like a handsome total until you consider that an estimated 25 million tons remain, reports the Wall Street Journal . The nation is now grappling... More »

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