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A Magnitude-6.8 earthquake has hit off the coast of Yamagata Prefecture in northern Japan. Tsunami advisories are in place along coastal areas of Yamagata, Niigata and Ishikawa prefectures.

Tsunami advisory has been issued (for Fukushima Prefecture ... also for Aomori, Iwate , Miyagi, Ibaraki, & Chiba Prefectures) Residents have been urged top leave the Fukushima coast

big one, just listed 6.8 33km SE of Ofunato, Japan 2015-05-12 21:12:58 UTC

Japanese Video Documenting 9.0 earthquake from 2011

Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant experienced full meltdowns at three reactors in the wake of an earthquake and tsunami in March, the country's Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters said Monday. The nuclear group's new evaluation, released Monday, goes further than previous statements in describing the extent of the damage caused by an earthquake and tsunami on March 11. The announcement will not change plans for how to stabilize the Fukushima Daiichi plant, the agency said. Reactors 1, 2 and 3 experienced a full meltdown, it said.

ISHINOMAKI, Japan – When water begins to trickle down the streets of her coastal neighborhood, Yoshiko Takahashi knows it is time to hurry home. Twice a day, the flow steadily increases until it is knee-deep, carrying fish and debris by her front door and trapping people in their homes. Those still on the streets slosh through the sea water in rubber boots or on bicycle. "I look out the window, and it's like our houses are in the middle of the ocean," says Takahashi, who moved in three years ago. The March 11 earthquake that hit eastern Japan was so...

Toyota to Halt Output in N. America after Japan Quake New York, April 8 (Jiji Press)--Toyota Motor Corp. <7203> said Friday it will suspend vehicle production at 13 of its 14 North American plants due to disruptions in Japanese-made parts and component supplies caused by the March 11 massive earthquake and tsunami. The 13 plants will stop operations for four to five days in the April 15-25 period, the top Japanese automaker said. Production plans for April 26 and beyond have not been decided yet. (2011/04/09-13:21)

A vast field of debris, swept out to sea following the Japan earthquake and tsunami, is floating towards the U.S. West Coast, it emerged today. More than 200,000 buildings were washed out by the enormous waves that followed the 9.0 quake on March 11. There have been reports of cars, tractor-trailers, capsized ships and even whole houses bobbing around in open water.

JAPAN ROCKED BY NEW QUAKE; TSUNAMI ALERT... DEVELOPING...

Apr 6, 2011 Japan quake moved sea bed 24 metres: coastguard TOKYO - THE seabed near the epicentre of the massive earthquake that rocked Japan last month was shifted 24m by the tremor, the country's coastguard said on Wednesday. Sensors found that one part of the ocean floor had been stretched to a point 24m east-southeast of its position before the 9.0 undersea quake, which triggered a massive tsunami that engulfed large areas of Japan's northeast coast.

Organisers have called off plans for a massive "supergig", which was to benefit the relief effort in Japan. Live Nation was reportedly "unable to secure artists" for the Wembley Arena concert in London, which was to be broadcast worldwide. Promoters had been working with major labels Sony and Universal to organise a gigantic fundraiser on 14 April, with plans to involve world-class artists. It was to be "a huge global spectacle" and "the biggest concert in years", according to sources.

Toyota just announced it will shut down all of its North American factories due to shortages of parts from Japan. This is a temporary shutdown, which will affect about 25,000 workers. The length of the shutdown is unknown and depends on how fast Japanese parts factories can get back in operation, spokesman Mike Gross told the AP. Toyota gets about 15 percent of its parts from Japan. Last month GM's Shreveport plant was shutdown temporarily due to troubles in Japan.

Hollywood Hit by Soaring Videotape Prices Following Japan Quake Hollywood is feeling the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan. Prices of high-quality videotape are skyrocketing amid fears of a shortage as many tape manufacturers in Japan have been affected by the disaster. According to U.S. media on Tuesday (local time), major Hollywood film studios such as 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. have expressed concerns as tape prices have doubled since the quake. Japanese companies like Fuji and Sony dominate the market for various types of tape such as HD videotape and data storage tape, with Sony...

More than 27,000 people are officially dead or missing after the earthquake and tsunami that struck northeastern Japan on March 11th. According to the National Police Agency, 9,811 people are confirmed dead as of 9 PM on Thursday. The agency says it has received reports of 17,541 people missing. Most of the dead and missing are from the 3 hardest hit prefectures of Miyagi, Iwate and Fukushima. The number of confirmed deaths in Fukushima totals 839, far smaller than the more than 5,800 in Miyagi and about 3,000 in Iwate. This may be due to the suspension of search operations...

Conservative maverick Ann Coulter has poured scorn on growing fears over the fallout from Japan’s nuclear crisis by claiming that ‘radiation is good for you.’ With her bizarre outburst, Coulter became the latest celebrity to cause a stir over controversial remarks on the disaster in Japan. The right wing commentator was attempting to quell concern that a radiation plume was due to hit America’s West Coast today after travelling 5,000 miles across the Pacific Ocean from the damaged reactor at Fukishima. There is a growing body of evidence that radiation in excess of what the government says are the minimum...

After more than 45 years, the Kona Village Resort on the Big Island will be closing its doors, its future uncertain. The 82-acre property suffered extensive damage due to last week's tsunami from Japan's magnitude-9.0 earthquake. More than 200 employees will be laid off. All will be paid through April 3, and their medical benefits will last until the end of April, said Patrick Fitzgerald, president and chief executive officer of the resort. "It was a very hard decision to let the Kona Village staff go; they're a very special group of people," he said. "They've done an amazing job for...

IAEA official says conditions at plant are serious but stable, as the agency faces renewed scrutiny for its record

Sitting silent in their classroom, the 30 children whose parents have not come to collect them after tsunami swept away their town Even amid the carnage and despair of Japan's tsunami victims, the plight of the 30 children at Kama Elementary School is heartbreaking. They sit quietly in the corner of a third-floor classroom where they have waited each day since the tsunami swept into the town of Ishinomaki for their parents to collect them. So far, no one has come and few at the school now believe they will. Teachers think that some of the boys and girls, aged...

A global nuclear disaster potentially worse than Chernobyl may be under way in Japan as hundreds of tonnes of highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel are open to the sky, and may be on fire and emitting radioactive particles into the atmosphere. Many countries have advised their citizens in Japan to leave the country. "This is uncharted territory. There is a 50-percent chance they could lose all six reactors and their storage pools," said Jan Beyea, a nuclear physicist with a New Jersey consulting firm called Consulting in the Public Interest. "I'm surprised the situation hasn't gotten worse faster... But without...

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