Situation worsens after triple disasters hit Japan
Damage following the worst earthquake in 140 years and a tsumani that wiped
away part of north-east Japan, comes news of power outages caused by major
trouble at a nuclear power station.
Ken Yamamoto JA1CJP reports that according to police information as of 10am
local time on March 14, the death toll is 1,627 and the reported missing
person count is 1,720.
?It is only the official count and the number is still expected to increase.
Thousands of bodies are reported to have been found on the coast of the tsunami
suffered area,? he said.
A Miyagi prefecture source says that the death toll will be in the order
of ten thousands in that prefecture alone.
The 8.9 on the Richter scale quake hit off north-eastern Sendai durning the
late afternoon on Friday March 11, and triggered a ten-metre tsunami.
At the request of Central Emergency Communication Committee, Ken JA1CJP,
the IARU Regional 3 Secretary, said the JARL is operating its HQ station
JA1RL in Tokyo, and regional HQ stations.
Earlier it was reported that JA1RL was using 7 MHz SSB, 144 MHz SSB/FM and
430 MHz SSB/FM.
He said, ?Many other radio amateurs are thanked for providing information
and exchanging support to the rescue and disaster relief operations. Those
who can operate in the affected areas are providing a lifeline for rescue
teams and those at local shelters. Some stations are operating with car batteries
and others with engine generators.?
Ken JA1CJP said, ?Another problem is the nuclear power plant where the water
supply system failure caused overheating of the nuclear fuel bar. That causes
some radioactive gas release from the plant and people have been evacuated
from the surrounding area.??
The earthquake also damaged electric power generation plants fuelled by oil
or natural gas, resulting in a shortage of electricity.
Tokyo Electric Power Company plans to stop supplying power to certain parts
of its service area on rotation basis to cut power consumption. This shortage
of power may also stop or restrict the operation of the train systems around
Tokyo.
- Jim Linton, VK3PC, Chairman IARU Region 3 Disaster Communications Committee.