First wind turbine starts to spin near Fukushima. (video)

Japan has switched on the first wind turbine at a proposed wind farm 20 kilometres off the coast of Fukushima. The 143 turbines at the planned wind farm near the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant will have a capacity to generate one gigawatt of power. 

By comparison the nuclear plant had a capcity of four-and-a-half gigawatts. 

The turbines will help restore energy supplies to a region decimated by the multiple meltdowns of the nuclear plan following a tsunami in March 2011.

• >>>>>Japan to start building world's biggest offshore wind farm this summer<<<<<

  • Fukushima gets wind farm two years after nuclear disaster - video

  • Japan to start building world's biggest offshore wind farm this summer 

  • Με Ανεμογεννήτριες Siemens, Εγκαινιάστηκε το Μεγαλύτερο Υπεράκτιο Αιολικό Πάρκο του Κόσμου (2 VIDEO YT)

   

The two megawatt floating turbine that began operation on Monday was built at a dry dock near Tokyo and towed to its location off the northeastern coast.

"Many people were victimized and hurt by the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, so it is very meaningful to have a new source of energy - renewable energy - based here at Fukushima. It is the government’s mission to ensure this project is a success," said State Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Kazuyoshi Akaba. 
cntv.cn
11/11/13

Fukushima debris island the size of Texas floating to the US.

A massive island of debris is slowly making its way to the United States after forming in the wake of the tsunami that rocked Japan back in 2011. The tsunami killed almost 16,000 people in Japan, caused numerous problems at the nuclear plant in Fukushima, and dislodged more than 1.5 million floating objects into the Pacific Ocean. Now, a collection of debris the size of Texas is roughly 1,700 miles off the coast of California. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the debris scattered by the tsunami has been spread around an area of the ocean that’s three times the size of the continental United States. It also said to expect trash to continue arriving on American shores for the next few years. Already, objects such as boats, rooftops, soccer balls, and docks have hit various parts of the West Coast. Even more will arrive with the Texas-sized island, but, more than the trash, scientists are interested in the organisms that could be living on them........http://rt.com/usa/fukushima-debris-island-texas-266/5/11/13--

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Related:

• Los Angeles prepares to fight Fukushima debris

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• Έως 44 δισ. ευρώ η απορρύπανση της Φουκουσίμα

• Fukushima: Verstrahltes Wasser bedroht den Pazifik 

• Inside Fukushima: TEPCO releases pics from inside nuclear plant after tsunami (PHOTOS)

• H ιστορία στο Τόκιο:Συνομιλίες υπουργών και εμπειρογνωμόνων στη Φουκουσίμα για την πυρηνική ασφάλεια (Nuclear Safety)

 

Turkey and Japan sign formal agreement to build second nuclear plant in Sinop.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe signed on Oct. 29 the official agreement for building Turkey's second nuclear plant in the Black Sea province of Sinop.

The two countries signed a $22 billion deal in May for the construction of a plant with a total capacity of 4,800 megawatts (mW), by a Japanese-French alliance of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and French firm Areva.

Abe came to Istanbul to attend the official opening ceremony of the Marmaray tunnel, which has also been built by a Japanese firm.


Erdoğan told reporters during a joint press conference after the Marmaray's opening ceremony that the nuclear plant would be built with the most developed technology.

"We know that it is impossible to say something like 'accidents will never happen.' Even if it is one in a million, such a danger, such an accident, might occur, and it is impossible to ignore this," Erdoğan said, commenting on the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan.

"There is no investment without risks, in any field. But every firm, every company should take 100 percent security measures. The ideal thing is without a doubt to minimize the margin of error," he added.

"Moreover, I believe that Japan will put forward the most developed technology in the works that we will undertake together at the Sinop nuclear plant. This is necessary for both Japan and Turkey," the prime minister said.

The first unit of the nuclear plant is set to be active by 2023, while the last unit will come online by 2028.

Turkey's first nuclear plant is being constructed in Akkuyu in the southern province of Mersin by the Russian state atomic energy corporation. The plant will be made with four reactors and will have a total installed power of 4,800 mW.
hurriyetdailynews.com
30/10/13
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Related:

•  Japanese nuclear plant in Turkey to have safest technology

•  Τουρκία: Έκλεισε η συμφωνία για δεύτερο πυρηνικό σταθμό ....Ο Ερντογάν επιθυμεί και τρίτο πυρηνικό εργοστάσιο....

• Turkey & Japan agree on a nuclear plant investment

• Σιγή ιχθύος από την Κομισιόν, για το πυρηνικό στο Ακουγιού

• Τα σχέδια του Άκουγιου: Του χρόνου ξεκινά η κατασκευή του πρώτου πυρηνικού σταθμού της Τουρκίας

• Japan: Abe to review Fukushima crisis before deciding on restarting reactors

• Σε ζώνες κινδύνου για τσουνάμι 23 πυρηνικά εργοστάσια

Σεισμός 7,1 Ρίχτερ στην Ιαπωνία - Προειδοποίηση για τσουνάμι. (WIDE TSUNAMI IS NOT EXPECTED)

Προειδοποίηση για τσουνάμι εξέδωσαν οι Αρχές της Ιαπωνίας, μετά τη σεισμική δόνηση μεγέθους 7,1 βαθμών της κλίμακας Ρίχτερ που σημειώθηκε ανοιχτά της Xονσού της Ιαπωνίας, σύμφωνα με το Αμερικανικό Γεωλογικό Ινστιτούτο (USGS).
Η προειδοποίηση τέθηκε σε ισχύ για τις επαρχίες Ιουάτε, Φουκουσίμα, Μιγιάγκι και Ιμπαράκι. Όπως μετέδωσε το ιαπωνικό πρακτορείο ειδήσεων «Kyodonews», εργαζόμενοι στο κατεστραμμένο πυρηνικό εργοστάσιο της Φουκουσίμα έλαβαν εντολή να εγκαταλείψουν τον χώρο των εγκατάστασεων που βρισκόταν κοντά στη θάλασσα.

 Εκπρόσωπος της διαχειρίστριας εταιρείας «Τepco» ανακοίνωσε πως δεν παρατηρήθηκε κάποιο νέο πρόβλημα στο εργοστάσιο.


Εκπρόσωπος της αστυνομίας ανακοίνωσε πως δεν υπάρχουν αναφορές για τραυματίες σε καμία επαρχία της χώρας. 
 (zougla.gr)
25/10/13
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• M 7.1 - OFF EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN - 2013-10-25 17:10:17 UTC.....local time: 02:10....324 km SE of Ishinomaki, Japan

Magnitude Mw 7.1 Region OFF EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN Date time 2013-10-25 17:10:17.0 UTC Location 37.22 N ; 144.66 E Depth 10 km Distances 477 km E of Tokyo, Japan / pop: 8,336,599 / local time: 02:10:17.0 2013-10-26 354 km E of Sendai-shi, Japan / pop: 1,037,562 / local time: 02:10:17.0 2013-10-26 324 km SE of Ishinomaki, Japan / pop: 117,233 / local time: 02:10:17.0 2013-10-26

Source parameters reviewed by a seismologist ----

--

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 ---

TSUNAMI INFORMATION STATEMENT NUMBER   1
NWS PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER EWA BEACH HI
720 AM HST FRI OCT 25 2013

TO - CIVIL DEFENSE IN THE STATE OF HAWAII

SUBJECT - TSUNAMI INFORMATION STATEMENT

THIS STATEMENT IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY. NO ACTION REQUIRED.

AN EARTHQUAKE HAS OCCURRED WITH THESE PRELIMINARY PARAMETERS

   ORIGIN TIME - 0710 AM HST 25 OCT 2013
   COORDINATES - 37.2 NORTH  144.6 EAST
   LOCATION    - OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU  JAPAN
   MAGNITUDE   - 7.5  MOMENT

EVALUATION

 BASED ON ALL AVAILABLE DATA A DESTRUCTIVE PACIFIC-WIDE TSUNAMI IS
 NOT EXPECTED AND THERE IS NO TSUNAMI THREAT TO HAWAII. REPEAT. A
 DESTRUCTIVE PACIFIC-WIDE TSUNAMI IS NOT EXPECTED AND THERE IS NO
 TSUNAMI THREAT TO HAWAII.

THIS WILL BE THE ONLY STATEMENT ISSUED FOR THIS EVENT UNLESS
ADDITIONAL DATA ARE RECEIVED.

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 Μετασεισμοί 26/10/13 (9:30π.μ.)

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Japan's newest rocket Epsilon lifts off carrying a telescope for observation of the solar system from space (Video)

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Japan has successfully launched a new solid-fuel rocket carrying a telescope for observation of the solar system from space, following last month’s setback.

The rocket lifted off at 2.00 p.m. (0500GMT) on Saturday from the Uchinoura Space Center in Kagoshima, southwestern Japan.

A previous launch scheduled for August 27 was suspended nearly 20 seconds before countdown after a ground control computer falsely detected a positional abnormality.


Launched with only two laptop computers in a pared-down command center, Epsilon released the "SPRINT-A" telescope at an altitude of 1,000 kilometers (620 miles).

SPRINT-A is the world’s first space telescope which is designed to observe other planets including Venus, Mars and Jupiter from its orbit around Earth, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA said.

The three-stage Epsilon, which is about 24 meters (80 feet) tall and weighs 91 tons, is almost half the size of Japan's H2A rocket, and a successor to the solid-fuel M-5 rocket.

JAXA also noted that the Epsilon costs about 3.8 billion yen (USD40 million), which is one-third the cost of the liquid-fuelled H2A rocket.

The smaller size of the new rocket and a computer system that permits it to perform its own systems checks means Epsilon is capable of being assembled rapidly, enabling operators to decrease personnel and equipment costs.

Only eight workers were engaged in the launch operation of the small-sized rocket at the control center, compared with some 150 people usually required when Tokyo launches its mainstream H2A rocket.

Japan is hopeful that the new rocket, which is expected to expand the scope of the country’s space missions, becomes competitive in the global space business.

MR/HN 
 http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/09/14/323849/japan-sends-telescope-into-space/
14/9/13

 

Φουκουσίμα: «Δεν είναι ανησυχητική» για το περιβάλλον η διαρροή ραδιενεργού ύδατος.

Οι επιπτώσεις στο περιβάλλον από τη διαρροή ραδιενεργού ύδατος στον πυρηνικό σταθμό της Φουκουσίμα δεν πρέπει να προκαλούν ανησυχίες, διαβεβαίωσε σήμερα ο πρόεδρος της Ρυθμιστικής Αρχής της Πυρηνικής Ενέργειας, ο οποίος κινήθηκε στο ίδιο μήκος κύματος με τον ιάπωνα πρωθυπουργό.
"Δεν μπορεί ν' αρνηθεί κανείς ότι ραδιενεργό ύδωρ διαφεύγει στη φύση, αλλά δεν υπάρχει λόγος για υπερβολική ανησυχία όσον αφορά τις επιπτώσεις στο περιβάλλον", τόνισε ο Σουνίτσι Τανάκα.

"Δεν πιστεύω ότι όσα είπε ο 'Αμπε είναι επιστημονικώς αβάσιμα. Ωστόσο, είναι απαραίτητο να ληφθούν μέτρα για να σταματήσει η διαρροή. Το ότι λέμε πως δεν είναι ανησυχητικό δε σημαίνει ότι δεν πρέπει να κάνουμε κάτι", πρόσθεσε.

Από τον Τανάκα ζητήθηκε να σχολιάσει τις καθησυχαστικές δηλώσεις του ιάπωνα πρωθυπουργού Σίνζο 'Αμπε, το Σάββατο, ενώπιον της Διεθνούς Ολυμπιακής Επιτροπής, πριν ανατεθεί στο Τόκιο η διοργάνωση των Ολυμπιακών Αγώνων του 2020.
Απαντώντας σε ερώτηση μέλους της ΔΟΕ για τις πρόσφατες διαρροές ραδιενεργού ύδατος στη Φουκουσίμα, ο 'Αμπε τόνισε: "Μη βλέπετε τους τίτλους των εφημερίδων, αλλά την πραγματικότητα. Οι επιπτώσεις έχουν περιοριστεί σε μια ζώνη 0,3km2 στο λιμάνι της Φουκουσίμα και "δεν υπήρξαν, δεν υπάρχουν και δε θα υπάρξουν προβλήματα για την υγεία".

Ο 'Αμπε διαβεβαίωσε ότι "η κατάσταση είναι υπό έλεγχο και ότι δεν έχει προκληθεί και δε θα προκληθεί ποτέ καμία ζημιά στο Τόκιο".

"Το χειρότερο που θα μπορούσε να συμβεί για τον πυρηνικό σταθμό είναι ένας σεισμός ή ένα τσουνάμι που θα κατέστρεφαν ό,τι έχει γίνει μέχρι σήμερα", πρόσθεσε.
Η εταιρεία Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) "δε διαχειρίστηκε το πρόβλημα των διαρροών με τον κατάλληλο τρόπο", παραδέχθηκε ωστόσο ο Τανάκα, ο οποίος εξέφρασε την ικανοποίησή του για την απόφαση της κυβέρνησης να αναλάβει η ίδια τον έλεγχο των επιχειρήσεων.
"Η πυρηνική αρχή θα λάβει και αυτή μέτρα για να σταματήσει το πρόβλημα των διαρροών", τόνισε.

Ο Τανάκα προειδοποίησε τέλος ότι πρέπει κάποια στιγμή να απορριφθεί στη θάλασσα ραδιενεργό ύδωρ, το οποίο είναι αποθηκευμένο στις δεξαμενές "εφόσον φιλτραριστεί σε ένα αποδεκτό από τη διεθνή κοινότητα επίπεδο".
imerisia.gr
11/9/13
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• Fukushima: Verstrahltes Wasser bedroht den Pazifik 

• Νέα διαρροή ραδιενέργειας στην Ιαπωνία. Αγνοείται η πηγή απ’ όπου προέρχεται η ραδιενέργεια.

• Φουκουσίμα: 30.000 δισ. μπεκερέλ καίσιου και στρόντιου στον ωκεανό - TEPCO

• Φουκουσίμα: Διαρροή ραδιενεργού νερού στον Ειρηνικό. Η κατάσταση χαρακτηρίζεται επείγουσα από την ρυθμιστική αρχή

VIDEO. Au Japon, une éruption volcanique recouvre une ville de cendres - Record eruption at Japanese volcano, city covered in ash

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Une escouade de balayeurs et de véhicules équipés de canons à eau était à pied d'œuvre, lundi 19 août, à Kagoshima (Japon). La veille, un volcan voisin, l'un des plus actifs du pays, a craché une immense colonne de cendres.

Un nuage de poussière s'est élevé à 5 000 m d'altitude, dimanche après-midi, lorsque le volcan Sakurajima, situé à 10 km de la ville méridionale de Kagoshima, est entré en éruption. C'est son 500e accès d'humeur cette année, mais aussi l'un des plus violents.

Les cendres se sont ensuite dispersées dans toute la région, retombant notamment à Kagoshima où la circulation a été perturbée dimanche, avec des automobilistes contraints d'allumer leurs phares en plein après-midi.
Lundi, une soixantaine de balayeurs nettoyaient la ville de ce manteau argenté. "Il n'y a pas de signe avant-coureur d'une éruption de grande ampleur" avec dégagement important de lave, a assuré un responsable local de l'Agence de météorologie du Japon. Un filet de lave est en effet sorti des entrailles du volcan dimanche, mais sans danger pour la population.
 http://www.francetvinfo.fr/monde/asie/video-japon-une-eruption-volcanique-recouvre-une-ville-de-cendres_392791.html
19/8/13
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Προβολή μεγαλύτερου χάρτη

• Record eruption at Japanese volcano, city covered in ash

Sakurajima, one of the world’s most active volcanoes, has covered the city of Kagoshima in southern Japan in ash and spewed a record-high cloud of smoke 5 kilometers into the sky.
The smoke plume was the highest since 2006, when meteorologists began storing data on smoke during eruptions from the volcano.
Sunday’s eruption was the largest at Sakurajima in decades, but the 500th recorded this year, according to Wired.com.
Lava flowed 1 kilometer from the volcano, but no injuries or damage were reported.
People living in Kagoshima, a city of 600,000 people 10 kilometers from the volcano, wore masks and raincoats, and took umbrellas to protect themselves from the hazardous ash.

Volcanic ash causes respiratory problems and can damage eyesight. Minerals present in volcanic ash can also trigger fatal lung diseases.
Local officials seemed unfazed by the latest eruption, however.
"The smoke was a bit dramatic, but we are kind of used to it," a city official who requested anonymity told AP.
Railway services were suspended in the city, so that ash could be removed from the tracks, and car drivers were forced to turn on their headlights as the sky went dark.
By Monday morning, the air was clearer as hundreds of rubbish trucks and sprinklers were used to cope with the aftermath. Masked residents helped sweep up the ash.
Japan’s Meteorological Agency warned that volcanic activity could continue and advised residents against approaching the volcano. However, the agency said it was not expecting any larger eruptions soon.
 http://rt.com/news/volcano-japan-eruption-record-653/
19/8/13

Fukushima gets wind farm two years after nuclear disaster - video

A wind turbine is transported from Tokyo to the coast of Fukushima to become part of a floating wind farm which will generate power from October. 

The Japanese government hopes the wind farm will help the region recover from the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown.
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Related:

 

• Japan to start building world's biggest offshore wind farm this summer 

• Με Ανεμογεννήτριες Siemens, Εγκαινιάστηκε το Μεγαλύτερο Υπεράκτιο Αιολικό Πάρκο του Κόσμου (2 VIDEO YT)

• Γιγαντιαίο «ντόνατ» για την αποθήκευση ενέργειας

 

Turkey & Japan agree on a nuclear plant investment

Turkish PM Erdogan said Turkey and Japan took a step for establishment of a nuclear energy power plant....

 Turkey and Japan agreed on an investment of 22 billion USD for establishment of a nuclear energy power plant in Turkey.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe signed a declaration on setting up a strategic partnership between Turkey and Japan as well as a declaration which guarantees a previously-signed cooperation agreement on nuclear energy.
In a joint press conference, Erdogan said they took a step for nuclear energy power plant between Turkey and Japan.

This step was very important to take. We have an ongoing nuclear energy power plant process with Russia in Mersin-Akkuyu. Now, we have taken a step with Japan for another nuclear energy power plant.

http://www.aa.com.tr/en/headline/171936--turkey-amp-japan-agree-on-a-nuclear-plant-investment
3/5/13
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Related:

• Σιγή ιχθύος από την Κομισιόν, για το πυρηνικό στο Ακουγιού

• Τα σχέδια του Άκουγιου: Του χρόνου ξεκινά η κατασκευή του πρώτου πυρηνικού σταθμού της Τουρκίας

• Japan: Abe to review Fukushima crisis before deciding on restarting reactors

• Σε ζώνες κινδύνου για τσουνάμι 23 πυρηνικά εργοστάσια

Frantic search for China quake survivors .... Rescuers overcome landslides and 1,100 aftershocks to reach Sichuan region where earthquake killed at least 203 people.

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Thousands of rescuers are fighting to thwart a rising death toll as they search earthquake-shattered villages in southwest China for survivors.

More than 90 people have been pulled alive from rubble as more than 17,000 rescuers help out [AFP]

Rescue teams battled landslides and collapsed roads to reach isolated parts of Sichuan province on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau, in images aired on state broadcaster CCTV on Sunday.

At least 203 people have so far been confirmed dead, with 6,000 injured in Saturday's 6.6 magnitude quake. Almost 1,000 were seriously injured in the quake.

Soldiers searched through the night and day for survivors in villages where houses had been destroyed and treated some of the injured.
China's new Premier Li Keqiang has rushed to the disaster zone and was shown by CCTV eating breakfast in a tent.

"The rescue effort is our first duty," he told state media.
Xinhua news agency said more than 17,000 Chinese soldiers, pilots and police had joined the rescue mission and five drones were sent to capture aerial images.
A military vehicle carrying 17 troops headed for the quake area plummeted over a cliff on Saturday, killing one soldier and injuring seven others.
Al Jazeera’s Robert McBride, reporting from Hong Kong, said the suddenness of the earthquake had contrasted with the 2008 one in the same province, which left more than 90,000 people dead or missing.
"People are now watching to see how the new leadership is dealing with this," McBride said.
"This their first test of how they deal this natural disaster."
Boulders
The rescue operation was hampered by huge queues of traffic, some stretching back for 20km, that clogged roads into the disaster zone.

It was as if the mountain was alive ... Now I have no home to go Sichuan earthquake survivor

"We really want to go in and help people, but instead we are waiting in traffic," one relief official said in his car.
Boulders the size of cars littered streets in Lushan county, the epicentre of the earthquake.
More than 1,100 aftershocks have followed since the quake struck Sichuan province on Saturday morning.
Chinese seismologists registered the tremor at 7.0 magnitude while the US Geological Survey gave it as 6.6.
Firefighters helped by sniffer dogs pulled 91 people alive from the rubble, Xinhua said, citing the Ministry of Public Security.
A steady stream of ambulances continued to arrive at Lushan People's Hospital on Sunday.
Most survivors were taken to tents erected in the grounds surrounding the hospital, where doctors treated the wounded.
Power cut
A 68-year-old woman with a broken arm spoke of the terror she experienced when the earthquake struck.

Devastation left people vying for basic needs, such as food, water and blankets, as quake razed homes [AFP]

"It was as if the mountain was alive," she told the AFP news agency. "Now I have no home to go, so I don't know what I am going to do."
The earthquake cut off power and water supplies to much of the area, with Longquan villager Sot Yang Yiyun among the many affected.
"Now we don't have drinking water and power," Sot said.
"We must wait for the government to come and help us out. Also we want to call for help from other parts of the country."
Earthquake-prone Japan, which has been mired in tension with China over a high-seas territorial dispute , offered any help that was required.
"Japan is ready to offer its maximum support," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in a message to Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li, according to Japan's foreign ministry.
China responded that overseas help was not needed but it would contact Tokyo if the situation changed, the ministry said.
.aljazeera.com
21/4/13
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• Φονικός σεισμός στην Κίνα....Τουλάχιστον 28 νεκροί /7.0-magnitude earthquake jolts Sichuan

6.9-magnitude earthquake hits northern Japan/M6,8 σεισμός σημειώθηκε στις 16.17 (ώρα Ελλάδος) στο νησί Hokkaido της Ιαπωνίας

A 6.9-magnitude earthquake has hit the coast of Hokkaido, Japan, the US Geological Service reports. Two nuclear power plants are in the affected area.
­The quake that occurred at 11:17 pm (14:17 GMT) was marked 5 upper at JMA Seismic Intensity in several places in Hokkaido.
According to the USGC, the epicenter of the earthquake was located at a depth of 120 kilometers.
Shaking could be felt near Hokkaido's capital Sapporo as well as in some regions of Tokyo, which is located down the island.  

No tsunamis warning has been issued, and no damage or injuries have been reported.
Local public broadcaster NHK said nearby nuclear plants, Tomari and Higashidori, were observing any abnormalities.
Seismic activity in the region has increased in the past few days, and several smaller quakes have rattled the region.
Back in December a powerful 7.3-magnitude undersea quake off the northeast coast of Japan triggered a one-metre-high tsunami, but it caused no major damage.
One of the most devastating earthquakes and tsunamis in history hit Japan in March 2011 when 19,000 people died or were reported missing. The disaster damaged the Fukushima nuclear power plant leading to the world’s worst atomic incident for 25 years.

News RSS : Today

2/2/13

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 Σεισμική δόνηση μεγέθους 6,8 ρίχτερ σημειώθηκε στις 16.17 (ώρα Ελλάδος) στο νησί Hokkaido της Ιαπωνίας. Ο σεισμός είχε εστιακό βάθος 100 χιλιομέτρων.
Δεν έχει εκδοθεί προειδοποίηση για ενδεχόμενο τσουνάμι και μέχρι στιγμής δεν έχουν αναφερθεί ζημιές. Σύμφωνα με τη δημόσια τηλεόραση NHK δεν έχουν παρουσιαστεί προβλήματα στη μονάδα παραγωγής πυρηνικής ενέργειας Tohoku Electric Power στο Χιγκασιντόρι, στη βόρεια Ιαπωνία.-Σύμφωνα με το αμερικανικό γεωλογικό ινστιτούτο USGS η δόνηση ήταν μεγέθους 6,9 βαθμών. Ο σεισμός σημειώθηκε στις 11:17 τοπική ώρα (16:17 ώρα Ελλάδας) με εστιακό βάθος 120 χιλιομέτρων και το επίκεντρό του εντοπίστηκε σε απόσταση μόλις 15 χιλιομέτρων νοτιοδυτικά του Ομπιχίρο (Obihiro).

------------------------------

Related:

• Σεισμός 7,3 βαθμών της κλίμακας ρίχτερ στην Ιαπωνία/Tsunami warning issued after Japan earthquake

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6.9-magnitude quake hits Japan's Hokkaido/M6,8 σεισμός σημειώθηκε στις 16.17 (ώρα Ελλάδος) στο νησί Hokkaido της Ιαπωνίας

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101210130

Japan to start building world's biggest offshore wind farm this summer

Japan is to start building its ambitious wind farm project off the Fukushima coast in July. The farm is expected to become the world’s largest and produce 1GW of power once completed in 2020.
­The power-generating facility will be built 16 kilometers off the coast of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, which was critically damaged by an earthquake and tsunami in March 2011.
The 143 wind turbines, which are to be 200 meters in height, will be built on buoyant steel frames stabilized with ballast and anchored to the continental shelf.


Once completed in 2020, the project will generate 1 gigawatt of renewable electrical power. 
The project is part of Japan’s national plan to increase renewable energy resources following the nuclear disaster at Fukushima. After the quake, Japan shut down its 54 nuclear reactors, but due to energy shortages it has had to restart two reactors.
“This project is important. I think it is impossible to use nuclear power in Fukushima again,” project manager Takeshi Ishihara of the University of Tokyo told New Scientist weekly magazine.
Ishihara believes the area's seismic activity won't be a problem for the turbines. His team has carried out lots of computer simulations and water tank tests in order to verify the safety of the turbines in all possible extreme events, such as earthquakes, tsunamis and typhoons.
"All extreme conditions have been taken into consideration in the design," he added.
There were some objections to the project by local people, who expressed concerns, in particular, over possible impact on the fishing industry, which was also hit by the nuclear disaster. But Ishihara is sure it’s possible to turn the farm into a ‘marine pasture’ that would attract fish.

Facility specifications of forward project. (Image from Fukushima Floating Offshore Wind Farm Demonstration Project, Takeshi Ishihara The University of Tokyo)

 

The project is also part of the prefecture’s plan to become completely energy self-sufficient by 2040, using only renewable sources.  
The Fukushima wind farm will produce double the amount of energy of the Greater Gabbard array, currently the world’s biggest, off the coast of Suffolk in the United Kingdom, which generates 504 megawatts from its 140 turbines. Although the title of biggest will soon pass to the London Array in the Thames Estuary, where 175 turbines will produce 630 megawatts of power when it becomes operational later this year.
Scientists and researchers believe Japan’s wind capacity could reach 7.6 gigawatts over the next three years.
.rt.com
19/1/13
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With disasters on the rise, relief is the problem

The popular perception that natural disasters are on the rise has now been confirmed. Private insurers are preparing for rough weather, and governments would do well to heed calls for more precautionary measures.

Munich Re, the world's largest re-insurer, had little good news to report in its January 3 wrap-up of disasters in 2012. Hurricane Sandy, droughts in the American Midwest, an Italian earthquake, a series of Midwest tornadoes and Typhoon Bopha in the Philippines were just five of the more than 900 events worldwide that caused $160 billion-worth of damage (122 billion euros) to the worldwide economy.
Since 2006 it has been rare for worldwide disasters to number under 900 in any given year. This is in stark contrast to the 1980s, when a terrible year might have seen a mere 500 disasters.

 

The clean-up operation at Fukushima posed unprecedented challenges

 

The 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake which led to the explosion at the Fukushima nuclear reactor became the most expensive disaster in history. So far it has cost $235 billion (180 billion euros). Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which left much of New Orleans under water, comes in at second at $81 billion.
Insurance companies bear a large part of these costs. But of Hurricane Sandy's estimated $60 billion price tag, only $25 billion was actually insured. And on top of their financial losses, those affected may also suffer long-lasting personal and emotional damage.
Around the world, more people than ever are requiring financial assistance - through private insurance, public insurance or government aid - to rebuild their lives. The question is, will they get it?

FEMA's responsibilities
61-year-old Betty Ann Fuller is a case in point when it comes to the complexities of reclaiming losses. Since Hurricane Sandy destroyed her home in October 2012, she has received just two payments of $1,410 dollars for living expenses. Those came from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Some of the groceries she purchased then spoiled when her hotel lost power.
She is still waiting for insurance payments from her private insurer: $223,000 for the house, $31,000 for lost rent, and $1,500 for out-of-pocket expenses. "I had to tally every stinkin' thing in my house, including the toilet paper," she says. Her private insurer is based in New Jersey.

 

In New York 330,000 homes were damaged by Hurricane Sandy

 

Two weeks after evacuating and moving into a local hotel, she was picked up by a bus and taken back to her property. "The Red Cross was there with a truck to give us some meals," she says. "They were handing out meatloaf dinners. They were very visible and helpful."
As for government assistance, Betty Ann Fuller has nothing but praise. "I am very, very pleased with FEMA - their support groups with regard to insurance, mental issues, any subject related to loss," she says. "They are right there in our town, you can go to them anytime, talk to them, and they help you."

 

FEMA has been providing assistance to local communities devastated by Sandy

 

That help was recently endangered. While US Congress ultimately approved $9.7 billion in borrowing power for FEMA on Friday (04.01.2013), the congressional bickering left a sense of doubt in New Jersey as to whether the US government can be counted on to provide adequate funding in times of crisis.
"I'm disappointed in the federal government right now - with what's going on in Congress and the Senate," Fuller said.
A FEMA spokesperson told Deutsche Welle that FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program is having difficulty covering costs: "There are more claims than there are premiums coming in."

Preparing for future catastrophes
Dr. Robert P. Hartwig, president of the New-York-based Insurance Information Institute, is keen to reassure desperate homeowners, while also distancing private insurance from its public equivalent.
"It should be known that there is no 'fiscal cliff' in the property-casualty insurance or reinsurance industry," Hartwig says in an online seminar. "The industry makes sure that it has the resources in the bank before a disaster occurs. It is not something to be reckoned with afterwards, and that is a responsibility that insurers and re-insurers around the world take very seriously."

 

The IHBS is particularly interested in how high wind speeds affect the structure of a home.

 

Another important approach is to find new ways of limiting potential damage. Carl Hedde, head of risk accumulation at the Munich-based Munich Re, hopes to be able to better prepare homeowners - and homes - before events occur.
"Over the last couple of years the Institute for Business and Home Safety has built the world's largest research facility in South Carolina. We're supporting the testing of building codes, and we've also tested building materials."
Measures like these could help to save houses like Betty Ann Fuller's. After being battered by wind and rain, her home was ultimately destroyed by a fire that swept through 30 houses.
"I have no family, so I lost my whole life," she told Deutsche Welle. "When I left the house I took three days' worth of clothing, a picture of my mother and father, and my son's ashes. My son passed away in 2007 at the age of 25. All of his diaries and personal effects were still packed and I never got to put them away, and I am devastated that I lost all that."
Deutsce Welle
5/1/13
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Asia to get more Russian ESPO crude as second pipeline opened

Transneft has launched the second branch of the East Siberia - Pacific Ocean (ESPO-2) pipeline which could increase the chances of ESPO blend crude becoming a new benchmark blend.
With the ESPO branch open the capacity of the pipeline network stretching from the Baltic to the Pacific Ocean will double to 30mn tonnes. Total exports are expected to reach 36mn tonnes in 2013.
The project “will seriously broaden the infrastructural potential of Russia's Far Eastern regions,” according to Russian President Vladimir Putin speaking during a TV link-up.
ESPO will ship oil to Japan, China, the United States, South Korea, the Philippines, Singapore and Taiwan, he said.

The system's first stage from Russia’s Irkutsk region to Skovorodino and the Kozmino oil loading terminal on the Pacific Coast was commissioned at the end of 2009. Oil is to be shipped by railroad from Skovorodino to the port. The second stage involved building a section from Skovorodino tothe Pacific Coast .
At the moment “the American market is receiving 35% of the oil through Kozmino, theterminal of the ESPO, Japan is receiving another 30%,China 25%-28%, andthe rest goes to Singapore, Malaysia and South Korea” with the proportions set to remain unchanged, said Transneft head Nikolay Tokarev.
“If we prove able to do so in the short-term, we will be able to say confidently that a new oil brand has appeared in the world,” Tokarev added.
A launch of ESPO will significantly increase the export potential of Russian oil, Grigory Birg, Investcafe analyst, wrote in an e-mail. The pipeline means there is room to increase oil deliveries to both existing and projected oil refineries in Russia’s Far East without any reduction in export volumes of crude to the Asia-Pacific region, the Investcafe expert added.
The Russian oil market saw the introduction of the new ESPO blend in 2009, when the first branch of the pipeline was commissioned. It was created especially for the pipeline and now ranks as the best Russia’s blend, according to Michael Krylov, chief analyst at Alpari, talking to Vzglyad business newspaper. The blend is lighter and contains less chloride salt, Krylov explained.
“Eastward is quite a perspective direction for Russia’s oil companies, as it gets ESPO crude to a growing market at higher prices than the more sulphurous Urals,” Birg said.
The ESPO blend is already traded with a $1 – $1.5 premium to Urals crude, Russia’s main export blend.
In early November the Wall Street Journal shortlisted Russia’s ESPO blend as a potential benchmark along with Dubai’s DME Oman grade.
.rt.com
25/12/12
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