Saturday Afternoon

As I write we are still trying to get to grip with the scale of the disaster that is still unfolding. Thankfully we have been spared here in Muroran - the news reported a 1 metre combined tsunami/high tide, but there was no reported damage. Mind you the bulk carriers, cargo ships, fishing boats and pleasure boats that usually crowd the port are taking no chances. I watched from a hill top near our home yesterday afternoon as they all steamed furiously out of the harbour to the relative safety of deeper waters. They are still there today, anchored a couple of kilometres off the coast as there is still a 6 metre tsunami warning in place for our part of Japan.

Further south where the earthquake and resulting tsunami was at its most destructive, the attention is currently on the two nuclear plants in Fukushima prefecture. Various system failures have left the cooling tanks essentially inoperable resulting in a dangerous build up of pressure within the tanks. Technicians are hoping to attempt to manually open valves on the tanks but as radioactive levels in the control room where the valves are located are registering levels up to a 1,000 times the norm, this is proving difficult to say the least.

Again, should worst come to worst and the reactors were to actually explode we, here in Muroran, wouldn't be in any immediate danger as the stations are far to the south east of us (see map. Double click on it to enlarge the picture. Look for Sendai on the north east coast of Honshu, the main island - it's between the 'c' and 'e' of 'Pacific Ocean'. Then slightly below and to the south west of that, inland, you will see Fukushima ) and the prevailing westerly winds should carry any radioactive discharge out over the Pacific.

Still, while I can write all that objectively, should things go boom we are all going to be donning lead suits up here.