MIYAKOJI , Japan : Japanese villagers forced to evacuate after the Fukushima disaster are afraid to return. Feeling helpless after being cheated by Tepco and lied to by their government

Forced to Flee Radiation, Fearful Japanese Villagers Are Reluctant to Return

By MARTIN FACKLERAPRIL 27, 2014

 

“The government and the media say the radiation has been cleaned up, but it’s all lies,” said Miyakoji villager Kim Eunja, with her husband, Satoshi Mizuochi. Credit Ko Sasaki for The New York Times
.....
MIYAKOJI, Japan — Ever since they were forced to evacuate during the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant three years ago, Kim Eunja and her husband have refused to return to their hilltop home amid the majestic mountains of this rural village for fear of radiation.
But now they say they may have no choice. After a nearly $250 million radiation cleanup here, the central government this month declared Miyakoji the first community within a 12-mile evacuation zone around the plant to be reopened to residents. The decision will bring an end to the monthly stipends from the plant’s operator that have allowed Ms. Kim to relocate to an apartment in a city an hour away.

“The government and the media say the radiation has been cleaned up, but it’s all lies,” said Ms. Kim, 55, who is from South Korea, and who with her Japanese husband runs a small Korean restaurant outside Miyakoji. “I want to run away, but I cannot. We have no more money.”

She is not the only one. While the central government and national news media have trumpeted the reopening of Miyakoji as a happy milestone in Japan’s recovery from the devastating March 2011 accident, many residents tell a darker story. They insist their homes remain too dangerous or too damaged to inhabit and that they have not received enough financial compensation to allow them to start anew somewhere else.

Photo

Yoshikuni Munakata works to repair his home, which was abandoned for three years after the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Credit Ko Sasaki for The New York Times

They criticize the plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., or Tepco, for failing to reimburse them for the value of their homes, usually their family’s largest financial asset. Depending on where they lived, they say they have received amounts from half the preaccident value to just $3,000, a tiny fraction of the original value of their homes.

Read More Here

.....

• nuclear-news

Japan’s government deceives evacuees to return before radiation readings disclosed

Radiation study on evacuation zones kept undisclosed for 6 months http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/kyodo-news-international/140416/radiation-study-evacuation-zones-kept-undisclosed-6-mo The  government kept undisclosed for six months a report on an individual radiation dose study in areas around the crisis-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, including a district recently released from an evacuation order.

The study, covering the city of Tamura and the villages of Kawauchi and Iitate, showed that the radiation level in many areas is still beyond 1 millisievert per year — a level the government is seeking to achieve at contaminated lands in the long term.

The government lifted an evacuation order imposed on the Miyakoji district in Tamura on April 1, but the content of the interim report, compiled in October, was not conveyed to the citizens or the local governments before the action was taken.

The government explained the content to local governments later, while the report was posted on the website of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry on Monday. It also plans to release a final report on Friday. A government team tasked with supporting people affected by the crisis said it did not initially plan to release the interim report but decided to make it public because of the “high attention among residents.”

Read More Here

.....

Fukushima radiation report secret for six months

Dose study kept from returnees

Kyodo

• Apr 17, 2014

The government kept a report about a study of individual radiation doses around the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant — including an area recently released from an evacuation order — under wraps for six months.
The study, which covered the city of Tamura and the villages of Kawauchi and Iitate, showed that the radiation in many areas is still over 1 millisievert per year — a level the government is looking to achieve in the long term.
The government lifted an evacuation order on the Miyakoji district in Tamura on April 1, but the content of the interim report, compiled in October, was not conveyed to its citizens or local governments before the action was taken.
Skepticism about the government’s disclosure habits concerning radiation levels from the Fukushima crisis has been growing, and the latest incident is likely to amplify public health concerns.
The government explained the content to local governments later, and the report was posted on the website of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry on Monday. It also plans to release a final report on Friday.
A government team tasked with supporting people affected by the crisis said it did not initially plan to release the interim report but decided to make it public because of the “high attention among residents.”

Read More Here

.....

Related articles

• Forced to Flee Radiation, Fearful Japanese Villagers Are Reluctant to Return
• Japan allows people to return to Fukushima disaster 'hot zone'
• Japan's government deceives evacuees to return before radiation readings disclosed
• Fukushima residents cleared to return home amid fears
• Fukushima residents clear to go home
• Fukushima: Residents of Miyakoji Return Home Three Years After Earthquake and Tsunami
• First Fukushima evacuees return home
• "Clever" Abe sees nothing wrong in Miyakoji district
• 'We've Been Deceived' - Asahi: Gov't Withheld Fukushima Radiation Data; Not Released Until Residents Moved Back In
• Dose study kept from returnees

Tornado - At least 11 people were killed when twisters struck near Little Rock. Another person was confirmed dead in Quapaw, Okla. Nearby Baxter Springs, Kan., was heavily damaged.

Nation

At least 12 dead in year's worst tornado outbreak

Tornado damage in Mayflower, Ark. (Courtesy of James Bryant / Associated Press / April 27, 2014)

By Matt Pearce This post has been updated with the latest information.

April 27, 2014, 10:46 p.m.

The worst tornado outbreak of the year struck several small towns across the central U.S. on Sunday, killing at least 12 people, damaging or destroying scores of homes and businesses, and sparking a search effort in Arkansas that continued into the night.
Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe’s office confirmed that at least 11 people were killed when twisters struck near Little Rock. Another person was confirmed dead in Quapaw, Okla. Nearby Baxter Springs, Kan., was heavily damaged.
Smaller tornadoes were reported in Nebraska, Illinois, Missouri and Mississippi, but it was in central Arkansas where the some of the most dramatic rescue scenes were playing out. A tornado -- or a series of tornadoes -- appeared to scour a path dozens of miles long and possibly up to three-quarters of a mile wide.
Officials said the twister crossed Interstate 40, a crucial trucking artery out of Little Rock, while drivers were still on the road, then thrashed the town of Mayflower before continuing northeast to Vilonia and beyond. The National Weather Service reported that Arkansas Game and Fish Commission headquarters east of Mayflower had been destroyed.

Read More Here

Related articles

• Tornado Kills 2 People In Oklahoma Town, Say Authorities
• Tornadoes strike central and southern US, killing 2
• Mayflower Tornado: Huge Twister Hits Town (Photos, Videos)
• Tornadoes hit several states
• Tornadoes strike central US; two dead in Oklahoma
• Tornadoes strike central U.S., killing two in Oklahoma
• Tornadoes slam several states
• Tornado strikes Oklahoma town, witnesses say
• Tornadoes slam several states

Flood - Afghanistan, Province of Jowzjan, [Northern and western regions]

Earth Watch Report  -  Flooding

Afghans affected by flash floods search their belonging from flood water in Sheberghan, Afghanistan. Photograph: Sayed Mustafa/EPAFloods in Afghanistan leave more than 100 dead

THE IRISH TIMES

.....

Flood

Afghanistan

Province of Jowzjan, [Northern and western regions]

.....

RSOE EDIS

Flood in Afghanistan on Friday, 25 April, 2014 at 15:33 (03:33 PM) UTC.

Description At least 58 people have been killed and hundreds of villagers left stranded in devastating flash floods in northern Afghanistan, officials say. The governor of Jowzjan province warned that the number of victims was likely to rise. People have been left trapped on the roofs of their homes and rescue helicopters have been deployed. There are reports of flooding in other provinces in the north and west. "Thousands of homes have been destroyed and thousands are suffering", Jowzjan's governor Boymurod Qoyinli said. He said that more than 80 people are missing and that 3,000 homes have been destroyed. BBC Uzbek's Navid Nazari, reporting from the flood-hit areas, was told by one woman that she was taken by surprise by the flash flood just after reading evening prayers. She lost two of her children. Heavy rain and storms on Thursday night created a perilous situation for villagers whose homes are largely built out of mud. Three remote districts in the province were particularly badly affected, the governor said. Our correspondent travelled on board one of the rescue helicopters deployed by the security forces. He described a landscape where dozens of homes had been destroyed, many more submerged and villagers crouched on the roofs of their homes.

.....

Flood in Afghanistan on Friday, 25 April, 2014 at 15:33 (03:33 PM) UTC.

Back Updated: Friday, 25 April, 2014 at 17:35 UTC Description More than 100 people have been killed and thousands left homeless by flash floods in north and west Afghanistan, officials said on Friday, prompting desperate pleas for help from the impoverished provincial authorities. Thousands of homes have been engulfed by flood waters in four provinces after three days of heavy rain in what is traditionally a wet period at the start of spring. In the northern province of Jawzjan, police chief Faqer Mohammad Jawzjani said 55 bodies had been recovered, and that the number of dead would increase over the coming days. "Providing aid or help from the ground is impossible," he said. "We have carried 1,500 people to safe areas of neighbouring districts by helicopter. We need emergency assistance from the central government and aid agencies." The governor of neighbouring Faryab province said 33 people had died there and another 80 were missing. "Ten thousand families have been affected and more then 2,000 houses have been destroyed," Mohammadullah Batazhn said. Another 13 people were killed in the provinces of Badghis and Sar-e Pol, local officials said.

.....

Flood in Afghanistan on Friday, 25 April, 2014 at 15:33 (03:33 PM) UTC.

Back Updated: Sunday, 27 April, 2014 at 04:49 UTC Description The National Disaster Management Authority said on Saturday that 58 people were killed in Jowzjan province, 32 in Faryab, six in Sar-e-Pul and six others in Badghis. After days of torrential rain, floodwaters swept through villages, engulfing thousands of houses and leaving many people seeking safety on the roofs of their mud-brick houses. Officials in Faryab province said nearly 2000 houses were washed away and more than 8000 cattle were killed. Flooding often occurs during the spring rainy season in northern Afghanistan. Two weeks ago, a landslide triggered by heavy rains and a small earthquake swept through two villages in Takhar, another northern province, killing four people and destroying around 100 houses. Forty people died in August in flash floods in eastern and southeastern provinces and some parts of Kabul.

.....

Flood in Afghanistan on Friday, 25 April, 2014 at 15:33 (03:33 PM) UTC.

Back Updated: Sunday, 27 April, 2014 at 11:08 UTC Description Flash floods in Northern Afghanistan have killed more than 180 people and displaced thousands after days of torrential rain, officials say. Authorities in one of the country's hardest hit regions of Jawzjan said, the death toll was expected to rise further. "Rescue helicopters have evacuated some 200 people, but many people are still trapped on roofs of their homes and some are also missing," Jawzjan provincial police chief Faqir Mohammad Jowzjani said. The head of the disaster relief committee in Jawzjan province, said more than 5,000 people had been displaced and there was shortage of medicine and water, after heavy rain and storms swept through two districts of the region on Thursday night. Mohammadullah Batash, the governor of Faryab, said the death toll in his province, which borders Turkmenistan, was expected to rise. The Afghan government has been scrambling to help survivors and search for stranded villagers by deploying army helicopters to reach affected areas. The floodwaters swept through villages and fields, engulfing thousands of homes and leaving many people seeking safety on the roofs of their mud-brick houses. Flooding often occurs during the spring rainy season in northern Afghanistan, with flimsy mud houses offering little protection against rising water level.

.....

Death toll in northern Afghanistan floods tops 100, officials say

Updated Sun 27 Apr 2014, 1:36pm AEST

 

Photo: Afghan men walk through flooded streets in Khowaja Dokoh district of Jowzjan province in northern Afghanistan on April 26, 2014. (AFP/Farshad Usyan)

Related Story: Over 80 killed in Afghanistan's flash floods

Map: Afghanistan

The death toll from flash floods in northern Afghanistan has risen to more than 100 with many others still missing, officials say.

The national disaster management authority said that 58 people were killed in Jowzjan province, 32 in Faryab, six in Sar-e-Pul and six others in Badghis as floods struck a large swath of rural communities.
"Unfortunately, we have over 100 people killed and dozens of others missing due to flash floods in four northern provinces," said Mohammad Sadeq Sediqqi, from the national disaster management authority.
OCHA, the United Nations humanitarian affairs office, said it had reports from provincial officials of 123 people killed, with Jowzjan province alone suffering 80 deaths and 6,000 displaced people.
It said clean water, medical supplies, food and shelter were needed immediately as relief efforts got under way after days of torrential rain.
The floodwaters swept through villages, engulfing thousands of homes and leaving many people seeking safety on the roofs of their mud-brick houses.
The Afghan defence ministry sent two helicopters to Jowzjan, where the aircraft rescued more than 1,000 people and carried them to higher ground.

Read More Here

.....

Related articles

• Death toll in northern Afghanistan floods tops 100, officials say
• Flash floods kill more than 80 in Afghanistan
• VIDEO: Deadly floods swamp Afghan villages
• Thousands homeless after floods kill more than 100 across Afghanistan
• Floods in Afghanistan kill 100
• Floods in Afghanistan leave more than 100 dead
• Deadly floods swamp Afghan villages
• World Briefing : Afghanistan: Floods Kill Dozens
• Flash floods kill 123, leave scores missing in northern Afghanistan
• Death toll in Afghan floods tops 100

All Sky Fireball Network April 26th, 2014

Space Weather.com

by Dr. Tony Phillips.

All Sky Fireball Network

Every night, a network of NASA all-sky cameras scans the skies above the United States for meteoritic fireballs. Automated software maintained by NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office calculates their orbits, velocity, penetration depth in Earth's atmosphere and many other characteristics. Daily results are presented here on Spaceweather.com.

On Apr. 25, 2014, the network reported 9 fireballs.
(9 sporadics)

In this diagram of the inner solar system, all of the fireball orbits intersect at a single point--Earth. The orbits are color-coded by velocity, from slow (red) to fast (blue). [Larger image] [movies]

On Apr. 24, 2014, the network reported 19 fireballs.
(15 sporadics, 4 April Lyrids)

In this diagram of the inner solar system, all of the fireball orbits intersect at a single point--Earth. The orbits are color-coded by velocity, from slow (red) to fast (blue). [Larger image] [movies]

Near Earth Asteroids

Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHAs) are space rocks larger than approximately 100m that can come closer to Earth than 0.05 AU. None of the known PHAs is on a collision course with our planet, although astronomers are finding new ones all the time.

On April 26, 2014 there were 1466 potentially hazardous asteroids.

Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:

Asteroid	Date(UT)	Miss Distance	Size
2014 GG49	Apr 19	3.9 LD	31 m
2014 HP2	Apr 24	3.8 LD	15 m
2014 HU2	Apr 25	3.7 LD	22 m
2014 HM4	Apr 25	1.6 LD	18 m
2014 HW	Apr 27	2.1 LD	10 m
2007 HB15	Apr 28	6.7 LD	12 m
2014 HL2	Apr 28	8.8 LD	26 m
2014 HV2	Apr 29	1.4 LD	33 m
2010 JO33	May 17	4 LD	43 m
2005 UK1	May 20	36.7 LD	1.1 km
1997 WS22	May 21	47.1 LD	1.5 km
2002 JC	May 24	48.7 LD	1.4 km

Notes: LD means "Lunar Distance." 1 LD = 384,401 km, the distance between Earth and the Moon. 1 LD also equals 0.00256 AU. MAG is the visual magnitude of the asteroid on the date of closest approach.

Related articles

• Asteroids as seen from Mars -- A Curiosity rover first
• Curiosity's camera spies first asteroids seen from Martian surface
• Asteroid to orbit the moon
• Asteroid 201AA Has impacted Earth just hours after it's initial Discovery
• 21 FireBall Reports/Entering ISON's Debris
• Astronauts warn of catastrophic asteroid strikes
• NASA's Search for Asteroids to Help Protect Earth and Understand Our History