Disasters

IAEA: Japan Underestimated Risk to Nuclear Facility

The IAEA has released a preliminary report of its review of Japan’s handling of its nuclear crisis, concluding that regulators and Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) underestimated the risk a severe tsunami posed to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The UN agency also noted that the plant’s backup power systems were not …

On Japan’s Coast, Tensions With Activists Return After Tsunami

In a way, it’s a sign that things are returning to normal. Even the March tsunami that swept away much of the small town of Otsuchi was not powerful enough to wipe out tensions between locals and the Western activists who have been monitoring dolphin hunting in the fishing hamlet on the Japan’s northeast coast.

Activists from the …

Can Airlines Learn to Handle Volcanic Ash?

It was a little more than a year ago that Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano erupted, spewing thick ash high into the atmosphere. The volcano itself—aside from giving copy editors and news readers headaches—did relatively little damage in Iceland itself, but the ash cloud spread across much of Europe. Because volcanic ash can …

Getting Out of Danger’s Way: Why We’re Not Prepared for Twisters

The Midwest has every reason in the world to be sick of tornadoes by now. In April alone, there were a shocking 600 of them, and in the past two months more than 400 Americans have been killed by the storms. At least 116 more were added on May 22 in the massive twister that cut a 6-mile (9.6 km) swath across Joplin, Mo., generating winds …

On the Road with a Geiger Counter in Japan

FUKUSHIMA — A Geiger counter isn’t something you ever want to know how to use. It’s definitely not something you want to need. Not that it’s an intimidating piece of equipment – the one I used last week in Japan was roughly the size of a mobile phone circa 1998. Our Terra MKS-05, made in the Ukraine, almost blended into the …

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