A BRIGHT SPOT AFTER A YEAR OF BAD NEWS FOLLOWING JAPAN’S MARCH 11, 2011 CATASTROPHE February 2, 2012 Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, University of North Carolina, USA

AFTER ALMOST A YEAR OF BAD NEWS, SOME VERY GOOD NEWS UN REPORT:: THE HEALTH IMPACT FROM THE RADIATION LEAK AT THE FUKUSHIMA NUCLEAR FACILITY APPEARS TO BE RELATIVELY SMALL

WOLFGANG WEISS: CHAIR-- UN SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE Prompt evacuations of tens of thousands living near the Fukushima Nuclear Facility reduced their risk from radiation. Some of the radiation releases spread over the ocean, not the heavily populated areas.

PROMPT EVACUATIONS REDUCED RISK TO TENS OF THOUSANDS

SOME RADIATION CLOUDS MOVED OVER THE OCEAN

THE EARTHQUAKE OCCURRED AT 2:46 PM, MARCH 11, 2011

A YEAR OF BAD NEWS BAD NEWS BEGAN ON MARCH 11, 2011

DEVASTATION I n a matter of minutes, the M9 earthquake, its accompanying tsunami with wave run up that reached 40 meters in some places, and radiation leaks from the Fukushima power plant caused enormous damage and societal disruption in Japan

THE SCALE OF THE DISASTER IN JAPAN WAS OVERWHELMING AS PERCEIVED ON DAY 4, MARCH 14, 2011 GRIM REALITY

DIMENSIONS OF THE CATASTROPHE WIDE SPREAD DAMAGE AND LOSS OF FUNCTION MORTALITY (AT LEAST 16,000) “A NIGHTMARE NUCLEAR DISASTER ” HUGE ECONOMIC LOSSES

THE JAPANESE PEOPLE SUFFERED DEEPLY FOOD, WATER, ELECTRICITY, SHELTER (500,000 DAMAGED BUILDINGS), COLD WEATHER, LACK OF MEDICINE, AND THE RADIATION THREAT

EVEN THE WEATHER HINDERED HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE

MORTALITY TOLL FROM EARTHQUAKE/TSUNAMI, WHICH EXCEEDED 16,000, ROSE VERY RAPIDLY THE LARGE NUMBERS OF BODIES BEING FOUND EARLY IN THE RESPONSE PHASE OUTSTRIPPED LOCAL CAPACITY TO CREMATE

A SNAPSHOT OF THE SITUATION IN JAPAN ON DAY 4 BASED ON REPORT FILED BY THE UN’s OCHA ON DAY 4 AFTER THE MARCH 11 EARTHQAKE MONDAY, MARCH 14, 2011

PROPERTY DAMAGE COASTAL REGION OF TOHOKU T he Government reported that 2,852 buildings were destroyed and over 40,000 damaged either by earthquake ground shaking, fire, or tsunami

PROPERTY DAMAGE COASTAL REGION OF TOHOKU T he Government reported that 2,852 buildings were destroyed and over 40,000 damaged either by earthquake ground shaking, fire, or tsunami.

THE TSUNAMI WAVES CAUSED ENORMOUS DESTRUCTION An estimated 5,000 houses were inundated just in Iwate.

DAMAGE TO INFRASTRUCTURE 827 roads 47 bridges seven railways AIRPORT.

THE TSUNAMI WAVES CAUSED WIDE SPREAD DESTRUCTION In Sendai city of Miyagi, 2,700 houses were washed away.

THE TSUNAMI WAVES CAUSED WIDE SPREAD DESTRUCTION 1,800 houses were destroyed in Fukushima

SENDAI: FIRE AT NIPPON OIL REFINERY

TSUNAMI WAVES DEVASTATED SENDAI

TSUNAMI DAMAGE

SOCIETAL IMPACTS The tsunami wave runup, which left widespread devastation, debris, and impassable road systems, stymied humanitarian assistance.

AERIAL VIEW: THE FUKUSHIMA NUCLEAR FACIULITY

THE FUKUSHIMA NUCLEAR FACILITY Radiation leaks and threats of partial melt down developed in four of the six reactors.

RADIATION CLOUD AT THE FUKUSHIMA NUCLEAR FACIULITY

THE RADIATION LEAKS SLOWED HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE The fires, explosions, tsunami wave run up, and radiation leaks and clouds that raised radiation levels to 1,000 + times normal levels dramatically slowed and, in some cases, prevented international humanitarian assistance.

NO-FLY ZONE ABOUT FUKUSHIMA

A RACE WITH TIME AGAINST THE INVISIBLE THREAT Experts worked at the margins of their capability, hoping to prevent a nuclear melt down. Evacuations in a 10 to 20 km radius about the nuclear facility began promptly

DRY SPENT FUEL POOLS By days 6-7, Japanese efforts were focused on the pools used to store spent nuclear fuel, now dry or nearly so, because the consensus was that the dry rods could heat up and spew intense radiation.

WORKING TO AVERT DISASTER Emergency workers tried helicopter water drops, heavy- duty fire trucks, and water cannons to no avail to cool down Japan's dangerously overheated nuclear reactors and spent-fuel pools.

HELICOPTERS COLLECT SEA WATER TO DROP ON FUKUSHIMA REACTORS

A RACE AGAINST TIME The increased risk from radiation stymied search and rescue operations, already out of time in terms of the “golden window,” and slowed humanitarian assistance.

DAY 14: MARCH 24 HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE WAS FINALLY ABLE TO TURN THE CORNER