After a series of disastrous earthquakes, which measured a 9.0 on the Richter scale, Japan is slowly starting to rebuild its cities and countryside, as well as tending to the ailing population. Unfortunately, though, its poor nuclear infrastructure has led to continued worry about the safety of all of the Japanese citizens.
The Tohoku earthquake, which struck on March 11, triggered a tsunami which crashed down on Japan’s Pacific coast. 12,431 deaths have already been confirmed, and 2,869 people are injured, on top of 200,000 evacuations. With over 15,000 additional people missing, these reports could indeed be higher.† 125,000 houses have been damaged or destroyed, and over four million homes are now left without electricity. Due to the stringent Japanese building codes, however, many major buildings throughout the country are still standing, making the rebuilding focus mostly on the smaller buildings throughout Japan ó which stands in contrast to the rebuilding efforts in Indonesia, Myanmar and New Orleans.
The major concern is still the nuclear power plants ó which had been poorly maintained throughout the years. The Fukushima I and II power plants are two of the six major nuclear power plants that have been almost completely destroyed ó and could potentially turn into a major situation for the north of Japan.† Inside the nuclear plants, there are fission reactors ó which have fuel rods ó and when the uranium atoms are split apart, energy is produced in the form of heat. The safety system inside these nuclear plants has been malfunctioning, and there’s evidence that these cores are still over-heating. Recently, Japan has dumped significant amounts of ocean water in hopes of cooling the plant, according to PBS. Scientists have said that “the biggest fear is that the nuclear fuel will melt through the reactor, and ultimately release radioactive elements into the atmosphere,” and the concern is great enough that Japanese government officials have declared a state of emergency, and energy officials have compared the nuclear crisis to the Three Mile Island and Chernobyl disasters.
Many people have suggested that the tsunami could also impact the global economy ó and those concerns were initially realized when indexes of many countries across the world dipped in reaction to the crisis.† Since then, though, the global economy has responded well, and growth has been recorded.
The international response to the disaster, though, should be heralded.† Officials have suggested that the cost of rebuilding and responding to the devastation in northeast Japan could cost up to $309 billion, making it the most expensive natural disaster in history, according to Yahoo.com, although other organizations (like the World Bank) has suggested that the cost would be slightly less ó around $235 billion. Citizens and celebrities across the world have donated significant sums of money, and 128 countries and 33 organizations have pledged assistance.