Diamonds found in street search after Mumbai blast

Diamonds found in street search after Mumbai blast - Scores of diamonds have been found on the devastated streets of Mumbai's precious stone trading hub which was targeted in last week's triple bombing, an industry group said Monday.

Teams of workers found the stones after picking through the debris and panning muddy monsoon puddles in the diamond trading hub in the south of the city, one of three sites attacked on Wednesday in blasts that left 17 dead.

"We have found 65 pieces," said Jayesh Labdhi, a committee member of the Mumbai Diamond Merchants' Association trade group.

"We will have a meeting... and they may be auctioned, which would help those who have been injured or lost their lives," he added.

The diamonds, which are being kept with the association, have not yet been valued, Labdhi told AFP.

The association's president, Bharat Shah, however, said that many traders were likely to try to trace merchandise they may have lost in the blasts by cross-checking recovered stones with their description, colour, clarity and purity.

Sanjay Kothari, the vice-chairman of the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council, said a decision had not been taken about auctioning the recovered diamonds but a meeting would be held in the coming days.

Shah said losses to traders due to the rush-hour blasts had been minimised because torrential rain had prompted many people to leave for home early, leaving fewer diamond couriers on the crowded streets.

"Three or four people from our association died and about 40 others were injured. There wasn't any looting, apart from one fellow who took a diamond from the ground. The police caught him and he handed it back," Shah added.

Trading at Opera House and the bustling Zaveri Bazaar gold and jewellery quarter nearby resumed fully on Monday, meanwhile, after an enforced shut-down last week, as fearful customers and traders stayed away.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, which also hit the commercial and residential district of Dadar and were the first in the city since the November 2008 Islamist militant attacks that killed 166.

Suspicion, however, has fallen on the domestic Islamist group the Indian Mujahideen. Police have said they are making headway and have "good leads" in the case. ( AFP )

READ MORE - Diamonds found in street search after Mumbai blast

That's A Nude World Record

That's A Nude World Record - A nude world record was set today when 400 people stripped off naked and went running into the sea. People came to South Wales from all over the globe to take part in the world skinny-dipping record on Rhossili Beach, Gower.

They tore off their clothes shortly before 8am and bravely ran into the water shrieking and whooping with delight seemingly unperturbed by the wet and wind conditions.

But their cries of joy were replaced by ooohs and aaahs once their naked bodies entered into the icy sea temperature. Skinny dipper Lizzy White, 25, said: 'I have flown in from Australia via Brazil to take part - what was I thinking of?

'But it was great fun and very exhilarating to strip off and dive into the waves, even if they are a lot colder than what I'm used to.'

An eyeful: Skinny dippers jumped the waves in Wales as they celebrated their record-breaking achievement

Shivering first-time skinny dipper Steve Absalom, 29, said: 'I'm quite shy and I have never swam naked before so to do it in front of 400 people was a bit of an eye-opener.

'But there was no embarrassment - it was just great fun.

'The dash from the shoreline into the waves was the hardest bit but once you are in the water - what the hell!

'I’m very proud to have helped to set the new world record - it is something I will be able to tell my grandchildren.'

Organisers of the event said their challenge had to be verified by Guinness but they believe they have smashed the previous record of 250 skinny-dippers. Spokeswoman Alison Powell said: 'It was great fun - I have never seen so many happy smiling faces.

'We hoped for 300 people but in the end we got a lot more - I'm delighted with the turn out.'

Organisers are hoping the sponsored skinny-dip will raise more than £5,000 for the Marie Curie cancer charity. And many of the nudists posed to have their photographs taken in the shallows to prove to their sponsors that they took part in the event.

Naked Sue Jones, 39, of Carmarthen, said: 'I'm putting my picture on Facebook for all to see. 'I've skinny-dipped before in Greece and Spain. This was the first time in Wales ... and the last!' ( dailymail.co.uk )

READ MORE - That's A Nude World Record

Hundreds Of Rail Passengers Fled In Terror

Hundreds Of Rail Passengers Fled In Terror - Hundreds of rail passengers fled in terror when dozens of deadly snakes were found on a train travelling from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi in Vietnam.

A guard and conductor were checking tickets as passengers got on in the central city of Quang Ngai on Thursday evening - and spotted the live king cobras and cobras under a seat.

People fled the carriage as panic broke out, and the smuggler was able to escape in the chaos.

The reptiles - which are extremely venomous and can kill a human within just 30 minutes - were being carried in four see-through cloth bags.

One passenger, Pham Van An, 20, said: "Some of the snakes were very big, and looked terrifying. Most people ran away. But some people went to look at them and the cobras rose up.

"Then police took the snakes off the train."

Officers handed the snakes over to Quang Ngai province's wildlife protection officers for release into the wild.

Nguyen Van Han, chief of the Quang Ngai Forest Protection Department, was unable to say how many snakes were in the bags, but said they weighed a total of 45kg (99lb).

Authorities believe the endangered creatures - which are protected under Vietnamese law - were to be sold to restaurants in Hanoi.

Earlier this month, Gordon Ramsay was labelled "offensive" by animal welfare groups after eating the still-beating heart of a cobra on television.

The TV cook was filmed watching the 6ft-long creature being sliced open at his table in a restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City for his new series.

Snake meat is a delicacy in Vietnam , and has long been associated with virility and enhanced male sexual performance. A large king cobra can sell in restaurants for around £310.

Traditionally, customers choose the snake they want and then see it killed in front of them. The meal usually starts with a drink made from the snake's blood.

Conservationists say the illegal hunting and trafficking of wildlife for meat is a huge problem in Vietnam as well as in neighbouring China, Laos and Cambodia.

A recent investigation by the Wildlife Conservation Society found 84% of restaurants in one Vietnamese city alone - Da Lat - were illegally selling wild animals.

And a survey carried out by the charity Wildlife At Risk discovered that more than half the people in Ho Chi Minh City had eaten or used wild animal products.

It said snake, porcupine, bear, civet, weasel, fresh water turtle, and monitor lizard were among the most widely consumed wild meats.

In recent years, Vietnam has made a number of large wildlife seizures, but relatively few smugglers have been convicted, and almost none have received the maximum sentence of seven years imprisonment ( skynews )

READ MORE - Hundreds Of Rail Passengers Fled In Terror

Are You Prepared for a Natural Disaster?

Are You Prepared for a Natural Disaster? - No matter where you live, we are all susceptible to a natural disaster. It could be a fire, a tornado, a blizzard or even something more treacherous like a tsunami or hurricane. No matter what the disaster is there is nothing that you or I can do to stop it. All we can do is be prepared.

When preparing for any natural disaster, its best to keep it to the basics. Make sure you have enough food, water, and supplies for at least three to five days. When I made my survival kit for myself and my family, I did three separate kits. The first is a large kit that is in a rubber tote. Then I made two backpacks, one for the kids and another for me and my husband. I also made one to keep in the back of my van, because you never know where you will be when disaster strikes.

In each kit I have basically the same things just on different scales. In the tote there is water, canned food, rice, beans and a few other nonperishable foods. There is a flashlight for each member of the family as well as extra batteries. There is a large first-aid kit, blankets, and a change of clothes for everyone. I also have a few garbage bags, gloves, small tool kit. A knife, can opener, waterproof matches, fire extinguisher and copies of any important documents, like birth certificates and social security cards. And to top it off I have hand sanitizer, bleach and soap. I keep this kit in our hallway closet.

Deputy Eddy Mathews - Deputy Eddy Mathews of the Mayes County, Okla., Sheriff's Department hands off a dog to volunteer Mike Hughey of Ozark, Mo., after rescuers found a pair of dogs in the rubble of a destroyed home near the St. John's Regional Medical Center in Joplin, Mo., Monday, May 23, 2011. A destructive tornado moved through the city on Sunday evening, killing at least 89 people and injuring hundreds more

Now in the back packs there are similar things like copy of important documents first aid kits flashlights change of clothes and soap. But instead of having a large amount of food and water, there are a few energy bars and a couple of bottles of water. This kit would most likely be used if a fire or tornado broke out and you had to get away quickly but had the possibility of coming back home.

Now the one I keep in my car has a little of both of the other kits in it. Food water clothes first aid kit tool kit. But I also have a roadside car kit pillows blankets local maps and a bag with books and games for the kids. You never know where you will be when you might not be able to return home. So it's best to be prepared.

www.ready.gov says it's best to have a kit and to make a plan. Planning for the unknown insures you are ready for whatever disaster may come your way. Make sure you keep the kits up to date. Rotate out food. Change the size of clothes as needed. And most importantly make sure it is done. ( yahoo.com )

READ MORE - Are You Prepared for a Natural Disaster?

Ghost city symbolises cost of nuclear disaster

Ghost city symbolises cost of nuclear disaster – "Careful -- do not touch anything with your bare hands!" warned the guide as we entered the kindergarten and our Geiger counter hissed like an angry rattlesnake.

On the floor and shelves were plastic cubes and teddy bears and kiddies' books, just the things you would expect to find in a children's playgroup.

But these toys were coated in a thick leprous white dust, for they had lain undisturbed for almost a quarter of a century.

And scattered among them were infant-sized gas masks.

Winds that blow from Chernobyl - Cursed by the winds that blow from Chernobyl a few kilometres away, Pripyat is a snapshot of the astronomical cost of the world's worst nuclear disaster. And its fate stirs chilling thoughts for Japan, grappling with its own nuclear crisis in Fukushima

Something terrifying had made the toddlers flee their innocent corner of the world. Their home, Pripyat, once a model city, had become the set for a true-life apocalypse movie.

Cursed by the winds that blow from Chernobyl a few kilometres (couple of miles) away, Pripyat is a snapshot of the astronomical cost of the world's worst nuclear disaster. And its fate stirs chilling thoughts for Japan, grappling with its own nuclear crisis in Fukushima.

Pripyat's entire population of nearly 50,000 fled after Chernobyl's No. 4 reactor exploded in a devil's brew of caesium, strontium, iodine and plutonium on April 26, 1986.

"Pripyat was considered to be one of the best places to live in the Soviet Union," said Nikolai Fomin, a young Ukrainian who escorts visitors into the 30-kilometre (18-kilometre) exclusion zone around Chernobyl.

"It was considered a very happy place. It had good housing and schools, lots of young families, and the shops were filled with things you couldn't get elsewhere."

Today, trees thrust through the tarmac of the long-untended roads. Grass grows between cracks in pavements, where dry leaves click metallically in the sour wind. Apartment windows stare down on the streets like dark, lidless eyes.

"Everything here was new, everything was modern," said Fomin. "Pripyat was only 16 when it died."

Occasional visitors come by bus for a lightning tour, equipped with radiation dosimeters, hand wipes and water with which to decontaminate boots and clothing when they leave. But other than that, there is not a soul.

"Animals come, but they are not afraid of humans," said Fomin.

The city's swimming pool echoes to the crunch of broken glass and tile underfoot. In a fairground, the yellow gondolas of a Ferris wheel -- due to have been inaugurated on May Day in 1986 but never used -- creak in the wind. Dodgem cars rust at the spot where they stopped after their last ride.

In the main square, a rusting Soviet hammer and sickle overlook the Hall of Culture. In a back room of what seems to be a community hall are stacked placards of Lenin and Soviet leaders that had been prepared for the May 1 parade but were never used.

Resettling the people of Pripyat and other villages in the exclusion zone, sealing the crippled reactor, cleaning up the power plant, monitoring regions contaminated by fallout... the bill for Ukraine has been almost incalculable.

Even today, around five percent of its annual budget is devoted to Chernobyl-related benefits, including payment of a small sum, known darkly as "funeral money", to help people in contaminated regions buy clean food.

Belarus and Russia have also been badly hit. Together the three countries had relocated more than 330,000 people.

Up till 2005, the direct and indirect costs were "hundreds of billions of dollars", according to a 2005 report by the Chernobyl Forum, gathering those three countries, seven UN agencies and the World Bank.

In terms of the human toll and radioactive pollution, Fukushima is so far not remotely comparable with Chernobyl, said Malcolm Grimston, a nuclear specialist at Britain's Chatham House think tank.

But the duration of the evacuation zone around Fukushima remains unknown and the cleanup of the plant will surely last decades, he said.

The financial bill for Japan could eventually be comparable to Chernobyl, given the greater expense, disruption to business and higher cleanup standards compared to the former Soviet Union, he said.

"As a rule of thumb, the more developed the country, the higher the cleanup costs will be," said Grimston.

"However, it will be hard to separate out responsibility and costs between the earthquake, the tsunami and specific responsibility by TEPCO," the Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), which operates the Fukushima No. 1 plant, he said.

In Tokyo, shares in TEPCO, have lost more than four-fifths of their value since the March 11 earthquake. On Tuesday, the price fell to a record low amid analysts' concerns it would face claims of more than 10 trillion yen (118 billion dollars/83 billion euros) - ( Agence France Presse )

READ MORE - Ghost city symbolises cost of nuclear disaster

Grandmother and boy pulled from rubble NINE DAYS after tsunami smashed city

Grandmother and boy pulled from rubble NINE DAYS after tsunami smashed city - A teenager told yesterday how he battled for nine days to save his 80-year-old grandmother after they were trapped in their home when it was smashed by the tsunami.

Jin Abe, 16, wrapped Sumi Abe in blankets to keep her warm, putting his own welfare at risk. All he had to keep out the bitter cold and snow were towels.

Yesterday Jin and Mrs Abe were pulled from the wreckage of their home in the flattened city of Ishinomaki, about 30 miles from Sendai.

Rescued at last: Sumi Abe after being pulled from the wreckage of her home

Rescuers help 80-year-old Sumi Abe. She and her 16-year-old grandson Jin were pulled from the rubble in the city of Ishimaki after nine days

The teenager his hooked up before being airlifted to hospital. He and his grandmother were found buried in the kitchen of their home

Rescuers found them after hearing a cry from Jin, who had struggled to reach the only sign of daylight in the wreckage.

When the rescue team reached him by clambering up a ‘hillside’ of wood he was in a state of collapse, but managed to whisper: ‘There’s someone else inside who needs help – she’s my grandmother.’

To their astonishment, the police team found Mrs Abe alive and coherent, complete with intact spectacles – but trapped under furniture that had fallen onto her.

Ignoring his own welfare for the sake of the old lady, Jin had begun to suffer from a low body temperature, which can lead to a collapse of vital organs and death.

There was a little food in the refrigerator and they also had some water. There was no mobile phone signal so Jin waited patiently with his grandmother before he decided that, with no sign of help, something had to be done. ‘I managed to push away the rubble and work my way up to the roof through a small hole,’ he said.

Before she and her grandson were hoisted from the debris into a helicopter, the old lady said: ‘I’m all right. I have a pain in my leg because something fell on it, but otherwise I have no complaints.’

One of the survivors is transported from a helicopter at Ishinomaki Red Cross hospital in Ishinomaki, Miyagi prefecture

The two people rescued had had responded to shouts from a police rescue team. Rescuers sift through the remains of a property in the suburb of Natori, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan.

At Ishinomomaki's Red Cross hospital, where the survivors had been taken, a spokesman said they were receiving treatment.

'I had only a glimpse of the elderly woman, who had her eyes closed,' said the spokesman. 'She didn't appear to be dead.'

The remarkable news comes as authorities today announced they had restored power to the Fukushima plant.

Three hundred engineers have been struggling inside the danger zone to salvage the six-reactor plant in the world's worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl 25 years ago.

'I think the situation is improving step by step,' Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Tetsuro Fukuyama told a news conference.

The workers, braving high radiation levels in suits sealed in duct tape, managed to connect power to the No. 2 reactor, crucial to their attempts to cool it down and limit the leak of deadly radiation, Kyodo news agency said.

It added that plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) aimed to restore the control room function, lights and the cooling at the No. 1 reactor, which is connected to the No.2 reactor by cable.

But rising cases of contaminated vegetables, dust and water have raised new fears and the government said it will decide by Monday on whether to restrict consumption and shipments of food from the quake zone.

Police said they believed more than 15,000 people had been killed by the double disaster in Miyagi prefecture, one of four in Japan's northeast that took the brunt of the tsunami damage. In total, more than 20,000 are dead or missing, police said.

The unprecedented crisis will cost the world's third largest economy as much as $248 billion and require Japan's biggest reconstruction push since post-World War Two. ( dailymail.co.uk )

READ MORE - Grandmother and boy pulled from rubble NINE DAYS after tsunami smashed city

Kisah Zahrul Fuadi, Dua Kali Selamat Dari Terjangan Tsunami Dunia Terdahsyat

Kisah Zahrul Fuadi, Dua Kali Selamat Dari Terjangan Tsunami Dunia Terdahsyat - Zahrul Fuadi (39) serta keluarganya harus mengalami gempa dan tsunami terdahsyat dalam catatan sejarah dua kali dalam hidup. Ia nyaris menjadi korban gempa dan tsunami yang menerjang Aceh, 26 Desember 2004, lalu kini mengalami gempa dan tsunami yang melanda Jepang pada Jumat (11/3). ”Kami dikejar tsunami dari Aceh hingga Jepang,” katanya.

Saat tsunami menerjang Aceh, Zahrul dan keluarganya selamat setelah melarikan diri dengan sepeda motor.

Suasana pengungsian warga negara Indonesia di Sekolah Republik Indonesia di Meguro, Tokyo, Senin (14/3). Terdapat 100 pengungsi dari Sendai dan tiga pengungsi dari Fukushima. Dua lokasi tersebut paling parah terdampak gempa dan tsunami. Mereka akan dipulangkan ke Indonesia, Selasa.

”Waktu itu beruntung, setelah gempa, kami pergi naik sepeda motor. Dengan demikian, saat tsunami datang, kami bisa pergi lebih cepat dibandingkan orang-orang Aceh lainnya,” paparnya. Namun, rumah dan segenap isinya di Simpang Mesra, Lamgugop, Banda Aceh, rusak diterjang tsunami. Mereka pun harus menjadi pengungsi.

Setahun setelah bencana Aceh, pengajar Teknik Mesin di Universitas Syah Kuala ini mendapatkan beasiswa doktoral dari Tohoku University, Sendai, Jepang. Ia pun memboyong istrinya, Dewi Karyani, dan anak-anaknya ke Jepang. ”Saya sudah enam tahun ini di Jepang dan sebenarnya sudah mau kembali ke Aceh. Tetapi, ternyata harus mengalami kembali bencana gempa besar lagi,” kata Zahrul, yang kini mengambil program pascadoktoral.

Begitu gempa menggoyang Jepang, Zahrul tengah presentasi di lantai tiga kampusnya, Tohoku University. ”Goyangannya keras sekali. Semua yang di ruangan langsung ke bawah meja,” ujarnya.

Mahasiswa program pascadoktoral ini pun langsung teringat kenangan pahit di Aceh. Ia mengatakan, ”Di Jepang sering mengalami gempa, tetapi gempa Jumat lalu beda. Rasanya mengayun lama dan sangat kuat, sekitar 2 menit, sama dengan yang saya rasakan di Aceh waktu itu. Saya langsung terpikir, pasti terjadi tsunami.”

Dan, tsunami benar terjadi. Beruntung tsunami tak menjangkau kampusnya yang berjarak sekitar 15 kilometer dari laut dan posisinya cukup tinggi. Namun, Zahrul tetap harus meninggalkan Sendai dan kembali menjadi pengungsi. Kota Sendai, yang paling dekat dengan titik pusat gempa, nyaris lumpuh. Zahrul dievakuasi Tim Bantuan Kedutaan Besar Republik Indonesia (KBRI) dan kini bersiap-siap pulang ke Indonesia. ”Sebenarnya berat meninggalkan Jepang karena anak-anak sedang banyak tugas di sekolah. Demikian juga saya,” paparnya.

Namun, Zahrul tidak memiliki banyak pilihan. ”Kami harus banyak bersyukur karena masih selamat dari dua bencana terbesar yang pernah tercatat sejarah,” ungkapnya.

Dikejar air

Kedahsyatan tsunami di Jepang, Jumat siang itu, dirasakan betul oleh Haryadi Budi Susanto (32), mahasiswa doktoral di Tohoku University. Ketika gempa mengguncang, ia hanya berjarak 2 kilometer dari bibir pantai. Sehari sebelumnya, ia ditelepon sahabatnya, Nanto, nelayan Indonesia yang bekerja untuk kapal pencari ikan Jepang. Keduanya berjanji bertemu di pasar ikan Shiogama, Sendai, Jumat sekitar pukul 16.00.

Sejak setahun terakhir, Haryadi menjalin hubungan baik dengan nelayan Indonesia yang menjadi anak buah kapal di Jepang. Haryadi mencoba membaurkan para nelayan dengan mahasiswa Indonesia. ”Semua anak buah kapal Jepang pencari ikan di Sendai memiliki anak buah kapal dari Indonesia. Satu kapal biasanya tujuh orang, semuanya Indonesia. Hanya kaptennya yang orang Jepang,” katanya.

Setiap merapat, beberapa anak buah kapal itu, salah satunya Nanto, menghubungi Haryadi. ”Nanto merapat ke Shiogama sebulan sekali,” ujarnya.

Pukul 14.00 siang, Haryadi berjalan menuju Shiogama bersama seorang temannya warga Jepang. Namun, tepat di ujung jembatan menuju Shiogama, gempa mengguncang keras. Haryadi terjatuh. Sirene tsunami bergema di mana-mana. Ia memaparkan, ”Saya segera bangkit dan berlari menjauh dari laut. Guncangannya sangat keras dan saya langsung berpikir pasti terjadi tsunami.”

Saat itu suhu di bawah titik nol derajat. Udara dingin. Haryadi berlari di tengah guyuran salju. Sekitar 2 kilometer berlari dari jembatan itu, ia mendengar suara gemuruh air dari arah laut. Tsunami menderu. ”Saya tidak ingat berapa jauh berlari. Namun, setelah sampai rumah, segera membawa anak saya berlari ke arah bukit,” ujarnya.

Selama tiga hari Haryadi dan anaknya serta beberapa tetangga mengungsi di bukit kecil. Tak ada makanan karena pasokan makanan sangat kurang.

Haryadi dan rombongannya bertahan hidup dengan makan seadanya. ”Tidak ada jatah makan di pengungsian. Yang dapat cuma anak anak dan ibu hamil,” tuturnya. Ia pun tak tahu bagaimana nasib Nanto.

Ketika Tim Bantuan KBRI menemukan Haryadi pada Minggu siang, ia langsung mengajak tim ke Shiogama untuk mencari Nanto. Namun, area itu ditutup Pasukan Bela Diri Jepang karena tsunami kembali datang. Kini Haryadi hanya pasrah dan menitipkan nasib kawan-kawannya yang masih tersisa di Sendai pada kesigapan Tim Bantuan KBRI Jepang.

Haryadi bersiap pulang ke Indonesia, ikut rombongan 103 pengungsi Indonesia yang akan dipulangkan ke Jakarta. ”Saya sudah menitipkan tanggung jawab ke Pak Dubes untuk mencari kawan-kawan saya yang barangkali masih di sana,” katanya.

Dubes RI untuk Jepang Muhammad Lutfi berjanji akan berupaya dengan segenap daya untuk mencari orang-orang Indonesia di sana. ”Banyak nelayan Indonesia yang bekerja di Shiogama dan Kesennuma. Kami belum tahu jumlah tepatnya, tetapi kemungkinan cukup banyak,” ujarnya.

Sesuai data terakhir berdasarkan Pusat Krisis Persatuan Pelajar Indonesia dan KBRI Tokyo, total warga negara Indonesia yang belum diketahui keberadaannya 376 orang dari 1.301 orang Indonesia yang terdata di Jepang.

Lutfi mengatakan, masih ada tim KBRI yang bertahan di sekitar Sendai, tetapi medannya memang sangat berat. Ia menambahkan, ”Tadi Mayor Zaenal (Ketua Tim Bantuan KBRI) melaporkan, gempa masih terus terjadi dan banyak area yang masih ditutup.”

Akan tetapi, Lutfi berjanji, ”Kami akan terus mencari warga negara Indonesia sampai orang terakhir.” ( kompas.com )

READ MORE - Kisah Zahrul Fuadi, Dua Kali Selamat Dari Terjangan Tsunami Dunia Terdahsyat

Third explosion rocks Japanese nuclear plant

Third explosion rocks Japanese nuclear plant – Japan's nuclear crisis deepened dramatically Tuesday. As safety officials sought desperately to avert catastrophe, the government said radioactive material leaking from reactors was enough to "impact human health" and the risk of more leaks was "very high."

In a nationally televised statement, Prime Minister Naoto Kan said that radiation has spread from four reactors of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in Fukushima province that was one of the hardest-hit in Friday's 9.0-magnitude earthquake and the ensuing tsunami.

He urged anyone within 19 miles (30 kilometers) of the plant to stay indoors or risk getting radiation sickness.

"The level seems very high, and there is still a very high risk of more radiation coming out," Kan said.

Workers speak on telephones - Workers at the disaster response headquarters speak on telephones in Fukushima, northern Japan March 15, 2011

A cascade of three explosions at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex was set in motion when last Friday's quake and tsunami knocked out power, crippling the cooling systems needed to keep nuclear fuel from going into full meltdown.

The latest blast was early Tuesday in the plant's Unit 2 near a suppression pool, which removes heat under a reactor vessel, plant owner Tokyo Electric Power Co. said. Shigekazu Omukai, a spokesman for Japan's nuclear safety agency, said the nuclear core was not damaged but that the bottom of the surrounding container may have been.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said a fourth reactor at the complex was on fire and more radiation had been released.

"Now we are talking about levels that can damage human health. These are readings taken near the area where we believe the releases are happening. Far away, the levels should be lower," he said.

"Please do not go outside. Please stay indoors. Please close windows and make your homes airtight. Don't turn on ventilators. Please hang on your laundry indoors," he said.

"These are figures that potentially affect health, there is no mistake about that," he said.

Japanese officials had previously said radiation levels at the plant were within safe limits, and international scientists said that while there were serious dangers, there was little risk of a catastrophe like Chernobyl in Ukraine, where the reactor exploded and released a radiation cloud over much of Europe.

Unlike the plant in Japan, the Chernobyl reactor was not housed in a sealed container to prevent the release of radiation.

Japanese authorities have been injecting seawater as a coolant of last resort, and advising nearby residents to stay inside to avoid contamination.

"It's like a horror movie," said 49-year-old Kyoko Nambu as she stood on a hillside overlooking her ruined hometown of Soma, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) from the plant. "Our house is gone and now they are telling us to stay indoors.

"We can see the damage to our houses, but radiation? ... We have no idea what is happening. I am so scared."

Earlier blasts Monday and Saturday injured 15 workers and military personnel and exposed up to 190 people to elevated radiation. Officials said those explosions had been linked to the venting of buildups of steam at two of the troubled reactors and that they had not compromised their inner containers.

The nuclear woes compounded challenges already faced by the Tokyo government as it dealt with twin disasters that flattened entire communities and left as many as 10,000 or more dead.

It also raised global concerns about the safety of nuclear power at a time when it has seen a resurgence as an alternative to fossil fuels.

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said the Japanese government has asked the agency to send experts to help.

Japan's meteorological agency reported one good sign. It said the prevailing wind in the area of the stricken plant was heading east into the Pacific, which would help carry away any radiation. ( Associated Press )

READ MORE - Third explosion rocks Japanese nuclear plant

Beginilah Efek Mengerikan Dari Paparan Radiasi Nuklir Pada Tubuh

Beginilah Efek Mengerikan Dari Paparan Radiasi Nuklir Pada Tubuh - Pembangkit Listrik Tenaga Nuklir di Fukushima Daiichi yang dioperasikan Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) dilaporkan mengalami kebocoran. Kekhawatiran akan bahaya radiasi telah mendorong Pemerintah Jepang melakukan sejumlah upaya preventif, termasuk mengevakuasi 170.000 orang yang tinggal di wilayah pada radius 20 kilometer dari lokasi PLTN. Seberapa bahayakah paparan radiasi nuklir?

Berdasarkan Pusat Pencegahan dan Pengendalian Penyakit di AS, sindrom radiasi akut atau Acute Radiation Syndrome (ARS), dikenal juga sebagai keracunan radiasi, adalah penyakit serius. Hal ini dapat terjadi sesaat setelah tubuh terpapar radiasi. Tingkat penderitaan seseorang terhadap radiasi tergantung pada seberapa jumlah radiasi yang terserap tubuh. Berikut ini adalah sejumlah fakta mengenai sindrom radiasi akut:

ILUSTRASI: Berdasarkan Pusat Pencegahan dan Pengendalian Penyakit di AS, sindrom radiasi akut atau Acute Radiation Syndrome (ARS), dikenal juga sebagai keracunan radiasi, adalah penyakit serius. Hal ini dapat terjadi sesaat setelah tubuh terpapar radiasi. Tingkat penderitaan seseorang terhadap radiasi tergantung pada seberapa jumlah radiasi yang terserap tubuh. (foto: tribunnews.com)

• Seseorang dikatakan menderita sindrom radiasi akut ketika radiasi terserap ke organ dalam. Radiasi dari sinar X dan tindakan medis seperti CT-scan terlalu rendah untuk menyebabkan seseorang terkena sindrom radiasi akut.
• Seseorang dikatakan menderita sindrom radiasi akut ketika dirinya terpapar radiasi selama beberapa waktu. Bisa saja dalam hitungan menit.
• Gejala awal dapat dirasakan beberapa menit hingga beberapa hari setelah seseorang terpapar radiasi. Gejala tersebut dapat berupa muntah-muntah, diare, dan mabuk atau pening. Gejala ini dapat berlangsung hingga hitungan hari.
• Setelah gejala awal hilang, seseorang kembali bugar. Namun, tak lama kemudian, orang tersebut akan menderita kembali. Bahkan, kali ini lebih parah. Gejalanya dapat berupa kelelahan, demam, kehilangan nafsu makan, muntah, dan diare. Tahap ini dapat berlangsung selama beberapa bulan.
• Kerusakan pada kulit akibat radiasi dapat timbul dalam hitungan jam. Hal ini dapat bertahan hingga hitungan tahun, tergantung seberapa parah seseorang terpapar radiasi. Gejalanya, kulit terasa perih dan bahkan terasa seperti terbakar. Rambut pun dapat menjadi rontok akibat radiasi.
• Terpapar radiasi dapat saja berujung pada kematian, tergantung tingkat keparahannya. Biasanya, pada banyak kasus, kematian terjadi beberapa bulan setelah seseorang terpapar radiasi. Kematian diakibatkan rusaknya tulang sumsum, infeksi, atau pendarahan.
• Seseorang yang selamat dari sindrom radiasi akut dapat terus merasakan gejala hingga dua tahun setelah terpapar.
• Perawatan yang dilakukan bagi seseorang yang terpapar radiasi terdiri dari tindak pencegahan dari kontaminasi lebih lanjut, mengurangi gejala sindrom, dan penyembuhan organ yang rusak akibat radiasi.
• Dekontaminasi adalah proses menghilangkan kontaminasi eksternal oleh partikel radioaktif. Dekontaminasi bisa berupa melepas seluruh pakaian dan sepatu yang dipakai seseorang yang terpapar radiasi. Membasuh tubuh juga dapat mengurangi kontaminasi eksternal.

Selain yang telah disebutkan di atas, beberapa efek kesehatan yang dialami korban radiasi nuklir, antara lain terkena kanker. Jumlah korban masih kontroversi, tetapi diperkirakan 93 ribu terkena kanker dan 200 ribu orang terkena penyakit lainnya.

Korban yang langsung terpapar radiasi terkena sindrom akut radiasi (ARS), mereka meninggal dalam waktu beberapa minggu setelah ledakan. Selain terkena ARS, korban juga ada yang meninggal karena kanker thyroid setelah menghirup udara yang terpapar radioaktif.

Selain itu, korban radiasi nuklir juga ada yang mengidap penyakit leukimia, gangguan metabolisme, dan katarak. Sejumlah orang juga mengaku mengalami masalah kesuburan dan masalah kehamilan, tetapi belum dapat dipastikan apakah masalah itu merupakan efek radiasi. (suaramedia.com )

READ MORE - Beginilah Efek Mengerikan Dari Paparan Radiasi Nuklir Pada Tubuh

Japan faces nuclear meltdown after explosion at vast power plant caused by earthquake which killed 1,300

Japan faces nuclear meltdown after explosion at vast power plant caused by earthquake which killed 1,300 - The reactor building at a nuclear power station in Japan has exploded after the massive earthquake damaged its cooling system.

Four workers suffered fractures in the blast and white smoke was seen pouring from the Fukushima Daiichi plant.

There were fears the reactor at the site could melt down and radiation levels around the plant had already reached 20 times the normal.

Meltdown fears: An explosion destroyed the walls and roof of a building at Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant

Radiation: Levels around the plant have already reached 20 times normal and there were fears the reactor could meltdown

Emergency: Five reactors along Japan's eastern coast have been labelled as dangerous after the 8.9-magnitude quake caused massive damage

Fukushima Prefecture official Masato Abe said the cause of the building collapse was unclear.

Footage on Japanese TV showed that the walls of the building had been completely collapsed, leaving only a skeletal metal frame standing.

Pressure has been building up in the reactor - more than twice the normal level - and Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said it was venting 'radioactive vapours' to relieve the pressure.

People living near the plant, run by the Tokyo Electric Co, were being warned to stay indoors after the explosion.

Government spokesman Yukio Edano said: 'We are now trying to analyse what is behind the explosion. We ask everyone to take action to secure safety.'

Devastation: Thick black smoke continues to rise from burning factory buildings in Sendai after yesterday's quake

Rescue: A soldier carries an elderly man on his back to a shelter in Natori. More than 1,000 people are believed to have been killed in the powerful quake and tsunami

Carnage: Cars lie strewn across a narrow spit of debris and rubbish surrounded by water and, right, the wreckage of a train is left by a shattered station

Thousands of people within a twelve-mile radius of the facility have been evacuated and a second state of emergency was declared.

Five nuclear reactors at two power plants had been declared as dangerous after the units lost cooling ability because of quake damage.

A meltdown is a serious collapse of a nuclear power plant's systems and its ability to manage temperatures.

Yaroslov Shtrombakh, a Russian nuclear expert, said a Chernobyl-style meltdown was unlikely.

He said: 'It's not a fast reaction like at Chernobyl. I think that everything will be contained within the grounds, and there will be no big catastrophe.'

Japan launched a massive military rescue operation today after the 8.9-magnitude quake killed hundreds of people and left part of the northeastern coast a swampy wasteland.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan said 50,000 troops would join rescue and recovery efforts after a 30ft tsunami smashed through towns, airports and submerged highways.

The official death toll currently stands at 574, but 784 people were still missing and more than 1,000 injured.

Help: SOS is written on the ground at Minami Sanriku Elementary School after the massive earthquake struck yesterday

Thrown like matchsticks: Cargo containers were deposited over a wide area by the force of the tsunami after it hit Sendai

Like a movie scene: Smoke billows from a fire after the massive wave destroyed houses and roads in Kisenuma city

Police said between 200 and 300 bodies have been found along the coast in Sendai, the biggest city in the area near the quake's epicentre.

Untold numbers of bodies are believed to be buried in the rubble and debris.

Rail operators lost contact with four trains running on coastal lines on Friday and still had not found them by this morning.

East Japan Railway Co. said it did not know how many people were aboard the trains.

More than 215,000 people are living in temporary shelters in five states and a million homes have been left without water.

The region has continued to be hit with aftershocks 24 hours after the initial quake, which struck at 5:46am GMT 80 miles off the east Japan coast.

More than 125 aftershocks have occurred, many of them above 6 on the Richter scale.

Japan is well prepared for quakes and its buildings can withstand strong jolts, but there was little that could be down about the killer tsunami.

It swept inland around six miles in some areas, swallowing homes, boats, car, trees and even aircraft.

Desperate: Frantic people pick their way through the debris of their destroyed homes in Sendai. The area has continued to be hit by aftershocks

Disaster: Firefighters spray water at a smouldering oil plant in Ichihara. Fires continue to burn in many Japanese cities

Submerged: Swathes of Sendai were covered by the flood waters as a massive fire continues to burn in the east coast city

Koichi Takairin, a 34-year-old truck driver who was inside his lorry when the wave hit Sendai, said: 'The tsunami was unbelievably fast.

'Smaller cars were being swept around me. All I could do was sit in my truck.'

Prime Minister Naoto Kan said: 'Most of the houses along the coastline were washed away, and fire broke out there. I realised the extremely serious damage the tsunami caused.'

A total of 190 military aircraft and 25 ships have been sent to the affected areas.

Supplies at supermarkets and petrol stations have been running low as hundreds of people queued up along the eastern coastline.

Tsunami warnings were issued to the entire Pacific seaboard, but the worst fears were not realised. Widespread damage was caused to some coast areas, including California, but there were no reports of fatalities.

Scale: Cracks can be seen in the snow-covered ground after the 8.9-magnitude quake caused massive damage in Sendai

State of emergency: Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan surveys the damage in Miyagi. Millions of homes have been left without electricity and water

Taking no chances: People in Crucita, Ecuador, sleep outside on a hillside after tsunami warnings were issued across the Pacific seaboard. Fortunately, the fears appear to have been unfounded

President Barack Obama has pledged U.S. assistance and said one aircraft carrier was already in Japan and a second was on its way.

Japan's worst previous earthquake was an 8.3-magnitude temblor in Kanto which killed 143,000 people in 1923. A 7.2-magnitude quake in Kobe killed 6,400 people in 1995.

The country lies on the 'Ring of Fire' - an arc of earthquake and volcanic zones stretching across the Pacific where around 90 per cent of the world's quakes occur.

An estimated 230,000 people in 12 countries were killed after a quake triggered a massive tsunami on Boxing Day, 2004, in the Indian Ocean.

A magnitude 8.8 quake which struck off the coast of Chile in February last year also generated a tsunami which killed 524 people. Authorities mistakenly told people in coastal regions there was no danger of a tsunami. ( daily mail.co.uk )

READ MORE - Japan faces nuclear meltdown after explosion at vast power plant caused by earthquake which killed 1,300

Scenes of devastation at heart of Japan disaster

Scenes of devastation at heart of Japan disaster – Miles from the ocean's edge, weary, mud-spattered survivors wandered streets strewn with fallen trees, crumpled cars, even small airplanes. Relics of lives now destroyed were everywhere — half a piano, a textbook, a soiled red sleeping bag.

On Saturday, one day after a massive tsunami tore through Sendai, residents surveyed the devastation that has laid waste to whole sections of the northern port of 1 million people, 80 miles (128 kilometers) from the epicenter of the 8.9-magnitude earthquake that set off one of the worst disasters in Japan's history.

REUTERS/Yomiuri

Self-Defense Force officers search for missing people by a boat after a tsunami and earthquake in Souma City in Fukushima Prefecture March 12, 2011

Car leans against wire from electric pole - A car leans against a wire from an electric pole in Miyako, northeastern Japan, Saturday, March 12, 2011, one day after an 8.9-magnitude quake and the tsunami it spawned hit the country's northeastern coast. (AP Photo/Kyodo News) MANDATORY CREDIT, NO LICENSING ALLOWED IN CHINA, HONG KONG, JAPAN, SOUTH KOREA AND FRANCE

Rescue workers plied boats through murky waters around flooded structures, nosing their way through a sea of detritus, while smoke from at least one large fire billowed in the distance. Power and phone reception was cut, while hundreds of people lined up outside the few still-operating supermarkets for basic necessities. The gas stations on streets not covered with water were swamped with people waiting to fill their cars.

A convenience store three miles (five kilometers) from the shore was open for business Saturday, though there was no power and the floors were covered with a thick layer of grime.

"The flood came in from behind the store and swept around both sides," said shop owner Wakio Fushima. "Cars were flowing right by."

With most other stores closed, a steady flow of customers stocked up on drinks and instant noodles, knowing it would be a long time before life returns to anything like normal. Some recalled how they cheated death as the massive waves swept some 6 miles (10 kilometers) inland. An unknown number of others perished.

Police said they found 200 to 300 bodies washed up on nearby beaches, but authorities are only now getting a look at the extent of the devastation in Sendai and along the coast.

Rail operators lost contact with four trains running on coastal lines Friday and still had not found them Saturday afternoon, Kyodo News agency reported. The East Japan Railway Co. said it did not know how many people were aboard.

To the south in Iwaki city, Keiko Komaki and her daughter were on their way to an evacuation center.

"We are still getting a lot of aftershocks," she said. "It's very frightening. People are panicking, shivering in the cold."

Many area residents spent the night outdoors, or wandering debris-strewn streets, unable to return to homes damaged or destroyed by the quake or tsunami. Those who did find a place to rest for the night awoke to scenes of utter devastation.

The city's Wakabayashi district, which runs down to the sea, remained a swampy wasteland with murky, waist-high water. Most houses were completely flattened, as if a giant bulldozer had swept through.

Grief-stricken residents searched for their former homes, but as they stood in the dark water looking for some sort of landmark, many couldn't even tell where they were. Amid the scattered, splintered remnants of wood, metal and glass, occasionally there was something recognizable — a chair, a tire or a beer cooler.

Workers at an electronics store gave away batteries, flashlights and phone chargers. Several dozen people waited patiently outside as a steady stream of aftershocks shook the city.

From a distance, the store appeared to have survived the devastation intact. But a closer look revealed windows smashed out and walls slightly buckled.

Inside was chaos. The ceiling of the second floor had collapsed, and large TVs, air conditioners and other products lay smashed and strewn about the aisles.

Pieces of bright yellow insulation from the ceiling lay scattered on the ground, and the contents of the entire building were soaked by the automatic sprinklers that were triggered by the quake.

"Things were shaking so much we couldn't stand up," said Hiroyuki Kamada, who was working in the store when the initial quake hit. "After three or four minutes it lessened a bit and we dashed outside."

In the city's dock area, cars swept away by the waves sat on top of buildings, on the top of other cars, or jammed into staircases.

Most buildings out of range of the tsunami appeared to have survived the quake without much damage, though some older wooden structures were toppled. Paved roads had buckled in some places.

Cell phone saleswoman Naomi Ishizawa, 24, was working when the quake hit in the mid afternoon. She said it took until nightfall to reach her house just outside Sendai and check on her parents, who were both OK. Her family's home was still standing, but the walls of a bedroom and bathroom had collapsed and debris was strewn throughout.

And yet, she was lucky. The tsunami's inland march stopped just short of her residence; other houses in her neighborhood were totally destroyed.

Like many people throughout Japan's northeast, she had not heard from others in her family and was worried.

"My uncle and his family live in an area near the shore where there were a lot of deaths," Ishizawa said. "We can't reach them." ( Associated Press)

READ MORE - Scenes of devastation at heart of Japan disaster

Explosion at Japan nuke plant, disaster toll rises

Explosion at Japan nuke plant, disaster toll rises – An explosion at a nuclear power station Saturday destroyed a building housing the reactor amid fears that it was close to a disastrous meltdown after being hit by a powerful earthquake and tsunami.

Friday's double disaster, which pulverized Japan's northeastern coast, has left 574 people dead by official count, although local media reports said at least 1,300 people may have been killed.

Tokyo Power Electric Co., the utility that runs the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, said four workers had suffered fractures and bruises and were being treated at a hospital. A nuclear expert said a meltdown may not pose widespread danger.

AP Photo/NTV Japan via APTN

In this video image taken from NTV Japan via APTN, smoke raises from Fukushima Daiichi power plant's Unit 1 in Okumamachi, Fukushima prefecture, Japan, Saturday, March 12, 201

Footage on Japanese TV showed that the walls of the reactor's building had crumbled, leaving only a skeletal metal frame standing. Puffs of smoke were spewing out of the plant in Fukushima, 20 miles (30 kilometers) from Iwaki.

"We are now trying to analyze what is behind the explosion," said government spokesman Yukio Edano, stressing that people should quickly evacuate a six-mile (10-kilometer) radius. "We ask everyone to take action to secure safety."

The trouble began at the plant's Unit 1 after the massive 8.9-magnitude earthquake and the tsunami it spawned knocked out power there. According to official figures, 586 people are missing and 1,105 injured. In addition, police said between 200 and 300 bodies were found along the coast in Sendai, the biggest city in the area near the quake's epicenter.

The true scale of the destruction was still not known more than 24 hours after the quake since washed-out roads and shut airports have hindered access to the area. An untold number of bodies were believed to be buried in the rubble and debris.

In another disturbing development that could substantially raise the death toll, Kyodo news agency said rail operators lost contact with four trains running on coastal lines on Friday and still had not found them by Saturday afternoon.

East Japan Railway Co. said it did not know how many people were aboard the trains.

Adding to worries was the fate of nuclear power plants. Japan has declared states of emergency for five nuclear reactors at two power plants after the units lost cooling ability.

The most troubled one, Fukushima Dai-ichi, is facing meltdown, officials have said.

A "meltdown" is not a technical term. Rather, it is an informal way of referring to a very serious collapse of a power plant's systems and its ability to manage temperatures. It is not immediately clear if a meltdown would cause serious radiation risk, and if it did how far the risk would extend.

Yaroslov Shtrombakh, a Russian nuclear expert, said a Chernobyl-style meltdown was unlikely.

"It's not a fast reaction like at Chernobyl," he said. "I think that everything will be contained within the grounds, and there will be no big catastrophe."

In 1986, the Chernobyl nuclear reactor exploded and caught fire, sending a cloud of radiation over much of Europe.

Pressure has been building up in Fukushima reactor — it's now twice the normal level — and Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency told reporters Saturday that the plant was venting "radioactive vapors." Officials said they were measuring radiation levels in the area. Wind in the region is weak and headed northeast, out to sea, according to the Meteorological Agency.

The reactor in trouble has already leaked some radiation: Operators have detected eight times the normal radiation levels outside the facility and 1,000 times normal inside Unit 1's control room.

Ryohei Shiomi, a nuclear official, said that each hour the plant was releasing the amount of radiation a person normal absorbs in a year.

He has said that even if there were a meltdown, it wouldn't affect people outside a six-mile (10-kilometer) radius — an assertion that might need revising if the situation deteriorates. Most of the 51,000 residents living within the danger area had been evacuated, he said.

Meanwhile, the first wave of military rescuers began arriving by boats and helicopters.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan said 50,000 troops would join rescue and recovery efforts following the quake that unleashed one of the greatest disasters Japan has witnessed — a 23-foot (7-meter) tsunami that washed far inland over fields, smashing towns, airports and highways in its way.

"Most of houses along the coastline were washed away, and fire broke out there," said Kan after inspecting the quake area in a helicopter. "I realized the extremely serious damage the tsunami caused."

More than 215,000 people were living in 1,350 temporary shelters in five prefectures, or states, the national police agency said. Since the quake, more than 1 million households have not had water, mostly concentrated in northeast.

The transport ministry said all highways from Tokyo leading to quake-hit areas were closed, except for emergency vehicles. Mobile communications were spotty and calls to the devastated areas were going unanswered .

Local TV stations broadcast footage of people lining up for water and food such as rice balls. In Fukushima, city officials were handing out bottled drinks, snacks and blankets. But there were large areas that were surrounded by water and were unreachable.

One hospital in Miyagi prefecture was seen surrounded by water. The staff had painted an SOS on its rooftop and were waving white flags.

Kan said a total of 190 military aircraft and 25 ships have been sent to the area, which continued to be jolted by tremors, even 24 hours later.

More than 125 aftershocks have occurred, many of them above magnitude 6.0, which alone would be considered strong.

Technologically advanced Japan is well prepared for quakes and its buildings can withstand strong jolts, even a temblor like Friday's, which was the strongest the country has experienced since official records started in the late 1800s. What was beyond human control was the killer tsunami that followed.

It swept inland about six miles (10 kilometers) in some areas, swallowing boats, homes, cars, trees and everything else.

"The tsunami was unbelievably fast," said Koichi Takairin, a 34-year-old truck driver who was inside his sturdy four-ton rig when the wave hit the port town of Sendai.

"Smaller cars were being swept around me," he said. All I could do was sit in my truck."

His rig ruined, he joined the steady flow of survivors who walked along the road away from the sea and back into the city on Saturday. Smoke from at least one large fire could be seen in the distance.

Smashed cars and small airplanes were jumbled up against buildings near the local airport, several miles (kilometers) from the shore. Felled trees and wooden debris lay everywhere as rescue workers coasted on boats through murky waters around flooded structures, nosing their way through a sea of debris.

Basic commodities were at a premium. Hundreds lined up outside of supermarkets, and gas stations were swamped with cars. The situation was similar in scores of other towns and cities along the 1,300-mile-long (2,100-kilometer-long) eastern coastline hit by the tsunami.

In Sendai, as in many areas of the northeast, cell phone service was down, making it difficult for people to communicate with loved ones.

President Barack Obama pledged U.S. assistance following what he called a potentially "catastrophic" disaster. He said one U.S. aircraft carrier was already in Japan and a second was on its way. A U.S. ship was also heading to the Marianas Islands to assist as needed, he said.

Japan's worst previous quake was a magnitude 8.3 temblor in Kanto that killed 143,000 people in 1923, according to the USGS. A magnitude 7.2 quake in Kobe killed 6,400 people in 1995.

Japan lies on the "Ring of Fire" — an arc of earthquake and volcanic zones stretching around the Pacific where about 90 percent of the world's quakes occur, including the one that triggered the Dec. 26, 2004, Indian Ocean tsunami that killed an estimated 230,000 people in 12 countries. A magnitude-8.8 quake that shook central Chile in February 2010 also generated a tsunami and killed 524 people. ( Associated Press )

READ MORE - Explosion at Japan nuke plant, disaster toll rises

Is the Japanese earthquake the latest natural disaster to have been caused by a 'supermoon'?

Is the Japanese earthquake the latest natural disaster to have been caused by a 'supermoon'?- The powerful tsunami that today slammed into Japan's eastern coast comes just two days after warnings that the movement of the moon could trigger unpredictable events on Earth.

Astrologers predicted that on March 19 - a week tomorrow - the moon will be closer to Earth than at any time since 1992, just 221,567 miles away, and that its gravitational pull will bring chaos to Earth.

And conspiracy theorists on the Internet have delighted in making catastrophic predictions of tidal waves, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.

Coming just three weeks after the quake which devastated Christchurch in New Zealand killing hundreds, this latest disaster will only add fuel to their fire.

Scroll down for video

A whirlpool caused by currents from a tsunami near the port of Oarai after Japan was struck by a strong earthquake off its north-eastern coast today. The disaster comes two days after online warnings that the movement of the moon will trigger tidal waves, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes

Japan, like New Zealand, is regularly hit by such powerful land movements and is experienced in dealing with them, but the accompanying tidal waves stretching out across the Pacific are likely to wreak devastation.

Scientists have dismissed the claims, which centre on a phenomenon called the 'lunar perigee', as pure nonsense.

But today's 8.9 Magnitude earthquake comes less than a day after at least 24 people were killed and more than 200 injured following an quake in China's extreme south-west near the border with Myanmar.

Japan itself had another 7.2 Magnitude earthquake earlier this week, while the devastation caused to Christchurch in New Zealand in February took place four days after a 'supermoon'.

But while the vast majority of scientists dismisses the theory that a lunar perigee has an effect on Earth's natural order, a small but vocal minority of astrologers insist that it does.

Furthermore, the moon is currently at its furthest point - or apogee - from Earth so cannot have had any effect on today's Japanese earthquake, they argue.

But U.S. astrologer Richard Nolle, who coined the term 'supermoon' in 1979, is convinced that lunar perigees cause natural disasters on Earth.

He said the recent supermoon on February 18 helps explain the earthquake that struck New Zealand on February 22.

'Supermoons have a historical association with strong storms, very high tides, extreme tides and also earthquakes,' he told ABC radio this week.

'Supermoons are like eclipses. We have roughly five to six per year and so it can be very close to Earth but we don't have to have one at the maximum close approach to have a notable effect.'

The moon's orbit around Earth is not a circle, but an eclipse. At its closest approach - the perigee - the moon appears brighter and larger in the sky. When it is furthest away - the apogee - it is smaller and dimmer.

A lunar perigee occurs once a month. However, next week's perigee coincides with a full moon - a combination of events that happen just once every two or three years.

Although it makes a good photo opportunity for astronomers, scientists say it has no impact on Earth.

Dr David Harland, space historian and author, said: 'It's possible that the moon may be a kilometre or two closer to Earth than normal at a perigee, but it's an utterly insignificant event. '

But the Internet is awash with conspiracy-minded amateur scientists warning that such a 'supermoon' could disrupt Earth's climate patterns and may even cause earthquakes and volcanic activity

Previous supermoons took place in 1955, 1974, 1992 and 2005 - all years that had extreme weather events, the supporters of the supermoon theory say.

The tsunami that killed hundreds of thousands of people in Indonesia happened two weeks before the January 2005 supermoon. And on Christmas Day 1974, Cyclone Tracy laid waste to Darwin, Australia.

But earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world's most seismically active areas.

The country accounts for about 20 per cent of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater and on average, an earthquake occurs every five minutes.

arth will be at its closest point - some 221,567 miles away - to the moon in 19 years on March 19

Pete Wheeler of the International Centre for Radio Astronomy greeted warnings of an impending apocalypse with scepticism.

'There will be no earthquakes or volcanoes erupting, unless they are to happen anyway,' he told news.com.au.

'Earth will experience just a lower than usual low tide and a higher than usual high tide around the time of the event, but nothing to get excited about.'

The tsunami waters flood into Iwaki in the north-eastern area of Japan today

Tsunami travel times: The earthquake struck off the coast of Japan at 6am GMT his morning

Australian astronomer David Reneke agreed, pointing out that conspiracy theorists will always be able to find a natural disaster to link to a certain time and blame it on a supermoon.

'If you try hard enough you can chronologically associate almost any natural disaster or event to anything in the night sky - comet, planet, sun,' he said.

'Remember in the past, planetary alignments were going to pull the sun apart. It didn't happen. Astrologers draw a very long bow most times.

'Normal king tides are about all I would expect out of this supermoon prediction.'

During a full moon, the sun and the moon are pulling on Earth from opposite sides - making the chances of any dramatic tidal events unlikely.

On average the moon is 235,000 miles away. At its furthest it is 248,000 miles away. During a lunar perigee and full moon, the lunar surface can appear up to 14 per cent bigger and 30 per cent brighter than other full moons. ( dailymail.co.uk )

READ MORE - Is the Japanese earthquake the latest natural disaster to have been caused by a 'supermoon'?

Honolulu, other parts of Pacific brace for tsunami

Honolulu, other parts of Pacific brace for tsunami – Hawaii and other parts of the Pacific braced for a destructive tsunami early Friday after a massive earthquake struck in Japan.

Tsunami sirens were sounded and coastal areas were being evacuated in Hawaii, where the first waves were expected to hit about 3 a.m. Friday.

Mitsuko Kawashima - Mitsuko Kawashima, center, of Waikiki and her son Andrew, left, found high ground on Tantalus Drive Thursday, March 10, 2011 in Honolulu. Matsuko and Andrew evacuated Waikiki due to a tsunami warning for the state of Hawaii. A large 8.9 earthquake struck off Japan. The earthquake is believed to have generated a tsumani wave. The Pacific Tsunami Center expects the wave to hit Hawaii at 2:59 a.m. Hawaiian Standard Time

The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has widened its tsunami warning beyond East Asia early Friday to include Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, the entire U.S. western coast, Mexico and Central and South America and the rest of the Pacific Ocean.

Chip McCreary, the center's director, said tsunami waves have the potential to swamp coastal areas of all Hawaii's islands.

"What these waves look like is an elevation of sea level, where the sea level will rise above its normal level and stay high for 10 or 15 minutes before it starts to recede," he said. "As a result of this, in a tsunami wave, that water can flood the coast line and be a hazard to people and buildings on the coast."

The warnings cover an area stretching the entire western coast of the United States and Canada from the Mexican border to Chignik Bay in Alaska. In Alaska, a dozen small communities along the Aleutian Island chain were on alert.

"Everyone in that area knows, when you feel it, move — don't wait for a siren," said John Madden, director of the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. The largest affected town is Unalaska, population about 4,000.

Residents in coastal areas across the Pacific from Hawaii to Guam were ordered to evacuate to shelters and higher ground. In Hawaii's tourist district of Waikiki, visitors were being moved to higher floors of their hotels. Meanwhile, residents were waiting in long lines stocking up on gas, bottled water, canned food and generators.

"We're preparing for the worst and we're praying for the best," said John Cummings III, spokesman for the Honolulu Department of Emergency Management.

McCreary said the threat will become clearer when the waves hit Wake Island and Midway.

"Tsunami waves, because of their long length, they wrap around our islands very efficiently," he said.

Readings have come in from deep ocean gages deployed since the 2004 tsunami in Banda Acha in Japan and around Wake Island.

The warning was issued Thursday at 9:31 HST p.m. Sirens were sounded about 30 minutes later in Honolulu alerting people in coastal areas to evacuate. About 70 percent of Hawaii's 1.4 million population resides in Honolulu, and as many as 100,000 tourists are in the city on any given day

In the Philippines, officials ordered an evacuation of coastal communities along the country's eastern seaboard in expectation of a tsunami following the 8.9-magnitude earthquake in Japan.

Disaster management officials in Albay province southeast of Manila say they ordered residents to move to designated evacuation sites that are at least 15 feet (5 meters) above sea level.

In Guam, authorities advised people to evacuate low areas of the U.S. territory and seek ground higher than 50 feet above sea level and 100 feet inland.

The Northern Mariana Islands, another U.S. territory, was also under the warning, and the Hyatt Regency in Saipan has moved guests to three highest floors of the seven-story hotel.

Hotel spokesman Luis Villagomez said the hotel had received about three tsunami warnings in the last year but no serious damage.

Australia was not in danger because it was protected by island nations to the north, including Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, that would largely absorb any wave activity, said Chris Ryan, a forecaster at the National Meteorological and Oceanographic Centre, the Australian government agency that monitors the threat.

Tsunami warnings are issued due to the imminent threat of a tsunami. ( Associated Press )

READ MORE - Honolulu, other parts of Pacific brace for tsunami