The Story of Fukushima
FILE – This aerial photo shows the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma town, Fukushima prefecture, north of Tokyo, on March 17, 2022. Japan on Thursday, Dec. 22, adopted a new policy promoting greater use of nuclear energy to ensure a stable power supply amid global fuel shortages and reduce carbon emissions – a major reversal of its phase-out plan since the Fukushima crisis. (Shohei Miyano/Kyodo News via AP, File)
March 13, 2023
2:46 March 11, 2011, you’re walking along the beautiful Japanese coastline, the Fukushima Daiichi and Fukushima Daini nuclear power plants are right behind you. You notice an odd wave off in the distance as it gets closer you see it swell up to an unnatural height. by the time you notice it’s a tsunami, you’re too late. you try to run inland but don’t even get off the beach. The tsunami crashes over you killing you, and the nuclear power plants in one fell swoop.
the TÅhoku Earthquake that caused the tsunami happened 130km offshore. At 2:46 the Fukushima Daiichi and Daini nuclear power was hit by a 9.0 earthquake and the following tsunami and earthquake knocked out reactors 1-3 at Daiichi and 1-4 at Daini. Reactors 4-6 were closed down for a scheduled inspection. the reactors were safe from the earthquake but vulnerable to the tsunami. luckily for the Tokyo Electric Company, the backup generators and power from the grid kept the cooling systems running at 8 of the 11 units.
at 3:42 pm the other 3 Fukushima Daiichi reactors shut down. Within the hour the entire site was flooded by the following tsunami. the flood disabled 12 of the 13 backup generators which shut down most of the remaining 8 reactors. The earthquake and tsunami killed 3 TEPCO employees but no one has died since. however, as an emergency safety precaution, the surrounding areas of the Fukushima plants are closed to the public as an exclusion zone.
On April 26 “The Stroy of Chernobyl” will be published.
