The government warned that an unpredictable massive blackout could occur in the Tokyo area on Thursday night as power demand in the region has increased overnight due to cold temperatures, calling for further efforts by businesses and individuals to save power.
The development came even as Tokyo Electric Power Co implemented rolling blackouts Thursday for the fourth consecutive day mainly in the Kanto region surrounding Tokyo to cover substantial power shortages following last week’s massive earthquake and tsunami in Japan which crippled some nuclear power plants.
As an emergency measure, the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry asked railway operators serving the metropolitan area to reduce the number of trains from evening to night, when the use of electricity was expected to peak for the day amid the commuter rush.
Among other businesses, many companies sent workers home early, while some department stores in Tokyo decided to close for the day earlier than scheduled. Convenience store operator FamilyMart Co plans to halve the fluorescent lighting at its stores.
A new before-and-after image pair from the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) instrument on NASA's Terra spacecraft shows a region of Japan's northeastern coast, northeast of the city of Sendai, affected by the March 11, 2011, tsunami. The image at the left is from March 14, 2011; the right-hand image is from August 2008. Image credit: NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS
The images show the coastal cities of Ofunato and Kesennuma, located about 90 kilometers (55 miles) northeast of Sendai. Ofunato has a population of about 42,000, while the population of Kesennuma is about 73,000. Areas covered by vegetation are shown in red, while cities and unvegetated areas are shown in shades of blue-gray. The image on the left was acquired on March 14, 2011; the image on the right was acquired in August 2008. When compared closely, vegetation is no longer visible in many coastal areas in the new image, particularly around Kesennuma. Scientists believe this is most likely due to the effects of the tsunami.
The images combine infrared, red, and green wavelengths of light to form a false-color image that distinguishes between water and land. Water is blue. Buildings and paved surfaces appear in shades of blue-gray. Fallow fields appear in shades of beige and brown. Vegetation is red, and the brighter the red, the more robust the vegetation. (Brighter shades of red in March and duller shades in January result largely from the difference in season.)
In the March image, water has spilled over the banks both north and south of the river. Although agricultural fields appear to have escaped the flooding farther inland (image left), some fields closer to the ocean have seemingly disappeared into the sea. North of the Kitakami, floodwaters extend far enough inland to create what looks like a parallel river. Near the coast, only the rugged peaks rising above the floodplains have escaped inundation. Floating debris from the tsunami has accumulated in several coves (particularly image lower right).
On March 15, 2011 (early on March 16 in Japan), NHK World reported that the number of dead and missing likely exceeded 10,000. While police reported 3,373 confirmed deaths, 7,558 people remained missing. More than 440,000 people had sought refuge in temporary shelters.
In the wake of nuclear radiation in Japan sending alarm bells ringing across the world, Indian ambassador to Japan Alok Prasad on Wednesday said all Indiansare safe and the Indian government is making special arrangements for their evacuation.
“I must say there are heart-rending images. However, one is relieved that all Indians are safe. There is no loss of lives of Indians. We are making special arrangements for Indians’ safe evacuation,” Prasad told Headlines Today Executive Editor Rahul Kanwal in an exclusive interview, adding, “Everyone from Sendai (coastal areas of the capital city of Miyagi Prefecture suffered catastrophic damage from a major earthquake a tsunami on March 11) has been accounted for. We have safely evacuated 30-40 Indians, who were stranded in the affected areas, to Tokyo.”
New Delhi: India has set up helplines for the Indian community in Japan, reeling from last week’s massive earthquake and tsunami, a statement by the ministry of external affairs said on Wednesday.
“The embassy and CGI are in touch with Japanese authorities and representatives of the Indian community. All Indians are reportedly safe,” it added.
The helpline numbers of the ministry are 23015300, 23012113, 23014104, 23018179.
The numbers of the embassy of India in Tokyo are 0081332622391 to 97.
The number of the CGI, during office hours is +81662617299. There is also an +819050553344 emergency contact number of Piyush Gupta.
“Helplines will be functional from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily,” the ministry added.
“The ministry along with embassy of India in Tokyo and the Consulate General of India (CGI), Osaka is closely following and monitoring the situation in Japan in the aftermath of the powerful earthquake and Tsunami that struck the country on 11th March 2011,” the statement said.
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