N Koreans told to use pets as quake warning: report

Seoul, Mar 20: North Korea advised its citizens today to use their pets as an early-warning system for earthquakes, amid heightened fears following Japan's quake-tsunami disaster.

Governments worldwide have focused on ensuring their alert systems go some way to protecting them against the horror wreaked by natural disasters such as the massive tremor and giant waves which killed thousands in Japan on Mar 11.

While Pyongyang has also told North Koreans about the technology it has in place to anticipate disasters, state media urged the public to take note when animals behave oddly.

The Sunday edition of Rodong Sinmun, a newspaper of the North's ruling party, and a report yesterday from the official Korean Central New Agency warned that people should beware if they see dogs barking incessantly, cattle refusing to eat or horses constantly trying to storm out of stables.

Evidence of the reliability of animal behaviour in predicting quakes remains mixed, although National Geographic reported after the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami that many species fled to safety before the catastrophe.

Elephants ran for higher ground, dogs refused to go outdoors and flamingos abandoned their low-lying breeding areas, nationalgeographic.com reported.

"The belief that wild and domestic animals possess a sixth sense -- and know in advance when the earth is going to shake -- has been around for centuries," the magazine said.
It is thought that low-frequency electromagnetic signals may cause animals to behave unusually before an earthquake.

The state-run Korean Central TV station aired a series of programmes last week on how to respond to government quake alerts, South Korea's Yonhap news agency said.

The programmes detailed how the alerts would be issued via sirens and bells in case of emergency and advised people to evacuate to open spaces such as nearby parks

AFP

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Grayish smoke billowing from quake hit Japanese reactor

Tokyo/Fukushima, Mar 21: Workers attempting to salvage Japan's tsunami hit Fukushima nuclear reactor had to be evacuated after smoke was seen billowing in a latest in a series of troubles to hit the moves to stabilise the radiation leaking plant.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan said slow but "steady progress" is being made in tackling the brewing crisis at the quake-hit Fukushima nuclear power plant.

"Grayish smoke was seen coming out from a building that houses the No.3 reactor of the troubled atomic unit and Tokyo Electric Power Co., which runs the unit said that workers had been "temporarily" asked to evacuate.

Kan also told a Cabinet-level emergency disaster headquarters meeting held at his office that he will gear up for reconstruction of the eastern Japan areas pummeled by the Mar 11 earthquake and ensuing tsunami, the Kyodo reported.

Meanwhile, the death toll from the Mar 11 earthquake and tsunami that hit northeastern and eastern Japan and the number of those reported missing touched to near 22,000 as of today, the National Police Agency said, Kyodo reported.

After the smoke was spotted at the southeast of the building around 3:55 p.m., TEPCO said it had temporarily evacuated its workers from the site as it assessed the situation. The amount of smoke later decreased, TEPCO added.

Japan will monitor radiation levels in the Pacific Ocean near the Fukushima plant, where firefighters have been using seawater to cool reactor units, officials said.

Following a magnitude 9.0 quake and ensuing tsunami on March 11, cooling functions of the No. 3 reactor were lost and its core is believed to have partially melted.

At present, coolant water is pumped into the reactor and a pool for spent nuclear fuel. The roof and upper walls of the building that houses the No. 3 reactor were blown off by a hydrogen explosion last week.

On Sunday, pressure in the No. 3 reactor's containment vessel temporarily rose, but it later stabilized.

The number of deaths reported in a total of 12 prefectures came to 8,649, while people reported by their relatives to be missing climbed to 13,262 in six prefectures.

Police have identified about 4,080 bodies, including 2,990 returned to their families, the agency said.

A total of about 340,000 evacuees, including those who fled from the vicinity of the troubled nuclear reactors in Fukushima Prefecture, are now staying at some 2,070 shelters set up by 16 prefectures. .

PTI

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Moderate quake shudders Philippines, Taiwan

Manila, Mar 21: After a spate of natural calamities that brought havoc to the world with the most deadly one being the tsunami and earthquake in Japan, this time a quake struck Philippines and Taiwan on Sunday afternoon. No casualties or massive damages were reported.

An earthquake with 6.1-magnitude struck areas of northern Luzon at 4:26 pm, the impact was felt even in Manila and other northern provinces. The epicenter of the quake is believed to be 122 kilometers northeast of Laoag City and occurred in a depth of 39 km.

“It’s quite big, so we are calling and checking on islands in the north, but there are no reports of damage yet,” said Ismael Narag, officer in charge of the seismology department at the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology has been quoted as saying.

Another quake with lesser-intensity hit Taiwan, according to Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau at 4 pm and was centered around 45 km from Taitung county. The quake was mild at 5.9 in the Richter scale.

Philippines falls under the Pacific Ring of Fire that is considered seismically-active and are earthquake prone that covers the Pacific Ocean basin. The Ring of Fire is over 40,000 km long and touches 4 of the world’s continents as well as major island chains.

OneIndia News

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Another quake jerks Japan; fresh Tsunami alert issued

Monday, March 14, 2011, 8:52 [IST]Tokyo, Mar 14: Once again earthquake reported from the land of rising Sun - Japan on Monday, Mar 14. Local media reported that on wee morning, the country experienced another bash from nature. This time the quake was 5.8-magnitude, sources informed.

Fresh tsunami alerts also has been issued in the country as the new quake shook Japan. Sources reported that on Monday, the shake was heavily observed from the capital of the country and struck at a depth of 18 kilometers off Ibaraki prefecture. Recent earthquakes in past 7 days.

Residents are advised to vacate the sea level areas and are ordered to higher ground as the sea was reportedly seen retreating off Iwate prefecture in the north-east of Honshu island, a phenomenon that occurs before the massive waves hit.

Meanwhile, a fresh hydrogen explosion has occurred in the third reactor of Fukushima nuclear power plant. 160 people are feared to have been poisoned over the radioactive rays.

More than 18,000 people were shifted from the near regions of the nuclear power plant. The total death toll is estimated crossed 10,000. Though 2,000 deaths have been declared officially.

Japan experienced earthquake of 8.9 magnitude followed by a devastating tsunami on Friday, Mar 11. Now, fresh volcano eruption was also reported. Japan's Kyodo news agency reports that about 2000 bodies have been found on the shores of Miyagi prefecture. Miyagi was one of the the worst effected places during Friday's quake and tsunami.

OneIndia News

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