Earthquake

What happened
An earthquake. A tsunami. A nuclear meltdown. 

Just one would’ve been devastating. But we’ve seen few catastrophes quite like this troika in human history. 

A 9.0 magnitude earthquake. A tsunami that was more than a dozen metres tall in some areas. A huge radiation cloud. More than 15,000 people killed. A first world country crushed.

Continue reading "Biggest moments of 2011 #4 A Japanese catastrophe" »

What happened
On September 4 last year, Christchurch was struck by a 7.1 magnitude earthquake which caused widespread damage but no fatalities. The quake that shook the city in February this year was of a lesser magnitude, at 6.3, but it had far more dire consequences.

The quake struck early afternoon local time. It was morning here in Australia and The Punch team remembers watching the scenes of horror unfold on the multiple TV monitors in our office. The quake exacerbated much of the damage done by the previous one. In total, 181 were killed.

You could tell things were bad when you saw the severe damage to Christchurch’s signature building, the 19th century cathedral in the main city square. But the real devastation happened both in the suburbs and at other buildings in the city – in particular the Canterbury Television Building, where over half the deaths occurred.

Continue reading "Biggest moments of 2011 #12 Christchurch crumbles" »

The after effects of the quake and tsunamis in Japan will cause clear and on-going pain and suffering for years, while the risks from the damage to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactors look to be subsiding - see here for the latest updates. Meanwhile, Geoff Russell argues that any and all risks need to be put in perspective.

Residents living in the vicinity of the Fukushima nuclear plant face some considerable cancer risks during coming decades. They will come primarily from cigarettes, red meat, alcohol and salty foods. These should hardly be called risks, since each will definitely cause tens of thousands of new cancer cases every single year throughout Japan.

An additional possibility, a potential risk, hardly visible in comparison, may come from radiation as a result of the quake and tsunami damage at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Continue reading "Cancer deaths in Japan will be from alcohol and ciggies" »

The crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station has been unfolding for about a week. The on-site situation remains extremely serious, with glimmers of hope being shrouded by a shadow of deep uncertainty.

If you’ve not been following the situation on BraveNewClimate, please visit the site, which contains assumed knowledge for understanding the rest of this post.

As predicted, attention over the last couple of days has focused on the critical situation with the ponds used for temporary storage of spent nuclear fuel at the individual reactor units, before it is moved to a centralised facility on site. Although this old fuel has lost much of its original radioactivity, the decline is exponential, which means that thermal energy must continue to be dissipated for months.

Continue reading "Fukushima: Situation critical, information scarce" »

The day after Japan suffered its largest ever earthquake and a subsequent, devastating tsunami, the number of deaths and extent of damage is still unclear. Up to 1000 people are feared dead, and there are concerns about radiation leaking from reactors. The Pacific remains on tsunami alert.

For full coverage including pictures and video, and live updates throughout the day. see news.com.au.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard this morning described it as a “terrible, terrible natural disaster” and said about 45 Australians were registered in the region.

Continue reading "Major disaster still unfolding in Japan" »

Yesterday, the Twittersphere erupted after Penbo had a crack at Jonathan Green, who had had a crack at media coverage of disaster. Here, Natalie Savino gives us her take on disaster coverage.

There’s no doubt the earthquake in Christchurch was devastating. Between unthinkable acts of humanity such as those of September 11 and the ruthless unleashing of Mother Nature, we have, as a society, been exposed to some horrific sights and sounds on our screens.

This week’s earthquake, last month’s floods, the bushfires, and the violent protests in the Middle East are just a few examples.

What worries me most is the amount of detail we are shown. Sitting at the dinner table after the earthquake, we were greeted with shocking images of men with bloodied faces, women on the ground in agony, and others being carried away on stretchers. Not to mention the voiceovers which liken events to “that of a war zone”. But unlike the film classifications that come with box office features, we were not warned of what was to come – in fact, we didn’t have a choice between the seemingly M15+ news and its milder G rated fellows.

Continue reading "Disaster coverage: When is enough enough?" »

These past two days I’ve been gazing at my fellow office workers and wondering: If an earthquake struck here, who would be a hero? Who would run back into the crumbling building for a mate, who would risk their life for another?

I had imagined that, of the hundreds of people, a few would shine.

Maybe that chick over there that always looks calm and competent. Maybe not that bloke who can never manage eye contact.

I also wondered what I would do and had a terrifying thought that I would be a panicker, a useless screamer (or swearer, more likely) who only contributed to the chaos.

But, as it turns out, more people are everyday heroes than I thought.

Continue reading "Humanity. Much better than expected." »

A month on from the devastating earthquake that killed 230,000 Haitians, we are once again witnessing the ongoing and intrinsic apathy in this country.

Don’t get me wrong, I am by no means saying that as a nation we didn’t care, that we didn’t dig deep, band together and support the rescue efforts in Haiti, we most certainly did, like we always do – but is that enough?

Four weeks ago the devastation was front-page news, with stories infiltrating every digital sphere. Now, that’s simply not the case.

Continue reading "Haiti was so last month" »

It’s impossible not to feel for the victims of all three disasters that have struck the South Pacific and Asian region this week. 

Did you see Kerrie Ritchie’s piece in Samoa on the 7:30 Report last night? 

I hope I never know how it feels to be the Melbourne mother, picking through the rubble who lost her mother, twin girls and a newborn baby all in a matter of seconds.

Continue reading "Disaster relief: how you can help" »

So we’re now almost a foot closer to New Zealand, which has prompted many jokes about Bondi being swamped and our Immigration Department having a lot of work taken off their hands.

I heard a Kiwi on the radio this morning hoping the airlines would drop their prices so he could go home and visit his family more often.

Apparently New Zealand’s been sneaking up on us, a few centimetres at a time, for years and last week made an almighty push during a 7.8 magnitude earthquake. Initially I was alarmed at the news, but now am beginning to think things could be worse.

Continue reading "I’m so glad New Zealand shifted closer to Australia" »