Over 100 Activists Killed in Syrian Protest

More than 100 have been killed in the Syrian protest city Deraa, rights activists told Al Arabiya TV on Thursday, hours after medics said the local hospital had received 25 bodies of protests.

A witness reportedly told Al Arabiya that hundreds of protesters took to the streets on Wednesday in the towns of Jasim, Enkhil, al-Hara, and al-Harrag "in support for their brothers in Deraa,", adding the they demanded the end of a security siege on the city.

Syria, which has also been hit by the popular unrest sweeping the Middle East, was taken by surprise and amid an attempted failure to quell the protests by force, in the second apparent concession to protesters since the uprising, President Bashar al-Assad sacked provincial governor of Deraa aisal Kalthoum on Wednesday.

There were also reports that a number of local security officials reviled by people had been reassigned or suspended.

In first vocal western response to the events France urged Syria to carry out political reforms without delay and respect its commitments to human rights.

Ffrench foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero told reporters: "France calls on Syria to follow its international commitments to human rights, to which it has signed up especially with regard to freedom of expression and opinion".

"Political reforms must be put in place without delay to meet the aspirations of the Syrian people," he said.

In its reaction, the US Obama administration called on the Syrian Government to “exercise restraint” against its peaceful protesters. The State Department spokesman, Mark Toner said that the United States was deeply troubled by violence and civilian deaths in Deraa at the hands of security forces.

"We are concerned by the Syrian Government's use of violence, intimidation and arbitrary arrests in Deraa to hinder the ability of its people to freely exercise their universal rights," he said.

Two Fukushima Nuclear Plant Workers Hospitalised

Tokyo Electric Power Co. workers outside the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Japan's nuclear safety agency says that two workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant were taken to hospital on Thursday after being exposed to high-level radiation at the Number 3 reactor, NHK reports. The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency says the workers were standing on a flooded basement floor while working to reconnect power lines in the turbine building adjacent to the reactor. As a result, their feet were exposed to 170 to 180 millisieverts of radiation. The workers were taken to a local hospital before being moved to the National Institute of Radiological Sciences for treatment. A third worker was also exposed to the higher-level radiation but apparently did not require treatment. The maximum level of radiation exposure allowed for nuclear plant workers in Japan is normally 100 millisieverts. But the health and labor ministry has recently raised that limit to 250 millisieverts for emergency crews at the Fukushima plant. High radiation levels detected 30km off nuke plant Meanwhile, Japan's science ministry says levels of radioactive substances up to twice recommended limits were detected in waters 30 kilometres off the quake-damaged Fukushima nuclear plant. The ministry conducted a survey on Wednesday in 8 locations over a distance of 70 kilometres from north to south in the Pacific Ocean. Radioactive iodine-131 and radioactive caesium-137 were detected at all locations. Levels of radioactive iodine-131 were from 1.05 to 1.92 times higher than the limit. Readings for radioactive caesium-137 were all below the limit, but about 10,000 times higher than a similar survey last year. Another survey conducted by the Tokyo Electric Power Company on Wednesday detected radioactive iodine-131 at 146.9 times the limit, 330 metres away from a water outlet of the nuclear plant. The same substance was detected at a level 19.1 times higher than allowable limits on the coast 16 kilometres south of the plant. The science ministry says it will continue analysing the impact of the radioactivity on marine resources and the environment. A senior consultant at the Marine Ecology Research Institute, Jun Misonoo, says contamination decreases further off the coast. He says radioactive iodine-131 levels fall by half in 8 days, and the impact on fish fades away. Misonoo says that although radioactive caesium is unlikely to affect human health, monitoring should continue to assess its Tokyo lifts advice against tap water In other developments, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government says it has lifted its advice against using tap water for consumption by infants in Tokyo's 23 wards and 5 adjacent cities. The government said the level of radioactive iodine-131 in water at the Machinate purification plant on Thursday morning had dropped to 79 becquerels per litre - below the recommended limit of 100 for infants under one year old. The government added that the level has been falling for three days. The advisory had been issued after levels above the limit were detected at the plant on Tuesday and Wednesday. On Friday, the government plans to continue testing the level at the plant and distribute 240,000 bottles of water to households with infants, following similar distribution on Thursday. impact inside fish.

Breaking News: French Fighter Downs Libyan Warplane, reports

French fighter jets have reportedly shot down a Libyan jet that tried to violate the country's UN-sanctioned no-fly zone Thursday. ABC News reported the attack happened in the skies over the embattled rebel city of Misurata. This is the first challenge of the allies aerial supremacy and it comes after five days of bombing runs against pro-Al Qathfi positions. Earlier French military officials said at a press conference in Paris that its fighter jets attacked an air base 240 kilometesinland from the Mediterranean coast overnight. Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said Thursday coalition air strikes against Libya had been a "success."

Al Qathafi's Forces Roll On Despite Coalition's Strikes; Government Accuses Allied Forces of Targeting Civilians

Dead bodies of civilians that the Libyan government says were victims of the coalition's airstrikes Despite a fifth night of airstrikes, the Libyan regime's forces kept up their shelling of rebel-held cities by the use of tanks and heavy artillery, particularly at Misurata, Ajdabijah and Zintan, and with Libyan state television accusing the coalition forces of striking at civilians in the capital, Tripoli, and Jaafar, “killing dozens of civilians”. Libyan television reported UN-sponsored forces, calling them “colonialist crusaders”, as attacking military and civilian targets. Eight explosions were reported heard in the east of the capital late night on Wednesday, but US military officials denied any civilians had been killed. Government officials accompanied some journalists to a hospital early Thursday morning showing them 18 charred bodies, which the regime said, were military personnel and civilians killed in the air strikes. State television showed pictures of casualites arriving at a hospital, reportedly injured, or victims of the airstrikes by the coalition forces. At the same time, addressing journalists, the Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaim addressing journalists, refused to admit that libyan forces are conducting offensive operations of any sort. “There are no attacks from Libyan forces from the air or from the ground. There are no military operations on the ground in Misurata,” he said. He added that the situation is, only confined to pockets of violence scattered in different areas of Misurata Meanwhile, the US military said it had successfully established a no-fly zone over Libya's coastal areas and had moved on to attack Al Qathafi's rremaining tanks. It has been reported that the coalition forces flew 175 sorties in 24 hours, with the US accounting for 113 of those, according to a US commander. The French defence minister, Gerard Longuet, said that France had destroyed about 10 Libyan armoured vehicles over three days. But these losses to the Al Qathafi forces, and the airstrikes have kept them from pressingg on with their assaults and their efforts to completely take control of the towns of Misurata,Ajdabiyah and Zintan. Under the cover of darkness, the pro-government forces used their tanks to push forward deep into the towns, particularly Misurata, the third largest city in the country around 200km east of Tripoli and home to a major oil refinery. According to reports Thursday, the loyalist troops shelled a residential area close to a hospital Government snipers carried on firing indiscriminately, and tanks were closing in on Misurata hospital, residents told Reuters news agency, while an opposition spokesman was quoted saying the snipers had killed 16 people. Contrary to what a resident in Zintan, 106km southwest of Tripoli told Al Jazeera, that is, that Al Qathafi's forces were bringing up more troops and tanks to bombard the opposition-held town, the Libyan government vehemently denies its army is conducting any offensive operations and says troops are only defending themselves when they come under attack. In the east, at Ajdabiyah, around 160km south of Benghazi, opposition fighters were reportedly pinned down outside the strategic junction after more than three days of trying to recapture the city. Despite coalition air strikes targeting the regime's forces along the road between Benghazi and Ajdabiyah, rebel forces have been unable to retake the town.

Libya Mission Uncertain, Clouded by Confusion

United States President Barack Obama said he was setting clear and unmistakable terms for the U.S. role in Libya: It would be limited, lasting days, not weeks, and its purpose was to protect Libyan citizens. However, analysing the current situation, news agency Associated Press says that's not the way it's turning out. Less than a week later, the mission has been clouded by confusion and questions about who's in charge and who's doing what - all while the killing of civilians is going on, it said. AP goes on to say that the Pentagon claims success in establishing an effective no-fly zone over much of Libya that has grounded Col. Muammar Al Qathafi's ageing air force. But the Libyan leader's tanks and troops are still targeting civilians on the ground. Yet the administration seeks to minimise current disputes over the reins of leadership, suggesting everything will fall in place quickly, ideally by this weekend. It quotes Aaron David Miller, a former top State Department Mideast negotiator in Republican and Democratic administrations and now with the Woodrow Wilson Centre, a foreign-policy think tank saying that, “ it could still all come around very quickly in our favour. But if that's to happen, we will have to apply much more intensive military power in an effort to make this succeed." He goes on to say: "But it doesn't appear to me, given the constraints acting upon us and our own reservations, that we're prepared to do that. Right now, it appears to be settling into a stalemate which isn't terribly hurting on the Al Qathafi side." Meanwhile, U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates said he couldn't predict when the international military enforcement of a no-fly zone over Libya might end - but suggested the U.S. could turn over control of the operation as soon as Saturday. Gates said no one thought the assault would last only two or three weeks, but he could not say how the coalition operation might be resolved. For now, at least, the U.S. remains the ad hoc boss of the operation, now in its fifth day, with no certainty about who will take over or when. Talks are continuing in Brussels, headquarters of the North American Treaty Organisation, AP reports. The U.S. wants NATO to take the command and control lead in overseeing coalition forces. U.S., European, Arab and African officials have been invited to a meeting in London next Tuesday to discuss outstanding political and logistical issues. On his part, Richard Downie, an Africa expert at the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said the United States' lead role in the operation was lasting longer than he'd expected. Obama has ruled out U.S. troops on the ground, and did so again Wednesday in an interview with the Spanish-language network Univision. Wrapping up a Latin American trip, Obama said a land invasion of Libya was "absolutely" out of the question.

Libyan minister claims Gaddafi is powerless and the ceasefire is 'solid'

Libyan minister claims Gaddafi is powerless and the ceasefire is 'solid'
One of Libya’s most senior politicians risked ridicule by claiming that a ceasefire was being respected and Colonel Gaddafi holds no power in the country.

Khaled Kaim, the country’s deputy foreign minister, tried to argue that the Libyan leader has been no more than a symbolic figurehead for the last 35 years.

In an interview with Radio 4’s Today programme on Saturday, he also insisted that there was a “real, credible and solid” ceasefire even though reports were coming through as he spoke of heavy fighting in the rebel-held city of Benghazi.

Libya: it's the coalition of the willing – but can it hold?

As he strode into the Elysée Palace in a dark blue suit and regally purple tie, David Cameron could rightly take pride in his key role in the formation of a powerful coalition ready and willing to take military action against Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s Libyan regime

In the words of a British Government source, the phone lines out of Whitehall were “red hot” for the past fortnight as the Prime Minister and William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, led a diplomatic drive whose prize was the unexpectedly strong and united Resolution 1973, passed by the United Nations Security Council, which authorised “all necessary measures” to protect Libyan citizens.

For the first time in more than a decade, Britain and France were singing from the same diplomatic hymn sheet while the strength of opposition to Gaddafi among Arab nations was crucial in providing the necessary regional support for action.

Libya: Sarkozy and Gadaffi before they fell out

Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, met world leaders in Paris at exactly the same place he had welcomed Colonel Gaddafi more than three years ago.

What a difference the passing of time can make.

Just over three years ago, in December 2007, President Nicolas Sarkozy was welcoming Gadaffi to Paris and insisting to a French newspaper: “Gaddafi is not perceived as a dictator in the Arab world.”

“He is the longest serving head of state in the region,” Mr Sarkozy explained as he rolled out the red carpet.

“And in the Arab world, that counts,”

As Gadaffi was allowed to pitch his Bedouin tent in the elegant gardens of an official guest residence near the Elysee Palace, Mr Sarkozy denounced “those who excessively and irresponsibly criticised the Libyan leader’s visit”.

“If we don’t welcome those who take the road to respectability, then what do we say to those who take the opposite road?”
True, the French president conceded “he has his personality, his temperament”.
Sarkozy’s closest aide, the Elysee Palace secretary-general Claude Gueant, said the six-day visit had produced sales of fighter jets and Airbuses worth 10 billion euros, “which means 30,000 jobs in France”.
The figure was later revised to 3 billion euros and officials admitted that it was mainly “memorandums of intent to negotiate” that had been signed.

Libya: top quotes from around the world

David Cameron, the Prime Minister

“What is absolutely clear is that Gaddafi has broken his word, broken the ceasefire and continues to slaughter his own civilians. This has to stop. We have to make it stop.”

Barack Obama, US president

“Our consensus was strong, and our resolve is clear. The people of Libya must be protected and in the absence of an immediate end to the violence against civilians, our coalition is prepared to act and act with urgency.”

Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State
“If the international community is to have credibility … then action must take place.”

Libya: US admiral brings the fight to Gadaffi

The Pentagon said that 110 Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles (TLAM) fired by British and US forces were supported by a French air strike on tanks and armoured vehicles in what has been described as the “kinetic” phase of the operation – bombing to take out Libya’s anti-aircraft defences.

Further attacks by British Tornado GR4 ground attack aircraft, based at RAF Marham in Norfolk, were expected over the night. RAF Marham is home to 9 and 31 Squadrons, which are equipped with air-launched anti-radiation missiles, which home in on the radiation emitted by enemy radar, and Storm Shadow missiles, used to target command and control bunkers and radar stations.

Libya — The Protests

Libya, an oil-rich nation in North Africa, has been under the firm, if sometimes erratic, control of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi since he seized power in 1969. But in February 2011, the unrest sweeping through much of the Arab world erupted in several Libyan cities. Though it began with a relatively organized core of antigovernment opponents in Benghazi, its spread to the capital of Tripoli was swift and spontaneous. Colonel Qaddafi lashed out with a level of violence unseen in either of the other uprisings, but an inchoate opposition cobbled together the semblance of a transitional government, fielded a makeshift rebel army and portrayed itself to the West and Libyans as an alternative to Colonel Qaddafi's four decades of freakish rule. Momentum has seemed to shift, however, and the rebels face the possibilty of being outgunned and outnumbered in what increasingly looks like a mismatched civil war. As Colonel Qaddafi’s troops advanced to within 100 miles of Benghazi, the United Nations Security Council voted to authorize military action, a risky foreign intervention aimed at averting a bloody rout of the rebels by loyalist forces.

What Are Tsunamis, and What Causes Them?

Tsunamis are ocean waves produced by earthquakes or underwater landslides.a tsunami is actually a series of waves that can travel at speeds averaging 450 (and up to 600) miles per hour in the open ocean. In the open ocean, tsunamis would not be felt by ships because the wavelength would be hundreds of miles long, with an amplitude of only a few feet. This would also make them unnoticeable from the air. As the waves approach the coast, their speed decreases and their amplitude increases. Unusual wave heights have been known to be over 100 feet high. However, waves that are 10 to 20 feet high can be very destructive and cause many deaths or injuries. The word is Japanese and means "harbor wave," because of the devastating effects these waves have had on low-lying Japanese coastal communities. Tsunamis are often incorrectly referred to as tidal waves, but

Tsunamis are most often generated by earthquake-induced movement of the ocean floor. Landslides, volcanic eruptions, and even meteorites can also generate a tsunami. If a major earthquake is felt, a tsunami could reach the beach in a few minutes, even before a warning is issued. Areas at greatest risk are less than 25 feet above sea level and within one mile of the shoreline. Most deaths caused by a tsunami are because of drowning. Associated risks include flooding, water contamination, fires from ruptured tanks or gas lines, and the loss of vital community infrastructure (police, fire, and medical facilities).

From an initial tsunami generating source area, waves travel outward in all directions much like the ripples caused by throwing a rock into a pond. As these waves approach coastal areas, the time between successive wave crests varies from 5 to 90 minutes. The first wave is usually not the largest in the series of waves, nor is it the most significant. Furthermore, one coastal community may experience no damaging waves while another, not that far away, may experience destructive deadly waves. Depending on a number of factors, some low-lying areas could experience severe inland inundation of water and debris of more than 1,000 feet.

Learn whether tsunamis have occurred in your area by contacting your local emergency management office, National Weather Service office, or American Red Cross chapter. If you are in a tsunami risk area, learn how to protect yourself, your family, and your property.

Awareness Information

The West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Center (WC/ATWC) is responsible for tsunami warnings for California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, and Alaska.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) is responsible for providing warnings to international authorities, Hawaii, and U. S. territories within the Pacific basin. The two Tsunami Warning Centers coordinate the information being disseminated.

All tsunamis are potentially dangerous, even though they may not damage every coastline they strike. Damaging tsunamis are very rare. Our coastlines are vulnerable, but tsunamis are infrequent. Understand the hazard and learn how to protect yourself, but don't let the threat of tsunamis ruin your enjoyment of the beach.

The WC/ATWC and PTWC may issue the following bulletins:

• WARNING: A tsunami was or may have been generated, which could cause damage; therefore, people in the warned area are strongly advised to evacuate.
• WATCH: A tsunami was or may have been generated, but is at least two hours travel time to the area in watch status. Local officials should prepare for possible evacuation if their area is upgraded to a warning.
• ADVISORY: An earthquake has occurred in the Pacific basin, which might generate a tsunami. WC/ATWC and PTWC will issue hourly bulletins advising of the situation.
• INFORMATION: A message with information about an earthquake that is not expected to generate a tsunami. Usually only one bulletin is issued.

Be familiar with the tsunami warning signs. A strong earthquake lasting 20 seconds or more near the coast may generate a tsunami. A noticeable rapid rise or fall in coastal waters is also a sign that a tsunami is approaching.

Tsunamis most frequently come onshore as a rapidly rising turbulent surge of water choked with debris. They are not V-shaped or rolling waves, and are not "surfable."

Tsunamis may be locally generated or from a distant source. In 1992, the Cape Mendocino, California, earthquake produced a tsunami that reached Eureka in about 20 minutes, and Crescent City in 50 minutes. Although this tsunami had a wave height of about one foot and was not destructive, it illustrates how quickly a wave can arrive at nearby coastal communities and how long the danger can last.

In 1957, a distant-source tsunami generated by an earthquake in the Aleutian Islands in Alaska struck Hawaii, 2,100 miles away. Hawaii experienced $5 million in damages from that tsunami.

Plan for a Tsunami

Develop a Family Disaster Plan. Please see the "Family Disaster Plan" section for general family planning information. Tsunami-specific planning should include the following:

• Learn about tsunami risk in your community. Contact your local emergency management office or American Red Cross chapter. Find out if your home, school, workplace or other frequently visited locations are in tsunami hazard areas. Know the height of your street above sea level and the distance of your street from the coast or other high-risk waters. Evacuation orders may be based on these numbers.
• If you are visiting an area at risk from tsunamis, check with the hotel, motel, or campground operators for tsunami evacuation information and how you would be warned. It is important to know designated escape routes before a warning is issued.

If you are at risk from tsunamis, do the following:

• Plan an evacuation route from your home, school, workplace, or any other place you'll be where tsunamis present a risk. If possible, pick an area 100 feet above sea level or go up to two miles inland, away from the coastline. If you can't get this high or far, go as high as you can. Every foot inland or upwards may make a difference. You should be able to reach your safe location on foot within 15 minutes. After a disaster, roads may become impassable or blocked. Be prepared to evacuate by foot if necessary. Footpaths normally lead uphill and inland, while many roads parallel coastlines. Follow posted tsunami evacuation routes; these will lead to safety. Local emergency management officials can help advise you as to the best route to safety and likely shelter locations.
• Practice your evacuation route. Familiarity may save your life. Be able to follow your escape route at night and during inclement weather. Practicing your plan makes the appropriate response more of a reaction, requiring less thinking during an actual emergency situation.
• Use a NOAA Weather Radio with a tone-alert feature to keep you informed of local watches and warnings. The tone alert feature will warn you of potential danger even if you are not currently listening to local radio or television stations.
• Talk to your insurance agent. Homeowners' policies do not cover flooding from a tsunami. Ask about the National Flood Insurance Program.
• Discuss tsunami with your family. Everyone should know what to do in case all family members are not together. Discussing tsunamis ahead of time will help reduce fear and anxiety, and let everyone know how to respond. Review flood safety and preparedness measures with your family.

Assemble a Disaster Supplies Kit

Please see the section "Disaster Supplies Kit" for general supplies kit information. Tsunami-specific supplies should include the following:

• Evacuation Supplies Kit in an easy-to-carry contanier (backpack) near your door.
• Disaster Suplies Kit basics.

How to Protect Your Property

• Avoid building or living in buildings within several hundred feet of the coastline. These areas are more likely to experience damage from tsunamis, strong winds, or coastal storms.
• Make a list of items to bring inside in the event of a tsunami. A list will help you remember anything that can be swept away by tsunami waters.
• Elevate coastal homes. Most tsunami waves are less than 10 feet. Elevating your house will help reduce damage to your property from most tsunamis.
• Follow flood preparedness precautions. Tsunamis are large amounts of water that crash onto the coastline, creating floods.
• Have an engineer check your home and advise about ways to make it more resistant to tsunami water. There may be ways to divert waves away from your property. Improperly built walls could make your situation worse. Consult with a professional for advice.

Media and Community Education Ideas

• If your community is at risk, build and publicize locations of tsunami evacuation routes. Post signs directing people to higher ground away from the coast.
• Review land use in tsunami hazard areas so no critical facilities, such as hospitals and police stations; or high occupancy buildings, such as auditoriums or schools; or petroleum-storage tank farms are located where there is a tsunami hazard. Tsunami damage can be minimized through land use planning, preparation, and evacuation.
• Publish a special section in your local newspaper with emergency information on tsunamis. Localize the information by printing the phone numbers of local emergency services offices, the American Red Cross chapter, and hospitals.
• Periodically inform your community of local public warning systems.
• Work with local emergency services and American Red Cross officials to prepare special reports for people with mobility impairments on what to do if an evacuation is ordered, and develop plans to assist them with evacuation if necessary.
• Interview local officials and insurance companies about the proper types of insurance to cover a flood-related loss. Include information on the economic effects of disaster.

What to Do if You Feel a Strong Coastal Earthquake

If you feel an earthquake that lasts 20 seconds or longer when you are on the coast:

• Drop, cover, and hold on. You should first protect yourself from the earthquake.
• When the shaking stops, gather your family members and evacuate quickly.A tsunami may be coming within minutes. Move quickly to higher ground away from the coast. Leave everything else behind.
• Be careful to avoid downed power lines and stay away from buildings and bridges from which heavy objects might fall during an aftershock.

What to Do When a Tsunami WATCH is Issued

• Listen to a NOAA Weather Radio, Coast Guard emergency frequency station, or other reliable source for updated emergency information. As the energy of a tsunami is transferred through open water, it is not detectable. Seismic action may be the only advance warning before the tsunami approaches the coastline.
• Check your Disaster Supplies Kit. Some supplies may need to be replaced or restocked.
• Locate family members and review evacuation plans. Make sure everyone knows there is a potential threat and the best way to safer ground.
• If you have special evacuation needs (small children, elderly people, or persons with disabilities) consider early evacuation. Evacuation may take longer, allow extra time.
• If time permits, secure unanchored objects around your home or business. Tsunami waves can sweep away loose objects. Securing these items or moving them inside will reduce potential loss or damage.
• Be ready to evacuate. Being prepared will help you to move more quickly if a tsunami warning is issued.

What to Do When a Tsunami WARNING is Issued

• Listen to a NOAA Weather Radio, Coast Guard emergency frequency station, or other reliable source for updated emergency information. Authorities will issue a warning only if they believe there is a real threat from tsunami.
• Follow instructions issued by local authorities. Recommended evacuation routes may be different from the one you use, or you may be advised to climb higher.
• If you are in a tsunami risk area, do the following:
• If you hear an official tsunami warning or detect signs of a tsunami, evacuate at once. A tsunami warning is issued when authorities are certain that a tsunami threat exists, and there may be little time to get out.
• Take your Disaster Supplies Kit. Having supplies will make you more comfortable during the evacuation.
• Get to higher ground as far inland as possible. Officials cannot reliably predict either the height or local effects of tsunamis. Watching a tsunami from the beach or cliffs could put you in grave danger. If you can see the wave, you are too close to escape it.

Return home only after local officials tell you it is safe. A tsunami is a series of waves that may continue for hours. Do not assume that after one wave the danger is over. The next wave may be larger than the first one.

What to Do After a Tsunami

• Continue listening to a NOAA Weather Radio, Coast Guard emergency frequency station, or other reliable source for emergency information. The tsunami may have damaged roads, bridges, or other places that may be unsafe.
• Help injured or trapped persons. Give first aid where appropriate. Call for help. Do not move seriously injured persons unless they are in immediate danger of further injury.
• Help a neighbor who may require special assistance - infants, elderly people, and people with disabilities. Elderly people and people with disabilities may require additional assistance. People who care for them or who have large families may need additional assistance in emergency situations.
• Use the telephone only for emergency calls. Telephone lines are frequently overwhelmed in disaster situations. They need to be clear for emergency calls to get through.
• Stay out of the building if waters remain around it. Tsunami waters, like flood waters, can undermine foundations, causing buildings to sink, floors to crack, or walls to collapse.
• When re-entering buildings or homes, use extreme caution. Tsunami-driven flood waters may have damaged buildings where you least expect it. Carefully watch every step you take.
• Wear sturdy shoes. The most common injury following a disaster is cut feet.
• Use battery-powered lanterns or flashlights when examining buildings. Battery-powered lighting is the safest and easiest, preventing fire hazard for the user, occupants, and building.
• Examine walls, floors, doors, staircases, and windows to make sure that the building is not in danger of collapsing.
• Inspect foundations for cracks or other damage. Cracks and damage to a foundation can render a building uninhabitable.
• Look for fire hazards. There may be broken or leaking gas lines, flooded electrical circuits, or submerged furnaces or electrical appliances. Flammable or explosive materials may come from upstream. Fire is the most frequent hazard following floods.
• Check for gas leaks. If you smell gas or hear a blowing or hissing noise, open a window and quickly leave the building. Turn off the gas using the outside main valve if you can, and call the gas company from a neighbor's home. If you turn off the gas for any reason, it must be turned back on by a professional.
• Look for electrical system damage. If you see sparks or broken or frayed wires, or if you smell burning insulation, turn off the electricity at the main fuse box or circuit breaker. If you have to step in water to get to the fuse box or circuit breaker, call an electrician first for advice. Electrical equipment should be checked and dried before being returned to service.
• Check for sewage and water line damage. If you suspect sewage lines are damaged, avoid using the toilets and call a plumber. If water pipes are damaged, contact the water company and avoid using water from the tap. You can obtain safe water from undamaged water heaters or by melting ice cubes.
• Use tap water if local health officials advise it is safe.
• Watch out for animals, especially poisonous snakes, that may have come into buildings with the water. Use a stick to poke through debris. Tsunami flood waters flush snakes and animals out of their homes.
• Watch for loose plaster, drywall, and ceilings that could fall.
• Take pictures of the damage, both of the building and its contents, for insurance claims.
• Open the windows and doors to help dry the building.
• Shovel mud while it is still moist to give walls and floors an opportunity to dry.
• Check food supplies. Any food that has come in contact with flood waters may be contaminated and should be thrown out.



Produced by the National Disaster Education Coalition: American Red Cross, FEMA, IAEM, IBHS, NFPA, NWS, USDA/CSREES, and USGS. HTML formating By the Disaster Center

the tragedy of the Chernobyl nuclear

Japanese Chief Minister Naoto Kan said Sunday (13 / 3) nuclear crisis in the West Sea of Japan is not the same as the Chernobyl tragedy in 1986. "Radiation has been released into the air, but no reports of large size have been off," he said as quoted by Jiji news. "It's a very fundamental difference from the Chernobyl accident."
The Japanese government is currently preventing it from spreading radiation. Currently, Japan is still struggling to stop the impact of the earthquake in Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactor. After the quake, and there was an explosion, this time the reactor to overheat radiation leak. In fact, one of the reactor buildings at risk of exploding after an explosion damaged the roof on the first day of the earthquake in northern complex 240 km north of Tokyo

The crisis in Japan is reminiscent of the Chernobyl tragedy. This tragedy is the worst nuclear disaster in the history of human civilization. Ukraine's nightmare began on April 26, 1986, ie when one of four nuclear reactors at the Chernobyl power plant, in northern Ukraine, exploded.

Radiation released explosion 100 times larger than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Regional Italian half wide spread of contamination and radiation in most parts of the former Soviet Union and most of northern Europe.

Tsunami in aceh

The western coastal areas of Aceh, including the cities of Banda Aceh, Calang, and Meulaboh, were among the areas hardest-hit by the tsunami resulting from the Indian Ocean earthquake on 26 December 2004. While estimates vary, approximately 230,000 people were killed by the earthquake and tsunami in Aceh, and about 500,000 were left homeless. The tragedy of the tsunami was further compounded on March 26 when a second off-shore earthquake measuring 9.9 on the Richter scale struck the sea bed between the islands of Simeulue Island in Aceh and Nias in North Sumatra. This second quake killed a further 905 people on Nias and Simeulue, displaced tens of thousands more and caused the tsunami response to be expanded to include Nias.
The population of Aceh before the December 2004 tsunami was 4,271,000 (2004). The population as of 15 September 2005 was 4,031,589, a loss of almost 2% of the Indonesian population.
As of February 2006, more than a year after the tsunami, a large number of people are still living in barrack-style temporary living centers (TLC) or tents. Reconstruction is visible everywhere, but due to the sheer scale of the disaster, and logistical issues, progress is slow.

Tragedy in japan

More than 1,000 people are feared to have died after the sixth largest earthquake in recorded history devastated Japan yesterday. The massive earthquake - 8,000 times stronger than the one that hit New Zealand last month - sent a catastrophic 33 foot tsunami hurtling across the Pacific Ocean.
Last night the strength of the quake increased to a staggering 9.0 on the Richter scale. Thousands of people were also forced to flee for their lives as the wall of water bore down on them, sweeping away everything in its path.
Huge fires burned unabated across large parts of the country as damaged oil refineries and gas works billowed black smoke into the sky. Half the country was understood to be without power, with four million homes in Tokyo alone being cut off, while the army has been deployed to the quake-hit areas to help relief efforts.

Earthquake

earthquake in Japan is expected to spread to southeast asia and pacific countries, it is worrying people in asia and the pacific, the trauma that occurred several years ago to be a fear in itself, it is expected to be awarded the rescue efforts in tackling the disaster, hopefully this does not cause harm and damage to the larger, "we all hope that disaster does not happen", said chief executive arienews.blogspot
the things that makes the Japanese are always hit by the earthquake because the Japanese are included in the line of volcanoes

Earthquake in Japan

INTERNATIONAL - ASIA
Friday, March 11, 2011, 18:41:00
Earthquake-Tsunami Victims Killed 32 People Japan

TOKYO - There is no certainty the number of victims of the earthquake and tsunami disaster that recently occurred in Japan, on Friday (11 / 3) afternoon. So far, reports from government officials Sakura Affairs, reported the Associated Press (AP), said that the recorded death toll of 32 people. Some degree, like any other disaster, the number is still very likely continue to grow, over the search process and the evacuation of the newspaper.

Report on at least 32 people were found TEWS, as quoted by AP, submitted by the Fire and Disaster Management Agency of Japan. Also included in their records, a major fire caused by the earthquake in a turbine building nuclear power plants in eastern Japan Sea.