Double disaster rocks Japan

JAPAN is reeling from the double disaster on Friday which has left tens of thousands still missing and hundreds more dead.     

     The most powerful earthquake in Japan’s history, measuring 8.9 on the Richter scale was followed by a 30ft tsunami which was similar to the devastating Boxing Day Asian tsunami off the coast of Indonesia in 2004.  The tsunami swept away people, crushed cars and destroyed buildings at speeds akin to a passenger jet plane.  The human cost is yet to emerge.  The Japanese government has declared a state of emergency across the country and has already confirmed that at least 400 people have been killed.  Tragically, the death toll is this set to rise into the thousands, especially as many communities and villages have simply been obliterated by this excessive force of nature.

     It isn’t just this that has caused concern for the shocked people of Japan.  Fears have grown over a possible nuclear meltdown after a cooling tower failed at the Fukushima power station. Over 300,000 people have been evacuated in this area and yesterday, a controlled explosion took place at the plant, which has released some radioactive gases into the air.  Although there are still fears for the longevity of the nuclear plant, any reporting of a similar catastrophe following the Russian Chernobyl blast of April 1986 are wide of the mark.  After the Japanese devastation, tsunami warnings were given out all over the Pacific Ocean.  Luckily, areas on high alert such as Samoa, Hawaii and Mexico seemed to have escaped with very little damage.

     Japan is one of the best prepared countries for earthquakes.  After all, it experiences nearly 200 of them a year.  However, it wasn’t prepared for Friday’s utter carnage.  Japan lies on three plates, and Friday’s quake came because the Pacific Plate went underneath the Eurasian Plate.  This produced a jolt as deep as 15 metres, hence the strength of the earthquake and resulting tsunami.  The quake struck at 4pm Japanese local time, when many parents are picking up children from school, and workers are slowly shutting down for the relaxing weekend.  Consequently, it struck at its busiest time, unlike the morning earthquake which devastated Kobe in January 1995.  The epicentre was just off the main coast of Tokyo and had a power 8,000 times more than the earthquake that devastated Christchurch in New Zealand just two weeks ago.

     The island of Sendai was the worst hit, as the port and airport were practically wiped out by the tsunami.  At the airport, passengers ready for departure were forced onto the terminal rooftops to escape the worst.  Masonry fell from buildings in Yokohama, as workers ran for their lives, quickly realising that this wasn’t just a normal earthquake.  At Ibaraki airport, the ceiling collapsed in the departure lounge, again leaving passengers running away in sheer terror.  Two trains and one ship are missing, with hundreds aboard and unaccounted for.  An oil refinery burned in Tokyo, thanks to the burst gas and electric lines.  The ferocity of the fire meant there was little that could be done but let the refinery burn into the dark sky.  Even a meeting of the Japanese parliament was interrupted.  The floor shook and the chandelier lights went crazy, which left major politicians stunned.

     The rescue will face major challenges to deal with.  As road and rail networks have literally been paralysed, it will only make things harder.  An expert on earthquakes David Rothery insists it was the tsunami that did the damage; “This earthquake didn’t actually cause much damage.  However, it was the resulting tsunami that the quake will be remembered for.”  Since records began in 1900, this was the seventh most powerful earthquake ever, with only the 2004 Asian Tsunami greater at 9.1.  As Japan is a hi-tech and more advanced country, it is likely to get back onto its feet far quicker than lesser developed countries, such as Haiti after their earthquake which destroyed the country last January.

     David Cameron, Pope Benedict XVI and Barack Obama were among the first to send their condolences to the Japanese people who have been affected.  The USA, Britain and Russia have already pledged to send out rescue teams, should the Japanese need extensive help.  At a press briefing in the States, US secretary of state Hilary Clinton pledged her support to help Americans stuck in Japan; “Obviously, the US is offering immediate relief.  We will assist 24/7 to help those Americans stuck in Japan and the Japanese government with the aftermath.  Also, we are deeply involved with the Japanese to help control the nuclear reactor failure at Fukushima.”

     

Seeing the pictures and videos of the sheer devastation in Japan on Friday certainly shook me up, and reminds everyone of the force that Mother Nature can leave yet again on the world.  It puts all personal events into perspective, because at least the majority of us can count our blessings that we don’t suffer earthquakes in this country, unlike those citizens in Japan.  My thoughts go out to all those whose lives in Japan have simply been turned upside down.

The helpline for the Foreign Office should it be required is +44 0 20 7008 0000

Sony ends the cassette Walkman era

JAPANESE electronics giant Sony has closed a prestigious chapter in technological history, as it recently finished production of its groundbreaking Walkman.  It is now likely to be stored into museums as precious exhibits.

Sony has confirmed that the last models of the Walkman in Japan were shipped out in April this year, and no more will made.  To meet the required orders from Europe and Asia, the final productions will be made from a factory in China, though this is only thought to be a short-term measure.

The Walkman stepped upto the global scene in 1979, and has been a major success for Sony, with only the PlayStation’s birth in 1995 has come anywhere close to being a major sales figure for the giant.  Worldwide, over 200million walkmans have been sold, but as time and technology has gone on, so the Walkman has begun to age.  First, it was overtaken by the portable CD player, then the mini-disc player and lastly the MP3/I-Pod generation, which hit the headlines back in 2001.

It may look bulky to many now, but the Walkman was a pioneering piece of electronic kit, at a time when technological advances were far slower than what they are in today’s world.  Some ‘vintage’ editions have been sold on for thousands of pounds, and despite lacking the features of today’s music players; the Walkman has made its impact and with it, provided many fans and memories.

It may be out-of-date and soon to be out of production, but the Walkman’s legacy on our technology world will never be forgotten.

2010 Japanese Grand Prix - Sebastian Strikes Super Suzuka Blow

Sebastian Vettel produced a faultless and dominant display this morning to win the Japanese Grand Prix at a sunny Suzuka.  It was the young German’s second successive victory on the demanding Japanese circuit, and moves him to within 14 points of championship leader, Mark Webber.  What this means now that Vettel, who won his first event since June’s European Grand Prix at Valencia can win the last three races and take the title, no matter what Webber does.

Suzuka was always expected to favour the Red Bulls, and this is exactly what happened, though not quite the dominant pace they showed at Barcelona and the Hungaroring.  With Saturday being completely rained off due to a rainstorm of biblical proportions, qualifying took place at 2am British time this morning, which saw the Red Bulls lock out the front row.  Their dominance was threatened by Renault’s Robert Kubica, who jumped past the slow-starting Webber on the rundown to Turn One.  However, the Pole was out on Lap 3, when his right-rear wheel bizarrely fell off behind the Safety Car.  Investigations seems to hint that the wheel was not done up properly on the grid, so no wonder why Kubica looked bemused when he got out of his car.  His demise was a shame for the race, as he really could have mixed it up with the championship contenders.

The Safety Car was out after some amateurish driving on the first lap which saw five cars eliminated before the race was two corners old.  First, a suspected suspension failure sent Lucas di Grassi’s Virgin Racing careering into the tyres at 130R on the way to the grid.  Seconds after the lights went out, Vitaly Petrov chopped across a slow-starting Nico Hulkenberg without having got a full car length infront of the Williams.  The result saw the Russian pitched into the barriers a mere 200 yards into the 53 lap extraganvanza.  Hulkenberg was forced to park his car with a smashed front suspension and they were joined on the sidelines by Felipe Massa’s Ferrari and Vitantonio Liuzzi’s Force India.  Massa lost his bearings and used the grass on the first corner to try and pass Nico Rosberg.  With no grip on the dirt, the Brazilian skewed across the road and took out an innocent Liuzzi, causing massive damage to the under-pressure Italian’s car.

With Kubica out of the way, Red Bull’s main threat came from the McLaren’s.  Jenson Button had attempted a different tyre strategy, but it didn’t work out as anticipated, due to the option tyre holding out longer than expected.  Button had to settle to 4^th, which now leaves his chances of retaining his championship as very remote.  Having started back in 8^th, after a five-place grid penalty, Lewis Hamilton was charging hard, but a loss of 3^rd gear with his new gearbox.  The Brit could only limp around to a 5^th place finish, which like Button leaves his hopes of winning a second title looking very distant.  The closest and most consistent challenger to the Red Bull’s is Fernando Alonso, who maximised the equipment he had with his Ferrari to finish 3^rd, and stay within 14 points of championship leader Webber.  Despite not being much difference between Vettel and Webber, the Australian was always trailing Vettel by around a tenth of a second.  It is something he will need to reverse in one of the last three races; otherwise he will lose his chance of claiming his maiden championship.

Elsewhere, the main action in the midfield was created by the home boy Kamur Kobayashi.  Kobayashi pulled off five stunning overtaking moves in the race, including clean moves on Adrian Sutil and Rubens Barrichello, to finish an outstanding 7^th.  Sauber recorded only their second double points finish of the season, with Nick Heidfeld finishing an excellent 8^th in only his second race of 2010.  Michael Schumacher had one of his strongest races of his difficult comeback year, finishing 6^th, though he was trailing Rosberg when his team-mate crashed with just six laps to go, another victim of a wheel flying off his car, through no fault of his own.  Barrichello and the Toro Rosso of Sebastian Buemi completed the point’s scorers.  Sutil was another late retirement, victim to a spectacular engine blow-up in 130R which saw the German spin on his own oil.

Three races to go, and Red Bull now have the momentum.  Has Sebastian Vettel delivered a crucial blow to the other championship contenders with his dominant Japanese weekend?  Now F1 heads into the unknown, with a new circuit in Korea the next stop in two weeks time.