- Fukushima before disaster
- 2. How did it happen?
- 3. Effects of the disaster
- 4. Japan now
Fukushima is a city in Japan that was founded on April 1, 1907. It lies about 250 km north of Tokyo and 80 km south of Sendai. Before the disaster, this city grew popular and very prosperous from the production of silk.
- 1. The earthquake and the tsunami were the main causes of the fukushima disaster. Multiple equipment failed, nuclear meltdowns happened. Japanese people expected the tsunami to be around 4-6ft but it was worse than that. So the nuclear plants and the backups ended up shutting down. Because of the lack of power, the water boiled and then the explosion occurred. The Fukushima disaster is considered the largest of this year and is the largest nuclear accident since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster according to different opinions, but it is more complex as “multiple reactors and spent fuel pools were involved”.
- 1. Fukushima definitely affected the entire nuclear energy community. But the biggest effect it had was the energy crisis. With all the efforts they have been putting on getting their pre-quake energy power but the people are still struggling in that area. According to Cnn.com, “Across the country energy production is down 7% on last summer; in greater Tokyo power generation has fallen by 20%.”Japanese people are making sacrifices to keep their energy, like avoiding peak energy hours at work, turning off lights and so and so. They also secured the nuclear power plants after this big loss.
- The government had kind of banned the energy but was able to lift it early to make the people’s life easier. So for now, they are making sure they check the safety and maintenance of the nuclear reactors before they turn them on again to avoid other catastrophies… Here is a clear image of fukushima city before and after the earthquake:
