Tsunami Survivors in Japan Reflect on the Disaster at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant 15 Years Ago

Fifteen years after the tsunami and then the triple meltdown at the nuclear power plant at Fukushima on Japan’s northeast coast, thousands of survivors are reluctant or simply unable to return to their old homes. The on-rushing flood from the tsunami accounted for virtually all the 22,230 dead or missing, but the fear of radiation still hovers over the land.Although virtually all the deaths were attributed, directly or indirectly, to the 128-foot-high wave triggered by one of the world’s worst earthquakes, radiation was the reason why 44,000 from six municipalities were evacuated right after the tsunami. They still are not able to return while giant cranes remove soil that may have been contaminated by the fallout from the power plant.Many of those who once lived near the plant were among the thousands who returned to Fukushima, clasping their hands and bowing their heads in silent prayer as sirens wailed for the terrifying minutes during which a series of at least four mighty walls of water were crashing onto the beaches, surging over harbors, streets and fields, tossing boats and vehicles as if they were children’s toys. The date, March 11, 2011, is remembered as much for the horror of possible nuclear disaster as for the tsunami that caused it. “I am overcome with profound sorrow when I think of the feelings of those who lost their beloved family members, relatives and friends.” Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi said at the memorial, blaming “the massive earthquake and tsunami, along with the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant,” for depriving many people “of their everyday lives.”She could not, however, say the tsunami and the “accident” at the Fukushima Daichi plant were equally to blame for killing people for the simple reason that only one person’s death, from lung cancer, was later attributed to the disaster at the plant. That figure compares to 30 victims of radiation when the Russian nuclear power plant at Chernobyl exploded on April 26, 1986,. Thousands more died later from cancer due to radiation.At the Fukushima plant, three of its six reactors melted down in the flooding, all six total losses. The fear of radiation, as the reactors heated uncontrollably and the waters around them boiled before being discharged into the sea, panicked everyone. All told about 100,000 people living within 20 kilometers were rushed out of harm’s way. Hundreds of hospital patients and elderly people, many in retirement homes, died for lack of food and medicine. Many more were said to have died from accidents — or sheer panic.Just as serious, from the long-range view, was that Japan after the disaster shut down all 54 of its nuclear power reactors, relieving the country of its total dependence on oil, 95 percent of it from the middle east, to power the second biggest in Asia, Japan by now has reopened 14 of them, and Ms. Takaichi wants many more to go back on line. Nuclear power “protects our livelihoods and industries, “ she said during a recent campaign, as quoted by Japan’s Jiji Press.Harrowing memories of that day 15 years ago, however, live on. “I am filled with regret and frustration,” a 75-year-old farmer, who lost his wife and mother to the flood, told one of the big Japanese newspapers, Asahi Shimbun. “Looking back, 15 years have flown by in a flash.” A woman, asked about the reopening of another nuclear plant, said, “We have returned to a situation of again facing the risk of having to evacuate.”In an editorial, Asahi Shimbun reflected the mood. “No decision should be made about returning to nuclear energy while forgetting the tragedy of Fukushima,” said the paper, warning against”ignoring the severe reality that disaster victims continue to face.”

Tsunami Survivors in Japan Reflect on the Disaster at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant 15 Years Ago

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