Posts
I
will admit from the onset that I am sensitive and irritated by the
following comments:
"Oh
come off it Robin Westenra. By the time Vongfong reaches Fukushima it
will be just a breezy, wet day. Vongfong reached well into cat 5 when
it was in a rather empty part of the Pacific on the 7/8th October,
setting new records, but has declined since then. To suggest that
Fukushima is going to suffer a 'direct hit' from a super-typhoon next
week is just wrong. No, it';s worse than wrong as it makes people
disbelieve the other, usually excellent, stuff you post..
A
"breezy, wet day"? That's
not what others are saying!
I
have to point out to the person who posted these comments that, in
case they haven't noticed, this is a personal
blog site and I have no responsibility as such to anyone. I am not a
journalist and I have never purported to be one.
I
have not expressed a personal opinion or made any predictions other
than about the bigger picture of the predicament we're all in.
I
challenge this individual, instead of yapping from the sidelines of
Facebook to make a positive contribution of his/her (I think, from
the tone, that it is a 'he') own.
Typhoons
and cyclones are notoriously difficult to predict and there has been
a pattern of typhoons losing some of their strength as they approach
the Japanese mainland.
However,
there are some important aspects to this that are (despite the
opinions of the above writer) that are noteworthy:
- This typhoon is an absolute whopper (as seen from the article below)
- As pointed out by Robertscribbler, it comes out of the incredibly warm waters of the Pacific. Despite the above attempts to belittle it, it is an example of what Al Gore predicted in the late 80's and is certainly the beginning of what James Hansen is talking about in 'Storms of my Grandchildren'
- It most certainly represents a threat to the Fukushima nuclear power station. I noticed a complete news blackout after last week's typhoon and my journalist friend in Tokyo did not know anything.
I'm
sick of comments like the one above that invariably come from people
that are: a) male; b) American.
I
will not tolerate being told I am misleading people, especially by
aggresive male Americans.
So
my final word to my friend (and any like him) if you don't like it -
sod off!
Global-scale
enormous: #Vongfong Typhoon startles even from orbit
RT,
12
October, 2014
The
powerful Typhoon Vongfong has injured over 40 people on the Japanese
island of Okinawa, and is now downgrading from a super-typhoon to a
mere tropical storm. But at the peak of its strength it was a
startling sight to see from the Earth’s orbit.
The
giant atmospheric vortex that is the typhoon fascinated German
astronaut Alexander Gerst, who is currently on board the
International Space Station as part of the Expedition 40/41 crew.
On
Sunday, Gerst tweeted the photos he took of the typhoon which
prompted a recommendation to almost 185,000 people to evacuate.
Earlier
NASA published a time-lapse video, demonstrating the ISS passing over
the monstrous storm. By this time, Vongfong has passed Okinawa
and is moving to central parts of Japan with Tokyo expected to be hit
by Monday night.
Some 350 flights have been cancelled due to the typhoon while over 40,000 households remain without electricity. According to local media, winds are blowing at 140 km per hour (90 mph) with gusts of 185 kph (115 mph) - powerful enough to overturn a moving lorry.
This
is the 19th tropical storm to come from the Pacific Ocean this year
and so far has all the chances to turn out the most powerful.
The
previous severe weather alert, generated by Phanfone, caused more
than 1.2 million people to be evacuated to shelters, disrupted air
and rail travel as well as the search and rescue efforts for missing
people.
Typhoon
winds up to 110
mph to hit Fukushima
Daiichi, storm surge advisory
issued
- Nearly all gov’t forecasts show eye passing right over plant
- Nuclear Expert: Expect radioactive material washing into Pacific Ocean (MAPS)
12
October, 2014
Japan
Meteorological Agency forecast for Typhoon Vongfong,
Oct. 12, 2014 at 6:50a UTC:
Forecast
tracks show the center of Typhoon Vongfong over Fukushima Daiichi on
Tuesday morning Oct. 14 (Japan,
U.S.,
Hong
Kong,
China,
Taiwan,
and ensemble),
Oct. 12, 2014:
DW,
Oct. 10, 2014: Is
Fukushima capable of withstanding a super typhoon?…
Vongfong is expected… just days after [Japan] was struck by another
typhoon… strong winds… landslides … floods… storm surge…
[Is] Fukushima… braced for the impact of a super typhoon?
Michael
Maqua, nuclear expert:
“Expect radioactive isotopes… transported into the groundwater or
the sea… The main risk of the typhoon is the intrusion of rain
water… mainly [at] reactor 3… rain water will [likely] mix with
the contaminated water in the basements of the reactor buildings and
thus more radioactivity could be washed to the sea.”
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