Japan Facing Biggest Catastrophe Since Dawn of Nuclear Age

[CHIMO]

Japan remains in a state of emergency three days after a devastating earthquake and tsunami hit the country. An estimated 10,000 people have died, and Japan is facing the worst nuclear crisis since the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. On Monday, a second explosion hit the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, and a third reactor lost its cooling system, raising fears of a meltdown. Radiation levels have been detected as far as 100 miles away. Dozens of people have tested positive for radiation exposure, and hundreds of thousands of have been evacuated, with the number expected to rise.

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/3/14/japan_facing_biggest_catastrophe_since_dawn
http://play.rbn.com/?url=demnow/demnow/demand/2011/march/video/dnB20110314a.rm&proto=rtsp&start=00:11:25

[Nederland]

1. The Hyperbole is Stunning

The worst nuclear crisis since the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Really? Worse than every anti-nukes favorite nuclear power catastrophe, Chernobyl?

[meow mix]

2. depends if plutonium melts into the groundwater... im assuming

i dont have a crystal ball to tell you if that will happen

[phantom power]

4. I think they mean "worst for Japan"

[Bad Thoughts]

3. Catastrophe? No. Crisis? Yes.

Perhaps this is playing semantics, but I have difficulty calling this the worst catastrophe. I don't see how the death and immiseration of the 2004 Tsunami or the Haiti earthquake could be matched. As a modern nation, Japan can move resources and medical attention in ways impossible in those other disasters--it's not structurally broken the way Haiti was. There is a government that can respond.

Of course, the article is specifically about the nuclear power story, and it's possible that the situation is rapidly approaching Chernobyl levels. Indeed, this is a terribly complex, evolving situation that no one seems able to bring under control. It may require hitherto unforeseen scientific and financial efforts to tame. Unless the reactors are about to level 50 miles in each direction, I agree with the poster above that this is hyperbolic.