>Light winds, snow forecast near Japan nuclear plant(Video)

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Rain or snow are forecast for the area around Japan’s crippled nuclear reactor, over which a light wind is expected to blow from the southeast and out over parts of the country’s northern region, the weather agency said on Tuesday.

The weather is important for gauging if traces of radiation leaking from the plant will reach heavily populated areas, enter the food chain, or blow out over the ocean.

The damaged Fukushima Daiichi plant, run by Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), is about 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo.

Some 3-8 mm (0.1-0.3 inch) of rain or snow are forecast to fall over the area in the next 24 hours.

Three hundred engineers, in addition to military, police and fire department personnel, have been battling inside the danger zone to try to cool down the reactors.

Winds near the plant will blow at a speed as fast as 4 meters (13 feet) per second, the Meteorological Agency in Fukushima said, forecasting that the wind could begin blowing from the west from the evening.

Traces of radiation exceeding national safety standards have so far been found in milk and vegetables from areas around the plant.

Tiny levels of radioactive iodine have also been found in tap water in Tokyo, one of the world’s largest cities, and the plant’s operator said on Tuesday traces of radioactive substances had been found in the Pacific Ocean.

Many tourists and expatriates have already left Japan and many residents are staying indoors.

>U.S. readies relief for quake-hit ally Japan

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President Barack Obama sent condolences to the people of Japan on Friday and said the United States would provide any help its close ally needed after a massive earthquake and tsunami killed hundreds.
The Defense Department was preparing American forces in the Pacific Ocean to provide relief after the quake, which generated a tsunami that headed across the Pacific past Hawaii and toward the west coast of the U.S. mainland.
The U.S. Air Force transported “some really important coolant” to a Japanese nuclear plant affected by the quake, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said.
Authorities said hundreds of people were killed in Japan and the toll was expected to surpass 1,000.
“This is a potentially catastrophic disaster and the images of destruction and flooding coming out of Japan are simply heartbreaking,” Obama told reporters.
Obama was awakened by his chief of staff, Bill Daley, at about 4 a.m. EST (0900 GMT) and called Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan later in the morning.
“On behalf of the American people, I conveyed our deepest condolences, especially to the victims and their families, and I offered our Japanese friends whatever assistance is needed,” Obama said at a midday news conference.
Obama said Kan told him that so far there were no signs of a radiation leak at the nuclear plant hit by the quake, adding the United States sent the coolant as a precaution.
‘HUGE DISASTER’
Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters traveling with him in Bahrain that U.S. troops and military facilities in Japan were in good shape and willing to help.
“It’s obviously a very sophisticated country but this is a huge disaster and we will do all, anything we are asked to do to help out,” he said.Daley told a meeting of the President’s Export Council it appeared Hawaii was spared serious impact from the tsunami.
There is still some risk to the U.S. west coast, “but I think the enormous fears that were there hours ago, for some of us hours ago, have diminished greatly, which is quite a relief for all of us,” he said.
The U.S. military effort included at least six Navy ships, Pentagon spokeswoman Navy Commander Leslie Hullryde said.The State Department said U.S. embassy operations in Japan were moved from Tokyo to another location as a precaution.
There have been no reports of Americans killed or injured in the quake. A State Department travel alert strongly urged Americans to avoid nonessential travel to Japan.
“Strong aftershocks are likely for weeks following a strong earthquake such as this one,” it said.

>Tsunami Reaches California After Soaking Hawaii

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A tsunami wave reached the West Coast of the U.S. this morning with threats of waves as tall as nine feet that could strike from California to Alaska.
Residents along the northern California and Oregon coasts reported seeing the tell-tale sign of an impending tsunami — the waterline quickly withdrawing from the beach prior to large incoming waves.
The tsunami, which has claimed hundreds of lives in Japan, triggered warning sirens across the Pacific and led to evacuations as far away as Hawaii and Oregon.
By the time the tsunami reached California around 7:45 a.m. PST, it had soaked Hawaii’s beaches but done little lasting damage there.
Officials were cautiously optimistic that the West Coast would fare similarly, but warned of waves as high as 9 feet, and banned boaters and surfers in California from entering the water.
Warning sirens began blaring in some Oregon coastal communities in the small hours of the morning, and residents were urged to seek higher ground.
Orgeon officials said highways were congested with residents evacuating low lying ares near Florence.
Sam McAlmond, a resident of Gold Beach, Ore., chose not to evacuate, but is prepared to leave his home if it becomes necesary.
“This doesn’t happen too often. We liked to see it if and when anything happens,” he said of the tsunami. “We have all of our necessary equipment — fresh water and food. Filled up the tank with gas and there is an escape route.”
McAlmond said he had not seen any significant waves from his beach front home.
In California, the city of San Francisco activated it’s emergency operations response team and closed its coastal highway. All coastal access to San Francisco area beaches have been closed.
The 8.9 magnitude earthquake hit Japan Friday afternoon local time, triggering a tsunami that is speeding across the Pacific Ocean at speeds of 500 mph, as fast as a jet airplane.
Hawaii Gets Soaked But More Waves Anticipated
The tsunami reached Hawaii around 3:30 a.m. local time. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center says Kauai was the first island hit early by the wave, which quickly swept through the Hawaiian Island chain. There were no immediate reports of serious damage.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey the first wave to hit is not as large as experts anticipated, but bigger ones are expected to follow.
Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie ordered the evacuation of coastal areas. Through the night, residents waited on lines to buy gas, bottled water, canned food and generators.
At least tens of thousands of people were evacuated and there were reports of fighting at gas stations as people fuel up their cars to move inland in Hawaii.
“We have been hearing those reports and we’ve asked everybody to stop doing that, to get out of the way and that their hindering the evacuation,” Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle said.
“It’s not just a wave, it’s a series of waves and no one knows which one will be the strongest, no one knows which one will do the most of damage and we don’t even know how long they will last, they could last for a series of hours,” Carlisle said.
Officials did not regret the call for evacuations. “We called this right. This evacuation was necessary,” said geophysicist Gerard Fryer in Hawaii. “There’s absolutely no question, this was the right thing to do.”
Brian Shiro of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the tsunami that will reach the Wes Coast “loses a little bit of power because of friction from the bottom of the ocean, but this tsunami is pretty sufficient.”
Shiro said the West Coast could see waves as high as 9 feet.
“Some places in California will see 6 feet in some cases 9 feet. This could certainly be a bad day for people on the beach. If you have a house right on the water… it could be flooded,” he said.
Tsunami Racing Across the Pacific at 500 MPH
The tsunami is expected to hit Los Angeles at 8:30 a.m. local time, but another, bigger wave is expected two hours later when the tide is higher, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
The 8.9 magnitude earthquake is the fifth largest ever recorded and extended along a 400 mile fault zone.

>Tsunami warnings on US west coast has Oregon residents moving inland(Video)

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Tsunami warnings coming off the huge Japan earthquake Friday has Oregon residents and others along the US west coast moving away from the shore. Tsunami warnings are also in effect for the Hawaiian Islands.
Residents living near beaches along the Oregon coast evacuated their homes Friday morning, and gift shops and other businesses stayed shuttered as a tsunami surged across the Pacific following a massive earthquake in Japan.
Some evacuees in Seaside drove into a hilly area overlooking town to wait for the predicted big waves, which were expected to hit the Oregon coast between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m.Restaurants, gift shops and other businesses in the tourist town were shuttered, and hotels were evacuated.Evacuations were reported in parts of several coastal communities.Streams of eastbound traffic were reported on some roads near the coast as residents sought higher ground, and long lines were reported at some gas stations.
Coastal communities were bracing for waves of up to 6 feet that could cause damage.Schools up and down the coast were closed.
Gov. John Kitzhaber issued a statement urging “all Oregonians along the coast to heed tsunami alarms and follow instructions from public safety officials about heading to higher ground.”Kitzhaber added, “Our thoughts are with the people of Japan.”
Emergency management officials have been up all night making preparations after getting word of the tsunami.

>Earthquake and Tsunami (Video Gallery)

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Hawaii ordered evacuations from coastal areas due to the threat of a tidal wave set off by Friday’s earthquake in Japan as a tsunami warning was extended to the whole of the Pacific basin, except mainland United States and Canada.
Authorities also ordered evacuation from low-lying areas on the U.S. island territory of Guam in the western Pacific, where residents there were urged to move at least 50 feet (15 meters) above sea level and 100 feet (30 meters) inland.
The U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the warning extended from Mexico down the Pacific coast of South America.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies warned that the tsunami is currently higher than some Pacific islands which it could wash over.
The quake off Japan’s northeast coast was the biggest in 140 years and triggered tsunami waves of up to 10 meters (30 feet) that swept across farmland, sweeping away homes, crops, vehicles and triggering fires. [ID:nL3E7EB0MF]
The tsunami warning issued late on Thursday for Hawaii prompted civil defense officials to order all Hawaiian coastal areas evacuated. The warning said that all islands in the Hawaiian chain were in the path of potential damage from a tsunami generated by the quake.
The government advisory put the estimated arrival time in Hawaii of a first tsunami wave 3 a.m. local time, the advisory said.
Civil defense sirens blared statewide shortly before 10 p.m. local time to alert residents.
“Each individual wave crest can last five to 15 minutes or more and extensively flood coastal areas,” the advisory statement warned. “The danger can continue for many hours after the initial wave as subsequent waves arrive.”
The statement also said that debris carried by a tsunami could amplify its destructive force, said it warned that “urgent action should be taken to protect lives and property.”
The state civil defense agency ordered all coastal areas for the entire state evacuated no later than 2 a.m. local time. The evacuation zone includes the famous Waikiki Beach, the main hotel and tourist hub in Honolulu on the island of Oahu, and traffic in the area soon grew heavy.
Lines of cars began to form at gasoline service stations on Oahu as motorists gassed up their vehicles.
In the town of Kailua, police with bullhorns were urging people to higher ground.
Ocean waves up to 6 feet (2 meters) above normal sea level were detected by deep-ocean gauges near Wake island, Midway and Guam in the North Pacific, said Chip McCreary, a spokesman for the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.