There's a live bilingual conference going on now by knowledgeable people:
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/iwakamiyasumi
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There are rumours the French embassy is advising its nationals to get out of Kanto!!!
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From the French embassy translated by Google:
1. Casualties
New provisional toll : at least 10,000 deaths (source: Police Miyagi)
2. Nationals points:
Of the 137 French nationals present in the North East region, most affected by the earthquake, 116 were contacted and were unhurt. The crisis of the Embassy makes every effort to get in touch with the 21 that are left today with no news.
Miyagi: 77 of 93 people identified
Iwate: 5 out of 10 identified
Fukushima: 19/19
Aomori: 15 out of 15 people identified
France sent a team right now over a hundred people from the Civil Protection in Japan, to lend support to the Japanese authorities and assist them in their relief work.
3. Point Nuclear
Two scenarios are currently possible:
A supervised plants defective, in which case the risk is that of residual contamination associated with controlled release of radioactive gases, with a negligible risk for the city of Tokyo. This scenario is currently favored by the Japanese authorities and by many scientists.
Or does the explosion of a reactor with release of a radioactive plume. This plume can be in Tokyo within a few hours, depending on the direction and wind speed. The risk is that of contamination.
The critical period is three to four days to come.
Due to the shutdown of part of nuclear power, power cuts are announced, such as the late afternoon.
4. Recommendations:
The Japanese Meteorological Agency is to report the probability of another earthquake force 7 located in the northern Kanto. This probability is 70% within three days and 50% within days.
Given the foregoing (the risk of a major earthquake and uncertainty over the nuclear issue), it seems reasonable to advise those who do not have a specific reason to stay on the Tokyo region of s it away from the Kanto region for a few days.
We strongly advise our nationals to travel to Japan and we strongly recommend to postpone any planned trip.
The school will be closed for three days until Wednesday included, to allow inspection of premises following the earthquake.
The Embassy continues to follow closely the developments in contact with both Paris and with the Japanese authorities.
We advise our nationals to follow the instructions at all times of the Japanese authorities. It is particularly advised our citizens living in areas close to packing plants in their home (must be cut ventilation systems), and they can do when supplies of bottled drinking water and food for several hours. When carrying essential, it is necessary to wear a respirator.
We recall that the absorption of iodine capsules is not a trivial matter. Repeated use in excess can be hazardous to health. It is therefore very important to choose the right moment to absorb when it becomes necessary. Again, it should follow the advice of the Japanese authorities and our own instructions that we will provide.
The Embassy will not fail to inform his countrymen if new instructions were required.
---------- Post added at 10:06 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:51 PM ----------
The Germans are advising people leave the country if they can, especially if they have young children!
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