ECM WORLD WATCH: SPECIAL EDITION ON JAPAN CRISIS

March 13, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) – A string of catastrophies in Japan, starting with one of the strongest earthquakes in recorded history, which triggered a tsunami and multiple nuclear plant failures, is epic in scale.

Here are the latest headlines on the crisis in Japan, and how it may impact the rest of the world:

 
• Japanese earthquake: footage of moment tsunami hit (BBC)
• Japan death toll estimates surpass 10,000 (CBS News)
• Six injured in another Fukushima nuclear power blast (NHK)
• Exodus from Japan nuclear power plant (BBC)
• Quake moved Japan coast 8 feet, shifted earth on its axis (CNN)
• Meltdown caused nuclear power plant explosion: Safety body (Nikkei)
• Japan declares emergency at third reactor; 170,000 evacuated (Honolulu Star Advertiser)
• Criticism of Japan’s nuclear response (CNN)
• Japan declares nuclear emergency (BBC)
• Japan brings money home to rebuild: Could send dollar plummeting; lead to sharp slide in treasuries (Reuters)
• Toyota, other automakers suspend production (Kyodo News)
• Japan’s quake, tsunami could have lessons for U.S. (NPR)
• Quake is 5th biggest, but Japan best prepared (Yahoo News)

JAPANESE EARTHQUAKE: FOOTAGE OF MOMENT TSUNAMI HIT (BBC)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12725646   
 

JAPAN DEATH TOLL ESTIMATES SURPASS 10,000

Officials confirm only 1,800 deaths as grim search for the missing in tsunami-ravaged northeast continues; Millions without water, food or power

March 13, 2011 (CBS News) -- The estimated death toll from Japan's disasters climbed past 10,000 Sunday as authorities raced to combat the threat of multiple nuclear reactor meltdowns and hundreds of thousands of people struggled to find food and water. The prime minister said it was the nation's worst crisis since World War II.
 

Nuclear plant operators worked frantically to try to keep temperatures down in several reactors crippled by the earthquake and tsunami, wrecking at least two by dumping sea water into them in last-ditch efforts to avoid meltdowns. Officials warned of a second explosion but said it would not pose a health threat.
 

Near-freezing temperatures compounded the misery of survivors along hundreds of miles of the northeastern coast battered by the tsunami that smashed inland with breathtaking fury
 

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/03/13/501364/main20042656.shtml

SIX INJURED IN ANOTHER FUKUSHIMA NUCLEAR PLANT BLAST

March 13, 2011 (NHK) What appears to be another hydrogen blast has occurred at a nuclear power plant in Fukushima. No damage to the reactor chamber has been reported, but 6 people at the plant have been injured.
 

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/14_26.html

EXODUS FROM JAPAN NUCLEAR PLANT

March 12, 2011 (BBC) -- An estimated 170,000 people have been evacuated from the area around a quake-damaged nuclear power station in north-east Japan that was hit by an explosion, the UN atomic watchdog says.
 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12724953
 

QUAKE MOVED JAPAN COAST 8 FEET; SHIFTED EARTH ON ITS AXIS

March 12, 2011 (CNN) -- The powerful earthquake that unleashed a devastating tsunami Friday appears to have moved the main island of Japan by 8 feet (2.4 meters) and shifted the Earth on its axis.
 

http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/12/japan.earthquake.tsunami.earth/index.html

MELTDOWN CAUSED NUCLEAR PLANT EXPLOSION: SAFETY BODY

March 12, 2011 (Nikkei) JAPAN--The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) said Saturday afternoon the explosion at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant could only have been caused by a meltdown of the reactor core.
 

http://e.nikkei.com/e/fr/tnks/Nni20110312D12JFF03.htm

JAPAN DECLARES EMERGENCY AT THIRD REACTOR; 170,000 EVACAUTED

March 13, 2011 (Honolulu Star Advertiser/AP) -- Cooling systems failed at another nuclear reactor on Japan's devastated coast Sunday, hours after an explosion at a nearby unit made leaking radiation, or even outright meltdown, the central threat to the country following a catastrophic earthquake and tsunami.
 

http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/117854594.html

CRITICISM OF JAPAN’S NUCLEAR RESPONSE

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2011/03/12/white.nuclear.japan.cnn

JAPAN DECLARES NUCLEAR EMERGENCY

March 11, 2011 (BBC News-Asia Pacific) 11:26 p.m.-- Japanese authorities have declared a state of emergency at two nuclear power plants, after Friday's devastating earthquake caused malfunctions.
 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12720219
 

JAPAN BRINGS MONEY HOME TO REBUILD

Could send dollar plummeting; lead to sharp slide in treasuries

(Reuters) - Shaken by the prospect of nuclear meltdown after a devastating earthquake and tsunami, Japanese investors will dump overseas assets on Monday and bring their money home to help finance reconstruction.
 

Positioning for this could send the dollar plummeting versus the yen on Monday and lead to a sharp slide in Treasuries since U.S. government bonds are a favorite asset of Japanese investors, market analysts said.
 

Stocks also are likely to come under pressure.
 

Japanese insurers will probably sell some of their most liquid foreign assets such as U.S. Treasuries so they can respond to the worst disaster since World War Two.
 

The crisis could lead to insured losses of nearly $35 billion, risk modeling company AIR Worldwide said, making it one of the most expensive disasters in history and nearly as much as the entire worldwide catastrophe loss for the global insurance industry.
 

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/13/us-markets-weekahead-idUSTRE72A31H20110313

TOYOTA, OTHER AUTOMAKERS SUSPEND PRODUCTION

March 12, 2011 (Kyodo News) -- Toyota Motor Corp. and two other automakers plan to suspend production at all their domestic plants on Monday due to difficulties in procuring auto parts following Friday's deadly earthquake in northeast Japan, company officials said Saturday.
 

http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2011/03/77119.html

JAPAN’S QUAKE, TSUNAMI COULD HAVE LESSONS FOR U.S.

March 12, 2011 (NPR)--The huge quake and tsunami that struck Japan occurred along what geologists call a "subduction zone." That is the kind of fault line where quakes generate big tsunami. There is one like it along the northwest coast of the United States. Geologists say it could go any time and wonder if we're prepared.
 

http://www.npr.org/2011/03/12/134484951/Quake-Tsunami-Hit-Along-Subduction-Zone?ft=1&f=7
 

QUAKE IS 5TH BIGGEST, BUT JAPAN BEST PREPARED

March 11, 2011 (Yahoo News). – Take the world's most earthquake-prepared country, jolt it with one of the biggest quakes in history and add a devastating tsunami minutes later. In the classic battle of Man vs. Nature, Nature won again.
 

Hundreds if not thousands of people are dead in Japan. One of the world's most technologically advanced and earthquake-prone nations is paralyzed by a 8.9-magnitude "megathrust." It was the fifth-strongest quake in the world since 1900 and the most powerful on record ever to hit Japan, but not the deadliest.
 

And it could have been worse.
 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110311/ap_on_sc/us_sci_japan_earthquake_science