“Once-in-a-decade typhoon” on path for Fukushima — Giant tanks of nuclear-contaminated waste at risk

[kpete]

AFP: Powerful Typhoon Wipha heads for Fukushima, Tepco bracing for ‘inflows of water’ — Experts: Huge flood potential for area around plant — Forecast to grow and strengthen, up to 40-foot waves off Japan coast

“Once-in-a-decade typhoon” on path for Fukushima — Top Official: Giant tanks of nuclear-contaminated waste at risk of being destroyed — Winds near 200 kilometers per hour — Gov’t: Water can be released into ocean — WSJ: ‘Monster’ bearing down on plant



Japan Times, Oct. 15, 2013 at 10:20a ET: The strongest typhoon to reach Tokyo in 10 years was expected to slam into the region with full force Wednesday morning, the Meteorological Agency said. [...] TEPCO said it was bracing for the storm to hit the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant [...]

AFP, Oct. 15, 2013 at 8:30a ET: Once-in-a-decade typhoon heads for Japan nuclear plant [...] on a path that will take it towards the precarious Fukushima nuclear power plant. Typhoon Wipha, packing winds of nearly 200 kilometres (125 miles) per hour near its centre [...] later in the day [on Wednesday it] would be off the coast of Fukushima, where the crippled nuclear power plant sits. “It is the strongest typhoon in 10 years to pass the Kanto region (Tokyo and its vicinity),” Hiroyuki Uchida, the agency’s chief forecaster, told a news conference. [...]


MORE:
http://enenews.com/once-in-a-decade-typhoon-heads-for-fukushima-top-official-giant-tanks-of-nuclear-contaminated-waste-at-risk-of-being-destroyed-by-powerful-winds-wsj-monster-typhoon-is-bearing-down-on-plan

[Fantastic Anarchist]

1. "I have a bad feeling about this."

[pscot]

2. Just when you thought things can't possibly get worse...

[MineralMan]

3. Someone should stop that typhoon right away!

Where's the US Navy? I mean, really...

[SomethingFishy]

4. Shutdown.

[MineralMan]

7. Everything at Fukushima is already shut down.

You may remember the earthquake and tsunami.

I was being facetious. Nothing can stop a typhoon. It's one of the most powerful forces of nature.

Nuclear power generation is unsafe. It cannot be made safe.

[SomethingFishy]

8. I meant the Navy was shutdown..

I was also being facetious... You know government shutdown... oh nevermind...

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. Nothing at all could go wrong

and just eat your bananas,

[KurtNYC]

6. Looks like it made land and has passed -- wind 5 to 23 MPH, heavy rain

http://www.weather.com/weather/today/Fukushima+JAXX0010:1:JA

[MineralMan]

9. Where did the 200 km per hour winds go?

Is disaster averted? False alarm?

[antiquie]

10. Don't know and can't figure out the time zone.

[KurtNYC]

11. Category 1 or lower now

Looks like it weakened. They were/are right to be cautious but it seems to be not as bad as feared.

[KoKo]

15. Dr. Jeff Masters Report from "Weather Underground"

Dangerous Typhoon Wipha Drenching Japan
Posted by: Dr. Jeff Masters, 3:45 PM GMT on October 15, 2013 +23
Large and powerful Category 1 Typhoon Wipha is bearing down on Japan as the storm races northeast at 28 mph. Wipha is likely to be the strongest typhoon to hit Japan since Typhoon Tokage of October 2004, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. Wipha is merging with a cold front and undergoing the transition to an extratropical storm--the same process Hurricane Sandy underwent as it approached landfall in October 2012.

While Typhoon Wipha is not as powerful as Sandy, it does have a huge area of winds in excess of 50 knots (57.5 mph), which extend out 130 miles to the left of the center. Since the center of Wipha is expected to graze the southern coast of Japan today, and the storm will only weaken slightly, a 100-mile-wide swath of Japan will see damaging winds of 50 knots, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

About a 30 mile-wide swath of Japan will experience winds of 75 mph (hurricane force.) Tokyo will be right at the edge of the hurricane-force wind swath. With many trees still in leaf, these winds will cause widespread tree damage and downed power lines. The counter-clockwise flow of moist, tropical air around the center of Wipha is meeting up with the cold front currently over Japan. This is generating torrential rains over large portions of the country, as the moist air is forced upwards over the cold front, making the air expand and cool, condensing its copious moisture. Radar precipitation estimates show that rainfall rates of 1 - 2" per hour were occurring near Tokyo today. Heavy rains of 4 - 8" capable of causing damaging flooding will be widespread over Japan, including over the Fukushima nuclear site, where rainfall from Typhoon Man-Yi on September 16 complicated clean-up efforts of the reactors damaged by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

Japan may not be all done with typhoons this month, as both the GFS and European models are predicting that an area of disturbed weather (Invest 93W) east of the Philippines will develop into a tropical storm late this week, which will then head northwest and threaten Japan by next Wednesday, October 23.

http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/show.html

[Bennyboy]

12. Not supposed to hit quite yet....

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/10/15/national/largest-typhoon-in-decade-heads-toward-tokyo/

[SidDithers]

13. Jeff Master is a bit less hyperbolic...

http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=2555

Large and powerful Category 1 Typhoon Wipha is bearing down on Japan as the storm races northeast at 28 mph. Wipha is likely to be the strongest typhoon to hit Japan since Typhoon Tokage of October 2004, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. Wipha is merging with a cold front and undergoing the transition to an extratropical storm--the same process Hurricane Sandy underwent as it approached landfall in October 2012. While Typhoon Wipha is not as powerful as Sandy, it does have a huge area of winds in excess of 50 knots (57.5 mph), which extend out 130 miles to the left of the center. Since the center of Wipha is expected to graze the southern coast of Japan today, and the storm will only weaken slightly, a 100-mile-wide swath of Japan will see damaging winds of 50 knots, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. About a 30 mile-wide swath of Japan will experience winds of 75 mph (hurricane force.) Tokyo will be right at the edge of the hurricane-force wind swath. With many trees still in leaf, these winds will cause widespread tree damage and downed power lines. The counter-clockwise flow of moist, tropical air around the center of Wipha is meeting up with the cold front currently over Japan. This is generating torrential rains over large portions of the country, as the moist air is forced upwards over the cold front, making the air expand and cool, condensing its copious moisture. Radar precipitation estimates show that rainfall rates of 1 - 2" per hour were occurring near Tokyo today. Heavy rains of 4 - 8" capable of causing damaging flooding will be widespread over Japan, including over the Fukushima nuclear site, where rainfall from Typhoon Man-Yi on September 16 complicated clean-up efforts of the reactors damaged by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

Sid

[NuclearDem]

14. I for one welcome our inevitable five-eyed fish overlords