UBC prof: People in Japan trying to get back to normal
Posted Mar 12, 2011 01:33:07 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
TOKYO, JP. (NEWS1130) – UBC assistant professor in Tokyo says even though her home is more than 300 miles away from the epicenter, things were still flying off her shelves when the devastating 8.9 magnitude earthquake hit a couple of days ago.
Christina Laffin says people Tokyo are doing their best to get life back to normal. “People were shopping, they were eating out; they were stocking up on supplies.”
“A lot of the staples were out in the stores,” she explains. “It’s probably partly transport-related, but also because people were buying up so much. We’re really making an effort to provide a sense of community.”
But with all the aftershocks, staying calm can be tough. “It’s quite frightening,” she says. “They’re so recurring; sometimes they’re happening every five minutes, sometimes every half hour, sometimes every hour. It’s very difficult to sleep and keep a calm presence.”
Local expert analyzes nuclear explosion
People in Japan are keeping an eye on radiation levels after an explosion at a nuclear power station.
Jean Claude Brodovitch is a nuclear chemist at SFU. He explains that so far, the nuclear core hasn’t been exposed, which is a good thing.
In a worst-case scenario, he adds it’s hard to say how many people would be affected. “It would be totally dependent on the weather conditions. I don’t know how populated that area is. But it would reach [up to] 10 kilometres around.”
The Japanese government has evacuated a 20 kilometre radius from the reactor north of Tokyo as a precaution. Brodovitch doesn’t think the situation will become as dangerous as it was during the Chernobyl disaster back in 1986.
“You have to release the whole thing for what happened in Chernobyl,” he explains. “All the debris gets transported by atmospheric winds… but I don’t think we have reached that case yet.”
Helpful links/information
Vancouver International Airport (YVR)
Cellphone users on most carriers, including Rogers and Fido, can text ASIA to 30333 to donate $5 to earthquake relief efforts. One hundred per cent of donations will go to the Canadian Red Cross Japan Earthquake/Asia-Pacific Tsunami fund.
