Table of Contents Mammoth Meltdown 4 Nuclear Energy Nuts and Bolts 10 Disaster Ahead 18 Disasters in History 25 Dealing with Disasters 33 Keeping Citizens Safe 41 How You Can Help When Disaster Strikes 45 Glossary 46 Index 47 Show What You Know 47 Websites to Visit 47 About the Author 48
Mammoth Meltdown On March 11 2011 Japanese nuclear worker Takashi Sato wrote reports on his computer It was just another day at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant about 160 miles 267 kilometers northeast of Tokyo The skies were clear The sun shone But at 2 46 p m everything changed An enormous earthquake rattled Japan Centered 80 miles 129 kilometers offshore in the Pacific the Tohoku Earthquake measured 9 0 on the Richter Scale It shook buildings for a full five minutes sending workers ducking for cover 4
That colossal quake was just the beginning Forty-five minutes later a wall of water struck the shore engulfing the nuclear plant It was a tsunami American Carl Pillitteri who also worked at the plant said the wave was so massive it swept away the walls of the plant What Takashi and Carl did not know was that the earthquake and tsunami would kick off one of the worst nuclear disasters in history a meltdown China Russia North Korea Sea of Japan East Sea earthquake’s epicenter Sendai South Korea East China Sea Japan Fukushima Daiichi Pacific Ocean Japan sits in an area known as the Ring of Fire This part of the Pacific Ocean experiences frequent volcanic eruptions earthquakes and tsunamis The Tohoku Earthquake was one of many devastating earthquakes that have affected the country 5
