Super typhoon Vongfong

I was attacked on Facebook for covering this. It would only bring “breezes” to Japan in the opinion of the correspondent.

It takes all sorts

Meanwhile Vongfong seems to have all but disappeared from the headlines

Japan prepares for 'powerful' Typhoon Vongfong

Japan is bracing for the arrival of a powerful typhoon, Vongfong, which officials have said will be the strongest storm to hit Japan this year.

Vongfong is slated to make landfall on Monday

BBC,

11 October, 2014

The storm brought heavy rain and fierce winds to the southern island of Okinawa, causing flight cancellations and power cuts to over 20,000 homes.

It is expected to brush past Okinawa on Sunday before heading north and making landfall at Kyushu island on Monday.

Earlier this week, typhoon Phanfone killed nine people in Japan.

Officials have warned Vongfong could bring high waves, storm surges, flooding and landslides.

Storm tracking website Tropical Storm Risk shows Vongfong losing power over the next few days, as it moves northeast along the rest of Japan.

It is said to be carrying winds up to 235km/h (145mph), but is moving north slowly, at 15km/h.

At least 14 people in Okinawa and Kyushu have already been injured by the strong winds, local reports say.

Strong waves pounded the coast of Okinawa as the typhoon approached

Officials warn the typhoon could bring torrential rain and possible flooding

On Friday, an official from Japan's Meteorological Agency told Reuters news agency: "There is no question that [Vongfong] is an extremely large, extremely powerful typhoon."

"It's the strongest storm we've had this year, definitely, although it has lost some strength from its peak."

It has picked up strength since it went through several South Pacific islands including Guam.

The Associated Press news agency said it caused little damage on those islands. It had caused brief power outages and there were no reports of deaths or injuries.

Typhoon Phanfone moved across Japan earlier this week, briefly bringing strong winds and rain to Tokyo

Last week parts of Japan were hit by Typhoon Phanfone, though that storm had rapidly lost power by the time it hit Tokyo on Monday.

Japan's Kyodo news agency said nine people are now known to have been killed by Phanfone, including three US military servicemen in Okinawa who were washed out to sea. Their bodies have since been recovered.

As I post this I am mindful of recent comments by the ex-

editor of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

Is Fukushima capable of withstanding a super typhoon?

The strongest typhoon of the year is expected to hit Japan this weekend. Of particular concern is the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant. But as nuclear expert Michael Maqua tells DW no critical situations are expected.

Deutsche Welle,

10 October, 2014

The massive storm named Vongfong is expected to be near South Korea and Japan some time over the weekend, just days after the Japanese archipelago was struck by another typhoon which claimed the lives of at least six people. The Japan Meteorological Agency was quoted as saying that Vongfong's strength was "very much similar" to that of Haiyan, which ravaged the Philippines last November, leaving nearly 8,000 people dead or missing when gusts of around 300 kilometers (190 miles) per hour tore through the country.

Alongside strong winds and heavy rain capable of causing landslides and flash floods, such super storms can also trigger an abnormal rise of water called a storm surge which is often the greatest threat to life and property. Of particular concern in Japan is the area around the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant which is still recovering from the 2011 quake and tsunami disaster that triggered a meltdown at the plant.

The operator of the battered power plant, TEPCO, has been having trouble with the early stages of an ice wall being built under the broken reactors to prevent radioactive water from leaking into the ocean. But is the plant also braced for the impact of a super typhoon?

Maqua: 'Vital functions of the plant are secured and out of the reach of flooding'

Michael Maqua, nuclear expert at GRS, a German-based organization specializing in the fields of nuclear safety and radioactive waste management, says in a DW interview that while it is likely that some rain water will mix with the contaminated water in the basements of the reactor buildings and thus more radioactivity may be washed into the sea, no critical scenarios are expected given that the vital functions of the plant are secured and out of the reach of flood waters.

DW: Is the crippled Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear plant truly prepared to withstand the force of a super typhoon?

The wind of the typhoon will most likely not affect the buildings themselves, but pose a potential threat to equipment like cranes, scaffolds and also foils. However, given that the operator can prepare the site for the arrival of the typhoon, those things can be secured in advance. We assume that the operator TEPCO will prepare the site this time around just as it has done in the past.

Moreover, given that several typhoons like Neoguri or Wipha have already hit the nuclear power plant (NPP), TEPCO has also undertaken precautionary measures regarding heavy rains and flooding. For example, the operator built dams around the water tanks to prevent contaminated water from leaking.

What potential problems could arise if a super-typhoon such as the one forecast hit Fukushima full force?

Apart from physical damages to construction equipment, we could expect radioactive isotopes from contaminated surfaces being washed away and transported into the groundwater or the sea. Over the past days, the concentration of radioactive substances in the groundwater has increased significantly at some of the plant's measuring points and, according to TEPCO, this was caused by the recent heavy rains.

Furthermore, rainwater could seep into the reactor buildings where it might mingle with contaminated water thus increasing the total amount of contaminated water on the site.

'Given that several typhoons have already hit the nuclear power plant, TEPCO has also undertaken precautionary measures regarding heavy rains and flooding'

What risk do meters-high tidal waves pose for the plant?

If the plant is hit by tidal waves higher than the existing seawalls, this could affect equipment close to the seaside. However, vital functions of the plant are secured for instance by back-up equipment installed in higher areas of the site, out of the reach of flooding. In this context, we do not expect any really severe scenarios taking place.

Would TEPCO be able to prevent tainted groundwater from leaking into the sea?

Contaminated water from the site is in fact constantly reaching sea water. This is being caused, for example, by leakages in building structures. TEPCO has been trying to solve this problem. The latest and maybe most complex project is the underground construction of an ice wall around the reactors 1 - 4. While the technique is used in tunnel construction, no one has ever used it in this particular context, so it is definitely a challenge.

As mentioned before, the main risk of the typhoon is the intrusion of rain water into the buildings, - mainly into the building of reactor 3 as it does not have a real "housing" yet to keep away rainwater - and areas with contaminated soil.

So it seems likely that some rain water will mix with the contaminated water in the basements of the reactor buildings and thus more radioactivity could be washed to the sea in the days after the typhoon. A slight increase of radioactivity in the seawater therefore is to be expected. Nevertheless, the seawater is permanently analyzed by the authorities.

What preventive measures has Japan put in place to prevent further contamination from spreading in the case of natural disasters?

Currently all Japanese NPPs are in permanent shut down. The Japanese Authority NRA has set new safety requirements for the country's NPPs - regardless of whether they remain offline or are applying for a possible restart. 

These new regulations also include higher safety standards for NPPs, for instance, in terms of emergency planning.

'The wind of the typhoon will most likely not affect the buildings themselves, but is a potential threat to equipment like cranes'

What are currently the biggest hurdles for TEPCO in terms of decommissioning the crippled reactors?

TEPCO faces two main problems: First, the isolation of the reactor buildings from the environment to prevent further radioactive contamination. To solve this problem, an ice wall around the buildings is being constructed, as already explained before.

In addition, intensive efforts are being made to identify the leakage areas within the buildings and to fix them, if possible. The second challenge is the removal of the molten cores in the reactor, a task which may only be finished within the next decades.

Michael Maqua is head of the plant engineering department at GRS, a German-based organization specializing in the fields of nuclear safety and radioactive waste management.