Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan

Update March 13th 12:44AM EST: Japanese officials are now operating under the assumption that a partial meltdown of the nuclear reactor cores is underway. They insist, however, that no radiation has been leaked.

The U.S. Geological Survey is also reporting that there have been 140 aftershocks of magnitude 4.5 or higher.

Airports are back up and running as is limited rail service and those without electricity have dropped to 2.5 million from 6 million.





http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/asia-pacific/170000-evacuated-amid-worries-of-nuclear-meltdown-in-japan/article1939779/

http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/12/japan.quake/index.html?hpt=T1&iref=BN1

Update 9:01PM EST: A few US journalists have begun posting news articles advocating either canceling, postponing or changing venues for Worlds: http://www.freep.com/article/20110312/SPORTS17/110312035/Jo-Ann-Barnas-ISU-needs-postpone-world-figure-skating-event-Japan?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Sports

http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/sports_globetrotting/2011/03/too-soon-figure-skating-world-championships-in-tokyo-catastrophe.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Based on the information I've been gathering, it seems that the U.S. media coverage has differed from other countries. The ISU is set to make a final decision early this week. I know that a lot of people reading this post are from Japan. If you have any thoughts or insights please share them in the comment section.

Update 12:39PM EST: International Figure Skating on Facebook is reporting that they've heard from Daisuke Takahashi's manager and Takahashi is safe.

Update 11:25AM EST: Elena Glebova has reported on her Facebook that she is in Japan and is safe.

Update 9:58AM EST: Florent Amodio has just tweeted that all the flights are full so he'll have to wait a few days before leaving, but he has confirmed that he is trying to leave Japan.

Update 9:15AM EST: A few rumors that I can't seem to back up but am putting here anyway. Javier Fernandez is already in Japan but is safe. The French Federation has ordered Florent Amodio to return home and will fly back tomorrow. Kim Lucine of Montenegro is also leaving Japan and returning home

Update March 12th 8:41AM EST: Nobunari Oda was in Canada at the time of the quake and he hopes to return to Japan soon to see his wife and son who were both unharmed: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/japanese-skater-oda-watches-and-waits-in-canada/article1939787/

Update 4:05PM EST: Skate Canada says the majority of their athletes are scheduled to leave for Tokyo on the 18th. They are evaluating the situation to determine if they will send their athletes and may leave the decision to attend up to the individual competitors. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/more-sports/tokyo-still-planning-to-host-world-figure-skating-championships/article1939033/

Update 2:22PM EST: A 6.6 quake has just hit Nagano along a different fault line than the first quake. Nagano is 110 miles from Tokyo. No word yet on impact.

Update 12:53PM EST: Yuka Sato says that both of her parents who coach in Japan are fine as well as students Takahiko Kozuka and Mao Asada: http://www.freep.com/article/20110311/SPORTS17/110311017/Detroit-Skating-Club-coach-Sato-Parents-safe-Japan?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Sports|s

Update 11:30AM EST: According to a statement by the ISU President, it looks like they are planning on moving forward with Worlds. http://www.isu.org/vsite/vcontent/content/transnews/0,10869,4844-128590-19728-18885-312800-3787-4771-layout160-129898-news-item,00.html

And the State Department has issued a Travel Alert to Japan through April 1st. According to the alert, airports and public transportation in Tokyo are shut down and some roads are damaged: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_5377.html

Update: 11:26AM EST Here is an article about Volozhar and Trankov and also states that a decision on whether to move Worlds will be made later this week: http://rt.com/sport/japan-earthquake-volosozhar-trankov/

Japan was hit with an 8.9 earthquake and massive tsunami overnight leaving a portion of the country devastated. My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone who was affected.

The World Figure Skating Championships are set to open in Tokyo in just 10 days and there is speculation about whether they will continue. Earlier today, the ISU released this statement (it has since been taken down from their website):
Japan Quake - ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2011 Situation

The ISU is in close contact with the Japanese Skating Federation (JSF). Based on a first on-site assessment by the JSF we have been informed that the Yoyogi stadium remains in order and the JSF advised that everything will be ready to hold the Championships as foreseen. We will of course continue to monitor the situation closely in cooperation with the JSF and inform of any developments.

Yuzuru Hanyu is from the area where the quake hit, but he, his coach and family were all reported ok. Nikolai Morozov's skaters which include Miki Ando and Florent Amodio are already in Japan, but are also ok. Volozhar and Trankov of Russian landed with their coaches a few hours before the quake but have been in contact with the Russian Federation.

The US State Department is advising no non-essential travel to Japan.