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Tokyo Faces Months of Power Cuts After Quake

   Henry Ridgwell | Tokyo  March 14, 2011
   Advertising  boards on the buildings are seen without the illumination
   at Tokyo's Shibuya district, March 14, 2011

Photo: AP

   Advertising  boards on the buildings are seen without the illumination
   at Tokyo's Shibuya district, March 14, 2011

   The  35  million inhabitants of Tokyo and its surroundings are getting
   prepared  for  enforced  power  cuts  that could last until the end of
   April.  The  government  says  damage  and  closures  at  many  of the
   countryâs  power  plants  following  Fridayâs massive earthquake means
   electricity supplies cannot keep up with demand. Meanwhile authorities
   are warning of the risk of large aftershocks in the coming days.
   Most  Monday evenings, Tokyo station is normally packed as millions of
   commuters head to the suburbs.
   It appears many workers have heeded the Japanese governmentâs call for
   people to stay home, in an effort to conserve power.

   For  those  who did venture out â the sense of fear following Friday's
   massive earthquake is still present.
   "It  is  very  scary.  I  am  scared  of  more earthquakes," says this
   commuter.
   "I  was  in  my office on the 33rd floor when the earthquake struck on
   Friday.  It  swayed  from side to side, everyone was so shocked," says
   another traveller.
   Rolling  power outages have been ordered in Tokyo and nine surrounding
   prefectures.
   With  electricity  output  slashed  as  power  stations shut down, the
   government  says  it  can  only  supply about three-quarters of normal
   demand. The cuts could last until the end of April â a big blow to one
   of the worldâs biggest financial hubs.
   But  the  government  warns  the  alternative is a devastating all-out
   blackout. And the danger is not over.
   Japanâs  Meteorological  Agency says there is a 70 percent chance of a
   magnitude-seven or stronger earthquake striking in the next three days
   â  and  a  50  percent  chance  in  the three days after that. Any big
   aftershocks  could  present a danger for buildings already weakened by
   last Fridayâs quake.

   State-of-the-art  design meant Tokyoâs countless skyscrapers withstood
   the huge tremors on Friday.
   In  this  huge metropolitan area of 35 million inhabitants, there is a
   palpable nervousness over what the coming days may bring.
   As  Tokyoâs  workers head home â their thoughts are also with the tens
   of  thousands  of people a few hundred kilometres further north, whose
   homes and livelihoods have crumbled or been washed away.

   Raw video of Friday's tsunami

   IFRAME: [1]http://www.youtube.com/v/2uJN3Z1ryck

   

References

   1. http://www.youtube.com/v/2uJN3Z1ryck

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