ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center
SOURCE: Federal News Radio
08April2011 7:00amEST
GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: TOKYO (AP) – Toyota Motor Corp. says it will resume car production at all Japanese plants from April 18 to 27.
The world's No.1 automaker said Friday that all of its 18 plants in Japan will operate at limited capacity due to parts shortages. (read full report)
ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center
SOURCE: Homeland Security NewsWire
30March2011 11:05amEST
GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: The radioactive core in the Unit 2 reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant appears to have melted through the bottom of its containment vessel and is now resting on a concrete floor; officials are now struggling with two crucial but contradictory efforts: pumping in water to keep the fuel rods cool and pumping out contaminated water; an investigation found that Tokyo Electric Power Co. officials had dismissed scientific evidence and geological history that indicated that a massive earthquake — and subsequent tsunami — was far more likely than they believed; more than 11,000 bodies have been recovered, but officials say the final death toll is expected to exceed 18,000. Hundreds of thousands of people remain homeless, their homes and livelihoods destroyed. Damage could amount to $310 billion — the most expensive natural disaster on record. (read full report)
ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center
SOURCE: The Washington Times
29March2011 11:30pmEST
GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: WASHINGTON – Traces of radioactive material from the endangered Japanese nuclear plant are being detected from coast to coast in the United States and in Iceland, but amounts continue to be far below levels that would cause health problems.
The development of super-sensitive equipment to detect radiation is both a blessing and a curse, allowing scientists to monitor materials released in nuclear accidents, but also causing unnecessary worry, said Kathryn Higley, director of the nuclear engineering and radiation health physics at Oregon State University.
Traces of radioactive cesium and iodine are being reported from Nevada to Vermont, South Carolina to Massachusetts, thanks to equipment that Higley says can detect material “many orders of magnitude below what would be hazardous.” (read full report)
ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center
SOURCE: The Heritage Foundation
16March2011 11:08pmEST
GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: As Americans watch with horror, the death toll from the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan continues to climb into the thousands. Recent experience has taught the U.S. the crippling effects of disasters—from earthquakes to hurricanes, floods, fires, and oil spills. It is vital that U.S. disaster preparedness undergo constant evaluation and that key changes are made 
before the country faces another incident, whether natural or man-made.
Ongoing Heritage Foundation research has identified key areas where disaster preparedness should be reviewed and improved. Success must include the private sector, federal agencies, state and local resources, and the military.
Perhaps one of the most significant lessons learned from recent U.S. disasters is that the private sector is a critical actor in the homeland security enterprise. Time and again, from the attacks of September 11 to Hurricane Katrina—and even recently with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill—the private sector has been at the forefront of relief and recovery operations. The private sector’s indispensable role begs for the federal government to form solid bonds with industry. These relationships not only promote security innovations but allow these new developments to be plugged directly into disaster response efforts. (read full report)
IT’S A DISASTER!…and what are YOU gonna do about it?
Disaster preparedness, prevention and basic first-aid manual.
ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center
SOURCE: FedHealth
13March2011 1:22pmEST
GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: ARIZONA – FedHealth owner, and co-author of "IT'S A DISASTER!", Janet Liebsch, released a preventative letter today explaiing, "I'm not trying to be an alarmist but .. sending this as fyi in case things go south with Japanese reactors. Hopefully they can contain everything since structures are much more modern than Chernobyl. But sharing this with our 
friends and family in case you have loved ones on west coast. Hopefully you / they have KI and radiation detection units cuz if reactors blow and release .. well, again – let’s just hope it all stays contained.
And remember .. TIME, DISTANCE and SHIELDING are important during any type of radiological disaster. And radioactive materials decay rapidly .. per 7/10 rule, for every sevenfold increase in time, there is a tenfold decrease in radiation rate. For example, 75 Rems (rad) would drop to 7.5 Rems after 7 hours. Best thing you can do IF this even happens is .. stay inside a structure (don’t be running around outdoors) and stay put for hours or a day or 2 until it decays. Again .. that’s ONLY if things go bad.
If you don’t have our book handy, download our nuclear power plant accident tips in PDF here .. and learn how to build an expedient shelter here. (Also attached both here in PDF.) If you don’t have access to KI, get a bottle of iodine from a local pharmacy so it’s on shelf .. then only IF a plume is coming .. wipe a swipe on your abdomen. It’ll stain your skin but it can fill up your thyroid with good iodine so it doesn’t absorb bad stuff. Children (including unborn) are most susceptible since their thyroids are still active. Unfortunately we don’t have suggestions for cesium yet (other than Prussian blue but don’t know how to get any) .. but working on finding options / alternatives.
Also please realize we’re talking potential semi-low Rad levels for western US and Canada per map (although Aleutian Islands may experience higher Rads)."
Per japan.org …
0-50 rads (Rems)– No obvious short-term effects
80-120 rads– You have a 10% chance of vomiting and experiencing nausia for a few days
130 -170 rads– You have a 25% chance of vomiting and contracting other symptoms
180-220 rads– You have a 50% chance of vomiting and having other severe physical effects
270-330 rads– 20% chance of death in 6 weeks, or you will recover in a few months.
400-500 rads – 50% chance of death
550-750 rads – Nausia within a few hours ; no survivors
> 1000 rads – immediate incapacitation and death within a week or less.
(Source: Japan.org)
She asks people not to panic or be overly-obsessed with keeping track of the news, but to "stay current on events and try to educate yourself and others as best as possible."
Japan’s earthquake page is http://www.japan.org and US Nuclear Regulatory Commission is http://www.nrc.gov , not to mention the local and national media who will be monitoring this event as it progresses.
IT’S A DISASTER!…and what are YOU gonna do about it?
Disaster preparedness, prevention and basic first-aid manual.
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ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center
SOURCE: Reuters
12March2011 11:44amEST
GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: In Japan Saturday, radiation leaked from a damaged nuclear 
reactor after an explosion blew the roof off in the wake of the massive earthquake, but the government insisted that radiation levels were low.
Japan's Jiji news agency later said three workers suffered radiation exposure near the Fukushima nuclear plant.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the U.N. nuclear body, said Japanese authorities had informed it of the explosion and that they were "assessing the condition of the reactor core."
"The IAEA has reiterated its offer of technical assistance to Japan, should the government request this," it said. (read full report)
ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center
SOURCE: Ria Novosti
12March2011 11:23amEST
GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: Earthquake-stricken Japan asked Russia on Saturday to increase 
energy supplies and Moscow is ready to deliver up to 150,000 tons of liquefied natural gas and increase gas supplies, Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin said.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said earlier in the day liquefied natural gas supplies to Japan should be stepped up if requested. (read full report)
ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center
SOURCE: Daily Herald
12March2011 10:25amEST
GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: IWAKI, Japan — An explosion at a nuclear power station Saturday destroyed a building housing the reactor, but a radiation leak was decreasing despite fears of a meltdown from damage caused by a powerful earthquake and tsunami, officials said.
Government spokesman Yukio Edano said the explosion destroyed the exterior walls of the building where the reactor is placed, but not the actual metal housing enveloping the reactor.
That was welcome news for a country suffering from Friday's double disaster that pulverized the northeastern coast, leaving at least 574 people dead by official count.
The scale of destruction was not yet known, but there were grim signs that the death toll could soar. One report said four whole trains had disappeared Friday and still not been located. Local media reports said at least 1,300 people may have been killed.
Edano said the radiation around the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant had not risen after the blast, but had in fact decreased. He did not say why that was so.
Officials have not given specific radiation readings for the area, though they said they were elevated before the blast: At one point, the plant was releasing each hour the amount of radiation a person normally absorbs from the environment each year. (read full report)
IT’S A DISASTER!…and what are YOU gonna do about it?
Disaster preparedness, prevention and basic first-aid manual.
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ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center
SOURCE: Fox News
11March2011 11:35pmEST
GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: TOKYO – Japan's northeastern coast was a swampy wasteland of broken houses, overturned cars, sludge and dirty water Saturday as the nation awoke to the devastating aftermath of one of its greatest disasters, a powerful tsunami created by one of the 
strongest earthquakes ever recorded.
A 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck the South Pacific nation of Tonga on Saturday afternoon local time, according to the US Geological Survey.
The death toll from Friday's massive magnitude 8.9 in Japan's quake stood at more than 200, but an untold number of bodies were believed to be lying in the rubble and debris, and Japanese were bracing for more bad news as authorities tried to reach the hardest-hit areas.
Aerial footage showed military helicopters lifting people on rescue tethers from rooftops and partially submerged buildings surrounded by water and debris. At one school, a large white "SOS" had been spelled out in English.
The earthquake that struck off the northeastern shore was the biggest recorded quake ever to hit Japan. It ranked as the fifth-largest earthquake in the world since 1900 and was nearly 8,000 times stronger than one that devastated Christchurch, New Zealand, last month, scientists said. (read full report)
IT’S A DISASTER!…and what are YOU gonna do about it?
Disaster preparedness, prevention and basic first-aid manual.
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ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center
SOURCE: NewsMax
11March2011 11:19pmEST
GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: News releases posted on the Tokyo Electric Power company’s website detailing efforts to cool down the nuclear power core at the Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power 
Station state there have been elevated radiation levels detected in the vicinity.
For most of the day Friday, Japanese officials were maintaining there had been no release of radiation. Officials announced late Friday afternoon they might vent moderately radioactive vapor from a containment vessel, in order to ease pressure in one of the plant’s containment vessels. Some 3,000 residents have been evacuated from nearby neighborhoods.
But a news release posted on the TEPCO site at 7 a.m. Tokyo time stated: “Measurement of radioactive material (Iodine, etc.) by monitoring car indicates increasing value compared to normal level. One of the monitoring posts is also indicating higher than normal level. We will continue monitoring discharge of radioactive material from exhaust stack and discharge canal, etc.” (read full report)
IT'S A DISASTER!…and what are YOU gonna do about it?
Disaster preparedness, prevention and basic first-aid manual.
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GCIS Briefing Room 