Iitate, Fukushima

Iitate
飯舘村
—  Village  —
Location of Iitate in Fukushima
Iitate
 
Coordinates:
Country Japan
Region Tōhoku
Prefecture Fukushima
District Sōma
Area
 • Total 230.13 km2 (88.9 sq mi)
Population (2003)
 • Total 6,858
 • Density 29.8/km2 (77.2/sq mi)
Time zone Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
Website Village of Iitate

Iitate (飯舘村 Iitate-mura?) is a village located in Sōma District, Fukushima, Japan.

As of 2003, the village has an estimated population of 6,858 and a density of 29.80 persons per km². The total area is 230.13 km².

On 22 April 2011, the Japanese government asked residents to leave Iitate due to radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.[1]

2011 earthquake and tsunami

Iitate is about 39 kilometres (24 miles) north-west of Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, the site of the nuclear accident that followed the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.

On 30 March 2011, the International Atomic Energy Agency stated that its operational criteria for evacuation were exceeded in Iitate, despite the village being outside the existing 30 kilometres (19 miles) radiation exclusion zone around the plant. The IAEA advised the Japanese authorities to carefully assess the situation there.[2]

On 1 April 2011, it was reported that above statement was updated as "Radiation measured at a village 40 kilometres (25 miles) from Japan's crippled nuclear plant is falling by the day / But while the amounts of radioactive iodine particles detected in the soil at Iitate village appeared to be declining from high levels, the overall situation at Fukushima remained very serious.", with IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano's comment "It would take more time than people think" [3]

On 22 April 2011, the Japanese government asked residents to leave within a month.[1] Some displaced children from the village were shunned after relocating for fear of contamination.[4][5] In early June about 1,500 residents remained,[1] but by August only about 120 residents, mostly elderly, remained.[6]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Eric Talmadge (8 June 2011). "Japanese village's nuclear reality sets in slowly". Associated Press (Google). http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ggvj3yp8VYa5nj15Qc51L1VAHGdA?docId=8eee54caedca45308a6914c7271ccb66. Retrieved 8 June 2011. 
  2. ^ Sylvia Westall and Fredrik Dahl (30 March 2011). "High radiation outside Japan exclusion zone: IAEA". Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/30/us-japan-radiation-idUSTRE72T78120110330. Retrieved 30 March 2011. 
  3. ^ Fredrik Dahl and Michael Shields (1 April 2011). "UPDATE 2-Radiation eases in Japan village near no-go zone-IAEA". Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/01/japan-iaea-village-idUSLDE73020H20110401. Retrieved 3 April 2011. 
  4. ^ David McNeill (13 May 2011). "Fukushima village on way to becoming ghost town". Japan Times. http://search.japantimes.co.jp/print/nn20110513f1.html. Retrieved 14 May 2011. 
  5. ^ "Japan evacuates residents beyond Fukushima no-go zone". BBC. 16 May 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13408055. Retrieved 17 May 2011. 
  6. ^ Yuka Hayashi (16 August 2011). "Murky Science Clouded Japan Nuclear Response". Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903554904576458230766485092.html. Retrieved 16 August 2011. 

External links

Media related to [//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Iitate,_Fukushima Iitate, Fukushima] at Wikimedia Commons