Japan: People Flee As Nuclear Crisis Worsens

Foreigners flee Japan as nuclear crisis worsens (USA Today):

Several governments, including Australia, France and China, have advised citizens to leave Tokyo and quake-hit areas, or have taken steps to evacuate them.

The State Department late Wednesday authorized a voluntary evacuation of family members and dependents of U.S. personnel in Tokyo and Yokohama that affects some 600 people. It also issued a warning to Americans to avoid travel to Japan and said U.S. citizens in the country should consider leaving.

Senior State Department official Patrick Kennedy said chartered planes would help private American citizens wishing to leave.

Thousands flee Tokyo as experts try to calm contamination fears (Independent):

The stuff of science fiction novels and bad disaster movies has arrived in the world’s largest metropolis after radioactivity was detected in Tokyo’s city centre yesterday, the possible prelude to a disaster forewarned but never really expected: the meltdown of a nuclear power plant and the showering of fallout over 28 million people.

Exodus from a nuclear nightmare: Thousands flee as they question whether Japan’s government is telling them truth about reactors (Daily Mail):

Hundreds of vehicles sped out of the shadow of the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant yesterday.

Those inside the cars and trucks were fleeing for their lives, terrified about what might happen next and reluctant to believe anything their government was telling them.

‘We knew it was close by, but they told us over and over again that it was safe, safe, safe,’ said 70-year-old evacuee Fumiko Watanabe.

Foreign bankers flee Tokyo as nuclear crisis deepens (Reuters):

(Reuters) – Foreign bankers are fleeing Tokyo as Japan’s nuclear crisis worsens, scrambling for commercial and charter flights out of the country and into other major cities in the region.

…..

With bankers joining the growing exodus, private jet operators reported a surge in demand for evacuation flights which sent prices surging as much as a quarter. One jet operator said the cost of flying 14 people to Hong Kong from Tokyo was more than $160,000.

“I got a request yesterday to fly 14 people from Tokyo to Hong Kong, 5 hour 5 minutes trip. They did not care about price,” said Jackie Wu, COO of Hong Kong Jet, a newly established private jet subsidiary of China’s HNA Group.

Private jets in hot demand as Japan exodus grows (Reuters)

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.